Nelson Mandela

It's fact
Mandela was married three times and his third wife Grace Machel became the only woman in history to hold the title of First Lady of two independent nations. She was married to the President of Mozambique, Sarnora Machel. Later in 1998 she married Nelson Mandela and became the First Lady of South Africa as well from 1998-1999. 

Nelson Mandela
````````South Africa's Answer to Martin Luther King jr. 
~~~~~~~~~~(1918 -        )

Born: 18th July, 1918 Mvezo, Eastern Cape, Union of South Africa 
Political party: African National Congress 
President of South Africa: In office 27th April, 1994— 14th June, 1999 
Vice President: Frederik Willem de Klerk Thabo Mbeki 
Preceded by: Frederik Willem de Klerk (State President of South Africa) 
Succeeded by: Thabo Mbeki 

The word "apartheid" meaning segregation in Afrikann language was intimately associated with South Africa. The white people and black people were segregated and this was a part of the law in South Africa from 1948. 

During this time a black lawyer Nelson Mandela who was in prison worked tirelessly against apartheid. He was sent to jail in 1961 and was charged with treason and was incarcerated in Robben Island from 1961-1990. He was later released from jail and in 1994 became the first black leader of South Africa. 

Nelson Mandela was the most famous political prisoner of the last century. Mandela was in prison because he was the leader of the ANC(African National Congress) which was outlawed in South Africa at that time. He joined the ANC in 1944 as he was one of the founding members of its youth league. In 1960 the South African government outlawed the ANC and Mandela was sent to 5 years to jail together with Walter Sisulu.

Mandela's imprisonment became an international affair as many politicians worked for his release. In 1988 a concert attended by nearly 70,000 people, to celebrate his 70th birthday was heald at Wembley Stadium in London. 

Mandela was released from Jail in 1990 and worked with then South African President F.W. de Clerk. In 1993 they were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace for bringing peace and reconciliation to South Africa. Next year the first nonracial multiparty election was held in that country where the ANC won convincingly. Mandela then became the President of South Africa and held this post from 1994-1999. 

Mandela's political philosophy was built with the pillars of peace as he believed that his country should first heal the wounds of apartheid. He was successful in advancing this, making him another peacemaker in history. 

It should be noted that Mandela was given the name Nelson on his first day in primary school, where his original name was Rolihalahla meaning "tree shaker". Mandela Later studied law and started South Africa's all black law firm with Oliver Tambo. At present Mandela is the elder statesman of South Africa and lives in semi-retirement. 

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Vladimir Lenin

It's a Fact 
Leon Trotsky, another giant in the Russian revolution arrived in London in1902 having escaped from exile in Siberia. The first meeting of Lenin and Trotsky who were to figure so prominently in momentous happenings which were to take place in Russia in 1917,took place at an early hour in the morning in Lenin's London home. Trotsky in his book, Lenin, describes the event: '1 arrived in London in the autumn of 1902. It must have been in October, and early in the morning. A cab that I engaged because I saw others doing so took me to an address jotted down on a scrap of paper my destination. This was Vladimir Ilyich's home. Before this (it must have been in Zurich ) I had been taught to knock at a door in a certain definite way. As far as I remember, Nadezhda Konstantinova (Madame Lenin) opened the door for me; I had fetched her out of bed with my knocking, as one can imagine. It was early in the morning, and any sensible man more familiar with the ordinary conventions of life, would have waited an hour or two at the station, instead of knocking at strange doors at dawn. But I was still completely under the influence of my flight from Verchotensk". 


Vladimir Lenin 
``````````(1870 - 1924)
~~~~~~~~~The Man Who Created Communist Russia 

Born: April 22, 1870 Simbirsk, Russian Empire 
Died: January 21, 1924 (aged 53) Gorki, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union 
Nationality: Russian 
Political party: Bolshevik Party 
Spouse: Nadezhda Krupskaya 
Profession: Politician, revolutionary, writer 
Religion: Atheism 

Karl Marx wrote "The Communist Manifesto" and "Das Kapital" in thel9th century and influenced communists the world over. According to Marx's view of history, the final stage of capitalism is imperialism. 

