Buddha

(MS.Encarta) - Siddhartha Gautama, the man who became known as Buddha, could have led a comfortable, carefree life. But he devoted himself to a search for truth and understanding so that he could help end the suffering of other people.

Late in life, Gautama was given the name Buddha, which means “enlightened one.” Buddha was considered enlightened because he had gained understanding of spiritual matters. His teachings form the basis of Buddhism, one of the world's major religions.

BORN TO A FAMILY OF WARRIORS

Buddha was born around 563 bc in Nepal. His family were nobles and warriors. They wanted him to be a warrior, too. But from childhood, Buddha was quiet and thoughtful. He did not like the privileged life at his father’s palace. He found it dull. So he began to wander around the countryside, thinking deeply about the right way to live.

BUDDHA SEES SUFFERING

One day, around 533 bc, Buddha came across three men. The first was old, the second was sick, and the third was dead. Looking at them, Buddha saw that the world was full of suffering. Why was this, he wondered. Could it ever end?

Then Buddha met a fourth man: a Hindu monk who lived by begging. The monk was calm and serene, so Buddha decided to try living like him. Buddha traveled through India, studying with Hindu teachers. But their religious ideas did not satisfy him.

THE GREAT ENLIGHTENMENT

Buddha also spent time alone, thinking and meditating. In 528 bc, he was sitting under a tree when he suddenly felt he understood suffering. It was caused by people themselves! If they lived better lives, it would end. Buddha said that everyone should try to be humble, generous, and merciful. People should give up violence and practice self-control.

Buddha spent the rest of his life teaching and preaching. Many people followed him. Some became monks and nuns. Others used his ideas to guide their everyday lives. A new religion called Buddhism grew and spread to many parts of the world.

Buddha died in Nepal at about the age of 80. Today, he is still honored by millions of people in many lands.
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Jesus Christ

(MS.Encarta) - The teachings of Jesus inspired one of the world’s major religions — Christianity. Jesus’ followers, known as Christians, gave him the title of Christ, which means “savior.” They believe Jesus Christ was the Son of God, who came to save humanity from sin.

The story of Jesus’ life and his teachings was written down in four books called the Gospels.

Gospel means “good news,” the good news that Jesus brought. The Gospels were written soon after the death of Jesus. They form part of the New Testament of the Bible.

SON OF MARY

Jesus was born between 8 bc and 4 bc, in Bethlehem in the Roman territory of Judea. His family was Jewish. The Gospels say that an angel told Mary, the mother of Jesus, that she would have God’s son. The Gospels also report that shepherds and wise men came to worship the baby Jesus, as Mary sheltered him in a stable.

THE KINGDOM OF GOD

Jesus lived quietly until he was 30 years old. Then, about ad 27, he left home to be a preacher. Large crowds gathered to hear his words. The Gospels say he performed many miracles.

Jesus taught that the Kingdom of God was coming. He warned everyone to get ready. He told them to be kind to their neighbors, care for the poor and for weak and hungry people, and live pure, holy lives. He said good behavior like this was more important for entering the Kingdom of God than obeying old, Jewish religious laws.

Jesus had many devoted followers. They hailed him as the Messiah, or Christ, who was predicted by Jewish prophets. These prophets had said that a Messiah chosen by God would bring peace and justice to the world.

DEATH AND RESURRECTION

The teachings of Jesus alarmed Jewish leaders. They feared that Jesus would lead people to ignore Jewish laws. They were also afraid that his teachings would land them in trouble with the Roman rulers. Jesus was arrested and sentenced to death for the religious crime of claiming to be the Son of God and King of the Jews.

Jesus was crucified (killed on a cross) around ad 29. But three days later, his followers said they had seen him. Soon afterward, they reported that Jesus had appeared again and had told them to spread his teachings around the world. Jesus’ rising from the dead is known as the Resurrection. The Resurrection gives Christians hope in life after death. According to the Bible, Jesus rose to heaven 40 days after the Resurrection.
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Muhammad

(MS.Encarta) - The prophet Muhammad was a man with a mission—to tell people about God. His teachings founded a new religion, Islam. The followers of Muhammad and Islam are called Muslims. Today, Islam is one of the world's largest religions, with almost 1 billion followers.

THE TRUSTED ONE

Muhammad was born about ad 570 in Mecca, a trading center in Arabia (now Saudi Arabia). Because he was thoughtful and serious by nature, he was called al-Amin. This means “the trusted one” in the Arabic language. Muhammad worked as a merchant, traveling long distances to trade.

THE PROPHET

On his travels, Muhammad met people from many faiths and discussed religious ideas with them. He also took time away from busy, noisy Mecca, to pray and meditate (think deeply) in a cave. While he was there, he experienced religious visions, or revelations. He came to believe he had been chosen as a prophet to preach God’s message to the world.

ONE GOD

Muhammad spoke to the people of Mecca. He told them to destroy their old idols and worship Allah, the one true God. He said God was all-powerful, but loving and merciful. He said that God had sent earlier prophets, such as Moses and Jesus, but that now there wouldn’t be any more.

