Teresa Magbanua y Ferraris (b. October 13, 1868 - d.

August 1947), a native of Pototan, Iloilo, was known as the "Joan of Arc of the Visayas" for her display of courage, patriotism and military tactics. She was the brother of Gen. Pascual Magbanua who died mysteriously. Magbanua was born in Pototan, Iloilo on October 13, 1868 to Alejandra Ferraris and Juan Magbanua, a judge. When she was young, she became involved in boys fights and even joined her brothers in their brawls with other kids from other towns. Teresa likewise enjoyed climbing trees, swimming in the Jaluar river, and riding carabaos and horses. She liked being with boys than girls. Because of her boyish nature, her parents became concerned and so in 1885, they sent her to the College of San Jose in Jaro, Iloilo to study. Then, later on, they sent her to Santa Rosa College in Manila and then to Colegio de Santa Catalina to be prepared as a teacher. They also will that she learn how to be a graceful lady through such kind of education. Finally, in 1894, she received her certificate as a teacher from Colegio de Dona Cecilia. From that, she soon taught at different campuses in Panay. Magbanua soon married a rich landowner hailing from Sara, Iloilo, Alejandro Baldero. Because of that, she stopped teaching and began working at their farm. Through that, she became acquainted with farm life such as firing a pistol and riding a horse. With her two brothers in the Revolution, Teresa decided to join the revolution at the age of 28. Even though her husband was against it, she still pursued it. She led men revolutionaries and even won the battle near Sara, Iloilo known as the Battle of Sap-ong. Due to this, Martin Teofilo Delgado, the commander-in-chief in Visayas, applauded her fierceness and abilities to deal with the military, then allowing her to continue leading the troops in Panay. On February 11, 1899, she, together with her troops, fought with the Americans. On March of that same year, they also battled in BalantangTacas-Jibao-an. That particular battle which occurred in March 10 became

famous because the Visayan troops eventually killed 400 Americans and Teresa exuded her valor and might despite what others may perceive for a woman at that time. Consequently, not long after the war with the Japanese, she was widowed and remained childless. Nay Isa, as her comrades called her, reached the point of selling her possessions in Iloilo to assist in financing the guerillas. She then went off to Mindanao (in Pagadian,Zamboanga del Sur) to live with her sister, Maria. There, in August 1947, she died at the age of 78. In this time, her husband died and left her with no children. She sold her property in Iloilo, during the Japanese invasion and helped finance the guerilla activities of the Filipinos. She migrated to Pagadian, Zamboanga del Sur where she lived with her sister. On August 1947, she died at the age of 78.

Trinidad Perez Tecson (b. November 18, 1848 d. January 28, 1928), known as the Mother of Biak-na-Bato and Mother of Mercy, was one of the few revolutionary women who actually fought side by side with the revolutionary men to acquire freedom from the Spanish colonizers. She was given the title "Mother of Biak-na-Bato" by Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo. She was also cited as the "Mother of the Philippine National Red Cross" for her service to her fellow Katipuneros. Tecson was born in San Miguel de Mayumo, Bulacan, one of the sixteen children of Rafael Tecson and Monica Perez. She learned to read and write from a schoolmaster named Quinto who was known to be a good teacher in their town. She was also known to practice fencing with Juan Zeto, one of the local fencers, and was feared throughout the province, called "Tangkad" (tall) by her peers. Orphaned at a very young age, she stopped school and went with her siblings to live with relatives. She married at the age of 19, had two children -- Sinforoso and Desiderio, who

both died. Tecson and her husband were engaged in the purchase and sale of cattle, fish, oysters, and lobsters to be sold in Manila. At first she was a dedicated councilor of Logia de Adopcion, a masonic lodge founded in 1893 for Philippine women. In 1895 at the age of 47 she joined the Katipunan, signing her oath with her own blood, although women members were not required to do so. She helped the group by pilfering firearms from a courthouse in Caloocan City and in San Isidro, Nueva Ecija. She was working under General Mariano Llanera when the Revolution broke out. In a battle in San Miguel, Bulacan, she was almost captured while delivering food to the soldiers but she managed to escape by playing dead. She also took part in a battle led by General Francisco Makabulos of Nueva Ecija, General Mariano Llanera, Gen.Isidro Torres and Gen. Gregorio del Pilar of Bulacan. On the battlefield, she tended to the wounded Katipuneros. In the bloody battle of San Miguel and Zaragosa she was hit on her right thigh. Tecson and the others were forced to retreat to Biak-na-Bato, which became the revolutionary headquarters of Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo. She joined the revolutionary forces led by Gen. Gregorio del Pilar and participated in the assault on the province of Bulacan and Calumpit. She also served in the Malolos Republic and was designated as the Commisary of War. During the American drive northward, she was inCabanatuan and saw Gen. Antonio Luna's body. Bringing with her the sick and wounded revolutionaries, Tecson crossed the Zambalesmountains to Sta. Cruz, then to Iba. After the war, her second husband died and she carried on her usual business activities in Nueva Ecija, concentrating on selling meats in the towns of San Antonio and Talavera. She married her third husband, Doroteo Santiago, after whose death she got married to Francisco Empainado. She had a total of four husbands in her lifetime. On January 28, 1928, she died in the Philippine General Hospital at the age of 80. Her remains lies in the Plot of the Veterans of the Revolution in Cementerio del Norte.