Vladimir Lenin was a radical thinker in Russia in the 20th century who believed that Marx's philosophy could be of practical use in his country, "leap forging" some stages in Marx's view of history. In 1917 he revolutionized politics by establishing the first communist state in Russia.

Lenin was born Vladimir Ulayanov at Simbirsk in Russia, which was later renamed Lenin. His father was a school teacher. Revolution was in Lenin's blood of as his elder brother was executed for alledgly participating in an attempt to assassinate the Russian Tsar Alexander III in1887. Lenin later studied law at the University of Kazan and was banished for engaging in revolutionary activities. He later finished his studies independently and briefly worked as a lawyer. Later he gave up his practice, and went fulltime spreading his message of revolution among workers. He was later exiled to Siberia in 1895. 


In his pamphlet, "What is to be done"(1902) Lenin wrote that only a very disciplined party of professional revolutionaries could bring about socialist changes in to Russia. In 1905 revolution broke out Russia, but failed to create a socialist state. 

During World War I Lenin was in Switzerland and was helped by the Germans to get to Russia. By doing so the Germans hoped it could disrupt the Russian war effort. In 1917 the political upheavals in Russia , Lenin captured power and established the first Soviet government according to communist principles. It is notable that by this time Tsar Nicholas II had abdicated. In the power vacuum that was created, Lenin's supporters spread the simple message "Peace, Bread, Land". After assuming power in Russia, Lenin signed a armistice with Germany, as the Germans wanted. 

Lenin later became Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars and virtual dictator, where Trotsky, Stalin and Rykov were the other important members. Bolsheviks(the majority), disagreed about the intentions of the revolution with Mensheviks(the minority) and had their ideological differences. Bolsheviks were spearheaded by Lenin.

After assuming power Lenin abolished private ownership of land and also nationalized banks. Lenin at this time was a ruthless leader who refused to compromise with his colleagues. He also established Cheka or secret police that suppressed all forms of opposed to Lenin. By 1922, Lenin had eliminated all opposition to him and silenced all his enemies within the communist party. He also retained the post of Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars and was a member of the ruling politburo of the Communist Party until his death. After suffering a stroke in 1922, Lenin left politics. One of the last letters he wrote was a letter condemning Stalin wanting Stalin's removal from the post of General Secretary of the Communist Party. It is claimed by some historians that Stalin did not allow Lenin proper medical care, in order to hasten Lenin's death.

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Margaret Thatcher

It's a fact
Margaret Thatcher graduated with a chemistry degree from University of Oxford in 1947.She later joined a research team that developed the first soft frozen ice cream.

Margaret Thatcher
``````(1925 -
~~~The iron Lady of British Politics


Born: 13 October 1925 Grantham, Lincotnshire, England 
Nationality: British 
Political party: Conservative 
Spouse: Sir Denis Thatcher, Bt. (1951-2003) 
Children: The Hon. Carol Thatcher, Sir Mark Thatcher, 2nd Bt. 

A politician in 1975 said at a political conference that it would be years and years before , when a woman would become the leader of the conservative party in Britain. This remark was said by a politician, who in 1975 proved this wrong by becoming the leader of her party and four years later became the first woman prime minister in Britain as well as Europe. She is Margaret Thatcher. 

Thatcher was the Prime Minister of Britain consecutively for 11 years-longer than anyone in 20th century. She won 3 successive elections in 1979, 1983, and 1987. She was nicknamed "Iron lady" by the Soviet media, because of her opposition to communism. 

Thatcher was the Education Secretary under Edward Heath's government from 1970-1974 and later challenged him for the party leadership. She became the prime minister when she won the 1979 general election. During her time as prime minister, Thatcher formed a close alliance with then US president Ronald Reagan.

One of Thatcher's biggest achievements was the defeat of Argentina in the Falklands War in 1982. These islands named Las Malvinas by Argentina were also claimed by both Britain and Argentina. Thatcher dispatched the Royal Navy task force to retake the islands from Argentinian control.