Muhammad’s preaching won converts but also made enemies. In ad 622 he fled from Mecca to a distant city, Medina, and set up a Muslim community there. After years of fighting, the Muslims from Medina conquered Mecca. Its citizens became Muslims. Quickly, Islam spread through Arabia and beyond.

THE MUSLIM WAY OF LIFE

Muhammad taught Muslims to pray five times a day, give to charity, fast during the month of Ramadan, and go on pilgrimages to Mecca. He told them that all Muslims were equal, whatever their race, class, or color. He said they should live at peace with Jews and Christians because they worshiped the same God.

Muhammad died in ad 632. To guide believers, his revelations were written down in the Qur’an. Muslims believe it is the word of God. Muhammad’s own words were treasured as Hadith (“sayings”), and his way of life was honored as Sunna (“good example”).
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Napoleon

(MS.Encarta) - The French called Napoleon Bonaparte “a man of destiny.” A hero in France, Napoleon was hated elsewhere in Europe. Today, Napoleon is remembered as one of the greatest military leaders of all time. He built an empire that covered much of Europe.

ARMY CAREER

Napoleon Bonaparte was born in 1769 on Corsica, an island in the Mediterranean Sea. At the age of 16, Napoleon chose a career in the French army.

THE FRENCH REVOLUTION

In 1789, a revolution began that rocked France. The king and queen were executed. Hungry working people demanded new freedoms. Revolutionary governments in France swept away old laws. They declared war on supporters of the former king. The French Revolution lasted until 1799.

RISING STAR

Napoleon first showed his military skill fighting for the French Revolution. In 1794, he captured the French city of Toulon, which supported rule by royalty. For this success, Napoleon was made a general at the age of 24. In 1795, Napoleon saved the revolutionary government from rioters in Paris, the capital.

From 1796 to 1797, Napoleon commanded the French army on the Italian-French border. While there, he managed to defeat bigger armies from Austria, France’s chief enemy of the day. Napoleon went on to invade Egypt in 1798. Napoleon’s victories enlarged France’s territory.

NAPOLEON RULES FRANCE

Napoleon returned to France as a hero. The French people had lost confidence in the revolutionary government. So Napoleon decided to seize control. In November 1799, Napoleon set up a new government with himself as leader.

Could Napoleon lead his country as well as he could command an army? At first, he was a great success.

Napoleon reorganized national and local government. He made new laws that upheld religious freedom and other rights of the people. He introduced fairer taxes and a new education system. From 1800 to 1802, he forced European countries that had joined together against France to agree to make peace.

In 1804, Napoleon crowned himself emperor of France as Napoleon I. He paid top artists to portray him in proud, powerful poses.

WARS OF CONQUEST

France was now the strongest nation in Europe. But Napoleon wasn’t satisfied. Ruthless, restless, and always seeking glory, he dreamed of a mighty empire. Britain, Russia, Austria, and Prussia (north Germany) united to fight him.

In 1805, Britain defeated France’s ships off the southern coast of Spain in the famous Battle of Trafalgar. But by 1807, Napoleon had smashed Russian and Prussian armies and won more land for France.

DEFEAT AND EXILE

In 1808, Napoleon invaded Spain. Spanish fighters put up a fierce resistance. They used guerrilla tactics (surprise attacks and rapid retreats), making it impossible for Napoleon to win.

Worse was to come. In 1811, Napoleon led 600,000 soldiers to invade Russia. Through bitter winter weather, they marched to Moscow, Russia’s capital. But they found themselves stranded. The Russians had set fire to much of the city, destroying food and shelter needed by Napoleon’s troops. Napoleon had to retreat. Over half his men died.

Soon after this loss, Napoleon suffered another defeat at Leipzig, Germany. The countries allied against France forced Napoleon to step down. He was sent into exile on the Mediterranean island of Elba, near Italy, in 1813.

FINAL DEFEAT AT WATERLOO

Napoleon was not a man to give in. In 1815, he escaped from Elba and dashed back to Paris. There, he was greeted by cheering crowds. Napoleon gathered an army and marched north into Belgium to face enemy forces.

The campaign in Belgium ended in disaster. Napoleon’s outnumbered troops met a crushing defeat in the Battle of Waterloo, one of history’s most famous battles.

AFTER WATERLOO

Napoleon spent his last years as a prisoner on the island of Saint Helena in the Atlantic Ocean. He died in 1821. But Napoleon’s influence on France has lasted long after his death. Many of his reforms in law, government, and education still govern French life today.
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Osama bin Laden

(MS.Encarta) - Osama bin Laden inherited great wealth from his family. A follower of the religion of Islam, bin Laden used his fortune to wage war against countries he saw as enemies of the Islamic religion.

EARLY LIFE

Osama bin Laden was born in Saudi Arabia, a country in the Middle East. His father owned a big construction company. Like most other Saudi Arabians, the bin Ladens were followers of Islam. People who follow Islam are called Muslims.

