Who do you consider the most worthy example and inspiration for yourself personally? Martin Luther King Jr., Yuri Gagarin or maybe your grandfather? Our world took several millennia to form, and many historical figures took part in this difficult process, who made their invaluable contribution to science, culture and many other spheres of life, both in their countries and in all of humanity. It is very difficult and almost impossible to select those whose influence was most significant. However, the authors of this list still decided to try and collect in one publication the most inspiring personalities in the history of world civilizations. Some of them are known to everyone, others are not known to everyone, but they all have one thing in common - these people changed our world for the better. From the Dalai Lama to Charles Darwin, here are 25 of the most outstanding figures in history!
25. Charles Darwin
A famous British traveler, naturalist, geologist and biologist, Charles Darwin is most famous for his theory, which changed the understanding of human nature and the development of the world in all its diversity. Darwin's theory of evolution and natural selection suggests that all species, including humans, are descended from common ancestors, a concept that shocked the scientific community at the time. Darwin published The Theory of Evolution with some examples and evidence in his revolutionary book On the Origin of Species in 1859, and since then our world and the way we understand it have changed greatly.
24. Tim Berners-Lee
Photo: Paul Clarke
Tim Berners-Lee is a British engineer, inventor and computer scientist best known as the creator of the World Wide Web. Sometimes called the "Father of the Internet", Berners-Lee developed the first hypertext web browser, web server and web editor. The technologies of this outstanding scientist spread worldwide and forever changed the way information is generated and processed.
23. Nicholas Winton
Photo: cs:User:Li-sung
Nicholas Winton was a British philanthropist, and since the late 1980s he has become best known for smuggling 669 Jewish children out of Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia just before World War II. Winton transported all these children to British orphanages, and some of them even managed to be placed with families, which definitely saved them all from inevitable death in concentration camps or during the bombings. The philanthropist organized as many as 8 trains from Prague and also took children out of Vienna, but using other modes of transport. The Englishman never sought fame, and for 49 years he kept his heroic deed a secret. In 1988, Winton’s wife discovered a notebook with notes from 1939 and the addresses of the families who took in young Salvationists. Since then, recognition, orders and awards have fallen upon him. Nicholas Winton died at the age of 106 in 2015.
22. Gautama Buddha
Photo: Max Pixel
Also known as Siddhartha Gautama (from birth), Tathagata (the comer) or Bhagavan (the blessed one), Shakyamuni Buddha (the awakened sage of the Shakya lineage) was the spiritual leader and founder of Buddhism, one of the world's three leading religions. Buddha was born in the 6th century BC into a royal family and lived in absolute isolation and luxury. As the prince grew older, he left his family and all his property to plunge into self-discovery and seek to rid humanity of suffering. After several years of meditation and contemplation, Gautama achieved enlightenment and became the Buddha. Through his teachings, Buddha Shakyamuni influenced the lives of millions of people around the world.
21. Rosa Parks
Photo: wikimedia commons
Also known as the "First Lady of Civil Rights" and the "Mother of the Freedom Movement," Rosa Parks was a true pioneer and founder of the black civil rights movement in 1950s Alabama, which was still heavily segregated by race. In 1955, in Montgomery, Alabama, a courageous African-American woman and passionate civil rights activist, Rosa Parks, refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white passenger, disobeying the driver's orders. Her rebellious act provoked other blacks into what was later called the legendary "Montgomery Bus Boycott." This boycott lasted 381 days and became one of the key events in the history of the black civil rights movement in the United States.
20. Henry Dunant
Photo: ICRC
A successful Swiss entrepreneur and active public figure, Henri Dunant became the first person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize in 1901. During a business trip in 1859, Dunant encountered the terrible consequences of the Battle of Solferino (Italy), where the troops of Napoleon, the Kingdom of Sardinia and the Austrian Empire under the leadership of Franz Joseph I clashed, and the troops were left to die on the battlefield. almost 9 thousand wounded. In 1863, in response to the horrors of war and the brutality of the battle he saw, the entrepreneur founded the well-known International Committee of the Red Cross. The Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded, adopted in 1864, was also based on ideas expressed by Henri Dunant.
