miércoles, septiembre 30, 2009

Chuck Berry / Oct 18th / 1926 / USA

Chuck Berry * Oct / 18 / 1926
American rock music guitarist, singer, and songwriter
Born in San Jose, Calif.


He was brought up in St. Louis, Mo., where he still lives.

Berry is widely regarded as one of the leading pioneers of rock music, having blended the blues with country music and added a rhythm-and-blues beat, and he is thought by many to be the inventor of the rock music form. His distinctive playing of the electric guitar and his witty lyrics were a major inspiration for the English pop renaissance and for a wide variety of other rock musicians.
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A dynamic performer, he also became known for his signature crouching and gliding “duck walk.” Berry produced a string of hits in the late 1950s, including “Maybellene,” “Rock and Roll Music,” “Roll Over Beethoven,” and “Johnny B. Goode.”
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In 1962 he was sentenced to two years in prison on the charge of transporting a minor across state lines for immoral purposes.
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His creative output subsequently dwindled and he cut his last record in 1981, butt he continued to be an active and popular performer into the 21st cent. Berry was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986.
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Martina Navratilova
tennis player (1956)
Jean-Claude Van Damme

martes, septiembre 29, 2009

Celia Cruz / Oct 21st / 1929 - 2003 / Cuba

Cruz, Celia
Cruz, Celia, 1929–2003,
Cuban-American singer, b. Havana.

The “Queen of Salsa” began singing as a teenager, and in 1950 joined Sonora Matancera, Cuba's most popular band.

She left Cuba a year after Fidel Castro came to power (1960) and was an exile in the United States for the rest of her life. Over the years Cruz sang with nearly every major Latin band, and was particularly noted for her appearances with Tito Puente's orchestra.

A fiery performer who wore skintight costumes and billowing blonde wigs, she sang (in Spanish) a range of Afro-Cuban songs, from traditional Santería chants to popular mambos, cha-chas, and the salsa for which she was famous.

An international star and an icon to the Cuban-American community, she toured widely, sang in clubs and concert venues, and made more than 70 recordings.
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More on Celia Cruz from Infoplease: Celia Cruz -
Celia Cruz Age: 77
Cuban singer whose rich contralto voice, persistently upbeat songs, and effusive ...

lunes, septiembre 28, 2009

Alfred Nobel / Oct 21st / 1833–96

Alfred Nobel
Oct 21st / 1833–96
Swedish chemist and inventor.

Educated in St. Petersburg, Russia, he traveled as a youth and returned to St. Petersburg in 1852 to assist his father in the development of torpedoes and mines.
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Manufacture of a mixture of nitroglycerine and gunpowder, developed cooperatively by the family, was begun in the small Nobel works in Heleneborg, near Stockholm, in 1863. After a number of serious explosions, which killed several people, Nobel continued experimentation with nitroglycerine in order to find a safer explosive.

In 1866 he perfected a combination of nitroglycerine and kieselguhr, a diatomaceous earth, to which he gave the name dynamite.
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His other inventions include an explosive gelatin more powerful than dynamite and the smokeless powder Ballistite.
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Nobel, who inclined toward pacifism, had long had reservations about his family's industry, and he developed strong misgivings about the potential uses of his own invention.
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On his death in San Remo, Italy, he left a fund from the interest of which annual awards, called Nobel Prizes, were to be given for work in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, and literature, and toward the promotion of international peace.

domingo, septiembre 27, 2009

Franz Liszt / Oct 22 / 1811 - 1886

October 22
Franz Liszt
1811–86, Hungarian composer and pianist.

Liszt was a revolutionary figure of romantic music and was acknowledged as the greatest pianist of his time.