Despite her great achievements, Thatcher's economic policies resulted in large scale unemployment in some parts of Britain. But after mid 80's the British economy grew and one of the reasons was the policies of Thatcher-Thatcherism. This involved reduced public spending, lower direct taxation, deregulation and an ambitious program of privatization of the government owned industries, which she thought made a more entrepreneurial culture in UK. Even before her election as the PM, she was sure about what to do in order to make the British economy prosperous. In 1975, she said, "Let me give you my vision, a man's right to work as he will, to spend what he earns, to own property, to have the state as servant and not as master these are the British inheritances. They are the essence of a free country": By carrying out such policies, she made the British working class into "inspirational voters". Thatcher's economic policies closely resembled that of Reagan's economic policies as well. 

After the Falklands War, Thatcher's popularity soared and she used her fame to reform the trade unions in UK. 

Margaret Thatcher's maiden name was Roberts. In 1951 she married Denis Thatcher. Their two children were Carol and Mark. In 2004, Mark Thatcher was arrested at his home in South Africa on a charge of financing an attempted coup in Equitorial Guinea. He later pleaded guilty to a charge of negligence, saying that he thought the money he financed was used to start an air ambulance service in that country. 

Thatcher's popularity finally started to fall when she replaced the local government rates with the even less popular community charge, more commonly known as Poll Tax. She was later forced to resign because of various problems in the Tory Party as well as her divisive approach to Britain's role in Europe. 

Thatcher later entered the House of Lords in 1992 as Baroness Thatcher of Kestevan and is the elder stateswoman of the Conservative(Tory) Party. 

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Martin Luther King, Jr.

It's a Fact 
Martin luther king was chosen as Time magazines Man Of The Year in 1964 and received the Nobel Prize for Peace in the same year as well. He is the youngest man to get the Nobel Peace Prize as of 2009. 

Martin Luther King, Jr.
```````(1929-1968)
~~~~~~Afro-American Peace Maker

Born: January 15, 1929 Atlanta, Georgia, United States 
Died: April 4, 1968 (aged 39) Memphis, Tennessee, United States 
Movement: African-American Civil Rights Movement and Peace movement 
Major organizations: Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) 
Notable prizes: Nobel Peace Prize (1964) Residential Medal of Freedom (1977, Posthu Mous) Congressional Gold Medal (2004, Posthumous) 
Major Monuments: Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial (planned) 
Alma mater: Morehouse College Crozer Theological Seminary Boston University 
Religion: Baptist 

One of the greatest pacifists of 20th century was Mahatma Ghandi who was assassinated by a Hindu fanatic in 1948. After this an Afro-American preacher Martin Luther King Jr who was inspired by Ghandi, spearheaded a pacifist campaign in USA to get equal rights to Americans of frican heritage.

Martin Luther King came from a family of pastors as his father and grand-father were also pastors. After the American Civil War, there were others who stood up for the improvements in of Afro-Americans and civil rights advocates. These include Malcolm X, Stokey Car-michael etc. But what distinguished Martin Luther King was that he used his great oratory skills as well as his Baptist Christian background to take the message of peace and equality of humanity into the minds of Ameri-cans both white and black. He thought peace would be the vehicle that would take this message to eradicate desegregation in American society. In other words what king believed was that it was possible for blacks to live side by side with the whites peacefully. For this achievement King was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1964. 

King came into the limelight of civil right movement in the late 50's as he became the pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Ala-bama. In 1955 he received his PhD from Boston University. In the same year a defiant action of an Afro-American woman came into limelight as she did not stand up and refused to give her seat in the bus to a white. She was Rosa Parks, who later became a civil rights activ-ist herself. (It should be noted that in some states of US during the 50's a black person was not allowed to sit in front seats of a bus. They had to give their seats to whites.) This was the time that King was also in Alabama and it was the right time for people like King to discuss and practically inspire the aspirations of the blacks to get equal rights. Around this time King initiated Southern Christian Leadership Conference(SCLC) and spearheaded the campaign that would repel unjust discriminatory laws against blacks. After Rosa Park's defiant act the blacks boycotted the buses and this strike went on till 1956. By December of that year the US Supreme Court passed the bill that desegregated these law as unconstitutional.

