World of faces

Famous people all over the world

Category Archive: History

Ivan Mazepa – Cossack leader

Ivan Mazepa - Cossack leader

Ivan Mazepa – Cossack leader


Ivan Mazepa (ca. 1644-1709) was the Ukrainian Cossack leader, Hetman.
Ivan Stepanovich Mazepa was raised in Poland and educated in the West. In 1663 he returned to Ukraine to enter the military service during the turbulent period of Ukrainian history known as the Ruin. Mazepa reached the rank of inspector general while still in his early 30s.
In 1687 he was elected hetman (chief) of the Ukrainian Cossack state. Mazepa managed to build new schools and churches, but his chief goal became the freeing of his people from Russian domination and the formation of an independent state including all of the Ukraine.
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Margaret of Valois – French princess

Margaret of Valois – French princess

Margaret of Valois – French princess

On August 18, 1572 there was a crowd at the Cathedral of Notre Dame waiting for the wedding of the French princess Margaret of Valois and Henry, King of Navarre. People risked their lives to glance at the celebration. They also wanted to look at the bride, who had already become famous for her love affairs and conquered the hearts of contemporaries with her beauty.
The name Marguerite of France, Marguerite of Valois, the famous queen Margot, the most beautiful woman of her time, the youngest daughter of Henry II and Catherine de Medici, is surrounded by many legends. The girl was named in honor of her great-aunt – Margaret of Navarre, who was called “the pearl of all pearls”, because Margaret means “pearl”. But, as it turned out, the brilliance of the new pearl had surpassed the shine of the old one.
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John D. Rockefeller – American industrialist

John D. Rockefeller - American industrialist

John D Rockefeller – American industrialist

The old man, like a withered mummy with protruding ears, lived as a hermit in his estate, never traveled anywhere, did not invite anyone, ate only boiled food and drank only distilled water. He was afraid of germs. The old man set a goal: to live as long as possible. He sat in a chair with a clock in his hands and looked at the second hand with a sense of satisfaction: its every jump lengthened his life. The American wondered whether he could live up to a hundred years. This old man, who wanted to join the very long life to his incredible wealth, was none other than the multi-billionaire John Davison Rockefeller.
Money was very important for him, each bank note had not only nominal, but also character. John strongly wanted to make friends with them. The big bill sounded like a symphony orchestra, a little – like violin. He wanted to be friends with money, it meant to be friends with great people depicted on bank notes. The only billionaire’s dream was to capture the money of others.
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Hernan Cortes – Spanish conquistador

Hernan Cortes - Spanish conquistador

Hernan Cortes – Spanish conquistador

Hernan Cortes was a Spanish conquistador, who conquered the great Aztec Empire in 1521. Thanks to him, in the 1520s people in Europe began to use vanilla and chocolate.
Fernando Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro Altamirano was born in 1485 in Medellin, Spain. For two years he studied at the University of Salamanca, but chose a military career. At age 19 he sailed for the island of Hispaniola in the West Indies.
In 1510-1514 he participated in an expedition under the command of Diego de Velazquez to conquer Cuba. Cortes became mayor of Santiago, the capital.
On November 8, 1519, Cortes marched into the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan (now Mexico City). The Aztec emperor Montezuma II welcomed Cortes because he thought he was a god of Aztec legend. Cortes quickly seized power. In 1522-1526 he was a captain-general of the newly formed colony, but because of the fierce struggle for power he returned to Europe in 1528.
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Paul Revere – hero of American Revolution

Paul Revere - hero of American Revolution

Paul Revere – hero of American Revolution

Paul Revere was an American artisan, silversmith in the second generation. He was one of the most famous heroes of the American Revolution.
Paul Revere was born in Boston on December 21, 1734 according to the Julian calendar (January 1, 1735, new style). He was a descendant of French Huguenots who fled from the violence and oppression of Louis XIV. His father Apollos Rivoire (1702-1754) arrived in Boston at the age of 13 and later became the owner of the silversmith shop and married a descendant of the wealthy local family Deborah Hitchborn. Paul was the third of 12 children in the family. In spite of the French origin he did not speak French and became a member of Anglican Church. However, in the end, Paul returned to Calvinist church. Apollos Rivoire died when Paul was 19 years old.
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Cesar Chavez – labor leader

Cesar Chavez - labor leader

Cesar Chavez – labor leader

Cesar Chavez is a well-known American human rights activist, a fighter for social rights of workers, the national hero of the United States, a supporter of veganism.
Cesar Estrada Chavez was born on March 31, 1927 near Yuma (Arizona, USA) in a family of Mexicans whose ancestors lived in Arizona before it joined the United States. During the Great Depression Cesar’s parents lost their own business and the boy had to begin his working career at the age of ten. Due to various social and financial difficulties he had changed more than thirty schools and quit his studies after eight years because of the need to earn a livelihood. By age 15 Cesar was working full-time in the fields.
He serviced in the U.S. Navy during World War II. After demobilization he settled in central California. There Cesar met Helen Fabela, and soon they got married.
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Lucretia Mott – American Quaker

Lucretia Mott - American Quaker

Lucretia Mott – American Quaker

Lucretia Mott was an American Quaker, a pioneer feminist leader and radical abolitionist.
Lucretia Coffin Mott was born on January 3, 1793 in Nantucket, Massachusetts. At the age of 13, she was sent to a Quaker school in Poughkeepsie, New York. Later she worked there as a teacher. Her interest in women’s rights arose when she learned that the male teachers at her school had a salary three times higher than female teachers.
Lucretia married James Mott who worked as a teacher in the same school. The wedding took place on April 10, 1811. They had 6 children. The second child died at the age of two.
Like many Quakers, Mott opposed slavery. She refused to use products produced by slaves: sugar cane, cotton clothes and so on. In 1821, Mott became a Quaker minister. With the support of her husband she traveled a lot around the country.
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