He made his debut at nine, going thereafter to Vienna to study with Czerny and Salieri.
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In Paris (1823–25) he knew all the principal artistic figures of the period and was influenced by Berlioz, Chopin, and Paganini.
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He lived with Mme d'Agoult (better known by her pen name, Daniel Stern) from 1833 to 1844, and they had three children; their daughter Cosima became the wife of Hans von Bülow and later of Wagner.
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As a piano virtuoso, Liszt enthralled his audiences with his expressive interpretations and grand style of playing, augmented with dramatic gestures.
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In 1848 he decided to make a career as a composer, and became musical director to the duke of Weimar.
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He remained at Weimar until 1859, and two years later went to Rome, where he became an abbé (1865).
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During the years between 1880 and 1885, in Rome, Weimar, and Budapest, he taught most of the famous pianists of the succeeding generation. In his compositions he favored program music over traditional musical forms.
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Liszt originated the symphonic poem, and although he wrote symphonies, such as the Faust Symphony (1857), most of his orchestral pieces, including Les Préludes and Mazeppa (both 1854), are symphonic poems.
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In his Sonata in B Minor (1853) he developed the technique of transformation of themes, which completely altered the concept of sonata construction. This technique, together with his chromatic harmony, strongly influenced both Wagner and Richard Strauss.
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For the piano Liszt composed prolifically in addition to transcribing many works of other composers.
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His most outstanding works for the piano include Années de pèlerinage (1855–83), Douze Études d'exécution transcendante (final version, 1852), Six Paganini Études (final version, 1851), concertos in E Flat (1855) and A (1848–61), and 20 Hungarian Rhapsodies (of which he published 19).
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Some of his most popular pieces, including Liebestraüme (c.1850), are characterized by lyrical, romantic sentiment; many of his later compositions are somber in tone, full of dissonance and unusual harmonic effects that foreshadow 20th-century music.
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sábado, septiembre 26, 2009

Pele / Brazil / South America

Pelé 23 / Oct / 1940–,
Brazilian soccer (football) player.

Edson Arantes do Nascimento

His real name is Edson Arantes do Nascimento. Perhaps the greatest player in the history of soccer, Pelé began playing at the age of 5 and joined the Santos team at 16.

Playing inside left forward, he led his team to numerous championships and the Brazilian national team to world championships in 1958, 1962, and 1970.
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He held every scoring record in Brazil, and in international matches he scored an average of one goal per game. His playing style was marked by superb ball control and great tactical ability. In 1971 he retired from the Brazilian national team but continued to play with Santos.
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He retired (1974) from the Santos team and played in the United States with the New York Cosmos (1975–77). He scored 1,281 goals during his career. Pelé became Brazil's minister of sports in 1995, serving until 1998.

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viernes, septiembre 25, 2009

Sophia Loren / Italy / Biography

Sophia Loren
Loren, Sophia (sōfē'u lôren') [key], 1934–, Italian film actress, b. as Sophia Scicoloni. She grew up in the slums of Naples. With the help of Italian producer Carlo Ponti (later her husband) she gained international fame as a beautiful and accomplished film actress in both tragic dramas and boisterous comedies. She won the first Academy Award for a foreign-language performance for her role in Two Women (1961), and she received a special Academy Award in 1991 for her body of work. Her movies include The Gold of Naples (1954), The Pride and the Passion (1957), Houseboat (1958), Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow (1963), Marriage Italian Style (1964), and A Special Day (1977). In the autobiographical television movie Sophia Loren: Her Own Story (1980), she played herself and her mother.
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Sophia Loren / Italy / Biography -
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Sophia Loren
Actress Born: 9/20/1934Birthplace: Rome, Italy
Academy Award-winning film actress known for her stunning beauty and for her roles opposite Marcello Mastroianni. Her films include Two Women (1961), El Cid (1961), Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow (1964), and Grumpier Old Men (1995). Her husband is producer Carlo Ponti.

Sophia LorenActress
Born: 20 September 1934
Birthplace: Rome, Italy
Best known as: Italian film queen and sex symbol
Name at birth: Sofia Scicolone

Sophia Loren was one of Italy's great 20th-century sex symbols. She hit it big in the movies in 1950s, thanks especially to film producer Carlo Ponti (whom she married in 1957). In 1961 she won an Oscar for the Italian wartime drama Two Women (La Ciociara). In addition to her va-va-voom image, Loren has always been a respected actress; in 1991 she won an honorary Oscar in recognition of her full body of work. Her films include The Pride and the Passion (1957, with Frank Sinatra), It Started in Naples (1960, with Clark Gable) and El Cid (1961, with Charlton Heston and based on the life of Spanish legend El Cid).
Extra credit: Loren is sometimes compared with another Italian star of the era, Gina Lollobrigida.

jueves, septiembre 24, 2009

John Lennon / U K / The Beatles

John Lennon
1940–1980, singer, guitarist, songwriter, born in Liverpool, England. British singer, guitarist and harmonica player for The Beatles. After The Beatles broke up in 1970, Lennon launched a successful solo career, releasing Imagine (1971). See more on John Lennon and the Beatles * PRESS THE IMAGES TO ENLARGE.

John Lennon
Rock Musician / Songwriter Born: 9 October 1940 Died: 8 December 1980 (shot to death) Birthplace: Liverpool, England (United Kingdom) Best known as: One of The Beatles * PRESS THE IMAGES TO ENLARGE.

As half of The Beatles, John Lennon and Paul McCartney were one of the most successful songwriting teams of the century. Together they wrote dozens of hit tunes, ranging from "Help!" and "Ticket to Ride" to "Penny Lane" and "Let It Be." Lennon's romance with Yoko Ono was a major influence on his post-Beatles career, and he collaborated with her on everything from the modern pop hymn "Imagine" to avant-garde noise and poetry. The Beatles broke up in 1970, and Lennon followed with a solo career marked by uneven recordings and public pleas for world peace. After a reclusive five years as a family man, Lennon released an album with Yoko in 1980, Double Fantasy. As their new song "Just Like Starting Over" was reaching the top of the charts. * PRESS THE IMAGES TO ENLARGE.
Extra credit:
Lennon published two illustrated books of poetry and wit in the mid-1960s, In His Own Write and A Spaniard in the Works... His son Julian Lennon is also a singer and musician... Lennon's political positions gained him the enmity of J. Edgar Hoover's F. B. I. and the U.S. State Department, and researchers are still trying to get files on Lennon made public.
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FRENCH VERSION * PRESS THIS LINK

miércoles, septiembre 23, 2009

Luciano Pavarotti / Italy / Tenor

Luciano Pavarotti
1935–2007, Italian tenor.
He made his debut in Italy in 1961, in London in 1963, and in the United States in 1967. Since 1968 he has appeared regularly at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. A popular favorite, Pavarotti is noted for his brilliance and style, notably in works by Bellini, Donizetti, Puccini, and Verdi.


Luciano Pavarotti
est un ténor italien, né à Modène le 12 octobre 1935 et mort dans la même ville le 6 septembre 2007. Souvent cité comme le plus grand et le plus populaire chanteur d'opéra depuis Enrico Caruso [1],[2], il a chanté les plus grands airs de bel canto, notamment ceux de Verdi et Puccini, et a également collaboré avec des artistes venus de divers univers musicaux, comme U2, Sting, Elton John, Céline Dion, James Brown, ou encore les Spice Girls[3].
En plus de quarante ans de carrière, il a contribué à populariser la musique classique [4] au cours de nombreux concerts télévisés, particulièrement lors des séries de représentations des Trois Ténors (avec Plácido Domingo et José Carreras). Le nombre total de ses albums vendus est estimé à environ cent millions [5],[6].
Pavarotti a également usé de sa popularité pour le succès d'actions de charité, à l'occasion de concerts à l'issue desquels sont récoltés des fonds (aide aux réfugiés et à la Croix-Rouge).