Young Osama embraced a special view of Islam. He accepted fundamentalist teachings. He believed that Muslims should live as they did when Islam began 14 centuries ago.

WHAT DID BIN LADEN WANT?

Bin Laden wanted to fight those who he saw as enemies of Muslims. In 1979, he got his chance. A communist country, the Soviet Union, invaded Afghanistan, a Muslim country. Bin Laden went to Afghanistan to fight the Soviets.

In 1988, while in Afghanistan, bin Laden founded a group called al-Qaeda. (Al-Qaeda is an Arabic phrase that means “the Base”.) Bin Laden wanted al-Qaeda to lead a jihad (holy war) against all nations that he considered to be against Islam.

In 1989, the Soviets left Afghanistan. Bin Laden returned to live in Saudi Arabia. Then in 1991, the United States led a war against the Muslim country of Iraq. During that war, the United States based troops in Saudi Arabia. Now bin Laden declared that the United States was the main enemy of Islam.

BIN LADEN AND TERRORISM

In 1992, bin Laden moved to Sudan, an African country ruled by Muslims. From there, he began to direct terrorist attacks by al-Qaeda. In a terrorist attack, individuals or small groups hurt or kill ordinary people. They do this to create fear among their enemies.

Bin Laden was accused of planning several big terrorist attacks over the next eight years. In 1993, a bomb damaged the World Trade Center in New York City. In 1996, terrorists blew up an apartment building in Saudi Arabia, where many Americans lived. In 1998, two U.S. embassies in Africa were bombed, killing hundreds of people. In 2000, an attack on the U.S. Navy ship Cole killed 17 sailors.

TERRORIST ATTACKS ON AMERICAN SOIL

Then came al-Qaeda’s biggest terrorist attack of all. On September 11, 2001, a group of men hijacked four airplanes. They flew two of them into the twin towers of the World Trade Center. Another airplane crashed into the Pentagon near Washington, D.C. Another crashed in Pennsylvania. The attacks killed about 3,000 people.

The United States struck back by bombing Afghanistan. That’s where bin Laden was hiding as a guest of the country’s ruling group. The bombing forced this group, the Taliban, to flee. But bin Laden was not found.
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Queen Elizabeth I

(MS.Encảta) - Elizabeth’s parents were disappointed when she was born. They desperately wanted a son. But Elizabeth eventually became one of England’s greatest rulers.

ELIZABETH’S YOUTH

Elizabeth Tudor was born in 1533. Her father, King Henry VIII of England, had Elizabeth’s mother beheaded so he could marry again. He wanted to have a son to be king after him.

Young Elizabeth was smart and stubborn. She studied history, learned to speak several languages, and loved music and dancing. In 1547, King Henry died. Elizabeth’s younger brother, Edward, became king. Edward only lived for a few years after he took the throne. Elizabeth’s older sister, Mary, became queen when he died, but she also lived only a few more years. When Mary died in 1558, Elizabeth was crowned queen.

She faced a very difficult situation. Protestants and Roman Catholics were fighting over religion. Harvests failed, and food was expensive. Poor people roamed the countryside, stealing food. France and Spain, the two strongest countries in Europe, were enemies of England. Mary Stuart, queen of neighboring Scotland, dreamed of ruling England as well.

A GOOD RULER

Most men thought that because Elizabeth was a woman, she was not fit to rule. But she proved them wrong! She chose wise advisers to help her rule, and persuaded Parliament (England’s lawmakers) to support her plans. She set up a new Church of England that pleased most of her people. She gave more power to local governments in towns and counties. She made England richer by encouraging exploration and trade with other countries. William Shakespeare and many other writers and artists produced great works during her reign.

Elizabeth was very successful at protecting England against enemies. She showed great courage in 1588, when Spain sent an armada (fleet of warships) to attack. The armada was wiped out by the English navy. Many princes and even kings asked Elizabeth to marry them so that they could become king of England. Elizabeth refused to marry so that England would not have a foreign king.

By the time Elizabeth died in 1603, England had been transformed. It was strong, proud, and successful. Looking back, people said that the time Elizabeth ruled was a golden age. They fondly called her Good Queen Bess.
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Kofi Annan

(MS.Encarta) - Annan, Kofi (1938- ), secretary general of the United Nations (UN), born in Ghana and educated in the United States. The first UN secretary general from sub-Saharan Africa, Annan began serving his first five-year term in 1997. In 2001 the UN General Assembly unanimously elected him to a second term, beginning in 2002. Annan shared the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of his accomplishments as UN secretary general.

Annan was born in Kumasi, Ghana. In 1961 he received a bachelor’s degree in economics from Macalester College in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

After ten years of service with the UN, he attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he received a master’s degree in management in 1972.

Annan joined the UN in 1962 as a budget officer with the UN’s World Health Organization (WHO). He later managed budgetary and personnel operations for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Office of Financial Services.

