Li Ka-Shing - Born July 29, 1928

Sir Li Ka-shing, GBM, KBE, JP is a wealthy businessman from Hong Kong. He is the richest person of East Asian descent in the world and the fourteenth richest person in the world with an estimated wealth of US$21.3 billion on 13 February 2010. Presently, he is the Chairman of Hutchison Whampoa Limited (HWL) and Cheung Kong Holdings; through them, he is the world's largest operator of container terminals and the world's largest health and beauty retailer.

His companies make up 15% of the market cap of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Forbes Magazine and the Forbes family honored Li Ka-shing with the first ever "Malcolm S. Forbes Lifetime Achievement Award" on September 5, 2006, in Singapore. In spite of his wealth, Li has cultivated a reputation for leading a no-frills lifestyle, and is known to wear simple black dress shoes and an inexpensive Seiko wristwatch, which is at odds with the house he owns in one of Hong Kong's most expensive precincts, Deep Water Bay. Li is also regarded as one of Asia's most generous philanthropists, donating over US $1.41 billion to date to charity and other various philanthropic causes. The wealthiest man in Asia, Li Ka-shing was nicknamed "Superman" in Hong Kong, where his global empire was based. His political and financial influence, as derived from his diverse holdings, which included real estate, ports, telecommunications, finance, infrastructure, and biotechnology, led AsiaWeek to call him "the most powerful man in Asia" in 2000. Born in mainland China, Li came to Hong Kong as a poor immigrant in 1940 and launched his career making and exporting plastic flowers. He lived a relatively modest lifestyle and contributed millions of dollars to various philanthropic interests.

Although his father was the head of a primary school in Guangdong province, Li had little opportunity for formal education. He was 12 years old in 1940 when his family fled the Japanese invasion of China. Within three years of their arrival in Hong Kong, his father had died, and the teenage Li was helping to support the family by selling plastic watchbands and belts.

Li proved to be a capable salesman and started his own plastics factory in Hong Kong in 1950. By 1958 he had a flourishing business manufacturing plastic flowers and was ready to expand. He named the firm Cheung Kong Industries, after the Cheung Kong River—also known as the Yangtze—the longest river in China. The name was reportedly an allusion to both the river's many tributaries and the need for business alliances.

By 1958, when his landlord raised its rent, Li had enough cash to purchase his factory. This would be the first of many investments in real estate; by the 1960s Cheung Kong had transformed into a property development and management company. Li's strategy was to avoid debt by raising capital before building, both through the formation of joint ventures with landowners and by preselling apartments to friends and colleagues. As such Cheung Kong could incur fewer risks while still earning profits for both Li and his co-investors, fueling rapid growth. The company, renamed Cheung Kong Holdings in 1971, had its initial public offering in 1972. By 1979 Li was Hong Kong's largest private landlord.

Once again success led Li to expand his corporate efforts in a new direction, this time through the acquisition of one of the oldest British "hongs," or trading companies. Hutchison Whampoa had been created in 1977 by a merger between the financially troubled Hutchison International, founded in 1880, and Hong Kong and Whampoa Dock, which had been the first registered company in Hong Kong when it was founded in 1861. In 1979 Li bought 23 percent of Hutchison Whampoa from Hong Kong & Shanghai Bank, becoming the first Chinese to control one of the old British companies that had long dominated Hong Kong's economy.

Over the years Li gradually increased his equity—to 49.9 percent by 2004—and used Hutchison Whampoa to move into a variety of other businesses, demonstrating a talent for deal making that earned him the nickname "Superman." During the 1980s Hutchison Whampoa expanded its container ports and in 1985 bought 33 percent of Hong Kong Electric Holdings. Li next began to extend his empire outside of Asia, starting in Canada, where his two sons were educated, with investments in the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and Husky Oil. Hutchison Telecommunications, a Hong Kong mobile-phone service launched in 1985, became a major player in telecommunications in the 1990s, building the Orange PCS mobile network in Europe, which Li sold to Mannes-mann in 1999 for $14.6 billion in cash and equity.

Li's two primary corporate entities, Cheung Kong and Hutchison Whampoa, were intertwined: Cheung Kong Holdings owned 49.9 percent of Hutchison Whampoa, and Hutchison Whampoa owned 85 percent of Cheung Kong Infrastructure. Cheung Kong, with 175,000 employees worldwide and operations in 39 countries, eventually moved into biotechnology and internet services. By early 2004 the various Cheung Kong companies represented 11.5 percent of the total market capitalization of Hong Kong's stock exchange. Hutchison Whampoa was the world's largest port operator as of 2004; meanwhile its retail and manufacturing segments accounted for more than 40 percent of company sales, with thousands of retail outlets selling wide varieties of products across Europe and Asia.

Decades after his family's escape from political turmoil in China, Li built strong political and economic ties to mainland China. According to ChinaOnline.com, he "advised the late Deng Xiaoping during the Sino-British talks, which led to the 1984 Joint Declaration on Hong Kong's future"; he also served on the committee that drafted Hong Kong's constitution. AsiaWeek noted that he was "known to talk directly with President Jiang Zemin and Premier Zhu Rongji" (May 2000). He invested billions of dollars in ports, infrastructure, and real-estate development projects in China; he founded Shantou University near his hometown in Guangdong in 1981, donating an estimated $150 million to build its campus. Li's links to Beijing made American politicians uneasy in the late 1990s, when some feared that his control of ports at both ends of the Panama Canal represented a potential security threat.

Li's Beijing connections proved useful when his older son was kidnapped in 1996. Rather than getting the Hong Kong police involved, Li paid $125 million in ransom and also reportedly asked the mainland government for help; in 1998 the kidnapper was captured and executed.

Most accounts described Li as personally unpretentious and frugal, leading a modest lifestyle that reflected his respect for traditional Chinese values. His philanthropy was well known throughout Asia, where his Li Ka-shing Foundation, created in 1981, contributed about $500 million in the fields of health and education.

While Li remained actively in control of his empire into the early years of the 21st century, his two sons had begun to play prominent roles in the international business world. Richard Li, the younger and more flamboyant of the two, had his own firm, Pacific Century CyberWorks, which invested in various internet start-ups and in 2000 acquired Hong Kong Cable & Wireless. Victor Li, the elder brother, remained at his father's side, running the day-to-day operations of Cheung Kong as vice chairman; as of 2004 most observers believed Victor Li would inherit control of the Li Empire.

Nelson Mandela, (born 18 July 1918)

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, (born 18 July 1918) is a former President of South Africa, was one of its chief anti-apartheid activists, and was also an anti-apartheid saboteur and guerrilla leader. He is now almost universally considered to be a heroic freedom fighter, but during the time of the apartheid regime many Western politicians such as Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan considered him little more than a terrorist. He spent his childhood in the Thembu chiefdom before embarking on a career in law.

The name Madiba is an honourary title adopted by older male members of the Mandela clan, however in South Africa the title is synonymous with Nelson Mandela.

Nelson Mandela belongs to a cadet branch of the Thembu dynasty, which reigns in the Transkeian Territories of South Africa's Cape Province. He was born in Mvezo, a small village located in the district of Umtata, the Transkei capital. He has Khoisan ancestry on his mother's side. His patrilineal great-grandfather Ngubengcuka (who died in 1832), ruled as the Inkosi Enkhulu, or king, of the Thembu people. One of the king's sons, named Mandela, became Nelson's grandfather and the source of his surname. However, because he was only the Inkosi's child by a wife of the Ixhiba clan (the so-called "Left-Hand House"), the descendants of his branch of the royal family were not eligible to succeed to the Thembu throne.

