People Explanation
Abraham Lincoln U.S. president, 1861-1865; assassinated by John Wilkes Booth in 1865; issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1862 Adolf Hitler Leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party, better known as the Nazi Party; commander of Axis powers during World War II; orchestrated the Holocaust Alaa Uldeen Aziz ABC News cameraman killed while working in Iraq in 2007
Anna Politkovskaya Russian investigative journalist and strong critic of the Kremlin and Russia’s involvement in the war in Chechnya; assassinated in 2006 Barack Obama U.S. president since 2009; first African-American U.S. president; Democrat
Bill Clinton U.S. president, 1993-2001; participant in the 1993 Oslo Accords with Yasser Arafat and Yitzhak Rabin; Democrat Bono Lead singer of the rock band U2; activist for humanitarian causes in Africa Brandi Chastain American professional soccer player; best known for her game- winning penalty shootout kick in the 1999 World Cup Championship game Cal Ripken Former Major League Baseball player; holds the record for the most consecutive games played — 2,632 Charles Osgood Radio and television commentator in the United States; narrator of this video
Christiaan Barnard South African cardiac surgeon who performed the first successful human-to-human heart transplant Colin and Alma Powell U.S. statesman and his wife; Colin Powell was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, 1989-1993, Secretary of State, 2001-2005, and a four- star general in the U.S. Army; together they run America’s Promise, an alliance of national organizations dedicated to educating youth Dalai Lama Buddhist leader of a branch of Tibetan Buddhism; the current Dalai Lama is the 14th man to hold this position of leadership; the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 Dan Eldon British-American photojournalist for Reuters, killed by an angry mob in Somalia in 1993
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Daniel Pearl Wall Street Journal reporter kidnapped and killed by al-Qaeda operatives in 2002 while working in Karachi, Pakistan David Bloom NBC News journalist until his sudden death in 2003 at age 39 from deep vein thrombosis while traveling with the Third Infantry Division during the war in Iraq
Dolly the Sheep A female domestic sheep; the first mammal to be cloned
Edward VIII King of the United Kingdom from January to December 1936; abdicated to marry American socialite Wallis Simpson Egon Scotland German newspaper reporter killed in 1991 while covering fighting in Yugoslavia Ermin Garcia Corruption-exposing newspaper editor in the Philippines; killed in his office by gunmen in 1966 Ernie Pyle American journalist who wrote as a roving reporter for the Scripps Howard newspaper chain; worked as a war correspondent in World War II; killed in action in 1945 Franklin D. Roosevelt U.S. president, 1933-1945, serving four terms; president during World War II; Democrat
Frederick Douglass American social reformer; escaped from slavery and went on to become a leader in the abolitionist movement George H.W. Bush U.S. president, 1989-1993; president during the Persian Gulf War; Republican George W. Bush U.S. president, 2001-2009; president during the Iraq War and the War in Afghanistan; Republican Hamid Karzai First and current president of Afghanistan; took office in 2004
Harry S. Truman U.S. president, 1945-1953; Democrat
Hosea Maina Kenyan photographer for Reuters; killed by an angry mob in Somalia in 1993 Jackie Robinson First African-American player in Major League Baseball; first appeared with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947 Jaime Garzon Colombian journalist popular for radio and television political satire; murdered by a gunman in 1999 Joe Biden Democrat and former senator; vice president since 2009 under Barack Obama
John F. Kennedy U.S. president, 1961-1963; assassinated Nov. 22, 1963; Democrat
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John Lennon Member of the Beatles rock band; musician and artist
Jonas Salk American medical researcher who discovered the first safe and effective polio vaccine Joseph Stalin First general secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union’s Central Committee; second leader of the Soviet Union Kenny and Bobbi Parents of the first septuplets to survive infancy; the septuplets were McCaughey born in 1997 in Des Moines, Iowa.
Lee Harvey Oswald American who, according to government investigations, assassinated President John F. Kennedy; Oswald was shot and killed while being transferred to county jail Nov. 24, 1963. Little Rock Nine Group of nine students in Little Rock, Ark., who were blocked from integrating Little Rock Central High School; they were allowed to enter only after an intervention from President Dwight Eisenhower Madonna Pop music singer and actress who rose to fame in the 1980s and became known for her music and her provocative opinions and sexually charged performances Malcolm X African-American civil rights activist; Muslim minister (member of the Nation of Islam) and public speaker; assassinated in 1965 Martin Luther King Jr. Prominent leader of the African-American civil rights movement; assassinated in 1968 Medgar Evers African-American civil rights activist; assassinated in 1963
Michael Phelps American Olympic swimmer; won a record eight gold medals at a single Olympic Games in 2008. Mother Teresa Catholic nun who founded the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta, India, in 1950; served the poor, sick and orphaned for 45 years while guiding these missionaries; made a saint by Pope John Paul II after her death and given the title Blessed Teresa of Calcutta. Myles Tierney Television producer for The Associated Press; killed in 1999 while covering Sierra Leone’s civil war Nancy Pelosi First female speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, 2007- 2011; Democrat Nancy Reagan First lady of the United States, 1981-1989; wife of President Ronald Reagan Neil Armstrong A member of the Apollo 11 crew, he was the first man to set foot on the moon.
