Born: March 25, 1347, Siena, TuscanyDied: April 29, 1380, Rome; canonized 1461;feast day April 29Saint Catherine of Siena was a Dominican nun mystic and Doctor of the Church, who played a significant role in the public affairs of her day.Originally named Caterina Benincasa, she was born in Siena, Italy, on March 25, 1347, to a […]

Born: c. 1303, SwedenDied: July 23, 1373, Rome [Italy]; canonized Oct 8, 1391; feast day July 23, formerly October 8Bridget was the patron saint of Sweden, founder of the Brigittine Order, and a mystic whose revelations were influential during the European Middle Ages.The daughter of Birger Persson, governor of Uppland, she had from an early

Born: Jan 7, 1844, Lourdes, FranceDied: April 16, 1879, Nevers; canonized Dec 8, 1933;feast day April 16, but sometimes February 18 in France Bernadette was Miller’s daughter whose visions led to the founding of the shrine of Lourdes.Frail in health, Bernadette was the eldest of nine children from a poverty-stricken family. She contracted cholera in

Born: Feb 15, 1820, Adams, Massachusetts, U.S.Died: March 13, 1906, Rochester, New York Susan B(rownell) Anthony was an outstanding American reformer, who led the struggle to gain the vote for women. She devoted 50 years to overcoming the nation’s resistance to woman suffrage, but died before the 19th Amendment was finally ratified.Anthony was born on

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