Between 1987 and 1992, Annan served as an assistant secretary general in a variety of posts, including the Office of Human Resources Management and Security Coordination and the Office of Program Planning, Budget, and Finance. From 1992 until his election as UN secretary general, Annan served as assistant secretary general and under secretary general for UN peacekeeping operations.

Annan assumed responsibility for UN peacekeeping operations in a period when localized conflicts, fueled by nationalism and tension between ethnic groups, had flared up in many parts of the world. During the early and mid-1990s, the UN organized an increasing number of peacekeeping operations in nations such as Cambodia, Haiti, and Bosnia.

The major challenge Annan faced was to secure funding for these operations in a period of diminished international financial and political support for the activities of the UN, particularly from the United States.

Between 1990 and 1996, the United States held back more than a billion dollars in dues owed to the UN to emphasize the need for bureaucratic and financial reform within the organization.

In 1996 the United States blocked the reelection of former secretary general Boutros Boutros-Ghali, whom many U.S. government officials believed was hostile to reform of the UN. With more than three decades of service to the UN, Annan became the first career UN official to be elected secretary general.

As secretary general, Annan reorganized the management of the UN in order to increase efficiency and reduce costs, and he improved the organization’s relationship with the United States. He has rededicated the UN to its traditional goals of economic development, social justice, and international peace. He has placed particular importance on combating the epidemic of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and improving human rights worldwide.
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Vladimir Lenin (1870 - 1924)

(MS.Encarta) - Lenin was one of the leading political figures and revolutionary thinkers of the 20th century, who masterminded the Bolshevik take-over of power in Russia in 1917 and was the architect and first head of the Soviet state.

Vladimir Ilich Ulyanov was born in Simbirsk on the Volga River on 22 April 1870 into a well educated family. He excelled at school and went on to study law. At university, he was exposed to radical thinking, and his views were also influenced by the execution of his elder brother, a member of a revolutionary group.

Expelled from university for his radical policies, Lenin completed his law degree as an external student in 1891. He moved to St Petersburg and became a professional revolutionary. Like many of his contemporaries, he was arrested and exiled to Siberia, where he married Nadezhda Krupskaya.

After his Siberian exile, Lenin - the pseudonym he adopted in 1901 - spent most of the subsequent decade and a half in western Europe, where he emerged as a prominent figure in the international revolutionary movement and became the leader of the 'Bolshevik' faction of the Russian Social Democratic Worker's Party.

In 1917, exhausted by World War One, Russia was ripe for change. Assisted by the Germans, who hoped that he would undermine the Russian war effort, Lenin returned home and started working against the provisional government which had overthrown the tsarist regime. He eventually led what was soon to be known as the October Revolution, but was effectively a coup d'etat. Almost three years of civil war followed.

The Bolsheviks were victorious and assumed total control of the country. During this period of revolution, war and famine, Lenin demonstrated a chilling disregard for the sufferings of his fellow countrymen and mercilessly crushed any opposition.

Although Lenin was ruthless he was also pragmatic. When his efforts to transform the Russian economy to a socialist model stalled, he introduced the New Economic Policy, where a measure of private enterprise was still permitted, a policy that continued for several years after his death. In 1918 Lenin survived an assassination attempt. His long term health was affected, and in 1922 he suffered a stroke from which he never really recovered. In his declining years, he worried about the bureaucratisation of the regime and also expressed concern over the increasing power of Stalin. Lenin died on 24 January 1924. His corpse was embalmed and placed in a mausoleum on Moscow's Red Square.
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Margaret Thatcher

(MS. Encarta) - Styled as 'The Iron Lady' for her tough demeanour, Margaret Thatcher was the first woman to become British Prime Minister and is one of only two Prime Ministers of the 20th Century to have served three consecutive terms. She was elected leader of the Conservative party in 1975, but it wasn't until 1979 that she became Prime Minister (and subsequently won the 1983 and 1987 general elections).

FACT FILE

Margaret Hilda Roberts was born in Grantham, Lincolnshire, in 1925, to a grocer. She read Chemistry at Oxford, and later qualified as a Tax Lawyer.

She entered politics and under Edward Heath (then Prime Minister) was Minister for Education and Science for four years, before successfully challenging him for the leadership of the Conservative Party in 1975 - an event that would be spookily recreated in her own demise.

In 1982 she sent a task force to oust invasionary Argentinian forces from the Falkland Islands. Some attribute the peak of her success to the subsequent victory.

She survived the bombing of the Grand Hotel in Brighton in 1984, which took place during the Conservative Party Conference. IRA terrorists were responsible for the blast in which several people were killed and numerous were injured.

She resigned after a challenge to the party leadership in November, 1990, after failing to achieve a majority, though she clearly won the first round. Many critics at the time made parallels with Edward Heath's resignation.

She remained an MP for another two years, trying to 'pull the reigns' from the back benches before retiring to the House of Lords as Baroness of Keveston. Instead of retiring from the stage, Baroness Thatcher is still waiting in the wings and has garnered a similar reputation as Prince Philip for her ability to say the wrong thing at the wrong time.

