Kofi Annan

  Kofi Annan was the 7^th Secretary General of United Nations.

He was born at Kumasi, Ghana on 8^th April 1938. Ghana former name Gold Coast gained independence from UK in 1957 at the time of his graduation. He started working for World Health Organization as budget officer in 1962.

Kofi Annan was appointed as the Secretary General of UN on 1^st January 1997, re-elected in 2001 till 2006.

He won Nobel peace prize in 2001 along with the United Nations for his work to spearhead the UN’s efforts on international human rights & other peace efforts. They worked to compact HIV in Africa, launched UN global compact program.

He was the founder & chairman of Kofi Annan foundation(2007). The organization is run on the principles of Peace & Security, Sustainable Development and Human rights & Rule of law. 

He was the chairman of ‘The Elders’ International organization formed by Nelson Mandela. It constituted eminent elder people on various fields working together for peace & human rights.  

In 2012 he became UN Arab League Joint Special Representative for Syria. In 2016 he was appointed as a head of UN commission to investigate on Rohingya crisis at Myanmar.

He died on 18^th August 2018.

Fyodor Dostoevsky

He was hailed as one of the greatest writer of Golden age of Russian literature. He was a novelist, story writer, journalist, an essayist & philosopher. He wrote on society, religion, politics, ethics etc.

His works were translated to more than 170 languages. He wrote 15 novels, several novellas, short stories & translations.

Born in Moscow in 11th November 1821 of the Russian empire, he was exposed to Russian literature at an early age.
His 1st novel 'poor folk' published in 1846. Then he retired from his military career to pursue full writing career.

His works were filled with psychological, religious & philosophical ideas. Being a man with health problems & financial difficulties he ventured out in the path to become a writer. A couple of failures of his literary works had made him financially broke & literally a beggar.

His Major works are Crime & Punishment (1866), The idiot (1869), Demons(1872), The Brothers Karamazov(1880). Albert Einstein called him the great religion writer who explored the essence of spiritual existence.
Coupled with frequent epileptic seizures & deteriorated health he passed away on 9th February 1881 at St.Petersburg aged 59.

Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln was the 16th president of United States of America. He was born as the 2nd child to Thomas & Nancy Hanks Lincoln in February 12, 1809 on Kentucky. He had a miserable childhood, his mom passed away when he was only 8 years old.

Abraham mostly was a self taught man, hardly had school education, but was a vivid reader throughout his life.
His career was marred with numerous downfalls. In 1830 lost in election to house of representatives, Illinois.
In 1834 he was selected to the Illinois state legislature. In 1842, he married Mary Todd. They had 4 children. He wasn't having an impressive political life.
1838- lost in speaker election.
1843- lost in congress election
1855- lost in election to Senate
1856- lost in vice president election
1858- lost in election to Senate again.
1860- elected as the president of America.
The American Civil war was started in 1861 of long standing slavery issue & the political tug of war between north & south states. The 'Southern Confederacy' of seven states who wanted to retain the slave system was at war with the State's Union. Ultimately they lost to the State's Union.
On 1863, November 19, Lincoln delivered the historical speech at Soldiers national cemetery at Gettysburg. The short speech in which he defined Democracy as 'government of the people, by people, for the people'. Thus the 13th amendment to US Constitution (1865) abolished slavery.
But this decision caused him his life.
He was shot dead by John Wilkes Booth, a prominent actor who was a Confederate sympathizer.
Abraham Lincoln was shot dead while attending the play 'Our American Cousin' in Ford's theatre Washington D.C. on April 14, 1865 by John Wilkes Booth.
Booth escaped the scene but was pursued & shot dead by the Federal troops.
Abraham Lincoln who was nicknamed as 'The Great Emancipator' & 'The Great rail splitter' had the most distraught life. But it was his constant determination & positive altitude shown towards life made him to a man that history remembers from time to time.

