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Poland: Engraved portrait of Nicolaus Copernicus, Polish astronomer and mathematician, c. 1850. Nicolaus Copernicus (19 February 1473 - 24 May 1543) was a Renaissance astronomer and mathematician from Royal Prussia, part of the Kingdom of Poland. Copernicus was a polyglot and polymath, and obtained a doctorate in canon law. Throughout his life, he served also as a governor, diplomat, economist, physician, translator and classic scholar.
Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli (3 May 1469 – 21 June 1527) was a Florentine historian, politician, diplomat, philosopher, humanist, and writer during the Renaissance. He was for many years an official in the Florentine Republic, with responsibilities in diplomatic and military affairs.<br/><br/> Macchiavelli was a founder of modern political science, and more specifically political ethics. He also wrote comedies, carnival songs, and poetry. His personal correspondence is renowned in the Italian language. He was Secretary to the Second Chancery of the Republic of Florence from 1498 to 1512, when the Medici were out of power.<br/><br/> He wrote his masterpiece, The Prince, after the Medici had recovered power and he no longer held a position of responsibility in Florence. His views on the importance of a strong ruler who was not afraid to be harsh with his subjects and enemies were most likely influenced by the Italian city-states, which due to a lack of unification were very vulnerable to other unified nation-states, such as France.
Cosimo di Giovanni de' Medici (called 'the Elder' and, posthumously, Father of the Nation'; born 10 April 1389 in Florence, died 1 August 1464 in Careggi) was the first of the Medici political dynasty, de facto rulers of Florence during much of the Italian Renaissance.
Cosimo di Giovanni de' Medici (called 'the Elder' and, posthumously, Father of the Nation'; born 10 April 1389 in Florence, died 1 August 1464 in Careggi) was the first of the Medici political dynasty, de facto rulers of Florence during much of the Italian Renaissance.
Cosimo di Giovanni de' Medici (called 'the Elder' and, posthumously, Father of the Nation'; born 10 April 1389 in Florence, died 1 August 1464 in Careggi) was the first of the Medici political dynasty, de facto rulers of Florence during much of the Italian Renaissance.
Cosimo di Giovanni de' Medici (called 'the Elder' and, posthumously, Father of the Nation'; born 10 April 1389 in Florence, died 1 August 1464 in Careggi) was the first of the Medici political dynasty, de facto rulers of Florence during much of the Italian Renaissance.
Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli (3 May 1469 – 21 June 1527) was a Florentine historian, politician, diplomat, philosopher, humanist, and writer during the Renaissance. He was for many years an official in the Florentine Republic, with responsibilities in diplomatic and military affairs.<br/><br/> Macchiavelli was a founder of modern political science, and more specifically political ethics. He also wrote comedies, carnival songs, and poetry. His personal correspondence is renowned in the Italian language. He was Secretary to the Second Chancery of the Republic of Florence from 1498 to 1512, when the Medici were out of power.<br/><br/> He wrote his masterpiece, <i>The Prince</i>, after the Medici had recovered power and he no longer held a position of responsibility in Florence. His views on the importance of a strong ruler who was not afraid to be harsh with his subjects and enemies were most likely influenced by the Italian city-states, which due to a lack of unification were very vulnerable to other unified nation-states, such as France.
Lorenzo de' Medici (1 January 1449 – 9 April 1492) was an Italian statesman and de facto ruler of the Florentine Republic during the Italian Renaissance. Known as Lorenzo the Magnificent (Lorenzo il Magnifico) by contemporary Florentines, he was a magnate, diplomat, politician and patron of scholars, artists, and poets. He is perhaps best known for his contribution to the art world, sponsoring artists such as Botticelli and Michelangelo. His life coincided with the mature phase of Italian Renaissance and his death coincided with the end of the Golden Age of Florence.
Zhuge Liang (CE 181-234) was Chancellor of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. He is often recognised as the greatest and most accomplished strategist of his era. Often depicted wearing a robe and holding a fan made of crane feathers, Zhuge was not only an important military strategist and statesman; he was also an accomplished scholar and inventor.<br/><br/> His reputation as an intelligent and learned scholar grew even while he was living in relative seclusion, earning him the nickname Wolong (literally Crouching Dragon). Zhuge is an uncommon two-character compound family name. His name – even his surname alone – has become synonymous with intelligence and tactics in Chinese culture.