OUTRO

Margaret Thatcher went from being one of the most popular Prime Ministers ever to being one of the most loathed. Even though, some would say that in the late '70s her policies laid the groundwork for a massive boom in the British economy, cutting taxes and financing the yuppie generation.

However, under her leadership, many Britain's nationalised industries were sold, coal mining in the UK was destroyed, unemployment more than doubled, the trade unions were broken and Britain was led into its biggest recession since the 1960s.

She also introduced the Poll Tax which led to widespread rioting, particularly in London. Thousands refused to pay it: leading to hundreds, including a few protesting celebrities, being fined or jailed.
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Albert Einstein

(MS. Encarta) - Dents in space, light in bundles, and matter that turns into energy sound like science-fiction fantasies. However, Albert Einstein said they were real. Other scientists proved through observations that Einstein’s theories were right. Einstein revolutionized the science of physics and helped bring in the atomic age.

WHERE DID EINSTEIN GROW UP?

Albert Einstein was born in Ulm, Germany, on March 14, 1879. He grew up in Germany, Italy, and Switzerland. Einstein taught himself geometry when he was 12 years old. School bored him because it required endless memorizing and reciting.

He often skipped classes to study on his own or to play his violin. Yet he graduated from college in 1900 and earned a Ph.D. degree in 1905. From 1902 to 1907, Einstein worked as a clerk in the patent office in Zürich, Switzerland. His job left him plenty of time to think.

WHAT DID EINSTEIN THINK ABOUT?

Einstein thought about the rules that govern the way the world works. For example, he explained why small particles in liquids wiggle around, a movement called Brownian motion. He said that the particles were being bumped into by tiny bits of matter called atoms that are too small to see.

He also thought about light and electricity. Einstein knew that light shining on metal sometimes causes electricity to flow. He explained this result, called the photoelectric effect, by saying that light is made of tiny bundles of energy called photons. Photons hitting the metal knock particles called electrons away. Since electricity is simply moving electrons, he had solved the mystery of the photoelectric effect. In 1921, Einstein won the most famous prize in science, the Nobel Prize, for this work.

Another thing Einstein thought about was time. He said that time does not always flow at the same rate. He proposed that motion affects time. He called this idea the special theory of relativity.

Einstein then came up with his general theory of relativity. This theory has a new explanation for gravity. Einstein said that gravity comes from curves or dents in the fabric of space. Objects make dents in space the way a bowling ball makes a dent in a mattress. The Moon falls into the dent made by Earth and rolls around the Earth. Scientists later proved that the dent a star makes in space-time bends light as the light passes by.

Einstein changed physics by showing that new ideas could come just from thinking. Before Einstein, most new ideas in physics had come from experiments in the laboratory.

EINSTEIN AND ATOMIC ENERGY

Einstein also said that matter and energy are the same thing. He expressed this relation in a famous equation: E=mc2. This equation says that energy (E) equals mass (m) times the speed of light squared (c2). Energy can therefore be changed into matter, and matter into energy. The ability to turn matter into energy led to the development of the atomic bomb and nuclear power.

FAME AND LATER YEARS

Einstein’s theories made him famous, even though few people understood them. He became a university professor and director of a physics institute in Berlin, Germany. After the Nazis rose to power in Germany, Einstein left. In 1933, he came to the United States, where he lived the rest of his life. Einstein died in Princeton, New Jersey, on April 18, 1955.

Einstein’s last great idea was that every force in nature is part of one master force. Physicists are still working on this idea, which they call the theory of everything. Read more

Adolf Hitler

(MS.Ancarta) - Adolf Hitler was a struggling young artist who became a feared dictator. He led his country into a bloody war that killed millions of people.

Hitler rose to power in Germany in the 1930s. He eventually started World War II (1939-1945), a conflict that left Europe in ruins.

HITLER’S CHILDHOOD

Adolf Hitler was born in 1889. He came from a well-to-do family in Austria-Hungary. His father was an important government worker. After his father died, Hitler quit school in the ninth grade. He decided to become an artist but had trouble finding work.100

WORLD WAR I

Hilter volunteered for the German army during World War I (1914-1918) and served the whole war. Germany lost the war, and the country suffered terribly. Many Germans became jobless and poor. The people wanted someone to lead them back to glory again. Hitler wanted to be that person.

RISE TO POWER

After the war, Hitler joined the National German Socialists Workers’ Party. Many people called it the Nazi Party, for short. Hitler was an excellent public speaker. He appealed to German pride by constantly speaking about their racial superiority. This was the idea that one type of people are naturally better than others. He blamed other people, especially Jews, for Germany’s problems. His speeches attracted thousands of people who thought Hitler could be a great leader. The Nazi Party grew rapidly.

Hitler ran for political office in Germany and was elected in 1930. Three years later, in January 1933, Hitler became Germany’s chancellor, which was similar to a president. He immediately passed laws giving himself total power. Soon, Hitler had become a dictator. He controlled Germany’s government completely.