Mandela's father, Gadla Henry Mphakanyiswa, served as chief of the town of Mvezo. However, upon alienating the colonial authorities, they deprived Mphakanyiswa of his position, and moved his family to Qunu. Despite this, Mphakanyiswa remained a member of the Inkosi's Privy Council, and served an instrumental role in Jongintaba Dalindyebo's ascension to the Thembu throne. Dalindyebo would later return the favour by informally adopting Mandela upon Mphakanyiswa's death. Mandela's father had four wives, with whom he fathered thirteen children (four boys and nine girls). Mandela was born to his third wife ('third' by a complex royal ranking system), Nosekeni Fanny. Fanny was a daughter of Nkedama of the Mpemvu Xhosa clan, the dynastic Right Hand House, in whose umzi or homestead Mandela spent much of his childhood. His given name Rolihlahla means "to pull a branch of a tree", or more colloquially, "troublemaker". At the age of seven, Rolihlahla Mandela became the first member of his family to attend school, where he was given the English name "Nelson" by a Methodist teacher. His father died when he was 10, and Nelson attended a Wesleyan mission school next door to the palace of the Regent. Following Xhosa custom he was initiated at age 16, and attended Clarkebury Boarding Institute, learning about Western culture. He completed his Junior Certificate in two years, instead of the usual three.

At age 19, in 1934, Mandela moved to the Wesleyan College in Fort Beaufort, which most Thembu royalty attended, and took an interest in boxing and running. After matriculating, he began a B.A. at the Fort Hare University, where he met Oliver Tambo, who became a lifelong friend and colleague.

At the end of his first year he became involved in a boycott of the Students' Representative Council against the university policies, and was asked to leave Fort Hare. He left to go to Johannesburg, where he completed his degree with the University of South Africa (UNISA) via correspondence, then began a Law degree at Wits University.

As a young law student, Mandela became involved in political opposition to the white minority regime's denial of political, social and economic rights to South Africa's black majority. Joining the African National Congress in 1942, he founded its more dynamic Youth League two years later together with Walter Sisulu, Oliver Tambo and others.

After the 1948 election victory of the Afrikaner-dominated National Party with its apartheid policy of racial segregation, Mandela was prominent in the ANC's 1952 Defiance Campaign and the 1955 Congress of the People, whose adoption of the Freedom Charter provided the fundamental programme of the anti-apartheid cause.

During this time Mandela and fellow lawyer Oliver Tambo operated the law firm of Mandela and Tambo, providing free or low-cost legal counsel to many blacks who would have been otherwise entirely without legal representation.

Initially committed to non-violent mass struggle he and 150 others were arrested on 5 December 1956 and charged with treason. The marathon Treason Trial of 1956-1961 followed, and all were acquitted. Mandela and his colleagues accepted the case for armed action after the shooting of unarmed protesters at Sharpeville in March 1960 and the subsequent banning of the ANC and other anti-apartheid groups.

In 1961 he became the commander of the ANC's armed wing Umkhonto we Sizwe ("Spear of the Nation", or MK), which he co-founded. He coordinated a sabotage campaign against military and government targets and made plans for possible guerrilla war if sabotage failed to end apartheid. He also fundraised for MK abroad, and arranged for paramilitary training, visiting various African governments. In August 1962 he was arrested after the CIA tipped off the police, and jailed for five years for illegal travel abroad and incitement to strike.

While Mandela was in prison, police arrested prominent ANC leaders on 11 July 1963 at Liliesleaf Farm, Rivonia. Mandela was brought in, and at the Rivonia Trial, Nelson Mandela, Ahmed Kathrada, Walter Sisulu, Govan Mbeki, Andrew Mlangeni, Raymond Mhlaba, Elias Motsoaled, Walter Mkwayi (escaped during trial), Arthur Goldreich (escaped from prison before trial), Dennis Goldberg and Lionel "Rusty" Bernstein were charged with sabotage and crimes equivalent to treason (but which were easier for the government to prove). Joel Joffe, Arthur Chaskalson and George Bizos were part of the defence team that represented the accused. All except Rusty Bernstein were found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment on 12 June 1964. Charges included involvement in planning armed action, in particular sabotage (which Mandela admits to) and a conspiracy to help other countries invade South Africa (which Mandela denies). Over the course of the next twenty-six years, Mandela became increasingly associated with opposition to apartheid to the point where the slogan "Free Nelson Mandela" became the rallying cry for all anti-apartheid campaigners around the world.

While in prison, Mandela was able to send a statement to the ANC who in turn published it on 10 June 1980 which said in part:

'UNITE! MOBILISE! FIGHT ON! BETWEEN THE ANVIL OF UNITED MASS ACTION AND THE HAMMER OF THE ARMED STRUGGLE WE SHALL CRUSH APARTHEID!'

Refusing an offer of conditional release in return for renouncing armed struggle (February 1985), Mandela remained in prison until February 1990, when sustained ANC campaigning and international pressure led to his release on 11 February on the orders of state president F.W. de Klerk and the ending of the ban on the ANC. He and de Klerk shared the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993. Mandela had already been awarded the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought in 1988.

As president of the ANC (July 1991 - December 1997) he ran a largely ceremonial and uncompetitive campaign against de Klerk for the new office of President of South Africa. Mandela won, becoming the nation's first black Head of State. De Klerk was appointed deputy president.

As president, (May 1994 - June 1999), Mandela presided over the transition from minority rule and apartheid, winning international respect for his advocacy of national and international reconciliation. Some radicals were disappointed with the social achievements of his term of office, however, particularly the government's ineffectiveness in stemming the AIDS crisis.

Indeed Mandela himself admitted after he retired that he may have failed his country by not paying more attention to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. This was especially tragic in view of the fact that the reason he was there was to improve the lives of the majority of black South Africans, and yet he may be partially responsible for millions of their deaths.

Mandela was also criticized for his close friendship with leaders such as Fidel Castro and Moammar Al Qadhafi, whom he called his "comrades in arms." His decision to commit South African troops to defeat the 1998 coup in Lesotho also remains a topic of some controversy.

Mandela has been married three times. His first marriage to Evelyn Ntoko Mase ended in divorce in 1957 after 13 years, and his 38-year marriage to Winnie Madikizela in separation (April 1992) and divorce (March 1996) fuelled by political estrangement. On his 80th birthday he married Graça Machel, widow of Samora Machel, the former Mozambican president and ANC ally killed in an air crash 15 years earlier.

After his retirement as President in 1999, Mandela went on to become an advocate for a variety of social and human rights organizations. He received many foreign honours, including the Order of St. John from Queen Elizabeth II and the Presidential Medal of Freedom from George W. Bush.

He is one of the only two persons of non-Indian origin (Mother Teresa being the other) to be awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award, in 1990.

In 2001, he was the first foreigner to be made an honourary Canadian citizen as well as being one of the few foreign leaders to receive the Order of Canada.

In 2003, Mandela made some controversial speeches, attacking the foreign policy of the George W. Bush administration. Later that same year, he lent his support to the 46664 AIDS fundraising campaign, named after his prison number.

In June 2004 at age 85, Mandela announced that he would be retiring from public life. His health has been declining in recent years and he wants to enjoy time with his family as long as his health allows it. He has made an exception, however, for his commitment to the fight against AIDS. In July 2004 he flew to Bangkok to speak at the XV International AIDS Conference.

On 23 July 2004 the city of Johannesburg bestowed its highest honour on Mandela by granting him the freedom of the city at a ceremony in Orlando, Soweto.

Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809–April 15, 1865)

Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809–April 15, 1865) sometimes called Abe Lincoln and nicknamed Honest Abe, the Rail Splitter, and the Great Emancipator, was the 16th (1861–1865) President of the United States, and the first president from the Republican Party. He led the country to victory during the American Civil War and contributed profoundly towards ending the widespread slavery in America. Before being elected to the Presidency; Lincoln was a successful lawyer, an Illinois state legislator and a member of the United States House of Representatives. His presidency is primarily marked by his illustrious success in defeating the secessionists, abolition of slavery and neutralizing a war-like situation with the United Kingdom in 1861. Apart from these, the former President is credited with the establishment of a "Republican form of Government" in America through a policy of reconciliation. Since then he has been ranked among the greatest presidents of America. His assassination in 1865 was the first ever presidential assassination in the U.S. history which made him a martyr in its history that would be remembered for his sacrifices for the unity of his nation.

Abraham Lincoln was born on 12 February 1809 to Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Hanks in southeast Hardin County Kentucky. His parents were uneducated, but respected and affluent citizens of Kentucky backcountry. In 1816, the Lincoln family was forced to move to Indiana. When Lincoln was nine, his mother died of milk sickness, and his father remarried to Sarah Bush Johnston. Though Lincoln was affectionate towards his step-mother, he had not very good relations with his father.

Lincoln had only 18 months of formal school, but he was self-educated and an avid learner. Lincoln was not only a keen reader and excellent writer, but also a local wrestler. On November 4, 1842 Lincoln married Mary Todd and the couple had four sons. Amongst them, Robert Todd Lincoln was their only child to survive into adulthood. The other children Edward Baker Lincoln, William “Willie” Wallace Lincoln and Thomas “Tad” Lincoln died in their early childhood.

Lincoln started his political career with a campaign in 1832 for the Illinois General Assembly as a member of the Whig Party. The campaign was not successful though and he lost the seat. Soon after the campaign, he was elected captain of an Illinois militia company of New Salem during the Black Hawk War. In 1834, Lincoln won election to the state legislature and influenced by the Commentaries on the Laws of England, he started learning law. After admission to the bar in 1837, he moved to Springfield and established himself as a formidable adversary and successful lawyer. In 1837, Lincoln made his first protest — as a leader of the Illinois Whig Party — against slavery in the Illinois House and labeled it as “inhumanity based upon injustice and bad policy.”

Abraham Lincoln moved to Republican Party in 1954 and on May 9-10, 1860, he received his first endorsement to run for the presidency. On 6 November, 1860, he became the first Republican president to win entirely on the strength of his support in the North, as there was no campaigning in the South except for a few border cities. With this landslide victory, Lincoln became the 16th President of the United States. He was the first and only one President elected from Illinois, until Barack Obama was elected in 2008. With this election, the Republican Party emerged as the nation’s first major sectional party.

Abraham Lincoln’s election and emergence of the Republican Party as a great strength, gave rise to sectional tensions. Secessionists made it clear that their states would leave the Union. On 20 December, 1860 South Carolina took the lead and by 1861, six other cotton growing sates followed it. These seven states declared themselves a new union “Confederate States of America.” However the upper South, along with President Buchanan and President-elect Lincoln refused to recognize the new union. Attempts were made to reach a compromise but tension between the two groups reached its peak and Lincoln narrowly escaped an assassination attempt on 23 February 1861 in Washington, D.C.

In his first inaugural address on 4 March 1861, Lincoln made his final attempt to reunite the states and prevent the war-like situation by supporting the Corwin Amendment, which protected slavery in those states in which it already existed. By the time Lincoln took charge, while no leaders of the Confederacy proposed a compromise, nearly every Republican leader refused to accept secession on any terms. Lincoln decided not to take any action against the South, unless the Unionists themselves were attacked, which finally happened in 1861. In April 1861, after the Unionists were attacked and forced to surrender, Lincoln called on the governors of all states to protect the capital and “preserve the Union”. Virginia refused to join the attack on another state and seceded along with North Carolina, Tennessee and Arkansas. After the fighting started, thousands of rebellions were arrested or exiled during the suppression of secessionists.

Abolition of Slavery was the primary goal of Abraham Lincoln. In July 1862, Congress moved to free the slaves by passing the Second Confiscation Act. Though the act did not end the legal institution of slavery, Congressional support to Lincoln’s efforts in liberating slaves became obvious. The new law was implemented with Lincoln’s “Emancipation Proclamation”. The “Emancipation Proclamation” was announced on 22 September and came into effect on 1 January 1863. With this, abolition of slavery in rebel states became a national goal which freed slaves in territories not under Union Control. Taking a move ahead, Lincoln devoted himself to passage of thirteenth amendment to abolish slavery permanently throughout the nation. In the light of his outstanding work, Lincoln was re-elected as President in 1864 election and delivered his second inaugural speech on 4 March 1865. At that time, slavery was dead and the rebels were no more a threat.

Lincoln wanted to take active part in determining the war strategy and throughout the war, he emerged himself in military campaigns. During the war, he authorized his commander to target civilians and destroy infrastructure, with a view to weaken South’s morale and its economic ability to continue the war. Reconstruction of the United States began during the war with continuous efforts to reintegrate the United States. Under his Amnesty Proclamation, issued on 8 December 1863, Lincoln decided to offer pardon to those who had not held a Confederate civil office, had not mistreated Union prisoners; on the clause to sign an oath of faithfulness.

As soon as the states were recaptured, Lincoln called for a speedy election to determine the unity and reconstruction of the United States. Towards the end of the war, Lincoln visited Virginia after it was taken by the Union forces to give a message that the President of the United States held authority over the entire land. The President came back from his visit on 9 April, 1865 and soon after, the war was over with rebel armies surrendering to the Union forces. After the war was over, Lincoln took measures that determined the democracy and equality in America and ensured a “Republic form of Government.”

 Lincoln signed the Homestead Act in 1862, which made acres of government held land available for purchase at a very low cost. The Morrill Land-Grant Colleges Act was also signed in the same year which provided governments grant for agricultural universities in each state. The National Banking Acts of 1863, 1864, and 1865, formed a strong national financial system. In a milestone step towards economic stability, the Legal Tender Act of 1862 was signed which established the United Nations Note, the first paper currency in the American history.

 He was the first President to be assassinated in the American history. He was assassinated on 14 April 1865 and was stated dead on 15 April 1865 at 7:22 a.m. His assassin, John Wilkes Booth, a well-known actor and a Confederate spy shot him at skull while he was attending a theatre. After Lincoln’s body was returned to The White House, a brain autopsy was performed to determine the cause of the death. Investigation ensued and John Booth was caught after a twelve-day manhunt and shot. He eventually died of his wounds soon after. John Wilkes Booth somehow thought he was helping the South but the opposite was the result, for with Lincoln's death, the possibility of peace with magnanimity died.

Pope John Paul II (Karol Józef Wojtyla) 1920-2005

John Paul II presided over as the Pope and Sovereign of the State of the Vatican City for almost 27 years. Credited with being the second-longest pontificate till date, His Holiness has too many firsts to his credit. One of the most traveled leaders of the world, Pope John Paul II is considered as one of the most influential leaders of the world. His influence was not restricted to the Catholics across the globe. Rather, a true world statesman, Pope John Paul II brought changes in the image of the church, across the globe. During his long reign as Pope, he said 'sorry' to Jews, Galileo, women, victims of the Inquisition, Muslims slaughtered by the Crusaders and almost everyone who had suffered at the hands of the Catholic Church through the years.