By this time King practically had implemented non-vio-lent acts against segregation and even toured India to learn about Ghandian methods of passive resistance. 

The new president of USA in 1961 John F. Kennedy was suportive of Kings' activities. In 1963 August 28th King and his supporters marched into Washington D. C. to get support for Civil Rights Act which would be passed by Kennedy's succesecor Lyndon B. Johnson who hailed from the Ssouthern state of Texas. Dur-ing the civil rights march King delivered his famous "I have a dream "speech, where he said "I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character...". 

King's acheivement of securing civil rights of blacks went a long way for other minorities of USA to get equal rights as well. These include Jews and Asians as well. During this time King was also a vocal opponent of the vietnam war, which was raging in vietnam. 

In 1968 king was shot dead by James Earl Ray at Lorraine Motel in Memphis , while seeking to assist a garbage workers' strike. 

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Mahatma Gandhi

It's a fact
Gandhi although was a Hindu, ate mutton as a child. But after he went to England for studies at the age of 18, he disliked his Landlady's mutton and cabbage so much he became a vegetarian.

Mahatma Gandhi
```````````````(1869 - 1948)
~~~~~~Father of Modern Day India

Born: 2 October 1869 Porbandar, Kathiawar Agency, British India 
Died: 30 January 1948 New Delhi, Union of India 
Cause of death: Assassination 
Nationality: Indian 
Other names: Mahatma Gandhi 
Education: University College London 
Known for: Indian Independence Movement 
Political party: Indian National Congress 
Religious beliefs: Hinduism 
Spouse(s): Kasturba Gandhi 
Children: Harilal, Manual, Ramdas, Devdas 

In the end of 19th century, India was a colony of Britain. Various Indian Leaders were agitating for independence from Britain around this time. Among them was a lawyer who graduated from University College, University of London who took this Herculean task of liberating India and believed in peace as the medium of message he sent across the country. He is none other than Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, better known as Mahatma Gandhi.

Gandhi was identified with the name Mahatma because of his integrity and non-violent principles and means "Great Soul". It should be noted that Gandhi started his career as a lawyer not in India, but in South Africa. Around the turn of 20th century, South Africa was a country divided in the principles of segregation and inequality and discriminated against non-whites. After getting racially abused himself in South Africa, Gandhi opposed legislation that discriminated against the immigrant Indian population. 

After staying in South Africa through the Boer War, Gandhi returned to India in 1915. Soon afterwards he supported the Indian National Congress and made a rousing speech which was able to convey his message of independence for India. He said staying in cities like Bombay would not work and the message of non-violent protest should be taken to the villages across India. 

Even in South Africa as well as in India the message he began to teach was the policy of non-violence, non-cooperation with the British imperialistic masters and passive resistance against the English rule. Gandhi was inspired in this endeavour with the teachings of Jesus Christ, Lord Buddha and the work of the writers Leo Tolstoy and Henry David Thoreau. Later Gandhi came to the conclusion that passive resistance and civil disobedience inadequate for his purposes, and coined another term " Satyagraha". (meaning truth and firmness).

After the Indian parliament passed a law named RowLau Act, that gave powers to the Indian colonial authorities to deal with what they interpreted as revolutionary activities",Indians protested. As a protest for this Indians resigned .from public offices, and even school children were withdrawn from government schools. Later Gandhi was arrested and jailed. 

Gandhi's message of non-violence, home rule for India and welfare for all people irrespective of caste or religion, was the formula, he advocated for restoring India's glory in the modern world. He was passionate about restoring homecrafts and later even boycotted Western clothes made in England. He covered himself with simple loin and cotton clothes. He even spun cloth from a simple spinning wheel used in the villages. Gandhi was arrested around 1930 when he led a pilgrimage about 400 km to the sea to collect salt as a protest against British governments monopoly of the salt industry. 

Despite arrests, Gandhi continued to protest and was again arrested on several occasions. He firmly believed that violence should not be encouraged and held regular fasts as a protest against violence in the independence struggle. Gandhi said," An eye for an eye makes the whole world go blind".