Left to Right: General Creighton Abrams, George Ball, Assistant Press Secretary Tom Johnson, General Maxwell Taylor, McGeorge Bundy, General Matthew Ridgway, Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge, Dean Acheson, President Lyndon B. Johnson, General Omar Bradley, Ambassador Averell Harriman, Secretary of Defense Clark Clifford, Cyrus Vance, Walt Rostow, Secretary of State Dean Rusk.
Idris Barzani (1944 – January 31, 1987) was a Kurdish politician in Iraqi Kurdistan. He was the brother of Massoud Barzani, a well-known Kurdish figure, and the father of Nechervan Idris Barzani.<br/><br/> He was often sent on diplomatic missions for the Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP). He died on January 31, 1987, of a heart attack.
Zheng He (1371 – 1433 or 1435) was a Chinese mariner, explorer, diplomat, fleet admiral, and court eunuch during China's early Ming dynasty. He was born Ma He to a Muslim family, and later adopted the conferred surname Zheng from Emperor Yongle.<br/><br/> Zheng commanded expeditionary voyages to Southeast Asia, South Asia, Western Asia, and East Africa from 1405 to 1433. His larger ships stretched 120 meters or more in length. These carried hundreds of sailors on four tiers of decks.
From 1861 to 1890 the Munich publishing firm of Braun and Schneider published plates of historic and contemporary costume in their magazine Munchener Bilderbogen.<br/><br/> These plates were eventually collected in book form and published at the turn of the century in Germany and England.
Folke Bernadotte, Count of Wisborg (2 January 1895 – 17 September 1948) was a Swedish diplomat and nobleman. During World War II he negotiated the release of about 31,000 prisoners from German concentration camps including 450 Danish Jews from the Theresienstadt camp. They were released on 14 April 1945. In 1945, he received a German surrender offer from Heinrich Himmler, though the offer was ultimately rejected.<br/><br/> After the war, Bernadotte was unanimously chosen to be the United Nations Security Council mediator in the Arab–Israeli conflict of 1947–1948. He was assassinated in Jerusalem in 1948 by the militant Zionist group Lehi while pursuing his official duties. The decision to assassinate him had been taken by Natan Yellin-Mor, Yisrael Eldad, and Yitzhak Shamir, who later became Prime Minister of Israel.
In 833, Emperor Nimmyo named Tsunetsugu the Imperial ambassador to China. He was the last envoy from Japan to China during the Heian period.<br/><br/> The diplomatic mission left Kyushu in 838; Tsunetsugu returned to Japan in 839. The mission party included the Buddhist monk Ennin.
Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. (July 5, 1902 – February 27, 1985), sometimes referred to as Henry Cabot Lodge II, was a Republican United States Senator from Massachusetts and a U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, South Vietnam, West Germany, and the Holy See (as Representative).<br/><br/> He was the Republican nominee for Vice President in the 1960 Presidential election.
Zheng He (1371 – 1433 or 1435) was a Chinese mariner, explorer, diplomat, fleet admiral, and court eunuch during China's early Ming dynasty. He was born Ma He to a Muslim family, and later adopted the conferred surname Zheng from Emperor Yongle.<br/><br/> Zheng commanded expeditionary voyages to Southeast Asia, South Asia, Western Asia, and East Africa from 1405 to 1433. His larger ships stretched 120 meters or more in length. These carried hundreds of sailors on four tiers of decks.
John Kenneth 'Ken' Galbraith, OC (October 15, 1908 – April 29, 2006) was a Canadian and, later, American economist, public official, and diplomat, and a leading proponent of 20th-century American liberalism. His books on economic topics were bestsellers from the 1950s through the 2000s, during which time Galbraith fulfilled the role of public intellectual. As an economist, he leaned toward Post-Keynesian economics from an institutionalist perspective.<br/><br/> Galbraith was a long-time Harvard faculty member and stayed with Harvard University for half a century as a professor of economics. He was a prolific author and wrote four dozen books, including several novels, and published more than a thousand articles and essays on various subjects. Among his most famous works was a popular trilogy on economics, American Capitalism (1952), The Affluent Society (1958), and The New Industrial State (1967).
Folke Bernadotte, Count of Wisborg (2 January 1895 – 17 September 1948) was a Swedish diplomat and nobleman. During World War II he negotiated the release of about 31,000 prisoners from German concentration camps including 450 Danish Jews from the Theresienstadt camp. They were released on 14 April 1945. In 1945, he received a German surrender offer from Heinrich Himmler, though the offer was ultimately rejected.<br/><br/> After the war, Bernadotte was unanimously chosen to be the United Nations Security Council mediator in the Arab–Israeli conflict of 1947–1948. He was assassinated in Jerusalem in 1948 by the militant Zionist group Lehi while pursuing his official duties. The decision to assassinate him had been taken by Natan Yellin-Mor, Yisrael Eldad, and Yitzhak Shamir, who later became Prime Minister of Israel.