Biography (English language)
Earlier life and musical training
Luciano Pavarotti was born in 1935 on the outskirts of Modena in Northern Italy, the son of Fernando Pavarotti, a baker and amateur tenor, and Adele Venturi, a cigar factory worker.
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Although he spoke fondly of his childhood, the family had little money; its four members were crowded into a two-room apartment.
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According to Pavarotti, his father had a fine tenor voice but rejected the possibility of a singing career because of nervousness. World War II forced the family out of the city in 1943. For the following year they rented a single room from a farmer in the neighbouring countryside, where the young Pavarotti developed an interest in farming.
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After abandoning the dream of becoming a professional football goalkeeper, Pavarotti spent seven years in vocal training. Pavarotti's earliest musical influences were his father's recordings, most of them featuring the popular tenors of the day - Beniamino Gigli, Giovanni Martinelli, Tito Schipa and Enrico Caruso. Pavarotti's favourite tenor and idol was Giuseppe Di Stefano.[5] He was also deeply influenced by Mario Lanza, saying, "In my teens I used to go to Mario Lanza movies and then come home and imitate him in the mirror".[6] At around the age of nine he began singing with his father in a small local church choir.

Death
Wikinews has related news:
Opera singer Luciano Pavarotti dies at age 71
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While undertaking an international "farewell tour", Pavarotti was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in July 2006. The tenor fought back against the implications of this diagnosis, undergoing major abdominal surgery and making plans for the resumption and conclusion of his singing commitments.[19] On 6 September, 2007, however, as his manager, Terri Robson noted in an e-mail statement, "The Maestro fought a long, tough battle against the pancreatic cancer which eventually took his life. In fitting with the approach that characterized his life and work, he remained positive until finally succumbing to the last stages of his illness".[20][21][22]
According to several reports, just before he died, the singer had received both the sacraments of Penance and Anointing of the Sick from the Roman Catholic Church.[23]
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Pavarotti's funeral was held in Modena Cathedral. Romano Prodi and Kofi Annan attended.[24] The Frecce Tricolori, the aerobatic demonstration team of the Italian Air Force, flew overhead, leaving green-white-red smoke trails. After a funeral procession through the centre of Modena, Pavarotti's coffin was taken the final ten kilometres to Montale Rangone, a village part of Castelnuovo Rangone, and interred in his parents' grave. The funeral, in its entirety, was also telecast live on CNN. The Vienna State Opera and the Salzburg Festival Hall flew black flags in mourning.[25] Tributes were published by many opera houses, such as London's Royal Opera House.[26] The Italian football giant Juventus F.C., of which Pavarotti was a lifelong fan, was represented at the funeral and posted a farewell message on its website which said: "Ciao Luciano, black-and-white heart" referring to the team's famous stripes when they play on their home ground. A tribute concert featuring many performers trained by Pavarotti himself was held on February 14, 2008 at New York City's Avery Fisher Hall.[27]
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Surviving family
Pavarotti is survived by four daughters: three, Lorenza, Cristina and Giuliana, with first wife Adua, to whom he was married for 34 years; and one, Alice, with second wife Nicoletta Mantovani. At the time of his death, he had one granddaughter.
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READ MORE ABOUT LUCIANO PAVAROTTI * PRESS THIS LINK

martes, septiembre 22, 2009

Vladimir Putin / Russia

Vladimir Putin
Prime Minister of Russia
Born: 7 October 1952
Birthplace: Leningrad, Russia (now St. Petersburg)
Best known as: President of the Russian Federation, 2000-2008

Vladimir Putin was elected president of the Russian Federation in 2000 as the hand-picked successor of Boris Yeltsin. After earning a law degree in 1975, Putin joined the KGB, the security force of the former Soviet Union.

He spent years working primarily in East Germany, then left the service in 1991 and became active in the politics of St. Petersburg (formerly Leningrad). He was brought to Moscow by Yeltsin in 1996 and served as an administrator in the Kremlin and an official for the security organizations which replaced the KGB.

In 1999 Putin became Yeltsin's fifth prime minister in 17 months, then became acting president when Yeltsin left office. He was officially elected to the office in 2000 and then re-elected in a landslide vote in March of 2004. As president he gained a reputation as a clever and ruthless political operator with a hunger for Russian power and not too much concern for the niceties of democracy or diplomacy. He stepped down in 2008 (as required by term limits) and was replaced by his own hand-picked successor, Dmitry Medvedev. Medvedev then installed Putin as prime minister, a move which left Putin, as The New York Times put it, as "the country's dominant politician, with a firm grip on power."