Gregoria de Jesus (b. May 15, 1875 - d. March 15, 1943), dubbed as Lakambini, de Jesus is the Mother of the Philippine Revolution, and the wife of Andres Bonifacio, the founder of the Katipunan. She, together with several other brave Filipina women, risked their lives fighting for independence from the Spaniards during the Revolution. Gregoria, also known as Aling Oriang, was born and raised in 13 Baltazar Street (currently Zamora), Kalookan, a town in Rizal Province on May 9, 1875. Her father, Nicolas de Jesus, also born and raised in that town, worked as a carpenter and master mason, and later as a government official during the Spanish era (as second lieutenant, chief lieutenant and gobernadorcillo). Her mother is Baltazara Alvarez Francisco, from Noveleta, Cavite. She is General Mariano Alvarezs niece, from theMagdiwang party, who raised the revolt standard in that province. De Jesus studied in public schools and was able to finish the equivalent of intermediate levels of education today. She won several awards during those times: some of which include an exam given by the curate and the GovernorGeneral. She also received a silver medal with blue ribbon for being a good student. Meanwhile, she had to stop studying afterwards to give way to her two brothers as they study in Manila. She helped her sister look after their family ventures. She oftentimes goes out into the fields to supervise work in their farm. She supervised their workers as they plant and harvest, as well as their laborers and tenants, then pay their wages on Sunday mornings. She also sewed and weaved as much as she assisted her mother in household chores. At 18, Gregoria began receiving calls from different men; one of them was Andres Bonifacio, accompanying Ladislao Diwa and her cousinTeodoro Plata. Unknown to her, Bonifacio already began letting her parents know of his love for her a year ago, but her father objected. Since Bonifacio was a freemason, Nicolas de Jesus clearly opposed him. At that time, the elders considered masons as bad because of they counter the friars teachings. However, after six

months, her father soon gave his consent since she admitted her love for Bonifacio. Then, to adhere to her parents wish, Gregoria and Andres were married in Binondo Church on March 1893, with Benita de Javier and Restituto Javier as sponsors. After a week, though, they remarried on the request of the Katipuneros (since they do not consider the Catholic wedding as valid). This was held at the then-called Oroquieta Street. A small gathering followed, attended by Ramon Basa, Pio Valenzuela, Marina Dizon,Santiago Turano, Trinidad and Josefa Rizal. Almost all of Katipunans dignitaries were there too. From then on, Gregoria joined the Katipunan and was dubbed as Lakambini. Because of the burning desire to attain freedom, Gregoria, along with her husband and other katipuneros gathered every night to plan for their revolt. They usually stayed up until dawn, proclaiming the Katipunan oath. Leaders of the propaganda also meet once or twice each month. Meanwhile, whenever they would hear that the Veterana police would search the place where katipuneros gather, Gregoria would assemble all their documents, the seal, arms then ordered a quiles and would even leave her meals (as this usually occurred at noon or at eight in the evening). She would then drive to Tondos bay front and along Binondos streets to save her countrymen from being caught. There would even be times when her friends would not accommodate her at their homes for fear that they might be involved in the perilous challenges of being in the Katipunan. However, to remain safe, she would still rely on word-of-mouth to determine if its already safe to go back home. After more than a year of being married to Andres Bonifacio, Gregorio was about to be a mother soon. Because of that, she moved to her parents house and bore her son there. He was named Andres Bonifacio too, just like his father, and had Pio Valenzuela as his grandfather. Two months after, she went back to Manila and just before the year ended, on Maundy Thursday, 1896, at three in the afternoon, they became fire victims in Dulongbayan. They moved from one house to another to escape, but when they reached Pio Valenzuelas house, on Calle Lavezares, in Binondo, their child died. They lived for some time at that house but then decided to move to Calle Magdalena, Trozo. From then on, the government became more watchful of Katipunans movements.

Since the activities of Katipunan were already discovered by the Spanish government, the revolutionaries went back to Kalookan. Likewise, because of this, several of the men members, including Andres Bonifacio, left their town. That stirred the revolt and they soon cried for liberty on August 26, 1896. With this, Gregoria fled to La Loma to escape from the oppressors since she learned that she was targeted for being involved in the Katipunan. However, upon arrival there, she also learned that the inhabitants of the house were terrorized severely and one was even pushed to exile (her uncle). Her two brothers and father were likewise arrested that time. She then fled to Lico/street, now known as Soler, to escape. She went to the house of her Simplicio de Jesus, her uncle. However, since it was near the police station, she soon left and went to Calle Clavel and stayed with Espiridiona Bonifacio, her sister-in-law. She stayed there for one month and assumed the name Manuela Gonzaga. Still, being a katipunera, she left for the mountains on November 1, 1896 and met Andres at San Francisco del Monte. They then went to Balara, Katipunans headquarters, which was between Kalookan and Marikina.