19. Simon Bolivar
Photo: wikimedia commons
Also known as the Libertador, Simon Bolivar was a prominent Venezuelan military and political leader who played a key role in the liberation of six countries in South and Central America - Venezuela, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Panama - from Spanish rule. Bolivar was born into a wealthy aristocratic family, but he devoted most of his life to military campaigns and the fight for the independence of the Spanish colonies in America. The country of Bolivia, by the way, was named in honor of this hero and liberator.
18. Albert Einstein
Photo: wikimedia commons
Albert Einstein is one of the most respected and influential scientists of all time. This outstanding theoretical physicist, Nobel laureate and public figure-humanist gave the world over 300 scientific works on physics and about 150 books and articles on history, philosophy and other humanitarian areas. His whole life was full of interesting research, revolutionary ideas and theories, which later became fundamental for modern science. Einstein was most famous for his Theory of Relativity, and thanks to this work he became one of the greatest personalities in human history. Even almost a century later, this Theory continues to influence the thinking of the modern scientific community working to create a Theory of Everything (or Unified Field Theory).
17. Leonardo da Vinci
Photo: wikimedia commons
It is difficult to describe and list all the areas in which Leonardo da Vinci, a man who changed the whole world with his mere existence, succeeded. Over the course of his entire life, this Italian genius of the Renaissance managed to achieve unprecedented heights in painting, architecture, music, mathematics, anatomy, engineering, and many other areas. Da Vinci is recognized as one of the most versatile and talented people to ever live on our planet, and he is the author of such revolutionary inventions as the parachute, helicopter, tank and scissors.
16. Christopher Columbus
Photo: wikimedia commons
The famous Italian explorer, traveler and colonizer, Christopher Columbus was not the first European to sail to America (after all, the Vikings had been here before him). However, his voyages gave rise to an entire era of the most outstanding discoveries, conquests and colonizations, which continued for several centuries after his death. Columbus's travels to the New World greatly influenced the development of geography of those times, because at the beginning of the 15th century people still believed that the Earth was flat and that there were no more lands beyond the Atlantic.
15. Martin Luther King Jr.
Photo: wikimedia commons
This is one of the most influential personalities of the 20th century. Martin Luther King Jr. is best known for his peaceful movement against discrimination, racial segregation and for the civil rights of black Americans, for which he even received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. Martin Luther King was a Baptist preacher and powerful speaker who inspired millions of people around the world to fight for democratic freedoms and their rights. He played a key role in promoting civil rights through peaceful protests based on Christian faith and the philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi.
14. Bill Gates
Photo: DFID – UK Department for International Development
The founder of the legendary multinational company Microsoft, Bill Gates was considered the richest person in the world for almost 20 years. Recently, however, Gates has become known primarily as a generous philanthropist rather than for his success in business and in the information technology market. At one time, Bill Gates stimulated the development of the personal computer market, making computers accessible to the simplest users, which is exactly what he wanted. Now he is passionate about the idea of providing Internet access to the whole world. Gates is also working on projects dedicated to combating global warming and combating gender discrimination.
William Shakespeare is considered one of the greatest writers and playwrights in the English language, and he has had a profound influence on a galaxy of literary figures, as well as millions of readers around the world. In addition, Shakespeare introduced about 2,000 new words, most of which are still in use in modern English. With his works, the national poet of England has inspired a great many composers, artists and film directors from all over the world.
12. Sigmund Freud
Photo: wikimedia commons
Austrian neurologist and founder of the science of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud is famous precisely for his unique research into the mysterious world of the human subconscious. With them, he forever changed the way we evaluate ourselves and the people around us. Freud's work influenced 20th-century psychology, sociology, medicine, art, and anthropology, and his therapeutic techniques and theories in psychoanalysis are still studied and practiced today.
11. Oskar Schindler
Photo: wikimedia commons
Oskar Schindler was a German entrepreneur, Nazi Party member, spy, womanizer and drinker. None of this sounds very appealing and certainly doesn't sound like the characteristics of a real hero. However, despite all of the above, Schindler deservedly made it onto this list, because during the Holocaust and World War II, this man saved about 1,200 Jews, rescuing them from death camps to work in his factories. The heroic story of Oskar Schindler has been told in many books and films, but the most famous adaptation was Steven Spielberg's 1993 film Schindler's List.