Extra credit: Putin married the former Lyudmila Shkrebneva in 1983. They have two daughters: Maria (b. 1985) and Yekaterina (b. 1986, also known as Katerina or Katya).
Copyright © 1998-2006 by Who2?, LLC. All rights reserved.
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More on Vladimir Putin from Infoplease:
Vladimir Putin - Vladimir Putin Prime Minister and President of Russia by Beth Rowen Vladimir Putin shakes hands ...
Vladimir Putin, - Vladimir Putin, president of Russia, called for a broad overhaul of the government in September, ...

lunes, septiembre 21, 2009

Monsieur John Lennon

Monsieur John Lennon
John Winston Ono Lennon

MBE (né John Winston Lennon le 9 octobre 1940 à Liverpool, en Angleterre, et mort assassiné le 8 décembre 1980 à New York) est un auteur-compositeur, chanteur, guitariste et pianiste britannique, fondateur du célèbre groupe anglais The Beatles actif de 1957 à 1970.
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Au sein des Beatles, avec son partenaire Paul McCartney, il forme un des tandems d’auteurs-compositeurs les plus influents et réussis de l’histoire du rock et « donne naissance à une bonne partie des chansons à succès du rock .
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Après la séparation des Beatles en 1970, Lennon fonde avec sa femme Yoko Ono le groupe Plastic Ono Band (actif de 1969 à 1975) tout en poursuivant sa carrière en solo et menant diverses actions pour la paix.
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La chanson Imagine est le titre emblématique de cette période. Lennon se retire de toute activité publique en 1975 pour s’occuper de son fils nouveau-né Sean, puis reprend sa carrière en 1980, quelques semaines avant d’être assassiné par Mark David Chapman devant sa résidence du Dakota Building à New York.
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Près de trente ans après sa mort, il est considéré comme l’un des artistes les plus populaires du XXe siècle et incarne l’engagement profond et marquant du mouvement pacifiste « peace and love » des années 1970. Un rassemblement à sa mémoire continue d’avoir lieu à New York chaque 8 décembre.
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Il n'a cependant pas de tombe sur laquelle se recueillir, car à la demande de Yoko Ono, son corps a été incinéré, ce qui semble en adéquation avec sa volonté de fuir son emcombrante célébrité.

Monsieur John Lennon

Vision du monde
Bien que John Lennon soit avant tout connu comme auteur-compositeur-interprète, la vision qu'il affichait du monde - bien qu'à l'époque, elle pût encore choquer -, son ouverture d'esprit et son insistance sur les questions de paix et d'amour ont contribué à faire de lui une icône populaire.
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Dans sa chanson God, John explique que Dieu est un concept que l'homme s'est créé pour pouvoir supporter ses propres souffrances, ou pour acquérir une force supplémentaire qui aidera le croyant à survivre. Il rappelle ainsi une vision exprimée par nombre d'écrivains (Sade, Marx, Nietzsche, ...) dont le grand public américain ne connaît pas forcément beaucoup plus que les noms. Par ailleurs, il explique son rêve (« you may say I'm a dreamer ») d'un monde sans guerre, sans religion, sans souffrance où tous les êtres humains pourraient vivre dans l'amour, la paix et l'unité.
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Dans la vie courante, l'homme ne fera pas toujours preuve d'un détachement aussi olympien : si une de ses photos où il pastiche la pochette de Ram, de son ancien ami Paul McCartney peut être considérée comme un simple gag, les paroles de la chanson How Do You Sleep se montrent très dures envers ce dernier : « Those freaks was right when they said you was dead ».
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Son album avec Elephant's Memory, Some Time in New York City, dont chaque chanson ou presque est revendicative, n'aura pas un succès comparable à ceux qui l'avaient précédé.

sábado, septiembre 19, 2009

Mohandas Gandhi / 02 oct1869–1948 / India

Mohandas Gandhi
02 oct1869–1948, Indian political and spiritual leader, born in Porbandar.
In South Africa

Educated in India and in London, he was admitted to the English bar in 1889 and practiced law unsuccessfully in India for two years.

