221 Influential People Around The World

Thomas Alva Edison was born on the 11th of February 1847, in Ohio, U.S.A., and passed away on the 18th of October 1931. Do you know that Edison was only 22 when he received his first patent, which was on a machine that could record votes on bills? He proudly holds 1,093 patents to his […]

Alexander Graham Bell was born on the 3rd of March 1847 in Edinburgh, Scotland, and passed away on the 2nd of August 1922. Do you know that Bell won his patent for the telephone only because he filed his claim a few hours before Elisha Grey who was also to submit a claim for the

Samuel Langhorne Clemens, popularly known by his pen-name as Mark Twain, was born on the 30th of November 1835 in Florida, Missouri, U.S., and passed away on the 21st of April 1910. Do you know that while Mark Twain was a gifted writer, he was a terrible businessman, who had sunk a lot of his

Alfred Bernhard Nobel was born on the 21st of October 1833 in Stockholm, Sweden, and passed away on 10th December, 1896. Do you know that Alfred Nobel has a synthetic element named after him? It is known as Nobelium. Alfred Nobel was a well-known chemist, innovator and arms manufacturer. Having the honour and distinction of

Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy, popularly known as Leo Tolstoy, was born on the 9th of September 1828 in the Russian Empire and passed away on 20th November, 1910. Do you know that Tolstoy gave away most of his wealth in charity? He earned a lot of money through his writings, most of which he gave

Louis Pasteur was born on the 27th of December 1822 in Dole, France and passed away on 28th September, 1895. Do you know that it was Pasteur’s ideas on how micro-organisms can spread diseases that lead to the boiling of surgical instruments before operations? Thus it can avoid many unnecessary deaths. A micro-biologist and French

Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky was born on the 11th of November 1821 in Moscow, Russian Empire, and passed away on the 9th of February 1881. Do you know that initially, Dostoyevsky had studied to become a military engineer, but decided to become a writer upon graduating? A Russian novelist, Dostoyevsky was a philosopher and writer who

Florence Nightingale was born on the 12th of May 1820 in Florence, Tuscany, and passed away on 13th August, 1910. Do you know that because of her valued contributions to the field of nursing, International Nurses Day is celebrated on her birthday? The founder of modern school of nursing, Nightingale was not only a social

A German philosopher, Karl Marx was born on the 5th of May 1818 in Kingdom of Prussia, German Confederation, and passed away on the 14th of March 1883. Do you know that Karl Marx’s most famous work, ‘The Communist Manifesto’, was completed in just 6 weeks? A revolutionary socialist, philosopher and economist, Karl Marx developed

Charles John Huffman Dickens was born on the 7th of February 1812 in Hampshire, England, and passed away on the 9th of June 1870. Do you know that in his house, Charles Dickens had a secret room, which could only be entered through a book case that held fake books? An English writer and critic,

Frederic Francois Chopin was born between 22nd February and 1st of March 1810 in Zelezowa Wola, west of Warsaw, and passed away on 17th October, 1849. Do you know that by the age of 8 years, Chopin was performing publicly and even composing several piano pieces? A Polish composer and expert pianist, Chopin enjoyed writing

Abraham Lincoln, also known as Abe Lincoln, was born on the 12th of February 1809 in Hardin County, Kentucky, and passed away on the 15th of April 1865. Do you know that Lincoln was a man of many talents? Not only was he the President to have a patent to his name, he was also

Charles Robert Darwin was born in Shrewsbury, England, on the 12th of February 1809 and passed away on the 19th of April 1882. Do you know that Darwin had embarked on a 5-year survey voyage around the globe on the HMS Beagle that eventually led to the development of the theory of evolution? A naturalist

Ludvig van Beethoven, popularly known simply as Beethoven, was born on the 17th of December 1770 in Belgium and passed away on the 26th of March 1827. Do you know that in spite of being a great composer, Beethoven could not add or multiply as a result of having quit formal education at the age

Napoleon Bonaparte, also known as Napoleon-I, was born on the 15th of August 1769 in Ajaccio, Corsica, and passed away on the 5th of May 1821. Do you know that it was during his military campaign in Egypt, in 1799, that the Rosetta stone was discovered, which provided the key to crack ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics,