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Leif Eriksson
His friends called him Leif the Lucky because he once found a ship filled with treasure. Today, Viking sailor Leif Eriksson is remembered for another lucky adventure. Many people believe he was the first European to reach North America!
We know little about Leif Eriksson’s life. His voyages are described in Icelandic poems called sagas. But these poems were not written down until about ad 1200, some 200 years after Eriksson died. The sagas may contain mistakes or exaggerations.
Martin Luther
Martin Luther was a German preacher who trusted the Bible and quarreled with the pope. His search for religious truth led to the creation of a new branch of Christianity called Protestantism. Protestants do not accept the authority of the pope, the person who heads the Roman Catholic Church.
A RELIGIOUS LIFE
Martin Luther was born in Eisleben, Germany, in 1483. At the age of 21, he joined a monastery, and at 23, he became a Roman Catholic priest. From 1512 until his death, he was professor of theology (religion) at the University of Wittenberg in Germany.
Napoleon
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.
Muhammad
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.
Osama bin Laden
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.