Catherine of Aragon was the daughter of the founders of the Spanish State Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile, the first wife of King Henry VIII Tudor, mother of Queen Maria I. After twenty-four years of marriage, due to the lack of a male heir, Henry insisted on the cancellation of the marriage with Catherine. It was one of the causes of the conflict between Henry and Pope, a break with the Roman Catholic Church and the Reformation in England.
Catalina de Aragon y Castilla was born on December 16, 1485 in the castle of the Archbishop of Toledo in the town of Alcala de Henares located near Madrid. She was the youngest child of Catholic Kings – Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile. Her childhood coincided with the period of Renaissance in Spain. One of Catherine’s mentors was Alessandro Geraldine, who, together with his brother Antonio was one of the most famous humanists of his time. The girl studied heraldry and genealogy, history, canon law and civil law, classical literature, ancient literature and languages – in particular Latin and Greek.
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Marie Antoinette was Queen of France, youngest daughter of Emperor Francis I and Maria Theresa. In 1770 she became the wife of King Louis XVI of France.
Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna von Habsburg-Lothringen was born on November 2, 1755 in Vienna, Austria. Marie was the 15th child of Maria Theresa and Emperor Franz I. She was named in honor of the Virgin Mary, Saint Anthony of Padua, her elder brother, Joseph, and St. John. Her godparents were King and Queen of Portugal, although their representatives were the Archduke Joseph and the Archduchess Maria Anna.
Childhood and adolescence Marie Antoinette spent at court, mainly in the Schönbrunn Palace, in a large and loving family. At the age of three she had to wear a corset, as well as other female members of her family. She had dance lessons, visited theater performances, studied history, art, spelling, a little math, and foreign languages. Girls were also taught needlework and art of small talk. However the princess did not have a great love for knowledge. The girl preferred games to lessons.
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Homer Folks advocated on behalf of many of New York’s citizens, creating a health care system. By 1900 child labor had become one of several social ills of concern to social reformers, who sought ways to address the increasingly widespread poverty, illiteracy, crime, and disease among the working classes.
Homer was an advocate for social reform on a major scale. During his lifetime he became a preeminent spokesman for the rights of children, women, and the mentally ill.
Homer Folks was born on February 18, 1867, in Hanover, Michigan into a farmer’s family. In 1883 he graduated from a rural high school and enrolled at Albion College in Albion, Michigan. In 1887 Folks moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts and studied at Harvard University where he was inspired by the lectures of Francis G. Peabody and George Herbert Palmer. Folks wanted to participate in social change. In 1890, he moved to Philadelphia and worked as general superintendent of the Children’s Aid Society of Pennsylvania. In his first year with the Society Folks organized a child-care training system for potential foster parents.
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Ho Chi Minh was a Vietnamese political activist and Marxism-Leninism follower, the founder of the Communist Party of Vietnam, the head of the August Revolution, the first president of North Vietnam, the creator of the Viet Minh and the Viet Cong, philosopher, poet. He was a powerful leader of Vietnam during a troubled period of that country’s history.
Ho Chi Minh (his real name was Nguyen Sinh Cung, also known as Nguyen Tat Thanh and Nguyen Ai Quoc) was born on May 19, 1890 in the village of Kim Lien, province of Nghe An, central Vietnam. His father, supporter of Confucian Patriotic Party, was the most educated man in the village. His mother died at the age of 32 when she gave birth to the fourth child. According to Vietnamese tradition, before entering school, Nguyen Sinh Cung received a second (official or “book”, name) – Nguyen Tat Thanh.
In 1911, Tat Thanh using a false name joined the ship crew as a sailor. 30 years later he returned home. He visited America and Europe. In 1916-1923 he lived in the US, UK and France.
In Paris he took the pseudonym Nguyen Ai Quoc (Nguyen-patriot).
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Genghis Khan was a conqueror, founder and the first great Khan of the Mongol Empire. He was a political and military genius who brought together the wandering peoples of central Asia. His continental empire was the largest in the history of mankind.
Genghis Khan was born in about 1162 in northern Mongolia. His name at first was Temujin. He was named after an enemy his father had defeated. His father, Yesugei, was the chief of one Mongol group. Yesugei was killed by the Tatars when Temujin was 9 years old. Later he became chief. He married Borte, who became the mother of four sons and a daughter.
Temujin built up a large army to conquer neighboring groups and unify them into a single Mongol nation. He used harsh training and strict discipline to create a superior fighting force.
In 1206 the people named him Genghis Khan, which means “universal ruler.”
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Hernando de Soto was a Spanish explorer and conquistador with the title of admiral who led the first conquest expedition in Europe to the north of Mexico, into the territory of the modern United States. He was the first European to cross the Mississippi River and leave documentary evidence.
Hernando de Soto was born in 1498 in Extremadura or Andalusia. Two cities – Badajoz and Barcarrota claim that he was born there. It is known that he spent his childhood in both places.
In 1514 de Soto sailed to the New World together with the first governor of Panama, Pedrarias Davila. Later Hernando married his daughter. In Central America, he became known as an excellent rider, fighter and tactician, but was also known for his cruelty. In 1530, de Soto became the ruler of Leon in Nicaragua. He led an expedition to the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula in order to find a passage between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans to trade with the East, the richest market in the world. After the failure of the expedition and Davila’s death, he left his estate in Nicaragua. He hired vessels, and brought his men in Tumbes.
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Charles Maurice de Talleyrand was a French politician and diplomat, who served as Foreign Minister. He served the throne of France from the time of Louis XVI to Louis- Philippe (the last king). He was renowned master of political intrigue. From November 2, 1788 to April 13, 1791 he was a bishop of Autun.
Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Perigord was born on February 2, 1754 in Paris in a noble aristocratic family of Charles Daniel de Talleyrand-Perigord (1734-1788). Charles Maurice enrolled in College d’Harcourt in Paris, later he studied at the Saint-Sulpice Seminary (1770-1773) and at the Sorbonne. In 1779, Talleyrand was ordained to the priesthood.
In 1780 Talleyrand became general agent of the Gallican church at the court. In 1788 Talleyrand became bishop.
On July 14, 1789 he was included in the Constitutional Committee of the National Assembly. Talleyrand was involved in the writing of the Declaration of human and civil rights and produce a draft of the Civil Constitution of the clergy.
In 1791, he was defrocked by the Pope for taking part in revolutionary activity.
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