Hitler passed laws to get rid of people he did not like. They included his political enemies and Germans who were disabled or Jewish. Many of these people were sent to large camps, where they were held prisoner. Huge numbers of people were killed.

WORLD WAR II

Hitler also began rebuilding Germany’s military. He wanted a powerful army so he could conquer other countries, and eventually take over the world. He started by declaring Germany's union with the neighboring country of Austria. Then he ordered German troops to occupy all of Czechoslovakia. When Hitler’s army invaded Poland in 1939, Great Britain and France declared war on Germany. World War II had begun.

Germany’s mighty army soon captured France and began bombing England. In 1941, Hitler’s armies also invaded the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), often called Russia. This turned out to be a big mistake because the German army had trouble fighting in several countries at once.

THE HOLOCAUST

Hitler’s soldiers forced tens of thousands of Jews in Poland into small sections of the cities, known as ghettos. The Jews were not given adequate food, and many of them starved to death. Hitler’s army also sent millions of Jews from Germany and other countries to concentration camps. There, many were killed. The deaths of millions of Jews under Hitler is known as the Holocaust. About one-third of the world’s 18 million Jews died in the Holocaust, one of history’s greatest tragedies.

HITLER’S SUICIDE

The United States entered World War II in December 1941. Slowly, Germany began to lose the war. America and its allies launched the D-Day invasion of western Europe on June 6, 1944. They fought their way through France and into Germany in 1945. Facing defeat, Hitler killed himself. His reign of terror was finally over.
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Ho Chi Minh- The Greatest Leader of Vietnam

(MS. Ancarta) - Ho Chi Minh (1890-1969), Vietnamese Communist leader, who was the first president (1945-1969) of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and the principal force behind the Vietnamese struggle against French colonial rule after World War II (1939-1945).

Ho’s childhood name was Nguyen Sinh Cung, but in accordance with Vietnamese custom, he received a new name, Nguyen Tat Thanh, at the age of 10. Ho was born in the village of Kim Liên in Annam, a region that now makes up central Vietnam. At the time, Vietnam was part of a French colony known as the Indochinese Union, or French Indochina, although it remained under the nominal rule of an emperor.

Ho’s father served as an official at the Vietnamese imperial court, but French authorities eventually dismissed him for criticizing French domination of his country. As an adolescent, Ho attended a French-run school in Hue. Expelled for rebellious activities in 1908, he then briefly taught at a private school in Phan Thiet.

In 1911 Ho signed on as a cook for a French steamship liner, and then worked in the United States and London, England. It was while living abroad that Ho evidently became acquainted with the ideas of German political theorist Karl Marx, which form the basis of communism.

Ho settled in Paris in 1917 as World War I (1914-1918) was concluding. There, under the name Nguyen Ai Quoc (Nguyen the Patriot), he attempted to present a petition demanding self-determination for the Vietnamese people to the victorious Allied leaders attending the Paris Peace Conference at Versailles. The petition was ignored. Rebuffed, Ho began to engage in radical activities and became a founding member of the French Communist Party. In 1923 he was summoned to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) for training at the Moscow headquarters of the Communist International (popularly known as Comintern), an organization created by Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin to promote revolution throughout the world.

In late 1924 Ho traveled to the city of Guangzhou (Canton) in southern China, where he organized a revolutionary movement among Vietnamese exiles. He was forced to leave China in 1927 when local authorities cracked down on Communist activities, but he returned to the region in 1930 to found the Indochinese Communist Party (ICP) in Hong Kong. He remained in Hong Kong as a Comintern representative responsible for overseeing the creation of Communist parties throughout Southeast Asia.

In June 1931 British police arrested Ho in Hong Kong during a crackdown on political revolutionaries. After his release from prison in 1932, Ho made his way back to the Soviet Union, where he spent several years in relative obscurity. He was reportedly under suspicion by Soviet leader Joseph Stalin at this time because of his unorthodox views. Contrary to Marxist theory, Ho emphasized national liberation over social revolution, and he believed that rural peasants rather than urban workers were likely to be the driving force behind Asian revolutions.

In 1938 Ho returned to China and served as an adviser to Chinese Communist armed forces during the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945). After Japan occupied Indochina at the beginning of World War II (1939-1945), Ho resumed contact with ICP leaders, and in 1941 returned to Vietnam for the first time in 30 years. There, he helped found a new Communist-dominated independence movement, popularly known as the Viet Minh, which began to fight Japanese military forces inside Indochina.