Elpidio Quirino was born on November 16, 1890, in the small city of Vigan, on Luzon Island in the Philippines. His father, Don Mariano Quirino, was a warden at a provincial jail. His mother was Dona Gregoria Mendoza Rivera Quirino. Young Elpidio graduated from elementary school in nearby Caoayan. Advanced beyond his years, Elpidio became a barrio (rural village) teacher while studying at Vigan High School. Elpidio Quirino moved to Manila and graduated from Manila High School in 1911 and then passed the civil service exam. He entered law school at the University of the Philippines, graduating in 1915, and served as secretary to Senate President Manuel Quezon, where he began his rise through the Philippine government. In 1919, he was elected to the Philippine House of Representatives. In 1925, he was elected to the Philippine Senate and was quickly given Senate committee appointments. In 1931 Elpidio Quirino was reelected to the Senate, and in 1934 he served as a member of the Philippine Independence mission to Washington, D.C., helping secure the Tydings-McDuffie Act, which set the timetable for Philippine independence from the United States. Quirino was also one of the drafters of the Philippine constitution, which was approved in May 1935. In April 1942, the Philippines were captured by Japanese imperial forces. Elpidio Quirino refused to join the Japanese-sponsored puppet government of Jose Laurel and instead went underground. He was captured by Japanese military police and imprisoned. His wife, son and two daughters were killed by Japanese forces as they fled their home during the Battle of Manila in early 1945. After the war, Elpidio Quirino became the leader of the majority Liberal Party and president pro tempore of the Senate. Anticipating the countrys impending independence, elections were held in April 1946, and Manuel Roxas was elected president, with Quirino as vice president. When President Roxas unexpectedly died in April 1948, Quirino became president. When he took office, Quirino had two goals: reconstructing the nation and restoring the faith and confidence of the people. However, Quirino soon faced impeachment, instituted by members of the rival Nationalist Party. Charges ranged from nepotism to misappropriation of funds, but after several months, he was exonerated of all charges.

Elpidio Quirino was reelected president in November 1949, under suspicion of widespread election fraud and intimidation. As president, he attempted to improve social, economic and agrarian conditions. He also established relations with Western and Asian countries. Quirinos administration faced a serious threat from the Communistled Hukbalahap (Huk) movement. Quirino appointed Defense Secretary Ramon Magsaysayto suppress the insurrection. Although successful to a degree in these areas, Quirino failed to act aggressively in implementing many of the needed reforms. Further, Quirino was often justly accused by Filipino nationalists of placing American interests above Filipino ones. The Huk rebellion wasnt suppressed until 1954, under Quirinos successor Ramon Magsaysay. Elpidio Quirino ran for reelection in 1953 despite his poor health. Defense Secretary Ramon Magsaysay angrily resigned over Quirinos alleged corruption and joined the opposition Nationalist Party. He would go on to defeat Quirino in the general election. Elpidio Quirino retired to private life and died of a heart attack in February 29, 1956.

One such man grew up poor and out of wedlock and continues to influence world events. His EDSA led revolt became a model for toppling repressive regimes all over the world. Juan Ponce Enrile was born on Valentine's Day in a remote village in Cagayan. He was christened Juanito Furagganan, taking his mother's name. Looking for better opportunities, the young Juanito left Gonzaga, Cagayan for the poblacion and enrolled in school by working as a servant to his mother's relative. He later transferred to Aparri and enrolled at the Cagayan Valley Institute. World War II broke out and Juanito, now a young man joined the guerillas. He was caught, imprisoned and tortured. He escaped, and at the end of the

war, was serving in the U.S. Quartermaster depot in Aparri, Cagayan. While the war was raging, his half sisters evacuated to Aparri and learned about Juanito. After the war, Juanito met his father in the latter's Law Office in Binondo, Manila. Don Alfonso brought Juanito home to Malabon. He was given a new name, Juan Ponce Enrile. He resumed his High School education at the St. James Academy in Malabon. In 1947, he entered Ateneo de Manila graduating cum laude with an Associate in Arts Degree. In the UP, he graduated cum laude and salutatorian of UP Law Class 1953. He later passed the Bar Examinations placing 11th with a 91.72% rating and getting a perfect score in commercial law. He was offered a scholarship by the Harvard University where he earned a Master of Laws degree specializing in taxation and corporate reorganization. Returning to the Philippines, he joined the Ponce Enrile, Siguion Reyna, Montecillo, Bello Law Office where he emerged as a top corporate and litigation lawyer. He never lost a case. In 1966, he was appointed as Undersecretary of Finance, acting Insurance Commissioner of Customs and acting Chairman of the Monetary Board. In 1968-70 he served as Secretary of Justice. He was appointed Secretary of National Defense in 1970, a position he held for almost seventeen (17) years until 1986. He became an Assemblyman of Cagayan in 1978 and was reelected in 1984. The events of February 1986 marked turning point in the history of the Philippines and in Enrile's career. Following the turbulent snap elections of February 7,1986, and amid the prolonged crisis that gripped the country after the assassination of former Senator Benigno Aquino, Jr., Enrile withdrew his support for the Marcos government and led the revolt that triggered what would be known as the People Power or EDSA Revolution. Together with a handful of officers and men, he rallied the ranks of the Philippine military behind the rebellion, which culminated in the fall of the Marcos government. It was during this time that hundreds of thousands of citizens poured into EDSA (Epifanio Delos Santos Avenue) and for four days