10. Mother Teresa
Photo: wikimedia commons
A Catholic nun and missionary, Mother Teresa devoted almost her entire life to serving the poor, sick, disabled and orphans. She founded the charitable movement and women's monastic congregation “Missionary Sisters of Love” (Congregatio Sororum Missionarium Caritatis), which exists in almost all countries of the world (in 133 countries as of 2012). In 1979, Mother Teresa became a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, and 19 years after her death (in 2016) she was canonized by Pope Francis himself.
9. Abraham Lincoln
Photo: wikimedia commons
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States and one of the most influential figures in American history. Coming from a poor farming family, Lincoln fought for the reunification of the country during the Civil War between the North and the South, strengthened the federal government, modernized the American economy, but he earned his reputation as an outstanding historical figure primarily for his contribution to the development of a democratic society and the fight against slavery and oppression black population of the USA. Abraham Lincoln's legacy continues to shape the American people today.
8. Stephen Hawking
Photo: Lwp Kommunikáció / flickr
Stephen Hawking is one of the most famous and respected scientists in the world, and he has made invaluable contributions to the development of science (especially cosmology and theoretical physics). The work of this British researcher and ardent popularizer of science is also impressive because Hawking made almost all of his discoveries in spite of a rare and slowly progressing degenerative disease. The first signs of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis appeared in his student years, and now the great scientist is completely paralyzed. However, severe illness and paralysis did not prevent Hawking from marrying twice, becoming the father of two sons, flying in zero gravity, writing many books, becoming one of the founders of quantum cosmology and the winner of a whole collection of prestigious awards, medals and orders.
7. Unknown rebel
Photo: HiMY SYeD / flickr
This is the conventional name given to an unknown man who independently held back a column of tanks for half an hour during the protests in Tiananmen Square (Tiananmen, China) in 1989. In those days, hundreds of protesters, most of whom were ordinary students, died in clashes with the military. The identity and fate of the unknown rebel remains unknown, but the photograph has become an international symbol of courage and peaceful resistance.
6. Muhammad
Photo: wikimedia commons
Muhammad was born in 570 AD in the city of Mecca (Mecca, modern Saudi Arabia). He is considered a Muslim prophet and the founder of the Islamic religion. Being not only a preacher, but also a politician, Muhammad united all the Arab peoples of those times into a single Muslim empire, which conquered most of the Arabian Peninsula. The author of the Qur'an started out with a few followers, but eventually his teachings and practices formed the basis of the Islamic religion, which is now the second most popular religion in the world, with some 1.8 billion believers.
5. The 14th Dalai Lama
Photo: wikimedia commons
The 14th Dalai Lama, or by birth Lhamo Thondup, is a 1989 Nobel Peace Prize laureate and a renowned preacher of Buddhist philosophy of peace, professing respect for all life on Earth and calling for the harmonious coexistence of man and nature. The former spiritual and political leader of Tibet in exile, the 14th Dalai Lama always tried to find a compromise and sought reconciliation with the Chinese authorities who invaded Tibet with territorial claims. In addition, Lhamo Dhondrub is a passionate supporter of the women's rights movement, interfaith dialogues and advocates for solving global environmental problems.
4. Princess Diana
Photo: Auguel
Also known as “Lady Di” and “the people’s princess,” Princess Diana captured the hearts of millions around the world with her philanthropy, hard work and sincerity. She devoted most of her short life to helping those in need in third world countries. The Queen of Hearts, as she was also known, founded the movement to end the production and use of anti-personnel mines, and was actively involved in several dozen humanitarian campaigns and non-profit organizations, including the Red Cross, London's Great Ormond Street Hospital and AIDS research. Lady Di died at the age of 36 from injuries received in a car accident.
3. Nelson Mandela
Photo: Library of the London School of Economics and Political Science
Nelson Mandela was a South African politician, philanthropist, revolutionary, reformer, passionate advocate for human rights during apartheid (policy of racial segregation) and President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He had a profound influence on the history of South Africa and the world. Mandela spent almost 27 years in prison for his beliefs, but he did not lose faith in the liberation of his people from the oppression of the authorities, and after leaving prison he achieved democratic elections, as a result of which he became the first black president of South Africa. His tireless work to peacefully end the apartheid regime and establish democracy inspired millions of people around the world. In 1993, Nelson Mandela won the Nobel Peace Prize.