Pope John Paul II, baptized as Karol Józef Wojtyla, was born on May 18, 1920, in Wadowice, Poland. His mother died when he was only eight years old and after a couple of years (1932), Karol lost his elder brother as well. During his youth days, Karol enjoyed playing soccer, as a goalie. In the year 1938, he shifted lodgings to Kraków, along with his father. It was here that Karol broadened his horizons of knowledge. Enrolling himself in Jagiellonian University, he learned almost 12 languages and also participated in various theatrical groups, as a playwright.

In 1939, when the Nazi Germans occupied Poland, Karol was amongst the worst hit. His university had closed, leaving him with no choice other than to earn a living by doing petty jobs. His father left for the heaven abode in 1941, leaving him all alone in the world. It was, thence, that he realized his calling for priesthood and started studying in the clandestine underground seminary run by the Archbishop of Kraków, Adam Stefan, Cardinal Sapieha. After surviving an accident with a German truck, Karol's decision to become a priest became all the more firm.

 Ordained as a priest on November 1, 1946, Karol Wojtyła was sent to Rome, at the Pontifical International Athenaeum Angelicum, to study theology. In 1948, after attaining a licentiate and doctorate in sacred theology, he returned to Poland. His first-ever work as a priest was in the village of Niegowić, fifteen miles from Kraków. A year later, Karol relocated to Saint Florian's parish in Kraków. A teacher of ethics at Jagiellonian University and the Catholic University of Lublin, Karol assembled a group of about 20 young people that eventually expanded to 200 people. These participants met for prayers, philosophical discussions and helping blind and sick people.  

 It was in the year 1954 that Karol gained his second doctorate, in philosophy. A holder of two doctorates, he started his literary career by writing for the newspaper 'Tygodnik Powszechny', also known as Universal Weekly. Herein, he wrote about the contemporary church issues. Karol dealt with issues like war, life under communism and his pastoral responsibilities, as the themes for his poems and plays. He distinguished his literary writings from his religious ones by publishing the former under pseudo names, so that they get recognition on merit and not on his name. It was in 1960 that Karol wrote an influential theological book 'Love and Responsibility', a defense of the traditional Church teachings on marriage, from a new philosophical standpoint.

 It was during his kayaking vacation, in July 1958, that Karol came to know about his nomination for the position of auxiliary bishop of Kraków. Agreeing to serve as auxiliary to Archbishop Eugeniusz Baziak, he was consecrated to the Episcopate on September 28, 1958. With this, he became the youngest bishop in Poland. After the death of Baziak, Bishop Karol was elected as Vicar Capitular, or temporary administrator, of the Archdiocese. Becoming a Bishop, henceforth, he participated in the Second Vatican Council.

 Bishop Karol also contributed in the Decree on Religious Freedom (in Latin, Dignitatis Humanae) and the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World (Gaudium et Spes). He took part in the assemblies of Synod of Bishops. Admiring his worthy contributions and laudable role as a temporary administrator, Pope Paul VI appointed him as the Archbishop of Kraków, on December 1963. Archbishop Karol was promoted to the Sacred College of Cardinals, on June 26, 1967. Later on, he became instrumental in formulating the encyclical Humanae Vitae, which dealt with sensitive issues of abortion and artificial birth control.

 Following the death of Pope Paul VI, Albino Luciani was appointed as the next Pope - Pope John Paul I. However, the latter left for the heaven abode after only 33 days of his papacy, thereby causing another conclave of the cardinals. Cardinal Giuseppe Siri and Cardinal Giovanni Benelli were the two main contenders for the post. However, observing the scale of their opposition, Cardinal Franz König, Archbishop of Vienna, individually suggested Karol, the Polish Cardinal, as a compromise candidate.

 Surprisingly, Cardinal Karol won the election on the eighth ballot on the second day. According to the Italian press, he received 99 votes, from the 111 participating electors. With this, Cardinal Karol Józef Wojtyła succeeded Pope John Paul I and became Pope John Paul II. He was the youngest Pope to be elected, in the history of Rome, since Pope Pius IX (1846), who was 54 years old. Becoming the 264th Pope, Pope John Paul II received his simplified Papal inauguration ceremony on October 22, 1978, dispensing with the traditional Papal coronation, just like his immediate predecessor.

Pope John Paul II visited as many as 129 countries as the Bishop of Rome. Attracting large crowds everywhere he went, he became one of the largest-traveled Popes. The number of trips he made to foreign countries was more than that of all his predecessors, put together. Probably, this is the reason why Pope John Paul II was also given the title of the 'Pilgrim Pope'. Though amongst the 129 countries, there were many countries that had been visited by his predecessors; he is entitled with a lot of firsts. Pope John Paul II was the first Pope ever to visit Mexico, Cuba and Ireland, a few names amongst his long list.

 Pope John Paul II was also the first pope to travel to the United Kingdom (1982), Egypt and Jerusalem (2000). His Holiness also became the first Catholic Pope to visit and pray in an Islamic mosque (Umayyad Mosque) in Damascus, Syria (2001). There, he also visited Umayyad Mosque, where John the Baptist is believed to be interred. Pope John Paul II's visit to Luneta Park, Manila, (Philippines) attracted probably the largest single gathering in Christian history. The visit took place on 15th January 1995, during the X World Youth Day. In 2001, this Servant of God also traveled to Kazakhstan, to celebrate 1,700 years of Christianity.

As he entered St. Peter's Square to address an audience on 13 May 1981, John Paul II was shot and critically wounded by Mehmet Ali Ağca, a trained expert Turkish gunman who was a member of the militant group Grey Wolves.  The gunman used a Browning 9-mm semiautomatic pistol, striking him in the belly and perforating his colon and small intestine multiple times.  John Paul II was rushed into the Vatican complex and then to the Gemelli Hospital. En route to the hospital, he lost consciousness. Despite the fact that the bullets missed his mesenteric artery and abdominal aorta, he lost nearly three-quarters of his blood and neared exsanguination. He underwent five hours of surgery to treat his massive blood loss and abdominal wounds. When he briefly gained consciousness before being operated on he instructed the doctors not to remove his Brown Scapular during the operation.  The pope stated that Our Lady of Fátima helped keep him alive throughout his ordeal.

“              Could I forget that the event [Ali Ağca's assassination attempt] in St. Peter’s Square took place on the day and at the hour when the first appearance of the Mother of Christ to the poor little peasants has been remembered for over sixty years at Fátima, Portugal? For in everything that happened to me on that very day, I felt that extraordinary motherly protection and care, which turned out to be stronger than the deadly bullet.     ” —Pope John Paul II -Memory & Identity, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2005, p.184

Ağca was caught and restrained by a nun and other bystanders until police arrived. He was sentenced to life imprisonment. Two days after Christmas in 1983, John Paul II visited the prison where his would-be assassin was being held. The two spoke privately for 20 minutes.  John Paul II said, “What we talked about will have to remain a secret between him and me. I spoke to him as a brother whom I have pardoned and who has my complete trust.″

On 2 March 2006, an Italian parliamentary commission, the Mitrokhin Commission, set up by Silvio Berlusconi and headed by Forza Italia senator Paolo Guzzanti, concluded that the Soviet Union was behind the attempt on John Paul II's life,  in retaliation for the pope's support of Solidarity, the Catholic, pro-democratic Polish workers' movement, a theory which had already been supported by Michael Ledeen and the United States Central Intelligence Agency at the time.  The Italian report stated that certain Communist Bulgarian security departments were utilised to prevent the Soviet Union's role from being uncovered.  The report stated Soviet military intelligence (Glavnoje Razvedyvatel'noje Upravlenije)—and not the KGB—was responsible.  Russian Foreign Intelligence Service spokesman Boris Labusov called the accusation ‘absurd’.  Although the Pope declared during a May 2002 visit to Bulgaria that the country's Soviet bloc-era leadership had nothing to do with the assassination attempt, his secretary, Stanisław Dziwisz, alleged in his book A Life with Karol, that the pope was convinced privately that the former Soviet Union was behind the assassination attempt. Bulgaria and Russia disputed the Italian commission's conclusions, pointing out that the Pope denied the Bulgarian connection.