surrounded the camp where Enrile and his men were holding out, thus averting a bloody confrontation between the rebels and Marcos loyalist group in the military. Mrs. Corazon Aquino, who was proclaimed the New President, reappointed Enrile as Secretary of National Defense. He left the post after six months, however, as differences over policy with the new administration grew. In 1987, he ran and won as opposition Senator. Subsequently, was the lone opposition Senator in the Senate. As Minority Floor Leader, he was a member of all the standing committees of the Senate. He was also a member of the Senate Electoral Tribunal and the Commission on Appointments. In the May 11, 1992 elections, he won a seat in the House of Representatives by a landslide representing the First District of Cagayan, his home province. He joined the Liberal Party, to which his father belonged, shortly after. In the May 1995 elections he ran and won a seat once again in the Senate under the Lakas Coalition. Again he was a member of the Commission on Appointments and Chairman of the Senate Ways and Means Committee and the Committee on Government Corporations and Public Enterprises. At that time, he authored the Comprehensive Tax Reform Program, which eventually became Republic Act 8424. Among the inclusions that would greatly benefit the Overseas Filipino Worker in this law is the exemption of their income earned abroad from taxation, thus enabling them to save a more substantial amount from their salaries for their families. In addition to this, is the exemption from capital gains tax, proceeds realized from the sale of one's family home provided that such gains would be utilized to acquire another residential home. During the 10th and 11th Congress, Senator Juan Ponce Enrile filed several legislative landmarks namely: the; SB No. 2068 which seeks to increase by at least 100% the personal and additional tax exemptions granted to individual income tax payers; SB. No. 2089 which seeks to reduce the income tax rates on taxable income; SB 1887 which would allow the deductibility from taxable income of interest payments on housing loans, and in addition, SB No. 2082 which seeks to exempt all the allowances and benefits granted to

public school teachers, including those in state colleges and universities from income tax. He has gone on to serve as one of the most productive and outstanding senators in the present Congress. He has continued to serve as he has lived- with excellence, determination and desire to serve the Filipino people.

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi ; (2 October 1869 30 January 1948), commonly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was the preeminent leader of Indian nationalism in Britishruled India. Employing nonviolent civil disobedience, Gandhi led India to independence and inspired movements for nonviolence, civil rights and freedom across the world. The son of a senior government official, Gandhi was born and raised in a Hindu Bania community in coastal Gujarat, and trained in law in London. Gandhi became famous by fighting for the civil rights of Muslim and Hindu Indians in South Africa, using new techniques of non-violent civil disobedience that he developed. Returning to India in 1915, he set about organizing peasants to protest excessive land-taxes. A lifelong opponent of "communalism" (i.e. basing politics on religion) he reached out widely to all religious groups. He became a leader of Muslims protesting the declining status of the Caliphate. Assuming leadership of the Indian National Congress in 1921, Gandhi led nationwide campaigns for easing poverty, expanding women's rights, building religious and ethnic amity, ending untouchability, increasing economic self-reliance, and above all for achieving Swarajthe independence of India from British domination. Gandhi led Indians in protesting the national salt tax with the 400 km (250 mi) Dandi Salt March in 1930, and later in demanding the British to immediately Quit India in 1942, duringWorld War II. He was imprisoned for that and for numerous other political offenses over the years. Gandhi sought to practice non-violence and truth in all situations, and advocated that others do the same. He saw the villages as the core of the true India and promoted self-sufficiency; he did not support the industrialization programs of his disciple Jawaharlal Nehru. He lived modestly in a self-sufficient

residential community and wore the traditional Indian dhoti and shawl, woven with yarn he had hand spun on a charkha. His chief political enemy in Britain was Winston Churchill, who ridiculed him as a "half-naked fakir."[5] He was a dedicated vegetarian, and undertook long fasts as means of both self-purification and political mobilization. In his last year, unhappy at the partition of India, Gandhi worked to stop the carnage between Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs that raged in the border area between India and Pakistan. He was assassinated on 30 January 1948 by a Hindu nationalist who thought Gandhi was too sympathetic to India's Muslims. 30 January is observed as Martyrs' Day in India. The honorific Mahatma ("Great Soul") was applied to him by 1914 In India he was also called Bapu ("Father"). He is known in India as the Father of the Nation; his birthday, 2 October, is commemorated there as Gandhi Jayanti, a national holiday, and world-wide as the International Day of Non-Violence. Gandhi's philosophy was not theoretical but one of pragmatism, that is, practicing his principles in real time. Asked to give a message to the people, he would respond, "My life is my message." Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born on 2 October 1869 in Porbandar, a coastal town which was then part of the Bombay Presidency, British India. He was born in his ancestral home, now known as Kirti Mandir. His father, Karamchand Gandhi (18221885), who belonged to the HinduModh community, served as the diwan (chief minister) of Porbander state, a small princely salute state in the Kathiawar Agency of British India. His grandfather was Uttamchand Gandhi, also called Utta Gandhi. His mother, Putlibai, who came from the Pranami Vaishnava community, was Karamchand's fourth wife, the first three wives having apparently died in childbirth.
]