Industry Awards

Oscars ;-----------
Oscar is awarded by an organization called American Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Science(AMPAS).
1st award distributed in 1929 May.
Oscar given away in 24 categories.
Walter Disney bagged most - 26 Oscars.
Most Oscar winning films- Benher(1952), Titanic(1997), Lord of the Rings; The Return of the King(2003)- 11 each.
Catherine Hepburn- 4 Oscars for Acting.
1st indian to bag an Oscar- Bhanu Athayya as best costume designer (1982) for film Gandhi.

Indians in Oscar;-
Sathyajith Rai (1992)
He also won Falke award, Patmashri, PatmaBhushan, PatmaVibhushan, Bharataratna.
{AR Rahman (2008) music,
Rasool Pookutty (2008) sound mixing, Gulzar (2008) lyrics.}-Slumdogmillionaire.
2017 Oscar to best movie bagged by 'Moonlight'.

Emmy Award given for Television.
Musical Awards given away by American National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences - GRAMMY.

Golden Globe Awards are given away by - Hollywood Foreign press association for achievement in cinema & t.v.

Jawaharlal Nehru award given by Indian Council for Cultural Relations.
1st winner- Uwthand (1965).
Angela Merkel (2009).

1st winner of International Gandhi peace price awarded by India Govt to Julius Narerra (1995), Tanzanian president.
Indira Gandhi award given by Indira Gandhi memorial trust started in 1986.

Pulitzer prize ;------------
Award for American journalists started as per the will of American publisher Joseph Pulitzer.
Templeton Award- 1st Mother Teresa.

Booker prize ;----------
1st Booker prize- PH Neube (1969)- 'Something to answer for'.
Salman Rushdie (1981)- Midnight's Children.
Arundhati Roy (1997)- God of small things
Kiran Desai (2006)- The Inheritance of Loss.
Arvind Adiga (2008)- The White Tiger.

Man Booker International Prize ;------
Given away by Booker award organization in every 2 years for excellence in Novel.
1st awardee- Ismail Kadare (2005) of Albania.
In 2017, David Grossman bagged it.

Magsese award ;-----------
Called Nobel of Asia.
Started in the memory of Ramon Magsese- Philippine president, organized in 1957, 1st award given away in 1958.
Venue- Manila.
Acharya Vinoba Bave 1st indian to win in 1958(community leadership).
1st Indian woman to win Magsese- Mother Theresa(1962).
Arvind Kejiriwal won Magsese award in 2006.
In 2012 Kulanthei Francis of Tamil nadu.

Nobel Prize

Nobel awards started at 1901(Sweden).

The Swedish scientist Alfred Nobel began to use his wealth to award the best scientists inthe world for their contributions.
He invented dynamite. Got 350 patents in his name.
His father Emmanuel Nobel invented modern plywood.
The very 1st Nobelwinners are, (1901)
Peace- JH Dunand, Frederick Passi.
Physics- William Rontegen(X-Ray).
Medicine - Emil von Bering
Chemistry- Jacobs vant Hoff.
Literature- Sully Pruthom (French).