A second assassination attempt took place on 12 May 1982, just a day before the anniversary of the first attempt on his life, in Fátima, Portugal when a man tried to stab John Paul II with a bayonet. He was stopped by security guards, although Stanisław Dziwisz later claimed that John Paul II had been injured during the attempt but managed to hide a non-life threatening wound. The assailant, a right wing Spanish priest named Juan María Fernández y Krohn, was ordained as a priest by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre of the Society of Saint Pius X and was opposed to the changes caused by the Second Vatican Council, calling the pope an agent of Communist Moscow and of the Marxist Eastern Bloc. Fernández y Krohn subsequently left the Roman Catholic priesthood and served three years of a six-year sentence. The ‘ex-priest’ was treated for mental illness and then expelled from Portugal, going on to become a solicitor in Belgium. He was arrested again in July 2000 after climbing over a security barricade at the Royal Palace of Brussels, accusing the visiting Spanish King Juan Carlos of murdering his older brother Alfonso in 1956.

Pope John Paul II was also one of the targets of the Al-Qaeda-funded Operation Bojinka during a visit to the Philippines in 1995. The first plan was to kill Pope John Paul II when he visited the Philippines during the World Youth Day 1995 celebrations. On 15 January 1995, a suicide bomber would dress up as a priest, while John Paul II passed in his motorcade on his way to the San Carlos Seminary in Makati City. The assassin planned to get close to the Pope, and detonate the bomb. The planned assassination of the Pope was intended to divert attention from the next part of the phase. However, a chemical fire inadvertently started by the would-be assassins alerted police to their whereabouts, and they were arrested nearly a week before the Pope's visit.

As the youngest pope elected since Pope Pius IX in 1846, John Paul II entered the papacy as a healthy, relatively young man who hiked, swam and went skiing. However, after over twenty-five years on the papal throne, the 1981 assassination attempt, and a number of cancer scares, John Paul's physical health declined. He had a tumour removed from his colon in 1992, dislocated his shoulder in 1993, broke his femur in 1994, and had his appendix removed in 1996.

An orthopaedic surgeon confirmed in 2001 that Pope John Paul II was suffering from Parkinson's disease, as international observers had suspected for some time; this was acknowledged publicly by the Vatican in 2003. He had difficulty speaking more than a few sentences at a time, as well as trouble hearing. He also developed severe arthritis in his right knee following a hip replacement, and therefore rarely walked in public. Nevertheless, he continued to tour the world. Those who met him late in his life said that although physically he was in poor shape, mentally he remained fully alert.

Towards the end of his Papacy, there were those both within and outside the church who thought that the Pope should resign or retire. Even term limits for Popes were suggested. However, as John Paul had indicated his acceptance of God's will that he should be Pope, he was determined to stay in office until his death, although his private papers show that he gave resignation serious consideration in 2002.

On 1 February 2005, the Pope was taken to the Agostino Gemelli University Polyclinic in Rome suffering from acute inflammation of the larynx and laryngo-spasm, brought on by a bout of influenza. The Vatican reported the following day that his condition had stabilised, but he would remain in the hospital until fully recovered. The pope appeared in public on 6 February to deliver the final lines of the Angelus blessing in a hoarse voice from the window of his hospital room. He missed the Ash Wednesday ceremonies in St Peter's on 9 February for the first time in his 26-year papacy, and returned to the Vatican on 10 February.

On 24 February 2005 the Pope began having trouble breathing and also had a fever, and he was rushed back to the Gemelli Hospital, where a tracheotomy was successfully performed. An aide to Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said that John Paul was "serene" after waking up following the surgery. He raised his hand and attempted to say something, but his doctors advised him not to try speaking. The Pope gave 'silent blessings' from his hospital window on Sunday 27 February and Sunday 6 March, and is said to have spoken in German and Italian during a working meeting with Cardinal Ratzinger (later Pope Benedict XVI) in his 10th floor suite of the Gemelli on Tuesday 1 March. Cardinal Ratzinger told international press: "the Pope spoke to me in German and Italian. He was completely lucid. I brought the Holy Father greetings from the plenary of the Congregation for the divine cult, which is meeting at this moment in the Vatican. The Holy Father will be working on material, which I gave him today. I am happy to see him fully lucid and mentally capable of saying the essential matters with his own voice. We usually speak in German. The details are unimportant--he spoke of essential matters."

During the Angelus of Sunday 13 March The Pope was able to speak to pilgrims for the first time since he was readmitted to hospital. Later that day he returned to the Vatican for the first time in nearly a month. On Palm Sunday (20 March) the Pope made a brief appearance at his window to greet pilgrims. He was cheered by thousands of the faithful as he silently waved an olive branch. It was the first time in his pontificate that he could not officiate at Palm Sunday Mass. He watched it on his TV in his apartment overlooking Saint Peter's Square.

On 22 March, there were renewed concerns for the Pope's health after reports stated that he had taken a turn for the worse and was not responding to medication. On 24 March, Colombian Cardinal Alfonso Lopez Trujillo performed the rite of the washing of the feet, in the Vatican's St Peter's Basilica. The cardinal stood in for Pope John Paul II at a Holy Thursday ceremony at the Vatican. He said the ailing Pontiff was 'serenely abandoning' himself to God's will. The Pope, whose health was precarious following the throat surgery in February, watched the service on television from his Vatican apartments. On 27 March, Easter day, the Pope appeared at his window in the Vatican for a short time. Angelo Sodano read the Urbi et Orbi message while the Pope blessed the people with his own hand. He tried to speak but he could not. By the end of the month, speculation was growing, and was finally confirmed by the Vatican officials, that he was nearing death.

On 31 March 2005 the Pope developed a "very high fever caused by a urinary tract infection", but was not taken to the hospital, apparently in accordance with his wishes to die in the Vatican. Later that day, Vatican sources announced that John Paul II had been given the Anointing of the Sick (informally known as Last Rites) of the Roman Catholic Church, the first time that the pontiff had received the sacrament since the 1981 assassination attempt on his life. It is unclear if he received the Apostolic Pardon as well.

On 1 April, his condition worsened drastically, with his heart and kidneys rapidly failing. The Pope had been fitted with a second feeding tube in his nose to help boost his nutritional intake as a result of his fever. Reports from the Vatican early that morning reported that the Pope had suffered a heart attack, but remained awake.[38] Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro Valls denied the reports of the heart attack, but said the Pope had suffered a "cardio-circulatory collapse" and called the Pope's condition "very serious".

Several Italian media agencies reported the Pope's death at 20:20 CEST (18:20 UTC), but soon afterwards, the Vatican denied that the Pope was dead, and stories changed. TV Sky Italia reported that his heart and brain were functioning.

