Abd al-Rahman ibn Muhammad ibn Khaldun was Arab philosopher, historian and social thinker. He was one of the most original thinkers of the Middle Ages. He was also a politician and diplomat. In his treatise, the Muqaddima, he pioneered a general sociological theory of history.
Ibn Khaldun was born on May 27, 1332 in Tunis. He studied the traditional religious sciences including law according to the Maliki school. He also was trained in the arts. In 1345, his parents died of the plague, and he found employment at the court of the Hafsids.
In 1357 he was imprisoned for 22 months as he was suspected of plotting against the ruler.
In 1362 he went to Granada, where he was well received by the vizier, Ibn al-Khatib.
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He was a thief and a killer. Yet he is considered a national hero and one of the most romantic figures in Australian history. Poems and songs were written, and thousands of post cards with the pictures of the gang were sold.
Edward Kelly was born on June 3, 1854. He was born into a family of John Kelly and Ellen Quinn. His parents were both Irish born, but they met and married in Australia. His father was exiled to Van Diemen’s Land (now Tasmania) for stealing two pigs. He was freed after five years in prison and moved to the province of Victoria where he married Ellen Quinn, the daughter of a local farmer. Ned was the third child in the family (of the eight). He received his primary education at a local school.
When Ned was about 12 years old, his father was accused of stealing a calf. John Kelly died on December 27, 1866 in prison.
Ned first got into trouble with the law when he was only 14. He and his family used to steal horses, rebrand them and sell them. The owners of the horses offered large rewards for Kelly’s arrest.
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Captain Cook was one of the most famous scientific navigators, one of the foremost figures of the Age of Exploration. He headed three expeditions to the Pacific Ocean. During these expeditions, he made a number of geographical discoveries. Cook was the first European to arrive on the east coast of Australia. He drew maps of the coasts of Australia and New Zealand. He was also the first European to arrive at Hawaii.
He was a British naval officer, explorer, cartographer, a member of the Royal Society and the Royal Navy captain.
James Cook was born on October 27 (November 7), 1728 in Marton-in-Cleveland, Yorkshire, England. He was one of the seven children. Unfortunately four of them died before they passed the age of five. James helped his father on a farm, then worked in a shop. Since his childhood James dreamed of becoming a sailor. At the age of 18, he became a ship’s boy on a coal ship and spent the next 9 years sailing from the River Tyne to London and the Baltic. When he was 24, he joined the Royal Navy.
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King Edward VIII gave up the throne because he was in love.
He was King of England for only one year, 1936. After his abdication Edward VIII (1894-1972) was Duke of Windsor.
The eldest son of George, Duke of York, and his wife, Princess Mary of Tech, Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David was born on June 23, 1894, at Richmond Park, Surrey.
In order to prepare Prince Edward for his future responsibilities, his parents decided to have him trained for the Royal Navy. In 1907 he was sent to Osborne and from 1909 to 1911 attended the Royal Naval College at Dartmouth.
In 1911 he was invested as Prince of Wales in an impressive ceremony at Caernarvon Castle, Wales. In 1912 he was sent to Oxford to complete his education.
The eldest son of George V, Prince Edward (known to his family as David) was very popular with the British people.
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Winston Churchill was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during World War II. He was one of the greatest public speakers of his time and Nobel laureate for literature.
Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill was born on November 30, 1874, in Oxfordshire, England. He was the eldest son of Lord Randolph Churchill, a Tory Democrat who achieved early success as a rebel in his party. His mother was Jenny Jerome, the beautiful and talented daughter of Leonard Jerome, a New York businessman.
He studied at Harrow and the Royal Military College at Sandhurst.
In 1895 Churchill entered the British Army. In 1899 he joined the Conservatives, a British political party. His political career began as a member of the House of Commons in 1900.
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People called him Cristoforo Colombo in Italian, Cristobal Colon in Spanish and today Americans call him Christopher Columbus. He is famous as the discoverer of America. To tell the truth, he wasn’t the first European to set foot in the Western Hemisphere. Historians believe that, in the fourteenth century, Portuguese and English fishing boats crossed the Atlantic Ocean and landed in Newfoundland and Labrador. But only Columbus’s voyages resulted in permanent links between the Eastern and Western Hemispheres.
October 12, 1492 was a turning point in world history. On that day Columbus landed on an island in the Bahamas.
The second Monday in October is Columbus Day in the USA. This day is also celebrated in Italy and in most Spanish-speaking countries. Columbus Day is also called the Landing Day or Discovery Day. The holiday often involves parades, patriotic speeches, and dramatizations of the landing.
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Henry VIII had six wives and his private life influenced English political history. He got rid of the Catholic Church in England and made himself head of the new Church. He built the first modern navy, but spent his father’s fortune on foreign wars.
King Henry VIII was born in 1491. He was handsome, talented, and cruel. He was educated and spoke several languages, including Latin. He also studied philosophy, religion, and astronomy. He wrote prose and poetry. But his real passion was music. They say he wrote Greensleeves which is still one of the most popular folk songs in Britain.
Henry VIII loved luxury, balls, women and good food.
He was very cruel. When his friend, Thomas More, refused to recognize Henry as head of the Church of England, he was sent to prison and finally beheaded.
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