When Japan surrendered in August 1945, Viet Minh units seized power in northern Vietnam and proclaimed the formation of an independent Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV), with Ho as president. At this time Ho formally adopted the pseudonym Ho Chi Minh, which means “he who enlightens.” But Ho’s hope that his new government would be recognized by the victorious Allied powers was soon dashed. In October, French troops returned to southern Vietnam and drove Viet Minh and other anticolonialist elements out of Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City) and into the countryside. With some reluctance, the United States recognized the restoration of French sovereignty in Indochina, but urged the French government to grant more autonomy to local political forces inside the country. During the next year Ho Chi Minh engaged in delicate negotiations with French representatives to reach a compromise agreement and avoid war. When those talks failed, in December 1946 Viet Minh troops attacked French units stationed in the DRV and the First Indochina War broke out.

For the next eight years, Viet Minh guerrillas fought French troops in the mountains and in the rice paddies of Vietnam. The French occupied the coastal regions and the major cities, while Ho and the Viet Minh sought refuge in the mountains north of the Red River Delta. Assisted by Ho’s rising popularity as a resistance leader, the Viet Minh won wide popular support from the Vietnamese people for their struggle to end French colonial rule.

After an exhausting and inconclusive conflict, the French tired of the war, and negotiations at Geneva, Switzerland, in the spring and summer of 1954 resulted in a compromise peace. A cease-fire was signed and French troops were withdrawn from Vietnam, which was provisionally divided into a Communist North (retaining the name Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and a non-Communist South (called the Republic of Vietnam). National elections were to be held in 1956 to reunify the North and South under a single government. In October, Ho Chi Minh and his fellow party leaders returned to their capital at Hanoi.

Ho now devoted his efforts to constructing a Communist society in North Vietnam and bringing about the reunification of the country under the party’s rule. The DRV introduced socialist economic reforms, with the twin goals of developing industry and collectivizing agriculture. However, land reforms undertaken in 1955 to redistribute land from landlords and wealthy peasants to poor peasants and the landless resulted in bloodshed.

Overzealous local tribunals often carried out the reforms arbitrarily, and in a climate of growing paranoia, imprisoned and executed thousands of people they determined to be “counterrevolutionary elements.” In 1956 Ho was forced to admit that his government had made mistakes.In the meantime, South Vietnamese leaders refused to cooperate in holding national elections as scheduled.

By 1959 conflict resumed in the South, where Communist-led guerrillas mounted a rebellion against the U.S.-supported regime in Saigon, launching the Second Indochina War (also known as the Vietnam War). In poor health, Ho Chi Minh was reduced to a largely ceremonial role by the mid-1960s, and policy was shaped by others. He died in Hanoi in September 1969. A mausoleum was erected there in his honor after the end of the Vietnam War in 1975, and Saigon was renamed Ho Chi Minh City in 1976.

In Vietnam today, Ho Chi Minh is viewed as the very soul of the Vietnamese revolution and the country’s long struggle for independence. His personal qualities of simplicity, integrity, and determination brought him respect and admiration not only in Vietnam but all over the world. Yet there is wide disagreement about his character and his accomplishments.

To some, he is a patriotic figure who used Communist doctrine and strategy as a means of freeing his people, but whose basic instincts were humanitarian and democratic.

To others, he was a scheming revolutionary who pretended to be well meaning and concerned about the welfare of people in order to manipulate enemies and rivals and set the stage for the creation of a totalitarian regime.

Today the struggle over his legacy continues in Vietnam, where reformists seek to invoke his memory to build a more pluralistic society, while conservatives support their own agenda by citing Ho’s determination to build a utopian society based on the principles of Marx and Lenin. Whatever the controversy over his real beliefs and intentions, there is no doubt that Ho Chi Minh was one of the most influential figures of the 20th century.
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Thomas Edison

(MS. Ancarta) - Until the late 1800s, most people went to bed soon after sunset. They used candles and oil or gas lamps for light. American inventor Thomas Edison changed the way people live when he invented the first practical light bulb. The light bulb was just one of more than 1,000 inventions created by one of the greatest inventors of all time.

LIFE AND CAREER

Thomas Alva Edison was born in Milan, Ohio, in 1847, and grew up in Port Huron, Michigan. He attended school for only three months. His mother taught him reading, writing, and arithmetic.

In 1862, Edison saved a boy from being run over by a train. The boy’s father operated a telegraph machine, which sent coded messages over wire. As thanks, the father taught Edison how to operate the telegraph. Edison then made improvements to the telegraph. He earned money from his inventions.

RESEARCH LABORATORY

In 1876, Edison started the first industrial research laboratory at Menlo Park, New Jersey. By then, Edison was partially deaf. He worked very hard. He lived in his laboratory and became rich from his inventions. He was married twice and had six children. But he worked so much that he spent little time with his family.

GREAT INVENTIONS

Edison’s greatest inventions included an improved telephone, the phonograph, the motion-picture camera, and electric storage batteries. He is best remembered for inventing a long-lasting light bulb.

In the 1870s, many inventors were trying to make a practical light bulb. Edison tried hundreds of schemes. Finally he found a filament (thin thread) made of carbon. An electric spark made the filament glow inside a glass tube. Edison’s incandescent lamp was a great success. It burned steadily for more than 40 hours.

Edison wanted people to have electric light in their homes. So he built the first electric power plants.