At around 00:37 CEST on 2 April (22:37 1 April UTC), a Vatican spokesman gave a further briefing on the Pope's health and confirmed that the Pope had had the Last Rites. He refused to be taken to the hospital, and met with his closest associates, among them Cardinal Ratzinger, who said, "he knows that he is dying and he gave me his last goodbye." The Pope also requested that he be read the meditations said on the Stations of the Cross a few days before.

His final hours were marked by an overwhelming number of younger people who kept vigil outside his Vatican apartments. In his last message, specifically to the youth of the world, he said: "I have looked for you. Now you have come to me. And I thank you."

Early in the evening, the Vatican announced that his condition "remains very serious. In late morning, the high fever developed." However, "when addressed by members of his household, he responds correctly."

At approximately 19:00 CEST (17:00 UTC), Italian news sources claimed that Pope John Paul II had lost consciousness. At least one medical centre stated that there was no more hope for him. The Vatican published a press release refuting the claim but conceding the Pope's kidneys had stopped functioning. The ANSA news agency reported around half an hour later that he lost consciousness.

According to Father Jarek Cielecki, the Pope's last word before death was "Amen"; then he closed his eyes. In his private apartments, at 21:37 CEST (19:37 UTC) on 2 April, Pope John Paul II died, 46 days short of his 85th birthday. His death certificate listed septic shock and heart failure as primary causes of death.

Present at the moment of death were his two personal secretaries, Archbishop Stanisław Dziwisz and Mieczysław Mokrzycki, Marian Jaworski, Archbishop Stanisław Ryłko and Father Tadeusz Styczeń. The pope was assisted by his personal physician Dr. Renato Buzzonetti, with two doctors, Dr. Alessandro Barelli and Dr. Ciro D'Allo and their respective nurses who had been on call if needed. Also three nuns who were handmaidens of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, helped him in his final hours.

Immediately afterwards Cardinal Secretary of State Angelo Sodano arrived, as did the Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church, Eduardo Martínez Somalo, Archbishop Leonardo Sandri, substitute of the Secretariat of State, and Archbishop Paolo Sardi, vice-Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church. Thereafter, Cardinal Ratzinger, dean of the College of Cardinals, and Jozef Tomko were able to enter the apartments.

John Paul II is one of the four Popes, who have been referred to with the title 'the Great'. He has been called 'John Paul the Great' through popular and continued usage, since there is no official process for declaring a pope "Great". In 2007, the successor of Pope John Paul II - Benedict XVI began his beatification process. He bypassed the normal restriction of five years having been passed since a person's death, for beatifying him/her, citing "exceptional circumstances". The Vicariate of Rome, on March 8, 2007, declared that the diocesan phase of John Paul's cause for beatification was at its conclusion.

Relationship with Other Religions

 Anglicanism (Church of England)

Preached in Canterbury Cathedral during his visit to Britain

Issued a Pastoral Provision, allowing married former Episcopal priests to become Catholic priests & accepting former Episcopal Church parishes into Catholic Church

Allowed creation of the Anglican Use form of the Latin Rite, which incorporates the Anglican Book of Common Prayer

Established Our Lady of the Atonement Catholic Church (Anglican Use), in cooperation with San Antonio Archbishop Patrick Flores

  Lutheranism

Signed a Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification, as a gesture of unity by the representatives of the Vatican and the Lutheran World Federation

Judaism (Jerusalem)

Improved relations between Catholicism and Judaism

Became the first Pope to visit the Nazi Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland, in 1979

Visited the Great Synagogue of Rome in April 1986, thus becoming the first pope ever known to have made an official papal visit to a synagogue

Established formal diplomatic relations between the Holy See and the State of Israel, acknowledging its centrality in Jewish life and faith

Visited Yad Vashem in Israel and made history by touching the holiest site in Judaism, the Western Wall in Jerusalem

Placed a letter inside the Western Wall in Jerusalem, asking for forgiveness for the actions against Jews, in the past

Became the first known Pope in history to receive a priestly blessing from a rabbi, in January 2005

 Eastern Orthodox Church

Became the first Pope to visit Romania, a predominantly Eastern Orthodox country, since the Great Schism in 1054

Visited Ukraine and pleaded for "open, tolerant and honest dialogue", also stated that putting an end to the Schism was one of his fondest wishes

Became the first Pope to visit Greece in 1291 years

 Buddhism

Was visited by Tibetan spiritual leader Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama eight times, more than any other dignitary in this world

 Islam

Became the first Catholic Pope to visit and pray in an Islamic mosque (Umayyad Mosque) in Damascus, Syria (2001)

Syro-Malankara Catholic Church

Elevated the Archdiocese of Trivandrum to a Major Archdiocese, elevating the Archbishop to Major Archbishop, on February 10, 2005

Malcolm (Little) X (El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz )

 Malcolm (Little) X also known as El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz Lived between May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965, was an African-American Muslim minister, public speaker, human rights activist, a millitant leader who articulated the concept of race pride and black nationalism in the early 60s. To his admirers, he was a courageous advocate for the rights of African Americans, a man who indicted white America in the harshest terms for its crimes against black Americans. He was a smart, focused student.  He graduated from junior high at the top of his class. However, when a favorite teacher told Malcolm his dream of becoming a lawyer was "no realistic goal for a nigger," Malcolm lost interest in school. He dropped out, spent some time in Boston, Massachusetts working various odd jobs, and then traveled to Harlem, New York where he committed petty crimes. By 1942 Malcolm was coordinating various narcotics, prostitution and gambling rings.

Eventually Malcolm and his buddy, Malcolm "Shorty" Jarvis, moved back to Boston. In 1946 they were arrested and convicted on burglary charges, and Malcolm was sentenced to 10 years in prison. (He was paroled after serving seven years.) Recalling his days in school, he used the time to further his education. It was during this period of self-enlightenment that Malcolm's brother Reginald would visit and discuss his recent conversion to the Muslim religion. Reginald belonged to the religious organization the Nation of Islam (NOI).

Intrigued, Malcolm began to study the teachings of NOI leader Elijah Muhammad. Muhammad taught that white society actively worked to keep African-Americans from empowering themselves and achieving political, economic and social success. Among other goals, the NOI fought for a state of their own, separate from one inhabited by white people. By the time he was paroled in 1952, Malcolm was a devoted follower with the new surname "X." (He considered "Little" a slave name and chose the Muslim's 'X' that symbolized his lost tribal name that he never could.)

Intelligent and articulate, Malcolm was appointed as a minister and national spokesman for the Nation of Islam. Elijah Muhammad also charged him with establishing new mosques in cities such as Detroit, Michigan and Harlem, New York. Malcolm utilized newspaper columns, as well as radio and television to communicate the NOI's message across the United States. His charisma, drive and conviction attracted an astounding number of new members. Malcolm was largely credited with increasing membership in the NOI from 500 in 1952 to 30,000 in 1963.

The crowds and controversy surrounding Malcolm made him a media magnet. He was featured in a week-long television special with Mike Wallace in 1959, called "The Hate That Hate Produced." The program explored the fundamentals of the NOI, and tracked Malcolm's emergence as one of its most important leaders. After the special, Malcolm was faced with the uncomfortable reality that his fame had eclipsed that of his mentor Elijah Muhammad. Racial tensions ran increasingly high during the early 1960s. In addition to the media, Malcolm's vivid personality had captured the government's attention. As membership in the NOI continued to grow, FBI agents infiltrated the organization (one even acted as Malcolm's bodyguard) and secretly placed bugs, wiretaps, cameras and other surveillance equipment to monitor the group's activities.

