Anne Besant   India : The founder of Home-Rule League Born : AD 1847           Died: AD 1933   Among the successful women of the world, Anne Besant tops the list. She was so influenced by the Indian religion, philosophy and spirituality that she identified herself fully with India and became an inveterate Indian. Her contribution to India’s freedom struggle was also remarkable. She founded the Home-Rule League with support and...

Madan Lal Dhingra   India : A Fearless Young Revolutionary Born AD 1887             Died : AD 1909 Madan Lal Dhingra will always be recalled as one of those fearless young revolutionaries who jumped into the fight for freedom without ever looking back at life, family and parents. Madan Lal will remain immortal as a young rebel who wrecked vengeance on the English oppressors in their own country. He avenged their...

Vasudev Balvant Phadke   India : A Fire-Brand Revolutionary Born : AD 1845          Died : AD 1883 Vasudev Balvant Phadke was born in a Brahmin family of Ratnagiri (Maharashtra) on 4 November, 1845. Contact with nationalist leaders like Mahadev Govind Ranade and others influenced him in his early days to fight for the cause of freedom. But soon, he was attracted towards militancy. He was fired by revolutionary zeal and...

Surendra Nath Bannerjee   India : Founder-member of INC Born : AD 1848             Died : AD 1925 Surendra Nath Bannerjee is one of those national leaders who played a leading role in the establishment of the Indian National Congress. He held extremist views and was considered a militant till Lokmanya Tilak’s arrival on the scene. In the beginning, he was assigned the task of liaison with...

Ferozeshah Mehta   India : Liberal Freedom Fighter Born : AD 1845                    Died : AD 1915 Ferozeshah Mehta was born in a Parsi family of Bombay, Maharashtra on August 4, 1845. After graduating in 1864, he went to England to study law. He rammed home in 1868 after getting his Bar-at-Law in 1867, but soon after joined the freedom struggle instead of continuing with Law. A representative of the liberals,...

Alla-Uddin Khan   India : Classical Music Maestro Born : AD 1869           Died : AD 1972 Ustad Alla-Uddin Khan holds an important place among the classical music maestros of India. He had an inclination towards music since his childhood. He was taught by Nanu Gopal, Nandlal and Vazir Khan. The Raja of Mehar, a connoisseur of music, made him his guru. On 19 October 1958, he was awarded ‘Padma Bhushan’...

Sarah Berndhart  France : Famous Actress Born : AD 1844          Died : AD 1923 Many great actresses of the world have made history and Sarah Berndhart was one of them. For 50 years, she dominated the field of acting. Although her first performance was remarkable for its high quality of acting, yet she kept on improving with every performance till the end. Her work never sagged. Sarah was born in...

Benjamin Disreali   England : British Statesman Born : AD 1804          Died : AD 1881 When a slim and young Jew, British Member of Parliament rose to make his first speech, he was jeered at by the members. The 32- year old MP sat down saying, “I will sit down today but the time will come when you will be listening to me attentively”, and that time did come when...