People

Charlie Chaplin

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ImageCharlie Chaplin (1889-1977), English motion-picture actor, director, producer, and composer, one of the most creative artists in film history, who first achieved worldwide fame through his performances in silent films. His full name was Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin.

Born in London, as a child Chaplin appeared in music hall and pantomime performances. In 1910 he toured the United States with a pantomime troupe and decided to remain in the country. 

Chaplin first appeared on the screen in 1914 with the Keystone Film Company of American director Mack Sennett.

Ho Chi Minh- The Greatest Leader of Vietnam

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ImageHo 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.

Vladimir Lenin (1870 - 1924)

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ImageLenin 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.

Father of Red Cross-Henri Dunant

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ImageHenri Dunant, at age 30, was a wealthy Swiss banker and financier. His life would probably have continued much as it had except for one fateful day, June 24, 1859, that changed everything.

Dunant had been sent by his government to talk to Napoleon III. He was to discuss a business deal between the Swiss and the French that would benefit both. But Napoleon was not in Paris, he  was on the plain of Solferino about to do battle with the Austrians.

Margaret Thatcher

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ImageStyled 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.