The Indian classics, especially the stories of Shravana and king Harishchandra, had a great impact on Gandhi in his childhood. In his autobiography, he admits that they left an indelible impression on his mind. He writes: "It haunted me and I must have acted Harishchandra to myself times without number." Gandhi's early selfidentification with truth and love as supreme values is traceable to these epic characters. In May 1883, the 13-year-old Mohandas was married to 14-yearold Kasturbai Makhanji (her first name was usually shortened to "Kasturba", and affectionately to "Ba") in an arranged child marriage, according to the custom of the region.[16] In the process, he lost a year at school.[ Recalling the day of their marriage, he once said, "As we

didn't know much about marriage, for us it meant only wearing new clothes, eating sweets and playing with relatives." However, as was prevailing tradition, the adolescent bride was to spend much time at her parents' house, and away from her husband. In 1885, when Gandhi was 15, the couple's first child was born, but survived only a few days. Gandhi's father, Karamchand Gandhi, had also died earlier that year. Mohandas and Kasturba had four more children, all sons: Harilal, born in 1888; Manilal, born in 1892; Ramdas, born in 1897; and Devdas, born in 1900. At his middle school in Porbandar and high school in Rajkot, Gandhi remained a mediocre student. He shone neither in the classroom nor on the playing field. One of the terminal reports rated him as "good at English, fair in Arithmetic and weak in Geography; conduct very good, bad handwriting." He passed the matriculation exam at Samaldas College in Bhavnagar, Gujarat, with some difficulty. Gandhi's family wanted him to be a barrister, as it would increase the prospects of succeeding to his father's post.[

Thomas Isidore Nol Sankara (December 21, 1949 October 15, 1987) was aBurkinab military captain, Marxist revolutionary, PanAfricanist theorist, and President of Burkina Faso from 1983 to 1987. Viewed as a charismatic and iconic figure of revolution, he is commonly referred to as "Africa's Che Guevara". Sankara seized power in a 1983 popularly supported coup at the age of 33, with the goal of eliminating corruption and the dominance of the former French colonial power. He immediately launched the most ambitious program for social and economic change ever attempted on the African continent. To symbolize this new autonomy and rebirth, he even renamed the country from the French colonial Upper Volta to Burkina Faso ("Land of Upright Men"). His foreign policies were centered around anti-imperialism, with his government eschewing all foreign aid, pushing for odious debt reduction, nationalizing all land and mineral wealth, and averting the power and influence of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank. His domestic policies were focused on preventing famine with agrarian self-sufficiency and land reform, prioritizing education with a nation-wide literacy campaign, and promoting public health by vaccinating 2.5 million children againstmeningitis, yellow fever and measles. Other components of his national agenda included planting over ten million trees to halt the growing desertification of the Sahel, doubling wheat production by redistributing land from feudal landlords to peasants, suspending ruralpoll taxes and domestic rents, and establishing an ambitious road and rail construction program to "tie the nation together". On the localized level Sankara also called on every village to build a medical dispensary and had over 350 communities construct schools with their own labour. Moreover, his commitment to women's rights led him to outlaw female genital mutilation, forced

marriages and polygamy, while appointing females to high governmental positions and encouraging them to work outside the home and stay in school even if pregnant. In order to achieve this radical transformation of society, he increasingly exerted authoritarian control over the nation, eventually banning unions and a free press, which he believed could stand in the way of his plans.[ To counter his opposition in towns and workplaces around the country, he also tried corrupt officials, counterrevolutionaries and "lazy workers" in peoples revolutionary [6] tribunals. Additionally, as an admirer of Fidel Castro's Cuban Revolution, Sankara set up Cuban-style Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (CDRs). His revolutionary programs for African self-reliance as a defiant alternative to the neo-liberal development strategies imposed by the West, made him an icon to many of Africa's poor.[6] Sankara remained popular with most of his country's impoverished citizens. However his policies alienated and antagonised the vested interests of an array of groups, which included the small but powerful Burkinab middle class, the tribal leaders whom he stripped of the long-held traditional right to forced labour and tribute payments, and the foreign financial interests in France and their ally the Ivory Coast.[1][8] As a result, he was overthrown and assassinated in a coup d'tat led by the Frenchbacked Blaise Compaor on October 15, 1987. A week before his murder, he declared: "While revolutionaries as individuals can be murdered, you cannot kill ideas." Thomas Sankara was the son of Marguerite Sankara (died March 6, 2000) and Sambo Joseph Sankara (1919 August 4, 2006), a gendarme. Born into a Roman Catholic family, "Thom'Sank" was a Silmi-Mossi, an ethnic group that originated with marriage between Mossimen and women of the pastoralist Fulani people. The Silmi-Mossi are among the least advantaged in the Mossi caste system. He attended primary school in Gaoua and high school in Bobo-Dioulasso, the country's second city. His father fought in the French army during World War II and was detained by the Nazis. Sankara's family wanted him to become a Catholic priest. Fittingly for a country with a largeMuslim population, he was also familiar with the Qur'an. He was born in Yako. After basic military training in secondary school in 1966, Sankara began his military career at the age of 19, and a year later was sent to Madagascar for officer training at Antsirabe where he