People liked Edison because he was a down-to-earth man. His favorite saying was, “Genius is 1 percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration.”
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George Washington

(MS. Ancarta) - “First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen.” General Henry Lee spoke this famous tribute when George Washington died.

During the American Revolution, Washington led the American colonies in the fight for independence from Great Britain. Washington was respected so much some people wanted him to be king. He refused. But Washington agreed to serve as the first president of the United States.

EARLY LIFE

Born in February 1732, George grew up on his father's farm in Virginia. George only attended school a short while. George learned most of his lessons at home from his father. George’s older half brother, Lawrence, also taught young George.

Although shy, George loved music and dancing. He hoped to become a wealthy gentleman. He even wrote a list of 110 good manners to follow!

At the age of 17, George took a job measuring land as a surveyor. When Lawrence died in 1752, he left George his estate in Virginia. It was a large farm called Mount Vernon.

YOUNG SOLDIER

During the French and Indian War, Washington served as an officer in Virginia’s colonial army. His bravery won attention. But British officers looked down on American soldiers. They refused to make George an officer in the British army.

In 1758, Washington resigned from the colonial army. By then, at the age of 26, he was a skilled military leader. He knew how to train his troops and run an army.

LIFE AS A LANDOWNER

In 1759, Washington married a wealthy widow named Martha Custis. Soon after his marriage, Washington was elected to Virginia’s colonial legislature. Washington won reelection many times. He served in the legislature until 1774.

Washington was eager to learn about farming. He studied books on growing crops and tried new farming methods. He also started other businesses, such as a fishery, a mill, and ironworks. Washington owned slaves, and they did much of the work at Mount Vernon.

STEPS TOWARD REVOLUTION

During the 1760s, the colonists became very angry at the taxes placed on them by Britain. As a Virginia representative, Washington opposed the new British taxes.

Washington believed Britain had trampled on the rights of colonists to govern themselves. He told colonists they should prepare to defend their rights. Washington impressed other members of the Virginia legislature. They elected him to attend the Second Continental Congress, which met in May 1755.

By the time the Congress met, fighting against British forces had already started at Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts. The leaders of all the other colonies also attended the congress. Washington looked tall and dashing wearing the blue uniform of the Virginia militia.

In June 1775, the congress elected Washington as commander in chief of the American Continental Army.

THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION

To fight the British, Washington had to build an army. But how? The colonial armies lacked discipline. Men served for a short time and then went home. Washington needed an army he could train and count on to stay. He also needed supplies: weapons, food, clothes, and pay for soldiers.

Washington improved discipline. The Congress offered money to new recruits so they would enlist for longer terms. But supply problems continued. Washington’s army often went hungry. Some troops had no shoes and had to walk barefoot through snow!

Washington led his small, tattered army with great skill. Many times he ordered a retreat to save his army for future battles.

In 1778 France joined the Americans against the British. American forces and the French Navy trapped the British at Yorktown, Virginia in 1781.

The victory at Yorktown convinced many in Britain that the Americans would not give up. A peace treaty was signed in September 1783.

BACK ON THE FARM

Washington was glad to return to Mount Vernon and his family. Visitors constantly arrived eager to chat with the famous leader.

But Washington feared America’s hard-won independence might be lost. The new nation's government under the Articles of Confederation seemed weak. States bickered constantly. Washington joined the calls for a convention to create a new government.

WRITING A CONSTITUTION

The convention met in Philadelphia in 1787. The delegates elected Washington president of the convention. Through long, sometimes angry debates, the delegates wrote the U.S. Constitution. It became the law of the land in 1788.

In January 1789 electors from the states voted unanimously to make Washington the country's first president. He seemed the only man for the job. The office needed his skills, dignity, and leadership.

THE FIRST PRESIDENT

Washington served two terms as President, from 1789 to 1797. Much rested on his shoulders. He knew his decisions would affect later presidents. “I walk on untrodden ground,” said Washington upon first taking office.

Washington faced many important issues. The young country was in deep debt from the war. How would the debts be paid? Relations with Britain, France, and Spain were strained. On the frontier, wars with Native Americans flared.

Washington also had to contend with America’s first political parties. Washington’s secretary of treasury, Alexander Hamilton, and the secretary of state, Thomas Jefferson, disagreed on many issues. Eventually, Hamilton and Jefferson headed different political parties, the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans. This concerned Washington. He believed the parties created divisions, and he tried not to favor either one.

Washington supported laws that created a strong government. He believed everyone needed to work together for the good of the nation. Washington used treaties with foreign powers and Native Americans to strengthen and protect the United States.

FAREWELL TO GOVERNMENT

After two terms in office, Washington was ready to retire. He had grown weary of politics.

Washington's farewell speech to the country held several warnings. He warned against the danger of political parties. He warned against getting tangled in the troubles of foreign countries.

Washington gladly went home to Mount Vernon. He died in December 1799. The country deeply mourned the man who guided the new nation through war and peace.
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