Born: 614, Mecca, Arabia [now in Saudi Arabia]Died: July 678, Medina‘A’ ishah was the third and most favoured wife of the Prophet Muhammad (the founder of Islam), who played a role of some political importance after the Prophet’s death.All Muhammad’s marriages had political motivations, and in this case the intention seems to have cemented ties […]
Born: Sept 6, 1860, Cedarville, Illinois, U.S.Died: May 21, 1935, Chicago, Illinois Jane Addams was American social reformer and Nobel laureate, born in Cedarville, Illinois, and educated at Rockford Female Seminary and Women’s Medical College and in Europe. In 1889, with Ellen Starr, Addams established Hull House in Chicago, one of the first settlement houses
Born: January 20, 1910, Troppau, Silesia, Austria-Hungary [now Opava, Czech Republic] Died: January 3, 1980, Shaba National Reserve, Kenya Born: 1906, IndiaDied: August 20, 1989, Kora, KenyaJoy and George were wife-and-husband conservationists who pioneered the movement to preserve African wildlife.Following education in Vienna and two divorces, Joy Gessner relocated to Kenya (1939), where she married
Born: May 4, 1904, Tummay al-Zahayrah, EgyptDied: February 3, 1975, Cairo Umm Kulthum was a Egyptian singer, known for her powerful voice and for her ability to use melody and improvisation to bring out the meaning and mood of her lyrics. Umm Kulthum promoted traditional Arab music and became one of the most famous Arab
Born: Dec 27, 1901, Berlin, GermanyDied: May 6, 1992, Paris, France Marlene Dietrich was an American actor and singer of German descent. She was born Maria Magdalene Dietrich Von Losch in Berlin, and trained for the stage at the school of the noted theatrical director Max Reinhardt. During the 1920s she became an important performer
Born: May 26, 1877, or May 27, 1878,San Francisco, California, U.S.Died: September 14, 1927, Nice, France Isadora Duncan was an American dancer, whose creation of an expressive dance style, based on her vision of the dances of the ancient Greeks, laid the groundwork for the modern dance movement of the 20th century.Born Dora Angela Duncan
Born: June 1, 1926, Los Angeles, California, U.S.Died: Aug 5, 1962, Los Angeles Marilyn Monroe was an American motion-picture actor, who became the most famous international sex symbol of the 20th century. Born Norma Jean Mortenson in Los Angeles, the daughter of an emotionally unstable mother, she spent a troubled childhood in foster homes and
Born: August 16, 1958, Bay City, Michigan, U.S. Madonna is an American pop singer and actor, one of the biggest stars of the 1980s and 1990s. Born Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone in Bay City, Michigan, she started acting and dancing when she was a child. She won a dance scholarship to the University of Michigan
Born: January 29, 1954, Kosciusko, Mississippi, U.S. Oprah Winfrey is an American talk-show host and actor, whose nationally syndicated programme became one of the most popular on television. A major factor in the success of the show is Winfrey’s ability to connect emotionally with her guests.Born in Kosciusko, Mississippi, to unmarried parents who separated after
Born: September 20, 1934, Rome, Italy Sophia Loren is an Italian motion-picture actor, who progressed from international sex symbol to Academy Award-winning actress. Born in Rome, Loren was a beauty contest winner and was discovered at the age of 15 by movie producer Carlo Ponti, who later became her husband. She became a star by
Born: May 12, 1907, Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.Died: June 29, 2003, Old Saybrook, Connecticut Katharine Hepburn was an American actor, winner of four Academy Awards for the best actress, noted for her unique combination of patrician beauty and spunky earthiness. Born in Hartford, Connecticut, she was educated at Bryn Mawr College. She scored notable success on
Born: September 18, 1905, Stockholm, SwedenDied: April 15, 1990, New York, U.S. Greta Garbo was a Swedish-American motion-picture actor, noted for her beauty and her reticence, who became a virtual recluse while still at the height of her popularity. Born Greta Gustaffson in Stockholm, she was educated at the Royal Dramatic Theater’s school of acting.
Born: April 5, 1908, Lowell, Massachusetts, U.S.Died: Oct. 6, 1989, Neuilly-sur-Seine, France Bette Davis was an American motion-picture actor, renowned for the intensity and controlled flamboyance of her acting and for her vivid portrayals of eccentric heroines and diabolical schemers. Born Ruth Elizabeth Davis in Lowell, Massachusetts, she decided in high school to become an
Born: Aug. 6, 1911, Celoron, near Jamestown, New York, U.S.Died: April 26, 1989, Los Angeles, California Lucille Ball was an American motion-picture and television actor and comedian, famous for portraying the character Lucy Ricardo in the popular television programme “I Love Lucy” (1951-1957). Born Lucille Desiree Ball in Celeron, New York, she began acting at
Born: c. 978, , Constantinople [now Istanbul, Turkey]Died: 1050, ConstantinopleZoe was a Byzantine empress, by marriage from 1028 and in her own right from 1042.The daughter of the emperor Constantine VIII, Zoe was married to the heir presumptive, Romanus III Argyrus, in 1028 and became empress consort upon his elevation to the throne the same