In 1893 he went to South Africa, where he was later joined by his wife and children. There he became a successful lawyer and leader of the Indian community and involved himself in the fight to end discrimination against the country's Indian minority.

In South Africa he read widely, drawing inspiration from such sources as the Bhagavad-Gita, John Ruskin, Leo Tolstoy, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Henry David Thoreau, and his personal philosophy underwent significant changes.

He abandoned (c.1905) Western ways and thereafter lived abstemiously (including celibacy); this became symbolized in his eschewal of material possessions and his dress of loincloth and shawl. While in South Africa he organized (1907) his first satyagraha [holding to the truth], a campaign of civil disobedience expressed in nonviolent resistance to what he regarded as unjust laws.

So successful were his activities that he secured (1914) an agreement from the South African government that promised the alleviation of anti-Indian discrimination.

Return to India
He returned (1915) to India with a stature equal to that of the nationalist leaders Gopal Krishna Gokhale and Bal Gangadhar Tilak. Gandhi actively supported the British in World War I in the hope of hastening India's freedom, but he also led agrarian and labor reform demonstrations that embarrassed the British. The Amritsar massacre of 1919 stirred Indian nationalist consciousness, and Gandhi organized several satyagraha campaigns. He discontinued them when, against his wishes, violent disorder ensued.

His program included a free, united India; the revival of cottage industries, especially of spinning and the production of handwoven cloth (khaddar); and the abolition of untouchability (see caste). These ideas were widely and vigorously espoused, although they also met considerable opposition from some Indians. The title Mahatma [great soul] reflected personal prestige so high that he could unify the diverse elements of the organization of the nationalist movement, the Indian National Congress, which he dominated from the early 1920s.
In 1930, in protest against the government's salt tax, he led the famous 200-mi (320-km) march to extract salt from the sea. For this he was imprisoned but was released in 1931 to attend the London Round Table Conference on India as the sole representative of the Indian National Congress. When the Congress refused to embrace his program in its entirety, Gandhi withdrew (1934), but his influence was such that Jawaharlal Nehru, his protégé, was named leader of the organization.

Indian Independence
In 1942, after rejection of his offer to cooperate with Great Britain in World War II if the British would grant immediate independence to India, Gandhi called for satyagraha and launched the Quit India movement. He was then interned until 1944. Gandhi was a major figure in the postwar conferences with the viceroy, Lord Mountbatten, and Muslim League leader Muhammad Ali Jinnah that led to India's independence and the carving out of a separate Muslim state (Pakistan), although Gandhi vigorously opposed the partition.
When violence broke out between Hindus and Muslims, Gandhi resorted to fasts and tours of disturbed areas to check it. On Jan. 30, 1948, while holding a prayer and pacification meeting at New Delhi, he was fatally shot by a Hindu fanatic who was angered by Gandhi's solicitude for the Muslims. After his death his methods of nonviolent civil disobedience were adopted by protagonists of civil rights in the United States and by many protest movements throughout the world.

Bibliography:
See his autobiography (tr. 1927, repr. 1966); his collected works (50 vol., 1958-72); selected writings, ed. by Ronald Duncan (1972); R. N. Iyer, ed., The Moral and Political Writings of Mahatma Gandhi (Vol. 1, 1986); biographies by D. G. Tendulkar (8 vol., 1951-54), B. R. Nanda (1958, repr. 1989), Louis Fisher (1959), and Geoffrey Ashe (1969); studies by J. V. Bondurant (rev. ed. 1965), Erik Erikson (1969), and J. M. Brown (1972).

viernes, septiembre 18, 2009

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lunes, septiembre 14, 2009

Napoleon / Passion for Egypt

The first representations of Egyptian writing appeared around 3000 B.C.

Jean-Francois Champollion, a Frenchman, was the first to effectively decipher Egyptian hieroglyphs in 1812.