Malcolm's faith was dealt a crushing blow at the height of the civil rights movement in 1963. He learned that his mentor and leader, Elijah Muhammad, was secretly having relations with as many as six women within the Nation of Islam organization. As if that were not enough, Malcolm found out that some of these relationships had resulted in children.

Since joining the NOI, Malcolm had strictly adhered to the teachings of Muhammad - which included remaining celibate until his marriage to Betty Shabazz in 1958. Malcolm refused Muhammad's request to help cover up the affairs and subsequent children. He was deeply hurt by the deception of Muhammad, whom he had considered a living prophet. Malcolm also felt guilty about the masses he had led to join the NOI, which he now felt was a fraudulent organization built on too many lies to ignore.

Shortly after his shocking discovery, Malcolm received criticism for a comment he made regarding the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. "[Kennedy] never foresaw that the chickens would come home to roost so soon," said Malcolm. After the statement, Elijah Muhammad "silenced" Malcolm for 90 days. Malcolm, however, suspected he was silenced for another reason.

On March 8, 1964, Malcolm X publicly announced his break from the Nation of Islam. He said that he was still a Muslim, but he felt the Nation of Islam had "gone as far as it can" because of its rigid religious teachings. Malcolm X said he was going to organize a Black Nationalist organization that would try to "heighten the political consciousness" of African Americans. He also expressed his desire to work with other civil rights leaders and said that Elijah Muhammad had prevented him from doing so in the past.

One reason for the separation was growing tension between Malcolm X and Elijah Muhammad because of Malcolm X's dismay about rumors of Muhammad's extramarital affairs with young secretaries. Such actions were against the teachings of the Nation. Although at first Malcolm X ignored the rumors, he spoke with Muhammad's son Wallace and the women making the accusations. He came to believe that they were true, and Muhammad confirmed the rumors in 1963. Muhammad tried to justify his actions by referring to precedents by Biblical prophets. Another reason was resentment by people within the Nation. As Malcolm X had become a favorite of the media, many in the Nation's Chicago headquarters felt that he was over-shadowing Muhammad. Louis Lomax's 1963 book about the Nation of Islam, When the Word Is Given, featured a picture of Malcolm X on its cover and included five of his speeches, but only one of Muhammad's, which greatly upset Muhammad. Muhammad was also envious that a publisher was interested in Malcolm X's autobiography. After leaving the Nation of Islam, Malcolm X founded Muslim Mosque, Inc., a religious organization, and the Organization of Afro-American Unity, a secular group that advocated Pan-Africanism. On March 26, 1964, he met Martin Luther King, Jr. in Washington, D.C., after a press conference which followed both men attending the Senate to hear the debate on the Civil Rights bill. This was the only time the two men ever met; their meeting lasted only one minute, just long enough for photographers to take a picture. In April, Malcolm X made a speech titled "The Ballot or the Bullet" in which he advised African Americans to exercise their right to vote wisely. 

Malcolm X visited Africa on three separate occasions, once in 1959 and twice in 1964. During his visits, he met officials, gave interviews to newspapers, and spoke on television and radio in Egypt, Ethiopia, Tanganyika (now Tanzania), Nigeria, Ghana, Guinea, Sudan, Senegal, Liberia, Algeria, and Morocco. Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt, and Ahmed Ben Bella of Algeria invited Malcolm X to serve in their governments.

In 1959, Malcolm X traveled to Egypt (then known as the United Arab Republic), Sudan, Nigeria, and Ghana to arrange a tour for Elijah Muhammad. The first of the two trips Malcolm X made to Africa in 1964 lasted from April 13 until May 21, before and after his Hajj. On May 8, following his speech at the University of Ibadan in Nigeria, Malcolm X was made an honorary member of the Nigerian Muslim Students' Association. During this reception the students bestowed upon him the name "Omowale", which means "the son who has come home" in the Yoruba language. Malcolm X wrote in his autobiography that he "had never received a more treasured honor."

On July 9, 1964, Malcolm X returned to Africa. On July 17, he was welcomed to the second meeting of the Organization of African Unity in Cairo as a representative of the Organization of Afro-American Unity. By the time he returned to the United States on November 24, 1964, Malcolm had met with every prominent African leader and established an international connection between Africans on the continent and those in the diaspora.

Several Sunni Muslims encouraged Malcolm X to learn about Islam. Soon he converted to Sunni Islam, and decided to make his pilgrimage to Mecca. That same year, Malcolm went on a pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The trip proved life altering. For the first time, Malcolm shared his thoughts and beliefs with different cultures, and found the response to be overwhelmingly positive. When he returned, Malcolm said he had met "blonde-haired, blued-eyed men I could call my brothers." He returned to the United States with a new outlook on integration and a new hope for the future. This time when Malcolm spoke, instead of just preaching to African-Americans, he had a message for all races.

After Malcolm resigned his position in the Nation of Islam and renounced Elijah Muhammad, relations between the two had become increasingly volatile. FBI informants working undercover in the NOI warned officials that Malcolm had been marked for assassination. (One undercover officer had even been ordered to help plant a bomb in Malcolm's car).

After repeated attempts on his life, Malcolm rarely traveled anywhere without bodyguards. On February 14, 1965 the home where Malcolm, Betty and their four daughters lived in East Elmhurst, New York was firebombed. Luckily, the family escaped physical injury.

One week later, however, Malcolm's enemies were successful in their ruthless attempt. At a speaking engagement in the Manhattan's Audubon Ballroom on February 21, 1965 three gunmen rushed Malcolm onstage. They shot him 15 times at close range. The 39-year-old was pronounced dead on arrival at New York's Columbia Presbyterian Hospital. Fifteen hundred people attended Malcolm's funeral in Harlem on February 27, 1965 at the Faith Temple Church of God in Christ (now Child's Memorial Temple Church of God in Christ). After the ceremony, friends took the shovels away from the waiting gravediggers and buried Malcolm themselves.

Later that year, Betty gave birth to their twin daughters.

Malcolm's assassins, Talmadge Hayer, Norman 3X Butler and Thomas 15X Johnson were convicted of first-degree murder in March 1966. The three men were all members of the Nation of Islam.

The legacy of Malcolm X has moved through generations as the subject of numerous documentaries, books and movies. A tremendous resurgence of interest occurred in 1992 when director Spike Lee released the acclaimed movie, Malcolm X. The film received Oscar nominations for Best Actor (Denzel Washington) and Best Costume Design.

Malcolm X is buried at the Ferncliff Cemetery in Hartsdale, New York.

Reactions to Malcolm X's assassination were varied. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. sent a telegram to Betty Shabazz, expressing his sadness over "the shocking and tragic assassination of your husband."

While we did not always see eye to eye on methods to solve the race problem, I always had a deep affection for Malcolm and felt that he had a great ability to put his finger on the existence and root of the problem. He was an eloquent spokesman for his point of view and no one can honestly doubt that Malcolm had a great concern for the problems that we face as a race.

Our Hero and Heroine: Our Hero and Heroine: Oprah Gail Winfrey

Our Hero and Heroine: Our Hero and Heroine: Oprah Gail Winfrey: "Our Hero and Heroine: Oprah Gail Winfrey: ' On January 29, 1954 Oprah Gail Winfrey was born out of wedlock, to teenage parents in Kosciusk..."

Bill Gates (William Henry "Bill" Gates III)

Bill Gates is one of the most influential people in the world, born in October 28, 1955 and grew up in Seattle, Washington USA. His family was upper middle class; his father, William H. Gates II was a Seattle attorney and his mother, Mary Maxwell Gates was a school teacher and chairperson of the United Way charity. Gates and his two sisters had a comfortable upbringing, with Gates being able to attend the exclusive secondary "Lakeside School". Bill Gates started studying at Harvard University in 1973 where he spent time with Paul Allen. Gates and Allen worked on a version of the programming language BASIC.