witnessed popular uprisings in 1971 and 1972 against the government of Philibert Tsiranana and first read the works of Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin, profoundly influencing his political views for the rest of his life.[10] Returning to Upper Volta in 1972, by 1974 he fought in a border war between Upper Volta and Mali. He earned fame for his heroic performance in the border war with Mali, but years later would renounce the war as "useless and unjust", a reflection of his growing political consciousness.[11] He also became a popular figure in the capital of Ouagadougou. The fact that he was a decent guitarist (he played in a band named "Tout--Coup Jazz") and rode a motorcycle may have contributed to his charismatic public images. In 1976 he became commander of the Commando Training Centre in P. In the same year he met Blaise Compaor in Morocco. During the presidency of Colonel Saye Zerbo a group of young officers formed a secret organisation "Communist Officers' Group" (Regroupement des officiers communistes, or ROC) the best-known members being Henri Zongo, Jean-Baptiste Boukary Lingani, Compaor and Sankara.

Mary Jane Seacole (1805 14 May 1881), ne Grant, was a Jamaicanborn woman of Scottish and Creole descent who set up a 'British Hotel' behind the lines during theCrimean War, which she described as "a mess-table and comfortable quarters for sick and convalescent officers," and provided succour for wounded servicemen on the battlefield. She was posthumously awarded the Jamaican Order of Merit in 1991. In 2004 she was voted the greatest Black Briton although she was only one quarter black. She acquired knowledge of herbal medicine in the Caribbean. When the Crimean War broke out she applied to the War Office to assist but was refused. She travelled independently and set up her "Hotel" and assisted battlefield wounded. She became extremely popular among service personnel who raised money for her when she faced destitution after the war. After her death she was forgotten for almost a century, but today she is celebrated as a woman who successfully combatted racial prejudice. Her autobiography, Wonderful Adventures of Mrs. Seacole in Many Lands (1857), is one of the earliest autobiographies of a mixed-race woman, although its accuracy has been questioned. It has been claimed that Seacole's achievements have been exaggerated for political reasons and a plan to erect a statue of her at St Thomas' Hospital, London, describing her as a "pioneer nurse",has generated controversy. Further controversy broke out late in 2012 over reports of a proposal to remove her from the National Curriculum. Mary Seacole was born Mary Jane Grant in Kingston, Jamaica, the daughter of a Scottish soldier in the British Army and a free Jamaican Creole woman. Seacole's mother was a "doctress", a healer who used traditional Caribbean and African herbal remedies. She ran Blundell Hall, a boarding house at 7 East Street in Kingston and one of the best hotels in the whole of Kingston. Here Seacole acquired her nursing skills. Her autobiography said her early experiments in

medicine were based on what she learned from her mother while ministering to a doll, then progressing to pets before helping her mother to treat humans.[14] Seacole was proud of her Scottish ancestry and called herself a Creole, a term that was commonly used in a racially neutral sense or to refer to the children of white settlers. In her autobiography The Wonderful Adventures of Mrs. Seacole, she records her bloodline thus: "I am a Creole, and have good Scots blood coursing through my veins. My father was a soldier of an old Scottish family." Legally, she was classified as a mulatto, a multiracial person with limited political rights. Robinson speculates that she may technically have been a quadroon. Seacole emphasises her personal vigour in her autobiography, distancing herself from the contemporary stereotype of the "lazy Creole", yet she was proud of her black ancestry, writing: "I have a few shades of deeper brown upon my skin which shows me relatedand I am proud of the relationshipto those poor mortals whom you once held enslaved, and whose bodies America still owns." The West Indies was an outpost of the British Empire in the late 18th century and in the 1790s one third of Britain's foreign trade was with the British West Indies. Britain's economic interests were protected by a massive military presence, with 69 line infantry regiments serving there from 1793 to 1801, and another 24 from 1803 to 1815. Seacole spent some years in the household of an elderly woman, whom she called her "kind patroness", before returning to her mother. She was treated as a member of her patroness's family and received a good education. As the educated daughter of a Scottish officer and a free black woman with a respectable business, Seacole would have held a high position in Jamaican society. In about 1821 Seacole visited London, staying for a year, and visited relatives, the merchant Henriques family. Although London had a number of black people, she records that a companion, a West Indian with skin darker than her own "dusky" shades, was taunted by children. Seacole herself was "only a little brown", nearly white according to Ramdin She returned to London approximately a year later, bringing a "large stock of West Indian pickles and preserves for sale". Her later travels would be as an "unprotected" woman, without a chaperone or sponsor, an unusual practice. Seacole returned to Jamaica in 1825.