With his new discoveries, scholars from around the world were able to read and understand Egyptian literature for the first time. It was revolutionary!


What Champollion Found

In "The Keys of Egypt," Lesley and Roy Adkins explore the amazing story of Champollion and his discovery of a system to understand hieroglyphs. As the authors write, "Champollion's success was based on twenty years of obsessive hard work, all too often in difficult circumstances, and he would soon be able to read the literature from 3,000 years of human history that had been unintelligible for centuries."

Through his many years of work, the wonders of Egypt was finally opened to the world. As he reassembled pieces of papyrus, Champollion said, "I have gathered, while scarcely breathing for fear of reducing them to powder, such little pieces of papyrus, the last and only refuge of the memory of a king who in his lifetime perhaps found himself cramped in the immense palace of Karnak." With Champollion's important breakthrough, we were able to read and understand the narrative works of Egyptian literature, along with an assorted array of letters, treatises, lists, archives, and accounts from ancient Egypt. In fact, dramatics works are the only form of writing not found in the ancient texts.

How He Discovered Hieroglyphs

Champollion was something of a child genius. Adept at learning languages, he studied Hebrew, Ethiopic, and Arabic; then, later, he studied Persian, Sanskrit, and Coptic. His study of Coptic, along with his passionate research of all things related to Egyptian culture, gave him an edge when he began his examination of ancient hieroglyphs in 1808. As Champollion struggled to make a living, and continue his research, he continually worked to influence the procurement of ancient Egyptian artifacts, many of which were being sold to the highest bidder. Napoleon had already started the Egyptian collection, when he invaded Egypt in 1798. With the remnants he brought back, a mania for all things Egypt had begun.

A young boy at the time of Napoleon's Egyptian expedition, Champollion had caught "Egyptomania."

Obsessed with breaking the code, Champollion wanted the artifacts to be available for study and analysis, and he didn't want them to disappear into private collections, never to be seen again.

Of course, Champollion had partly selfish motives for encouraging the procurement of the ancient scrolls and statues. As he began to develop his system of deciphering hieroglyphs, he needed more examples of hieroglyphs for testing his theories. He published his discoveries in a series of works: "Lettre a M. Dacier" (1822); "Deux lettres a M. Ie duc de Blacas d'Aulps, relatives au musée royal égyptien de Turin" (Paris, 1824-1826); "Catalogue des monuments égyptiens du musée du Vatican" (Rome, 1826), and "Panthéon égyptien" (1823-1831). When he wrote a pamphlet about the gods and goddesses of Egypt, Champollion wrote to a colleague: "My aim in publishing this collection is to make clear the various mythical people represented on the monuments of Egypt, to distinguish them one from another; without claiming to enter into the very foundation of their emblematic or symbolical significance."

In a time of political and social upheaval in France, Louis-Philippe acknowledged Champollion's success in a speech: "It must make one proud that a Frenchman has begun to penetrate the mysteries that the Ancients only revealed to some rather experienced followers and to decipher these emblems."

Never in good health, the long hours and poor living conditions he often was forced to endure ultimately led to his untimely death at the age of 41. The authors write: "The bereavement of a single family becomes a general bereavement for all those who appreciate literature and who are interested in it progress."

The first representations of Egyptian writing appeared around 3000 B.C.



Jean-Francois Champollion, a Frenchman, was the first to effectively decipher Egyptian hieroglyphs in 1812.




