FAMOUS PEOPLE I

The sixth king of Babylon from 1792 BC to

1750 BC. Known for the set of laws, one of
the first written codes of law in recorded
history. These laws were inscribed on stone
tablets (stelae) standing over eight feet tall
(2.4 meters), found in Persia in 1901. Owing
to his reputation in modern times as an ancient
law-giver, his portrait is in many government
buildings throughout the world.
HAMMURABI
 H. (standing), depicted as
receiving his royal
insignia from Shamash. H.
holds his hands over his
mouth as a sign of prayer
(relief on the upper part of
the stele of H.'s code of
laws).
According to the Hebrew Bible, the second king
of the United Kingdom of Israel and, according
to Christian scripture (Matthew and Luke), an
ancestor of Jesus. His life is conventionally dated
to c. 1040–970 BC. He is very important to
Jewish, Christian and Islamic doctrine and
culture. Biblical tradition maintains that his direct
descendant will be the Messiah. He is depicted as
a righteous king, though not without faults, as
well as an acclaimed warrior, musician, and poet,
traditionally credited for composing many of the
psalms contained in the Book of Psalms.
KING DAVID
Philosopher of ancient China, best known as the author of the
Tao Te Ching. His association with the Tào Té Chīng has led
him to be traditionally considered the founder of
philosophical Taoism (pronounced as "Daoism"). He is also
revered as a deity in most religious forms of Taoist
philosophy, which often refers to him as "One of the Three
Pure Ones". According to Chinese traditions, he lived in the
6th century BC. Some historians contend that he actually
lived in the 5th-4th century BC, while some others argue that
he is a synthesis of multiple historical figures or that he is a
mythical figure. Throughout history, his work has been
embraced by various anti-authoritarian movements.
LAO TSU
The ruler of the Huns from 434 until his death in 453. During
his reign he was one of the most feared enemies of the
Western and Eastern Roman Empires (nicknamed Flagelum
Dei - Scourge of God). He crossed the Danube twice and
plundered the Balkans, but was unable to take
Constantinople. He also attempted to conquer Roman Gaul
(modern France), crossing the Rhine in 451 and marching as
far as Aurelianum (Orléans) before being defeated at the
Battle of the Catalaunian Plains.
Subsequently he invaded Italy, devastating the northern
provinces, but was unable to take Rome. He planned for
further campaigns against the Romans but died in 453.
ATTILA
Religious leader (570 – 632) from Mecca
who unified Arabia under Islam. He is
believed by Muslims to be a messenger
and prophet of God, and by most Muslims
as the last prophet sent by God for
mankind. Muslims consider him to be the
restorer of an uncorrupted original
monotheistic faith of Adam, Noah,
Abraham, Moses, Jesus and other
prophets.
MUHAMMAD
Czech Roman Catholic saint, a Bishop of
Prague and a missionary, was martyred (in
997) in his efforts to convert the Baltic
Prussians. He evangelized Poles and
Hungarians. He was later made the patron
saint of Bohemia, Poland, Hungary and
Prussia.
SAINT ADALBERT (Vojtěch) of Prague
English Scholastic philosopher, theologian, lay
preacher, translator, reformer and university teacher at
Oxford in England, who was known as an early
dissident in the Roman Catholic Church during the
14th century. His followers were known as Lollards, a
somewhat rebellious movement, which preached
anticlerical and biblically-centred reforms. The Lollard
movement was a precursor to the Protestant
Reformation (for this reason, he is sometimes called
"The Morning Star of the Reformation"). He was one
of the earliest opponents of papal authority influencing
secular power.
JOHN WYCLIFFE
Explorer, colonizer, and navigator, born in the
Republic of Genoa. Under the auspices of the
Catholic Monarchs of Spain, he completed four
voyages across the Atlantic Ocean that led to
general European awareness of the American
continents. Those voyages, and his efforts to
establish permanent settlements on the island of
Hispaniola, initiated the process of Spanish
colonization, which foreshadowed the general
European colonization of what became known as
the “New World“.
CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS
The illegitimate daughter of Pope Alexander VI. It is often
suggested she may have had an incestuous relationship with
her brother Cesare.
Her family later came to epitomize the ruthless
Machiavellian politics and sexual corruption alleged to be
characteristic of the Renaissance Papacy. She was cast as a
femme fatale, a role she has been portrayed as in many
artworks, novels, and films. Actually, very little is known of
her, and the extent of her complicity in the political
machinations of her father and brothers is unclear. They
certainly arranged several marriages for her to important or
powerful men in order to advance their own political
ambitions.
LUCREZIA BORGIA
Bohemian military leader and politician, who offered his services, and
an army of 30,000 to 100,000 men during the Thirty Years' War (1618–
48), to the Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II. He became the supreme
commander of the armies of the Habsburg Monarchy and a major figure
of the Thirty Years' War.
An imperial generalissimo by land, and Admiral of the Baltic Sea from
21 April 1628, who had made himself ruler of the lands of the Duchy of
Friedland in northern Bohemia, he found himself released from service
on 13 August 1630 after Ferdinand grew wary of his ambition. Several
Protestant victories over Catholic armies induced Ferdinand to recall
him, so that he turned the war in favor of the Imperial cause again.
Dissatisfied with the Emperor's treatment of him, he considered allying
with the Protestants. However, he was assassinated at Cheb in Bohemia
by one of the army's officials, with the emperor's approval.
ALBRECHT VON WALLENSTEIN /WALDSTEIN
American Founding Father, the
principal author of the
Declaration of Independence
(1776) and the third President
of the United States (1801–
1809).
THOMAS JEFFERSON
Flag officer famous for his service in the Royal
Navy, particularly during the Napoleonic Wars. He
was noted for his inspirational leadership and
superb grasp of strategy and unconventional tactics,
which resulted in a number of decisive naval
victories. He was wounded several times in
combat, losing one arm and the sight in one eye. Of
his several victories, the best known and most
notable was the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805,
during which he was shot and killed.
HORATIO NELSON
One of the most discussed Jewish victims of the
Holocaust. Her diary has been the basis for several
plays and films. Born in the city of Frankfurt am
Main in Weimar Germany, she lived most of her life
in or near Amsterdam, in the Netherlands. Born a
German national, she lost her citizenship in 1941
when Nazi Germany passed the anti-Semitic
Nuremberg Laws. She gained international fame
posthumously after her diary was published. It
documents her experiences hiding during the
German occupation of the Netherlands in World War
II.
ANNE FRANK
First Secretary of the Communist Party
of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964.
He was responsible for the partial de-
Stalinization of the Soviet Union, for
backing the progress of the early Soviet
space program, and for several
relatively liberal reforms in areas of
domestic policy. His party colleagues
removed him from power in 1964.
NIKITA KHRUSHCHEV
Cambodian Maoist revolutionary who led the Khmer
Rouge from 1963 until his death in 1998. From 1963 to
1981, he served as the General Secretary of the Communist
Party of Kampuchea. From 1976 to 1979, he also served as
the prime minister of Democratic Kampuchea. He became
leader of Cambodia on April 17, 1975. During his time in
power he imposed agrarian socialism, forcing urban
dwellers to relocate to the countryside to work in collective
farms and forced labor projects. The combined effects of
forced labor, malnutrition, poor medical care, and
executions resulted in the deaths of approximately 21% of
the Cambodian population. In all, an estimated 1.7 to 2.5
million people (out of a population of slightly over 8
million) died as a result of the policies of his three-year
premiership.
POL POT