Believed to be born in the late 16th century, English explorer Henry Hudson made two unsuccessful sailing voyages in search of an ice-free passage to Asia. In 1609, he embarked on a third voyage funded by the Dutch East India Company that took him to the New World and the river that would be given his name. On his fourth voyage, he came upon the body of water that would be called the Hudson Bay. Considered one of the world's most famous explorers, Henry Hudson actually never found what he was looking for. He spent his career searching for different routes to Asia, but he ended up opening the door to further exploration and settlement of North America. While many places bear his name, Henry Hudson remains an elusive figure. There is little information available about the famous explorer prior his first journey as a ship's commander in 1607. It is believed that he learned about the seafaring life firsthand, perhaps from fishermen or sailors. He must have had a talent for navigation early on, enough to merit becoming a commander in his late twenties. Prior to 1607, Hudson probably worked aboard other ships before being appointed to lead one on his own. Reports also indicate that he was married to a woman named Katherine, and they had three sons together. Hudson made four journeys in his careera time when countries and companies competed with each other to find the best ways to reach important trade destinations, especially Asia and India. In 1607, the Muscovy Company, an English firm, entrusted Hudson to find a northern route to Asia. Hudson brought his son John with him on this trip, as well as Robert Juet. Juet went on several of Hudson's voyages and recorded these trips in his journals. Despite a spring departure, Hudson found himself and his crew battling icy conditions. They had a chance to explore some of the islands near Greenland before turning back. But the trip was not a total loss, as

Hudson reported numerous whales in the region, which opened up a new hunting territory. The following year, Hudson once again set sail in search of the fabled Northeast Passage. The route he sought proved elusive, however. Hudson made it to Novaya Zemlya, an archipelago in the Arctic Ocean to the north of Russia. But he could not travel further, blocked by thick ice. Hudson returned to England without achieving his goal. In 1609, Hudson joined the Dutch East India Company as a commander. He took charge of the Half Moon with the objective of discovering a northern route to Asia by heading north of Russia. Again ice put an end to his travels, but this time he did not head for home. Hudson decided to sail west to seek western passage to the Orient. According to some historians, he had heard of a way to the Pacific Ocean from North America from English explorer John Smith. Crossing the Atlantic Ocean, Hudson and his crew reached land that July, coming ashore at what is now Nova Scotia. They encountered some of the local Native Americans there and were able to make some trades with them. Traveling down the North American coast, Hudson went as far south as the Chesapeake Bay. He then turned around and decided to explore New York Harbor, an area first thought to have been discovered by Giovanni da Verrazzano in 1524. Around this time, Hudson and his crew clashed with some local Native Americans. A crew member named John Colman died after being shot in the neck with an arrow, and two others on board were injured. After burying Colman, Hudson and his crew traveled up the river that would later carry his name. He explored the Hudson River up as far as what later became Albany. Along the way, Hudson noticed that the lush lands that lined the river contained abundant wildlife. He and his crew also met with some of the Native Americans living on the river's banks. On the way back to the Netherlands, Hudson was stopped in the English port of Dartmouth. The English authorities seized the ship and the Englishmen among the crew. Upset that he had been exploring for another country, the English authorities forbade Hudson from working with the Dutch again. He was, however, undeterred from trying to find the Northwest Passage. This time, Hudson found English investors to fund his next journey, which would prove to be fatal.

Aboard the ship Discovery, Hudson left England in April 1610. He and his crew, which again included his son John and Robert Juet, made their way across the Atlantic Ocean. After skirting the southern tip of Greenland, they entered what became known as the Hudson Strait. The exploration then reached another of his namesakes, the Hudson Bay. Traveling south, Hudson ventured into James Bay and discovered that he had come to a dead end. By this time, Hudson was at odds with many in his crew. They found themselves trapped in the ice and low on supplies. When they were forced to spend the winter there, tensions only grew more intense. By June 1611, conditions had improved enough for the ship to set sail once again. Hudson, however, didn't make the trip back home. Shortly after their departure, several members of the crew, including Juet, took over the ship and decided to cast out Hudson, his son and a few other crew members. Mutineers put Hudson and the others in a small boat and set them adrift. It is believed that Hudson and the others died of exposure sometime later. Some of the mutineers were later put on trial, but they were acquitted. More European explorers and settlers followed Hudson's lead, making their way to North America. The Dutch started a new colony, called New Amsterdam, at the mouth of the Hudson River in 1625. They also developed trade posts along the nearby coasts. While he never found his way to Asia, Hudson is still widely remembered as a determined early explorer. His efforts helped drive European interest in North America. Today his name can be found all around us on waterways, schools, bridges and even towns.

Felicia's father was George Browne, a Liverpool merchant. Her mother, Felicity Wagner, was the daughter of the Austrian and Tuscan consul to Liverpool. Felicia Browne was born on September 25, 1793, in Liverpool. She was the fifth of seven children. When her father's business failed about 1800, the family moved first to Gwrych, an isolated Welsh seaside house; then, in 1809, to St. Asaph, Wales. Felicia was a clever child who began to read at an early age and did so voraciously from the well-stocked family library. She read novels and poetry, learned several languages, and studied music, primarily under the direction of her mother. According to her sister, Felicia "could repeat pages of poetry from her favourite authors, after having read them but once over." When she was eleven or twelve she spent two successive winters in London, where she was awed by the paintings and sculptures. Her first book of Poems was published in 1808. It was remarkable work to come from a fourteen-year-old, but it received some harsh reviews. A postumous commentator stated: "... our little heroine was exposed to the lash of a public critic - a useful animal enough, but one whom the superstitious infallibility of print exalts to a divinity." Two of Felicia's brothers had entered the army, and one was serving under Sir John Moore in Spain. Her poem England and Spain; or Valour and Patriotism(1808) was written in an impassioned adolescent imitation of Campbell, probably inspired by her brother's service. Also serving in Spain was Captain Alfred Hemans, whom she had briefly encountered when he visited in the neighborhood. Her adolescent infatuation did not fade with his absence. On Captain Hemans' return in 1811, the relationship continued to develop. The Domestic Affections and other Poems was published in 1812, just before her marriage to Captain Hemans. After a brief time in Daventry, Northamptonshire, where Captain Hemans was adjutant to the local militia, the Hemans returned to St. Asaph. There, all but the first of their five sons were born. Hemans continued to write prolifically. Her style from this era is coloured by her reading of Byron. He was not displeased by her adoption of his style, and wrote to his publisher that The Restoration of the Works of Art to Italy (1816) was "a good poem - very" and that he planned to take it with him in his travels.