The Second Indochina War, known in America as the Vietnam War, was a Cold War era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of South Vietnam, supported by the U.S. and other anti-communist nations. The U.S. government viewed involvement in the war as a way to prevent a communist takeover of South Vietnam and part of their wider strategy of containment.<br/><br/> The North Vietnamese government viewed the war as a colonial war, fought initially against France, backed by the U.S., and later against South Vietnam, which it regarded as a U.S. puppet state. U.S. military advisors arrived beginning in 1950. U.S. involvement escalated in the early 1960s, with U.S. troop levels tripling in 1961 and tripling again in 1962. U.S. combat units were deployed beginning in 1965. Operations spanned borders, with Laos and Cambodia heavily bombed. Involvement peaked in 1968 at the time of the Tet Offensive.<br/><br/> U.S. military involvement ended on 15 August 1973. The capture of Saigon by the North Vietnamese army in April 1975 marked the end of the US-Vietnam War.
William Averell Harriman (November 15, 1891 – July 26, 1986) was an American Democratic politician, businessman, and diplomat. He was the son of railroad baron E. H. Harriman. He served as Secretary of Commerce under President Harry S. Truman and later as the 48th Governor of New York. He was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1952, and again in 1956 when he was endorsed by President Truman but lost to Adlai Stevenson both times.<br/><br/> Harriman served President Franklin D. Roosevelt as special envoy to Europe and served as the U.S. Ambassador to the Soviet Union and U.S. Ambassador to Britain. He served in numerous U.S. diplomatic assignments in the Kennedy and Johnson Administrations. He was a core member of the group of foreign policy elders known as 'The Wise Men'.
Fridtjof Nansen (10 October 1861 – 13 May 1930) was a Norwegian explorer, scientist, diplomat, humanitarian and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. In his youth a champion skier and ice skater, he led the team that made the first crossing of the Greenland interior in 1888, cross-country skiing on the island, and won international fame after reaching a record northern latitude of 86°14′ during his North Pole expedition of 1893–96.<br/><br/> In the final decade of his life, Nansen devoted himself primarily to the League of Nations, following his appointment in 1921 as the League's High Commissioner for Refugees. In 1922 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work on behalf of the displaced victims of the First World War and related conflicts. Among the initiatives he introduced was the 'Nansen passport' for stateless persons, a certificate recognised by more than 50 countries.
Zhuge Liang (CE 181-234) was Chancellor of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. He is often recognised as the greatest and most accomplished strategist of his era. Often depicted wearing a robe and holding a fan made of crane feathers, Zhuge was not only an important military strategist and statesman; he was also an accomplished scholar and inventor.<br/><br/> His reputation as an intelligent and learned scholar grew even while he was living in relative seclusion, earning him the nickname Wolong (literally Crouching Dragon). Zhuge is an uncommon two-character compound family name. His name – even his surname alone – has become synonymous with intelligence and tactics in Chinese culture.
Left to Right: Secretary of State Dean Rusk, Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge, unknown, Robert Komer, President Lyndon B. Johnson, General William Westmoreland, Prime Minister Nguyen Cao Ky (South Vietnam), Walt Rostow, Lieutenant General Nguyen Van Thieu (South Vietnam).
William Averell Harriman (November 15, 1891 – July 26, 1986) was an American Democratic politician, businessman, and diplomat. He was the son of railroad baron E. H. Harriman. He served as Secretary of Commerce under President Harry S. Truman and later as the 48th Governor of New York. He was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1952, and again in 1956 when he was endorsed by President Truman but lost to Adlai Stevenson both times.<br/><br/> Harriman served President Franklin D. Roosevelt as special envoy to Europe and served as the U.S. Ambassador to the Soviet Union and U.S. Ambassador to Britain. He served in numerous U.S. diplomatic assignments in the Kennedy and Johnson Administrations. He was a core member of the group of foreign policy elders known as 'The Wise Men'.