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Nelson Mandela Anti-apartheid activist in South Africa; arrested and convicted of sabotage and other charges in 1963;sentenced to life in prison; after 27 years, he was released when the ban on his political party, the African National Congress, was lifted; later served as South Africa’s president from 1994-1999, the first black president in South Africa’s history Norman Schwarzkopf United States Army general (now retired); served as commander of the Coalition Forces in the Persian Gulf War of 1991 Ogulsapar Muradova Radio Free Europe reporter in Turkmenistan and critic of the Turkmenistan president; arrested and killed in prison under unexplained circumstances in 2006 Osama bin Laden Founder of the Islamic extremist organization al-Qaeda
Pablo Picasso Prolific Spanish artist whose work greatly influenced the development of modern art in the 20th century; pioneered Cubism; died in 1973 Paul Newman and Stage and film actors Joanne Woodward
Philip Graham Publisher of The Washington Post, 1946-1963
Pope John Paul II Head of the Roman Catholic Church from 1978 until his death in 2005
Princess Diana A member of the British royal family as the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales; also an international celebrity known for her philanthropic and charity work; died in a car accident in 1997 at age 36
Richard M. Nixon U.S. president, 1969-1974; resigned in 1974 while facing impeachment; president during the Vietnam War; Republican
Robert E. Lee Commander of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia during the American Civil War Robert F. Kennedy U.S. attorney general, 1961-1964; New York Democratic senator, 1965-1968; assassinated while campaigning for the U.S. presidency in 1968; Democrat
Rodney King African-American man at the center of a police brutality case in Los Angeles in 1991; the 1992 acquittal of officers charged with his beating sparked violent, deadly rioting throughout the city.
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Ronald Reagan U.S. president, 1981-1989; Republican
Saddam Hussein President of Iraq, 1979-2003; deposed and captured by U.S. forces in 2003; brought to trial in Iraq, convicted and executed in 2006
Sandra Day O’Connor First female Supreme Court justice; appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1981; served until her retirement in 2006
Terry Khoo ABC News cameraman; killed in Vietnam in 1972 on the last day of his assignment Thomas Edison An American inventor and scientist best known for the inventions of the phonograph, motion picture camera and the light bulb Thurgood Marshall First African American to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court
Tiger Woods Professional golfer; the youngest golfer to achieve the career Grand Slam — winning all of golf’s major championships in the same calendar year Tim Russert Longest serving moderator of NBC’s “Meet the Press,” died unexpectedly of a heart attack in 2008 at age 53 Tony Blair Prime minister of the United Kingdom, 1997-2007; in office in 2005 when the Irish Republican Army renounced violence and committed to peace
Tony Snow White House press secretary, 2006-2007; died from colon cancer in 2008 Ulysses S. Grant U.S. president , 1869-1877; military commander with the Union Army during the American Civil War; Republican Veronica Guerin Irish crime reporter murdered by drug lords in 1996
W.E.B. Dubois Intellectual leader and civil rights activist; served as the head of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and founded the NAACP’s journal, The Crisis
Walter Cronkite American broadcast journalist; “CBS Evening News” anchor, 1962- 1981 Will and Jada Pinkett Film and television actors Smith
William Hazlitt A 19th century English writer and journalist
Winston Churchill British politician and statesman; served twice as prime minister of the United Kingdom; known for his leadership during World War II
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Wright Brothers Orville and Wilbur Wright, two Americans credited with creating the first successful airplane
Yasser Arafat Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization, 1969-2004, president of the Palestinian Authority, 1996-2004; controversial figure who supported hijackings, kidnappings and hostage-takings in the 1970s and 1980s; later participated in peace talks with Israel at the 1993 Oslo Accords and the 2000 Camp David Summits; won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994 Yitzhak Rabin Former prime minister of Israel, 1974-1977 and 1992-1995; participant in the 1993 Oslo Accords; won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994; assassinated in 1995 during his second term
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