After WWII, Britain finally agreed for home rule for India. The division of India to Hindu and Muslim parts greatly saddened Gandhi. During this time Gandhi tried to reconcile these two faction without much success. In 1948, Gandhi was shot dead by a Hindu fanatic, Nthuram Godse. Gandhis last words were, "don't harm that man". 

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Franklin Roosevelt

It's fact
Franklin Roosevelt was an enthusiastic stamp collector. He was featured in a stamp of Western Samoa with his philatelic collection. This is the only instance where a stamp collector was featured in a stamp with his stamp collection. 


Franklin Roosevelt 
`````````(1882 - 1945)
~~~~~The President who tackled Communism, Fascism and Nazism

Born: January 30, 1882 Hyde Park, New York 
Died: April 12, 1945 (aged 63> Warm Springs, Georgia 
Birth name: Franklin Delano Roosevelt 
Political party: Democratic 
Spouse: Eleanor Roosevelt 
Children: Anna Roosevelt Halsted James Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Jr. (I) Elliott Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Jr. John Aspinwall Roosevelt 

In the 1930'5 there were 2 main problems that affected USA. One was the depression that started in 1929 and other was the uneasy peace thai prevailed in the world after the end of WWI. The President of US at that time Herbert Hoover could not solve these problems. 

In 1932 a democratic party nominated a candidate for presidency Franklin D. Roosevelt who eventually won the presidential election and tackled problems that propelled USA into a world superpower.

Roosevelt was the only president in US history to be elected for four consecutive terms. He won the presidential elections of 1932, 1936, 1940 and 1944. 

Roosevelt came from a prominent family in New York and was related to Thoedore Roosevelt who was a US president himself and the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1906. Therefore the Roosevelt .family was well off and figured prominently in the New York high society. Franklin was educated at home and later attended Colombia University and became a lawyer. He briefly practised law but it was politics that attracted his temperament. He once told his colleagues in the Law firm he worked that he wanted to be the President of USA.

Roosevelt believed that the conflict in Europe that started WWI as well as the threat of Nazi Germany could not be ignored by USA. He said in 1940 "the experience of the past two years has proven beyond doubt that no nation can appease the Nazis. No man can tame a tiger into a kitten by stroking it. There can be no reasoning with an incendiary bomb". On 7th of December, 1941 the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbour and afterwards Roosevelt declared war on Japan. 

After this Roosevelt closely worked with British PM Winston Churchill. Roosevelt during his presidency made the famous remark , "we have nothing to fear except fear itself". 

Roosevelt's alliance with Churchill and Stalin was the decisive factor that shaped the end of WWII, bringing defeat to the axis powers of Germany, Italy and Japan. When the end of the War was near, Roosevelt was instrumental in proposing the Atlantic Charter , which later became the corner stone of The United Nations. 

It was not only the conflicts in Europe that challenged Roosevelt as the great depression was affecting the US economy as well. He came up with ideas known as the "New Deal", which included devaluing the dollar and established benefits for the unemployed. Success of these measures bought support of the average Americans for Roosevelt, whom they thought helped them during these troubled times.

Roosevelt's wife Elanore was also a prominent social worker as well. The couple tied the knot in 1905. It should be also noted that Roosevelt was also struck with polio in 1921 which limited movement of his legs for the rest of his life. This however did not dampen his spirits or his enthusiasm for politics. 

Roosevelt suddenlly died in 1945 and was succeeded by Vice President Harry Truman. 

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Sir Winston Churchill

It's fact,
Winston Churchill had other members of parliament arguing with him,specially Lady Nancy Astor,one of the first women MPs in Britain. He once told her that having a woman in Parliament was like having one intrude on him in the bathroom, to which she retorted, "You're not handsome enough to have such fears". Another time when Lady Astor was giving a costume ball, Churchill asked her what disguise she would recommend for him. She replied, "Why don't you come sober, Prime Minister?" The most famous of all such anecdotes occurred when Lady Astor said to Churchill, "If you were my husband, I'd poison your tea." To which he responded, "Madam, if you were my wife, I'd drink it!" However, the most famous of all exchanges between Churchill and Lady Astor is this one: Lady Astor: "Mr. Churchill, you are drunk!" Winston Churchill: "Yes, and you, Madam, are ugly but tomorrow I shall be sober and you will still be ugly."

