Henry I (c.

1068/1069 – 1 December 1135) was the fourth son of William the

Conqueror and the first born in England after the Norman Conquest of 1066. He
succeeded his elder brother William II as King of England in 1100 and defeated his eldest
brother, Robert Curthose, to become Duke of Normandy in 1106. He was called
Beauclerc for his scholarly interests and Lion of Justice for refinements which he
brought about in the rudimentary administrative and legislative machinery of the time.

Henry's reign is noted for its political opportunism. His succession was confirmed while
his brother Robert was away on the First Crusade and the beginning of his reign was
occupied by wars with Robert for control of England and Normandy. He successfully
reunited the two realms again after their separation on his father's death in 1087. Upon
his succession he granted the baronage a Charter of Liberties, which formed a basis for
subsequent challenges to rights of kings and presaged the Magna Carta, which subjected
the King to law.

HENRY III (r. 1216-1272)

Henry III, King John's son, was only nine when he became king. By 1227, when he assumed
power from his regent, order had been restored, based on his acceptance of Magna Carta.

However, the king's failed campaigns in France (1230 and 1242), his choice of friends and
advisers, together with the cost of his scheme to make one of his younger sons King of Sicily
and help the Pope against the Holy Roman Emperor, led to further disputes with the barons
and united opposition in Church and State.

Although Henry was extravagant and his tax demands were resented, the king's accounts
show a list of many charitable donations and payments for building works (including the
rebuilding of Westminster Abbey which began in 1245).

The Provisions of Oxford (1258) and the Provisions of Westminster (1259) were attempts by
the nobles to define common law in the spirit of Magna Carta, control appointments and set up
an aristocratic council.

Henry tried to defeat them by obtaining papal absolution from his oaths, and enlisting King
Louis XI's help. Henry renounced the Provisions in 1262 and war broke out. The barons, under
their leader, Simon de Montfort, were initially successful and even captured Henry.

However, Henry escaped, joined forces with the lords of the Marches (on the Welsh border),
and finally defeated and killed de Montfort at the Battle of Evesham in 1265. Royal authority
was restored by the Statute of Marlborough (1267), in which the king also promised to uphold
Magna Carta and some of the Provisions of Westminster.

Mao Zedong pronunciation (help·info) (Simplified Chinese: 毛泽东; Traditional Chinese:

毛澤東; Pinyin: Máo Zédōng; Wade-giles: Mao Tse-tung; December 26, 1893 –
September 9, 1976) was a Chinese military and political leader, who led the Communist
Party of China (CPC) to victory against the Kuomintang (KMT) in the Chinese Civil
War, and was the leader of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) from its establishment
in 1949 until his death in 1976. Mao is also recognized as a poet and calligrapher.[1]

Regarded as one of the most important figures in modern world history,[2] Mao is still a
controversial figure today, over thirty years after his death. He is held in high regard in
China where he is often portrayed as a great revolutionary and strategist who eventually
defeated Chiang Kai-shek in the Chinese Civil War, and transformed the country into a
major power through his Maoist policies. However, many of Mao's socio-political
programs such as the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution are blamed by
critics from both within and outside China for causing severe damage to the culture,
society, economy and foreign relations of China, as well as enormous and unnecessary
loss of lives, a peacetime death toll in the tens of millions.[3]

Although still officially venerated in China, his influence has been largely overshadowed
by the political and economic reforms of Deng Xiaoping and other leaders since his
death.[