He is an American business magnate, philanthropist, author and chairman of Microsoft, the software company that had revenues of US$51.12 billion for the fiscal year ending June 2007, and employs more than 78,000 people in 105 countries and regions. According to the Forbes magazine, Bill Gates is the richest man in the world. He is consistently ranked among the world's wealthiest people and was the wealthiest overall from 1995 to 2009, excluding 2008, when he was ranked third. 

After reading the January 1975 issue of Popular Electronics that demonstrated the Altair 8800, Gates contacted Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems (MITS), the creators of the new microcomputer, to inform them that he and others were working on a BASIC interpreter for the platform. In reality, Gates and Allen did not have an Altair and had not written code for it; they merely wanted to gauge MITS's interest. MITS president Ed Roberts agreed to meet them for a demo, and over the course of a few weeks they developed an Altair emulator that ran on a minicomputer, and then the BASIC interpreter. The demonstration, held at MITS's offices in Albuquerque, was a success and resulted in a deal with MITS to distribute the interpreter as Altair BASIC. Paul Allen was hired into MITS, and Gates took a leave of absence from Harvard to work with Allen at MITS in Albuquerque in November 1975. They named their partnership "Micro-Soft" and had their first office located in Albuquerque. Within a year, the hyphen was dropped, and on November 26, 1976, the trade name "Microsoft" was registered with the Office of the Secretary of the State of New Mexico. Gates never returned to Harvard to complete his studies.

Microsoft's BASIC was popular with computer hobbyists, but Gates discovered that a pre-market copy had leaked into the community and was being widely copied and distributed. In February 1976, Gates wrote an Open Letter to Hobbyists in the MITS newsletter saying that MITS could not continue to produce, distribute, and maintain high-quality software without payment. This letter was unpopular with many computer hobbyists, but Gates persisted in his belief that software developers should be able to demand payment. Microsoft became independent of MITS in late 1976, and it continued to develop programming language software for various systems. The company moved from Albuquerque to its new home in Bellevue, Washington on January 1, 1979.

During Microsoft's early years, all employees had broad responsibility for the company's business. Gates oversaw the business details, but continued to write code as well. In the first five years, he personally reviewed every line of code the company shipped, and often rewrote parts of it as he saw fit.

In 1980, IBM approached Microsoft to write the BASIC interpreter for its upcoming personal computer, the IBM PC. When IBM's representatives mentioned that they needed an operating system, Gates referred them to Digital Research (DRI), makers of the widely used CP/M operating system. IBM's discussions with Digital Research went poorly, and they did not reach a licensing agreement. IBM representative Jack Sams mentioned the licensing difficulties during a subsequent meeting with Gates and told him to get an acceptable operating system. A few weeks later Gates proposed using 86-DOS (QDOS), an operating system similar to CP/M that Tim Paterson of Seattle Computer Products (SCP) had made for hardware similar to the PC. Microsoft made a deal with SCP to become the exclusive licensing agent, and later the full owner, of 86-DOS. After adapting the operating system for the PC, Microsoft delivered it to IBM as PC-DOS in exchange for a one-time fee of $50,000. Gates did not offer to transfer the copyright on the operating system, because he believed that other hardware vendors would clone IBM's system. They did, and the sales of MS-DOS made Microsoft a major player in the industry.

Gates oversaw Microsoft's company restructuring on June 25, 1981, which re-incorporated the company in Washington State and made Gates President of Microsoft and the Chairman of the Board.

Microsoft launched its first retail version of Microsoft Windows on November 20, 1985, and in August, the company struck a deal with IBM to develop a separate operating system called OS/2. Although the two companies successfully developed the first version of the new system, mounting creative differences undermined the partnership. Gates distributed an internal memo on May 16, 1991, announcing that the OS/2 partnership was over and Microsoft would shift its efforts to the Windows NT kernel development.

From Microsoft's founding in 1975 until 2006, Gates had primary responsibility for the company's product strategy. He aggressively broadened the company's range of products, and wherever Microsoft achieved a dominant position he vigorously defended it.

As an executive, Gates met regularly with Microsoft's senior managers and program managers. Firsthand accounts of these meetings describe him as verbally combative, berating managers for perceived holes in their business strategies or proposals that placed the company's long-term interests at risk. He often interrupted presentations with such comments as, "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard!" and "Why don't you just give up your options and join the Peace Corps?" The target of his outburst then had to defend the proposal in detail until, hopefully, Gates was fully convinced. When subordinates appeared to be procrastinating, he was known to remark sarcastically, "I'll do it over the weekend."

Gates's role at Microsoft for most of its history was primarily a management and executive role. However, he was an active software developer in the early years, particularly on the company's programming language products. He has not officially been on a development team since working on the TRS-80 Model 100 line, but wrote code as late as 1989 that shipped in the company's products. On June 15, 2006, Gates announced that he would transition out of his day-to-day role over the next two years to dedicate more time to philanthropy. He divided his responsibilities between two successors, placing Ray Ozzie in charge of day-to-day management and Craig Mundie in charge of long-term product strategy.

  During his career at Microsoft, Gates held the positions of CEO and chief software architect, and remains the largest individual shareholder with more than 8 percent of the common stock.  Gates is one of the best-known entrepreneurs of the personal computer revolution. Although he is admired by many, a number of industry insiders criticize his business tactics, which they consider anti-competitive, an opinion which has in some cases been upheld by the courts. In the later stages of his career, Gates has pursued a number of philanthropic endeavors, donating large amounts of money to various charitable organizations and scientific research programs through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, established in 2000.

Under Gates' leadership, Microsoft's mission has been to continually advance and improve software technology, and to make it easier, more cost-effective and more enjoyable for people to use computers. The company is committed to a long-term view, reflected in its investment of approximately $7.1 billion on research and development in the 2007 fiscal year.

In 1999, Gates wrote Business @ the Speed of Thought, a book that shows how computer technology can solve business problems in fundamentally new ways. The book was published in 25 languages and is available in more than 60 countries. Business @ the Speed of Thought has received wide critical acclaim, and was listed on the best-seller lists of the New York Times, USA Today, the Wall Street Journal and Amazon.com. Gates' previous book, The Road Ahead, published in 1995, held the No. 1 spot on the New York Times' bestseller list for seven weeks.

Gates has donated the proceeds of the books to non-profit organizations that support the use of technology in education and skills development.

In addition to his love of computers and software, Gates founded Corbis, which is developing one of the world's largest resources of visual information - a comprehensive digital archive of art and photography from public and private collections around the globe. He is also a member of the board of directors of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., which invests in companies engaged in diverse business activities.

Philanthropy is also important to Gates. He and his wife, Melinda, have endowed a foundation with more than $28.8 billion (as of January 2005) to support philanthropic initiatives in the areas of global health and learning, with the hope that in the 21st century, advances in these critical areas will be available for all people. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has committed more than $3.6 billion to organizations working in global health; more than $2 billion to improve learning opportunities, including the Gates Library Initiative to bring computers, Internet Access and training to public libraries in low-income communities in the United States and Canada; more than $477 million to community projects in the Pacific Northwest; and more than $488 million to special projects and annual giving campaigns.

Gates was married on Jan. 1, 1994, to Melinda French Gates. They have three children. Gates is an avid reader, and enjoys playing golf and bridge.