2. Jeanne d'Arc
Photo: wikimedia commons
Also known as the Maid of Orleans, Joan of Arc is the greatest heroine in French history and one of the most famous women in world history. She was born into a poor farming family in 1412 and believed that she was chosen by God to lead France to victory in the Hundred Years' War with England. The girl died before the end of the war, but her courage, passion and devotion to her goal (especially during the siege of Orleans) caused a long-awaited moral upsurge and inspired the entire French army to the final victory in the protracted and seemingly hopeless confrontation with the British. Unfortunately, in battle, the Maid of Orleans was captured by her enemies, condemned by the Inquisition and burned at the stake at the age of 19.
1. Jesus Christ
Photo: wikimedia commons
Jesus Christ is the central figure of the Christian religion, and He has had such a profound impact on our world that He is often called the most influential and inspiring person in human history. Compassion, love for others, sacrifice, humility, repentance and forgiveness, which Jesus called for in His sermons and personal example, were concepts completely opposite to the values of ancient civilizations during His life on Earth. Yet today there are approximately 2.4 billion followers of His teachings and Christian faith in the world.
A person’s personality also determines his biography: some create fame for themselves with outstanding inventions, discoveries in science or masterpieces in art, and some become known for their crazy and cruel actions. The people discussed below lived at different times and had different guidelines and values. The only thing they have in common is that they forever inscribed their names in the history of mankind.
Emperor Nero: tyranny in Ancient Rome
Power corrupts, but only those who are already vicious inside. For historians, the name of Nero has become closely associated with exceptional cruelty, unprincipledness, childish egocentrism and perversity.
What is it worth killing your own mother or reciting poetry over the eternal city burning in flames?
Having brutally executed his first wife, the emperor married again, his mother was against it, and Nero’s second wife, Poppea, gave him an ultimatum, forcing him to choose between himself and his mother. The emperor chose Poppea, and ordered the mother to be executed.
By the way, after the death of his wife, Nero found a slave boy who looked as much like Poppea as possible and married him, having previously castrated him.
Leonardo da Vinci: the routine of a genius
The life of the greatest genius of the Renaissance will inevitably be included in the most interesting biographies of mankind, given how much he managed to accomplish.
Leonardo's life story has been revealed in many films and biographical books. The modern Oscar-winning actor Leonardo DiCaprio was named after him, and it is around his paintings that the action of Dan Brown’s famous novel “The Da Vinci Code” unfolds.
The name da Vinci is associated with such a phenomenon as “Leonardo’s handwriting”: the ability to write in such a way that what is written can only be read in a mirror image.
This ability went to the great artist with the natural gift of ambidexterity - to be equally good with his right and left hands - to write, draw, sketch, for example.
Da Vinci was fond of vegetarian cooking and music; he played the lyre beautifully and prepared dishes that were served at the royal table.
Also, Leonardo was once tried for being found in bed with three young men, and at the trial he was presented not as a painter or engineer, but as a musician.
Joan of Arc: Virgin Savior
The heroine of France, the Maid of Orleans, the savior of the French land... A simple girl from the suburbs went down in history thanks to her unbending faith in her higher destiny.
She considered the Dauphin Charles to be anointed by God, and therefore, for his sake and for the sake of her people, she sought to reconquer French lands from the English invaders. She led an army of six thousand in battle against the British near Orleans. At that time, the city was besieged, and the Orleanians could no longer fight off the enemies, but the king’s army, led by Jeanne, defeated the siege and triumphantly entered the city.
Joan took Reims, and thanks to her successes, Charles was crowned Charles VII of Valois.
But after the coronation, Jeanne faced an unhappy ending: the king relaxed on the throne, stopped listening to the Virgin of Orleans, as Joan of Arc began to be called, and, in the end, ordered her to be burned as a heretic at the stake.
Few people know that Joan of Arc had a squire, Gilles de Rais, who remained in history under the guise of a pedophile maniac, in whose castle deposits of human bones were found.
Elizabeth I: The Virgin Queen
Another famous maiden in history is the English Queen Elizabeth I, whose life can rightfully be included in the most interesting biographies of historical figures.
Her mother was the disgraced Anne Boleyn, a woman who brought turmoil to the royal court and discord between the English monarchs and the Catholic Church. After the execution of Anne Boleyn, the king did not want to see little Elizabeth at court, and the girl was raised in the suburbs of London.
