Bob Geldof   Ireland : Humanist and social worker Born : 1954 Bob Geldof shall ever be remembered for his humanism and desire to help the needy. There is a controversy regarding his date of birth. It is now generally accepted that he was born on October 5, 1954. His father was a vendor of clothes in Ireland. He lost his mother at an early age. Bob did not show much...

John Dryden   England : A great poet Barn : 1631        Died : 1700 John Dryden was one of the greatest English poets. He was one of the prominent writers of seventeenth century and the latter part of that century is called ‘the age of Dryden’. Dryden was born in Northamptonshire on August 9, 1631. He had his early education at Westminster school and then graduated from Cambridge University in...

Dante   Italy : Writer of immortal fame Born : 1265        Died : 1321   This prolific writer, who is considered equal in rank to such literary ‘giants as Goethe, Virgil, Shakespeare, Kalidas and Homers played a key role in the enrichment of Italian language and literature. Dante was born in Florence (Italy) in AD 1265. Dante studied Latin, Greek, science, music, philosophy and grammar. He once fought in a...

Goethe   Germany : Pillar of German literature and culture Born : 1749        Died : 1832 Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe, the towering pillar of German language and literature, was a committed writer besides orienting himself to be an artist, scientist and philosopher. Goethe’s life and thoughts were influenced by French, English and Sanskrit literature as also Greek and Roman civilizations. His philosophy was direct outcome of all these influences and...

James Hadley Chaise   Britain : Popular detective writer Born : 1906                 Died : 1985 James Hadley Chaise remains a very popular novelist amongst the young people for his romantic and detective novels. He was rather succeeded in capturing their imagination and created for himself a committed band of readers. His popularity can be gauged from by the fact that twenty million copies of his novels have been sold all...

Dalai Lama   Tibet : Spiritual Head Born : 1935 Dalai Lama has been the traditional spiritual and religious ruler of Tibet which is considered as the roof of the world. Tibetans are basically Buddhists with a penchant for peace and steeped in religion. The present Dalai Lama is the fourteenth spiritual head in the series of Lamas who held this position. His real name is Tenjin Gyatso. He was born...

Maria Montessori    Italy : Founder of a new educational system Born : 1870        Died : 1952 You must have come across Montessori schools for small children. They carry the name of Dr. Maria Montessori, who propounded a new and innovative method for teaching children. She believed that education should be such that it is attractive as well as interesting for child aspirants. In this method, the children are allowed...

Andrey D. Sakharov   Soviet Union: Critic of Soviet system Born : 1921 Died : 1989 Sakharov was a top scientist in the Soviet Union who made significant 13 contributions to Physics and Space Science. He is the inventor of Hydrogen Bomb that placed Russia in a strong position vis-a-vis western powers. Andrey D. Sakharov was born in Moscow on May 21, 1921. His father was in the army and his...