In 1818 Captain Hemans went to Rome. He left behind his wife and five small sons, all under 6 years of age. There seems to have been a private agreement to separate, because they never saw each other after that. No reasons for the separation were ever stated. Captain Hemans spent the rest of his life abroad, and Felicia Hemans never visited him. Letters were exchanged, particularly to consult about the children, but Felicia was left to support herself as best she could. She and the children continued to live with her mother in Wales. Her love of Wales was reflected most strongly in a collection of Welsh Melodies which included a tribute to "The Rock of Cader Idris", seat of poets. Hemans was deeply distressed by her mother's death in January 1827. (See "Hymn by the Sick-bed of a Mother"). From then until her own death she was an invalid. Her two eldest sons were sent to Rome to be with their father, and she moved to Liverpool. It was not a successful move: she thought the people of Liverpool were stupid and provincial; they thought she was uncommunicative and eccentric. She visited Scotland in 1828, staying with Scott for a while. (See "The Funeral Day of Sir Walter Scott"). She returned to Liverpool, but the following summer was in the Lake Country with Wordsworth (See "A Farewell to Abbotsford" and "To Wordsworth"). Hemans moved to Dublin in 1831, where she could be near one of her brothers. She died there on the 16th of May, 1835, at the age of 41. Her death was attributed to a weak heart, which may have been the common affliction of rheumatic fever. During her life, Hemans made several attempts at writing drama, none of which were successful. The only play to be performed, The Vespers of Palermo (1823), failed dismally in its Covent Garden debut, despite having the Kembles' managing and acting. A few months later it was produced in Edinburgh and well-received. Sir Walter Scott wrote a prologue for the Edinburgh performance. Her second effort, De Chatillon, or The Crusaders, was also unsuccessful. In contrast, her poetry was popular and sold well: on the basis of her work, Hemans was able to support herself and her children. Frederic Rowton gives acontemporary's assessment of her work in The Female Poets of Great Britain (1853). A Prefatory Notice by W. M. Rossetti, from one of many collections of Hemans' work, is interesting for the view it gives of Mrs. Hemans' life, and the attitudes towards women and writing that it indicates. George Eliot commended "The Forest Sanctuary" as 'exquisite'. Scott, however, criticised her poetry for being 'too poetical' and for having 'too many flowers' and 'too little fruit'. While Hemans confidently used a variety of metrical effects and narrative structures, much of her popular

appeal lay in her ability to write emotional verses expressing the sentiments of her time. Her memorials to George III and to Princess Charlotte treat George III's madness, and emotional responses to the royal family, with considerable sensitivity. In many poems, Hemans responded to the concerns of women of her time by idealizing and romanticizing woman's role and relationships. Her portrayal of cultural ideals offered comfort and support to those who found them meaningful. She wrote "To the New-Born" for the child of her eldest brother. Her poem "The Better Land" was copied by Florence Nightingale for a cousin. It touched on concerns which were particularly significant in a culture with high child and maternal mortality rates, where survivors sought comfort in religious belief. Hemans' strong support of familial ideals was one reason why contemporaries accepted her in the roles of loving daughter and parent, and treated her separation from her husband sympathetically, as an unfortunate circumstance which reflected poorly on the Captain rather than on her. While a number of Heman's poems indicate the attractions and rewards of creative work, and the desirability of intellectual powers, the same poems are often framed to suggest that love, strong familial relationships, and faith are ultimately more important and lasting than fame (See "Properzia Rossi" and "Joan of Arc in Rheims"). This does not imply, however, that creativity and faith are necessarily opposed. Both her juvenile poem "Lines Written in the Memoirs of Elizabeth Smith" and "Thoughts During Sickness: Intellectual Powers", written late in her life, describe genius and imagination as divine gifts, which will be regained and fulfilled in heavenly life. Hemans spent her life with her family in Wales, rarely travelling. She read extensively, and sought inspiration and detail for her descriptions of Greece, Spain, and the new world, in the writings of other authors. Her work suffered from her restricted experience, as she relied too much on the impressions of others and often used stereotypic images. Still, she captured much of the ethos of her day in her poetry. Today her best-known poems are probably "The Homes of England" and"Casabianca" (better known as "The Boy Stood on the Burning Deck").