Having inherited the throne after Bloody Mary, she received at her disposal a state scorched by war and strife. Elizabeth managed to reconcile Catholics and Protestants, was considered a patron of the arts, and during her reign a golden age began in England.
What was surprising was that the queen did not want to get married and spent her whole life declaring that she was a virgin. Love for power defeated love for a man, although historians claim that the virgin queen still gave birth to a son from her long-term friend and lover Robert Dudley.
Pope Joan: a woman on the papal throne
The legendary pope, known as John VIII, became the only woman on the throne of the Pope. A girl who wore a man's dress and served as a notary, then a cardinal, and later received the papal throne.
No one knew about her feminine essence, since the girl carefully hid it. But obviously not for everyone. After all, they discovered that she was a woman when the pope gave birth to a child right during a horseback ride.
Unfortunately, the pope was brutally executed for deception: she was stoned to death.
It is natural that outstanding people often have a difficult fate. The more extraordinary the personality, the more interesting the person’s biography.
Incredible facts
You can find many unusual things in the world.
Below we will talk about the most unusual people, which can cause a smile, surprise or even shock.
These people were included in the Guinness Book of Records or became famous with the assistance of the media.
Rubber boy
Jaspreet Singh Kalra
At the age of fifteen, this guy became known as "Rubber Boy" He can turn his head to 180°.
Inseparable friends
Sambath and Chomran
Under the bed of a boy named Sambat, his mother discovered a very small snake. Then Sambat was only 3 months old. Since then, the boy and the snake Khomran - inseparable friends: they eat, sleep and play together.
The biggest mouth
Francisco Domingo Joaquim
This resident of Angola is the holder of the title "The world's largest mouth."The size of his mouth is 17 cm,which allows him to do 14 times in 1 minute place and remove a 0.33 liter can.
Woman with horn
Zhang Ruifang
This 102-year-old woman from China, Henan Province, is famous for her real horn, who grew up with her on the forehead. The anomaly surprises scientists, especially since the horn has been constantly growing for several years (it has already reached a mark exceeding 7 cm).
Anvil Man
Gino Martino
The American artist and wrestler can shock you with his ability rack your brains objects such as concrete blocks, iron bars, baseball bats. Doctors say that Gino has super strong skull.
The man who doesn't sleep
Yakov Tsiperovich
About 70 different films were made about this man from Belarus (Minsk), because Yakov Tsiperovich, after clinical death, not only did not die, but also I stopped even sleeping. After numerous examinations, scientists and doctors confirmed this fact, but could not explain it.
Longest hair
Tran Van Hay
A resident of Vietnam had longest hair in the world (6.8 m). He had his hair braided in thick braids since he was 25 because it was so convenient for him. Chiang Van Hei died when he was 79 years old.
Man with raised hand
Sadhu Amar Bharati
Hindu Sadhu Amar Bharati in 1973 raised his right hand above his head, bowing to the god Shiva. Since then he hasn't put it down.
The airport is like a home
Mehran Karimi Nasseri
This Iranian refugee lived from 1988 to 2006 in the terminal of Charles de Gaulle airport (France). It was Mehran Karimi Nasseri who came up with the idea for the famous film “The Terminal”.
Longest nose
Mehmet Ozyurek
The owner of the longest nose, as recorded in the Guinness Book of Records, is Mehmet Ozyurek, a resident of Turkey born in 1949. In 2010, it was determined that his nose was as long as 8.8 cm.
Best karateka
Masutatsu Oyama
Legends were made about the owner of the 10th dan of karate, an outstanding master, the creator of the Kyokushinkai style and karate teacher Masutatsu Oyama. This is the man who smashed with the edge of his palm 4 bricks or 17 layers of tiles.
Behind the back of the great karateka there are about 50 fights with bulls, of which he killed three without any weapons, and 49 bulls had their horns broken.
The fattest man
Carol Ann Yager
This woman is the undisputed record holder for the most weight in history. Carol Yeager's weight at age 20 was 727 kg. With such weight, she could not even move, so several special devices were created for Carol.
The man who remembers everything
Jill Price
A woman who remembers literally everything in her life to the smallest detail, starting from adolescence. Jill Price remembers when she woke up, what she ate, any songs, smells or places she was. If you think it's "cool", then Jill perceives her gift as a curse.