With his new discoveries, scholars from around the world were able to read and understand Egyptian literature for the first time. It was revolutionary!
What Champollion FoundIn "The Keys of Egypt," Lesley and Roy Adkins explore the amazing story of Champollion and his discovery of a system to understand hieroglyphs. As the authors write, "Champollion's success was based on twenty years of obsessive hard work, all too often in difficult circumstances, and he would soon be able to read the literature from 3,000 years of human history that had been unintelligible for centuries." Through his many years of work, the wonders of Egypt was finally opened to the world. As he reassembled pieces of papyrus, Champollion said, "I have gathered, while scarcely breathing for fear of reducing them to powder, such little pieces of papyrus, the last and only refuge of the memory of a king who in his lifetime perhaps found himself cramped in the immense palace of Karnak." With Champollion's important breakthrough, we were able to read and understand the narrative works of Egyptian literature, along with an assorted array of letters, treatises, lists, archives, and accounts from ancient Egypt. In fact, dramatics works are the only form of writing not found in the ancient texts.
How He Discovered HieroglyphsChampollion was something of a child genius. Adept at learning languages, he studied Hebrew, Ethiopic, and Arabic; then, later, he studied Persian, Sanskrit, and Coptic. His study of Coptic, along with his passionate research of all things related to Egyptian culture, gave him an edge when he began his examination of ancient hieroglyphs in 1808. As Champollion struggled to make a living, and continue his research, he continually worked to influence the procurement of ancient Egyptian artifacts, many of which were being sold to the highest bidder. Napoleon had already started the Egyptian collection, when he invaded Egypt in 1798. With the remnants he brought back, a mania for all things Egypt had begun. A young boy at the time of Napoleon's Egyptian expedition, Champollion had caught "Egyptomania." Obsessed with breaking the code, Champollion wanted the artifacts to be available for study and analysis, and he didn't want them to disappear into private collections, never to be seen again.
Of course, Champollion had partly selfish motives for encouraging the procurement of the ancient scrolls and statues. As he began to develop his system of deciphering hieroglyphs, he needed more examples of hieroglyphs for testing his theories. He published his discoveries in a series of works: "Lettre a M. Dacier" (1822); "Deux lettres a M. Ie duc de Blacas d'Aulps, relatives au musée royal égyptien de Turin" (Paris, 1824-1826); "Catalogue des monuments égyptiens du musée du Vatican" (Rome, 1826), and "Panthéon égyptien" (1823-1831). When he wrote a pamphlet about the gods and goddesses of Egypt, Champollion wrote to a colleague: "My aim in publishing this collection is to make clear the various mythical people represented on the monuments of Egypt, to distinguish them one from another; without claiming to enter into the very foundation of their emblematic or symbolical significance." In a time of political and social upheaval in France, Louis-Philippe acknowledged Champollion's success in a speech: "It must make one proud that a Frenchman has begun to penetrate the mysteries that the Ancients only revealed to some rather experienced followers and to decipher these emblems."
Never in good health, the long hours and poor living conditions he often was forced to endure ultimately led to his untimely death at the age of 41. The authors write: "The bereavement of a single family becomes a general bereavement for all those who appreciate literature and who are interested in it progress."

Napoleon / Passion for Egypt

Gallery Index
France's Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) invaded Egypt in July 1798 with 400 ships and 55,000 soldiers in an attempt to control the commercial land route to India and deal a significant blow to Britain's economy. During the relatively brief period of the French occupation (his troops surrendered to the British in September 1801), Napoleon encouraged more than 150 artists, engineers, mathematicians, naturalists and scientists (savants) to record with exacting precision Egypt's buildings, its monuments, flora, fauna and terrain as well as the region's society and forms of commerce.
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What resulted was the
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Déscription de l'Égypte (1809-1822),
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the multi-volume compendium on ancient and modern Egypt. Its scholarly contents and plate illustrations contributed to the development of Egyptology. Editions of the work influenced the nineteenth-century Orientalist movement in European painting. It has also figured largely in Egyptomania (the periodic fascination with things Egyptian) for more than 200 years.
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Napoleon on the Nile:
Soldiers, Artists, and the Rediscovery of Egypt explores Western Europe's interest in Egyptian art and culture from the Napoleonic invasion of Egypt to the beginning of World War I through bound and unbound copies of the Déscription de l'Égypte, decorative arts, illustrated books, medals, paintings and prints. The exhibition is divided into five sections: Napoleon and the Egyptian Campaign; The Savants and the Institut d'Égypte; Ancient Egypt; Natural History; and Modern Egypt.

Napoleon / Passion for Egypt


Napoleon / The Sphynx / Egypt

Napoleon Bonaparte


Napoleon / Horses

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