Sir Winston Churchill
`````````````````(1874-1965)
~~~~~~~~~~The War time Leader of Great Britain

Sir Winston Spencer Leonard Churchill
Born: 30 November 1874 Blenheim, Oxfordshire, England
Died: 24 January 1965 (aged 90) Hyde Park, London, England
Resting place: St Martin's Church, Bladon
Nationality: British
Political party: Conservative (1900-1904, 1924-1964), Liberal (1904-1924)
Spouse: Clementine Churchill
Children: Diana Churchill, Randolph Churchill Sarah Tuchet-Jesson, Marigold Churchill, Mary Soames
Residence: Chartwell
Profession: Member of Parliament/soldier/ writer/historian
Religion: Anglican


Famous quotes by Winston Churchill
1. "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity, an optimist sees the oportunity in every difficulty".
2. "Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm."
3. "There are a terrible lot of lies going about the world, and the worst of it is that half of them are true".
4. "Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak: courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen". •


Second World War saw the emergence of Germany as a rejuvenated world power under the guidance of Adolf Hitler. And Great Britain had the task of almost single handedly to resist Germany in the initial stages of the War. The British politician who took on this endeavour to fight against Germany at that time was the first Lord of the Admiralty, Sir Winston Churchill

Winston Churchill was one of the greatest Prime Ministers of Great Britain. He was also a brilliant orator, writer, historian and a painter who came from a very influential family. He received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1953, a rare achievement for a politician. He is credited with the famous saying "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat" among others.

Being a brilliant orator he roused the feelings of the British public and inspired them to resist Germany during the World War. It is notable that he later coined the term "Iron Curtain" to denote the division between Eastern and Western Europe on the grounds of political affiliations of the European nations.

The Right Honorable Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill was born on November 30th 1874 at Blenheim Castle. His father was Lord Randolph Churchill and his mother was an American Jennie Jerome. In 1888 Winston entered Harrow School but never made the upper school and later graduated from Royal Military College at Sandhurst. Later he served as military observer with the Spanish forces in Cuba.

In 1897 he served in the Indian Army in the Malakand expedition, and in 1899 went to South Africa as a war corre-spondent for the London Morning Post to report on Boer war. He was later captured and taken to prison camp in Pretoria . He later made a dramatic escape which made him world famous.

On January 23rd ,1901 Churchill became a Member of Parliament of Oldham (Lan-cashir e) under the Conservative Party ticket. In 1908 to 1910 he served as a president of the Board of Trade and served as the Home Secretary from 1910 to 1911. At the outbreak of the Second World War he was appointed first Lord of the Admiraltya post he held earlier from 1911 to 1915. Thus Churchill with Lord Beaverbrook were the only two people to be members of cabinet of UK during both world wars.

On May 10th ,1940 Winston Churchill became Prime Minister and Minister of Defense of GB and spearheaded Britain's war against Germany . He again became the Prime Minister in 1951 and resigned in 1955. However he remaind a MP until the general election of 1964, when he did not seek reelection.

Churchill's literary career began with campaign reports: the story of the Malakand Field Force (1898) and the River War (1899). In 1910 he published his only novel Savrola which strangely anticipated later developments in history. Later he published biography of his father Lord Randolph Churchill and his great ancestor the Duke of Marlborough. Churchill's
"History of the First World War" which appeared in four volumes under the title of The World Crisis (1923-1929). And his memoirs on the Second World War ran to six volumes (1948-1954). He later wrote his History of the English Speaking Peoples (1956-1958). His brilliant speeches are recorded in the Unrelenting Struggle (1942), the Dawn of liberation (1945) and Victory (1946).

In 1.908 Winston Churchill married Clementine Hozier anc had one son and four daughters. It was later revealed by Churchill that the act of courting and marrying ClementinE was one of his greatest achievements. On April 9th 1963 hE received by a special Act of the US Congress, the unprece. dented honor of being made an honorary American citizen by President Kennedy.

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