Using self-hypnosis
Alex Lenkei
He decided to use his mind rather than anesthesia. Using self-hypnosis, Alex Lenkay can block all pain after and before the operation, being fully conscious.
The most alive of the dead
Lal Bihari
We are talking about a farmer born in 1961 who lives in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Lal was mistakenly officially dead from 1976 to 1994. With his own death certificate in hand, he fought the Indian government bureaucracy for 18 years to prove that he was the living one.
Lal Bihari even founded Association of the Dead for the victims of such terrible mistakes by Indian officials.
Embryo in the embryo
Sanju Bhagat
He suffered from a strange condition known as fetus in fetu(embryo in embryo). Sanju Bhagat had a twin brother in his belly for many years. At first, doctors assumed that it was a tumor, but after operating on the unfortunate man, they removed parts of the dead baby.
Japanese inventor
Yoshiro Nakamatsu
A famous Japanese inventor claims to be the world leader in the number of inventions. (more than 3,000). Perhaps Yoshiro Nakamatsu's most famous invention is the computer floppy disk. And the main goal of a scientist is to live more than 140 years.
The man who eats metal
Michael Lotito
For the first time, a 9-year-old French boy ate TV. Then Michael Lotito learned to swallow rubber, metal and even glass.
He surpassed himself and got into the Guinness Book of Records when he ate a whole airplane, however, it took him two years. Doctors state the fact that Michael is still alive only because the walls of his stomach are twice as thick as those of an ordinary person.
Tooth King
Radhakrishnan Velu
A Malaysian man is famous for being able to move various vehicles by himself and only teeth. The biggest load that Radhakrishnan Velu pulled was a whole train, consisting of six cars and having a mass 297 t!
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Time is a harmful and elusive thing. It always oozes through your fingers and flows away to no one knows where. What to do if all your life you wanted to write symphonies better than Mozart’s, and you have two children, a wife, a mother, and on top of everything, a burning project?
We are in website We are also extremely concerned about this problem: we want to realize ourselves in life, and not choke on a bone. Examples of famous people who certainly had enough for 24 hours in a day help us not to give up and do great things.
Leonardo da Vinci
The famous “universal man” will top our list. Let us remember that Leonardo is an outstanding artist of the Renaissance (does everyone remember Gioconda?), an inventor (all his inventions formed the basis for the construction of modern submarines), a scientist, as well as a writer and musician. He was also the first to explain why the sky is blue: “The blueness of the sky is due to the thickness of illuminated air particles, which is located between the Earth and the blackness above.” He managed all this thanks to his own developed sleep system: he slept for a total of 2 hours (lights out for 15 minutes several times a day), and in the rest of his free time he changed the world and himself for the better.
Anton Chekhov
© Braz I.E. Portrait of A.P. Chekhov, 1898
His brother's brilliant brother (that was his pseudonym). The famous master of short stories, humorist and satirist, the greatest playwright and part-time doctor. He himself admitted: “Medicine is my legal wife, and literature is my mistress. When I get tired of one, I spend the night with the other.” Constantly torn at the crossroads of his two talents, Chekhov was engaged in medical affairs until the end of his life. He even named his dogs after the names of the drugs: Bromine and Hina. But he also respected his “mistress”: throughout his life, Chekhov created more than 300 works, including short stories and impressive dramas. The great humorist also loved collecting stamps. Here was the man!
Vladimir Nabokov
© Ullstein Bild / Getty Images.com
Writer and entomologist, and a self-taught entomologist. More than 20 genera of butterflies are named in honor of Vladimir Vladimirovich, one of which (how cute!) is called Nabokovia. Nabokov also played excellent chess. He composed several complex chess problems. His love for this intellectual sport was reflected in the novel “The Defense of Luzhin.” Let us remember that Nabokov was fluent in English. “Lolita” is loved in America just as it is here.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Goethe was known not only as a great writer and poet, but also as a scientist: he made some discoveries in the field of the theory of light. In addition, he actively collected minerals - his collection numbers 18,000 specimens (it is clear where Faust got such a craving for alchemy). The author of the famous drama was so lucky or brilliant that he slept only 5 hours a day, but had enough strength for many, many accomplishments. Perhaps this is because Goethe adhered to strict rules and was a supporter of leading a healthy lifestyle: he did not drink alcohol at all and did not tolerate the smell of tobacco smoke. That’s why he lived 82 years and managed to create so many things.