Nobel for Economic Science established in 1968. It's not in his will. Swedish central bank (Sveriges Riks Bank) started this award in honour to Alfred Nobel in its 300th anniversary.
The very 1st to be awarded Nobel for economic science are Ragner Frish(NOR) & Jan Timbergan(NTRLD) in 1969.
Alfred Nobel died on December 10, which the day on which Nobel prices are distributed.
Nobel price for peace is given at Oslo, Norway.(By Norwegian Nobel committee).
Nobel price for all other is given away at Stockholm, Sweden.
The Nobel prize is awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. John Bardeen, an American physicist, only laureate to win it twice- 1956 & 1972.
Marconi- invented radio, for which he shared the prize with Karl Ferdinand Brown in 1909(physics).
Rabindranath Tagore- 1st Asian to be awarded Nobel in 1913 for literature.
Chandra sekhara Venkittaraman (1930 for physics).
Har Gobind Khurana (1968 for medicine & given American citizenship).
Mother Teresa (1979 for peace. Born in Albania, reached India in 1929).
Subramaniam Chandrasekhar (1983 for physics. & American citizenship).
Amarthya Sen (in 1998 for Economic Science 1st for an Asian/Indian).
Elinor Ostrom(US)- 1st woman to win Nobel in Economic Science.
VS Naipaul ( 2001 for literature. Indian origin born in Trinidad).
Venkittaraman Ramakrishnan (2009 for Chemistry. & awarded British & American citizenship).
1st women to win Nobel- Mary Currie.
In 1903- Nobel for physics with husband Pierre Currie & Henry Beqeral.
In 1911- for Chemistry.
The only woman to be awarded twice.
In 1935- Nobel for Chemistry awarded to daughter Irene Joliet Currie & husband Frederick Joliet.
Institute of International Law- 1st organization to win Nobel for peace in 1904.
Nobel is given for maximum 3 persons together.
4 persons awarded Nobel more than once.
Marry Currie(1st to win it twice- for physics & then chemistry).
Linus pauling(1954 chemistry & 1962 peace).
John Bardeen(1956 &1972 physics), Frederick Sanger(1958 &1980 chemistry).
& international red cross society, United nations highcommisoner for refugees.
Winston Churchill, British prime minister was awarded Nobel for peace (1953).
Theodore Roosevelt, (America) 1st president to win Nobel in 1906 for peace.
Albert Einstein won Nobel in 1921 for physics, for his discovery of the law of the Photoelectric Effect.
Pakistani to win Nobel- Abdul Salam (1979- physics).
2003 Nobel for peace won by Shirin Ebadi- 1st ever Iranian to win Nobel. He was one among the founders of 'Defenders of Human Rights Centre'.
2003 Literature Nobel goes to JM Coetzee. He was born in S.Africa, now an Australian citizen. His major works include 'In the heart of the country', 'Waiting for the Barbarians'.
2003 Economics Nobel to Robert F. Engle & Clive Granger.
2006 peace Nobel goes to Mohamed Yunis, (an economic scientist of Bangladesh) & his grameen bank.

Right Livelihood Award is called as Alternative Nobel, started by Jacob Von Uksel in 1980.
Kerala Sasthra Sahitya Parishad bagged Right Livelihood award in 1996.
Inter GovernmentalPanel on climate change shared the Nobel peace prize with Al Gor in 2007.
Barack Obama won Nobel peace prize in 2009.
European Union won Nobel for peace in 2012.
1st Environmentalist to win Nobel peace prize- Wangari Mathai.
1st Asian to win Physics Nobel- CV Raman(1930).
The 100th Nobel Winner- JM Kutzee.
Juan Manuel Santos, Columbian president won Nobel peace prize (2016).
Bob Dylan won the Nobel for literature (2016).
Nobel prize of India- Bhadnakar Award.
Winston Churchill- the only British prime minister to win Nobel(1953).
The 1st Briton to win Nobel- Rudyard Kipling (1907).
1st African Black man to win Nobel- Vol Soinka.
Fields medal is called the Nobel of mathematics.

Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902)

In 1893 September 11, he delivered the historical speech at the Parliament of Religions summit, Chicago. This speech changed the attitude of western countries towards in India.
Swami Vivekananda was born on 12th January 1863 at Kolkata. His was born to Vishwanath Datta, an attorney at Calcutta high court & Bubaneswari Devi as Narendra Datta. At an younger age he was interested in spirituality, Used to meditate before idols of God.

His spiritual guru was Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsan. From him Narendra Datta learned that the service to people is the highest worship to God.
He took the name 'Swami Vivekananda' in 1886. He founded Ramakrishna Math at Baranagar. Founded 'Ramakrishna Mission'(1897).

He cited 'Uttistatha jagrutha, prapya varan nibodatha' from 'Katopanishad' to the world. It meant to rise, awake never stop until your goal is reached. He was hailed as the spiritual leader of Indian National movement by Nethaji SC Bose.

Vivekananda started newspaper 'Prabudha Bharatam' & Bengali newspaper 'Udbodhana'.

He expired on 4th July 1902 at Belur.
National Youth Day is celebrated on his birthday on January 12.