Hugh Jackman
Not only a famous actor, but also a Broadway performer, and what a great one! Within one season, he managed to receive all the major theater awards. Everyone knows the third area of Jackman's activity in which he achieved success - family life. Hugh and Deborra-Lee Furness have been married for 20 years and together they have two children. What is there! Our Hugh can do everything: he can play the piano, guitar, violin, and also... vibrate his pupils and even juggle. Probably even Wolverine can’t do this.
Salvador Dali
Everyone says that he is crazy, but they are silent about the fact that he was universal. Dali is famous not only as a painter and sculptor, but also as the director of the most terrible “Un Chien Andalou.” Dali also wrote several “works”: “The Secret Life of Salvador Dali, Told by Himself” and “The Diary of a Genius.” For the sake of his psychedelic masterpieces, the modest genius often “perverted” in terms of sleep. Let us explain: Dali hired himself a special servant, who, seeing that the owner was beginning to fall asleep in complete exhaustion, woke him up after waiting a few seconds. The disheveled Dali immediately grabbed the paper and tried to sketch out what he saw in the first seconds of the superficial phase of sleep.
Mikhail Lomonosov
© Miropolsky L.S. Portrait of M.V.Lomonosov, 1787
Russian natural scientist, chemist and physicist, poet, artist... you can hardly list everything here. Lomonosov is not just an active figure - he is revered as a reformer. It was he who carried out the reform of versification. Therefore, oddly enough, we owe the learning of iambs and trochees to an outstanding chemist. By the way, being smart does not mean being an object of bullying. While studying in Marburg, for example, Lomonosov perfectly mastered the ability to handle a sword. Local bullies avoided this overly capable and skillful Muscovite. This is definitely a talented person, talented in everything!
Isaac Newton
Everyone should know that he is famous not only for the apple that fell on his head. Newton wrote books on theology, where he spoke about the denial of the Holy Trinity, and was also chairman of the Royal Society of Arts. Not many people know that Newton also invented two stunningly ingenious things: a means of carrying cats and a door for them (where would we be without them now?). His love for furry and mustachioed friends is to blame for this. Newton preferred active activity to sleep - he allocated only 4 hours a day for night rest.
Benjamin Franklin
We all know him as a guy with a dollar and a politician, but Franklin is like our Lomonosov. He was a journalist and inventor. He invented, for example, the stove (“Pennsylvania fireplace”), and also predicted the weather. The first developed a detailed map of the Gulf Stream. He founded the Philadelphia Academy, as well as the first public library in the States. Franklin also had musical talent. Uncle Ben was helped to keep up with everything by strictly following the daily routine, in which sleep was allocated only 4 hours a day.
Alexander Borodin
© I. E. Repin. Portrait of A. P. Borodin, 1888
A man whose portrait hangs in both the music classroom and the chemistry classroom. Did you know that the author of the famous opera “Prince Igor” was also a chemist and a physician? He jokingly called himself a “Sunday musician”: he had to sacrifice his weekends in order to create something like that for the world of music. His wife left memories of Borodin’s workdays: “I could sit for ten hours straight, I could not sleep at all, I could not have lunch.” Still would! After all, as you know, one of Borodin’s mottos was this super-motivating phrase: “We owe everything we don’t have only to ourselves.” Alexander Porfiryevich was also an active public figure - he was one of the initiators of the opening of Women's medical courses.
Flea (Michael Peter Balzary)
In his youth, Bulgakov worked as a zemstvo doctor, and he had to be a generalist: a therapist, a gynecologist, a surgeon, and a dentist. “Notes of a Young Doctor” owes its appearance to precisely that period in the life of young Bulgakov. It was difficult to combine healing and creativity, so I had to “plow” my shift, treat unassuming village people all day, and then also find time for writing... You can sacrifice everything for the sake of art. Once in a letter to his mother, he wrote: “At night I write “Notes of a Zemstvo Doctor.” A solid thing could come out.” Bulgakov is also an example of the correct attitude towards criticism. He collected critical articles about his works, including 298 negative and 3 positive reviews from critics.
Well, do you still think that you don’t have enough time?