Fridtjof Nansen (10 October 1861 – 13 May 1930) was a Norwegian explorer, scientist, diplomat, humanitarian and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. In his youth a champion skier and ice skater, he led the team that made the first crossing of the Greenland interior in 1888, cross-country skiing on the island, and won international fame after reaching a record northern latitude of 86°14′ during his North Pole expedition of 1893–96.<br/><br/> In the final decade of his life, Nansen devoted himself primarily to the League of Nations, following his appointment in 1921 as the League's High Commissioner for Refugees. In 1922 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work on behalf of the displaced victims of the First World War and related conflicts. Among the initiatives he introduced was the 'Nansen passport' for stateless persons, a certificate recognised by more than 50 countries.
Aubrey Nigel Henry Molyneux Herbert (1880 – 26 September 1923) was a British diplomat, traveller, and intelligence officer associated with Albanian independence. Twice he was offered the throne of Albania.<br/><br/> From 1911 until his death, he was a Conservative Member of Parliament.
Dean Gooderham Acheson (April 11, 1893 – October 12, 1971) was an American statesman and lawyer. As United States Secretary of State in the administration of President Harry S. Truman from 1949 to 1953, he played a central role in defining American foreign policy during the Cold War. Acheson helped design the Marshall Plan and played a central role in the development of the Truman Doctrine and creation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.<br/><br/> Acheson's most famous decision was convincing President Truman to intervene in the Korean War in June 1950. He also persuaded Truman to dispatch aid and advisors to French forces in Indochina, though in 1968 he finally counseled President Lyndon B. Johnson to negotiate for peace with North Vietnam. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, President John F. Kennedy called upon Acheson for advice, bringing him into the executive committee (ExComm), a strategic advisory group.
Dean Gooderham Acheson (April 11, 1893 – October 12, 1971) was an American statesman and lawyer. As United States Secretary of State in the administration of President Harry S. Truman from 1949 to 1953, he played a central role in defining American foreign policy during the Cold War. Acheson helped design the Marshall Plan and played a central role in the development of the Truman Doctrine and creation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.<br/><br/> Acheson's most famous decision was convincing President Truman to intervene in the Korean War in June 1950. He also persuaded Truman to dispatch aid and advisors to French forces in Indochina, though in 1968 he finally counseled President Lyndon B. Johnson to negotiate for peace with North Vietnam. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, President John F. Kennedy called upon Acheson for advice, bringing him into the executive committee (ExComm), a strategic advisory group.
Dean Gooderham Acheson (April 11, 1893 – October 12, 1971) was an American statesman and lawyer. As United States Secretary of State in the administration of President Harry S. Truman from 1949 to 1953, he played a central role in defining American foreign policy during the Cold War. Acheson helped design the Marshall Plan and played a central role in the development of the Truman Doctrine and creation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.<br/><br/> Acheson's most famous decision was convincing President Truman to intervene in the Korean War in June 1950. He also persuaded Truman to dispatch aid and advisors to French forces in Indochina, though in 1968 he finally counseled President Lyndon B. Johnson to negotiate for peace with North Vietnam. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, President John F. Kennedy called upon Acheson for advice, bringing him into the executive committee (ExComm), a strategic advisory group.
Dean Gooderham Acheson (April 11, 1893 – October 12, 1971) was an American statesman and lawyer. As United States Secretary of State in the administration of President Harry S. Truman from 1949 to 1953, he played a central role in defining American foreign policy during the Cold War. Acheson helped design the Marshall Plan and played a central role in the development of the Truman Doctrine and creation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.<br/><br/> Acheson's most famous decision was convincing President Truman to intervene in the Korean War in June 1950. He also persuaded Truman to dispatch aid and advisors to French forces in Indochina, though in 1968 he finally counseled President Lyndon B. Johnson to negotiate for peace with North Vietnam. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, President John F. Kennedy called upon Acheson for advice, bringing him into the executive committee (ExComm), a strategic advisory group.
Dean Gooderham Acheson (April 11, 1893 – October 12, 1971) was an American statesman and lawyer. As United States Secretary of State in the administration of President Harry S. Truman from 1949 to 1953, he played a central role in defining American foreign policy during the Cold War. Acheson helped design the Marshall Plan and played a central role in the development of the Truman Doctrine and creation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.<br/><br/> Acheson's most famous decision was convincing President Truman to intervene in the Korean War in June 1950. He also persuaded Truman to dispatch aid and advisors to French forces in Indochina, though in 1968 he finally counseled President Lyndon B. Johnson to negotiate for peace with North Vietnam. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, President John F. Kennedy called upon Acheson for advice, bringing him into the executive committee (ExComm), a strategic advisory group.
The Iwakura Mission or Iwakura Embassy (岩倉使節団, Iwakura Shisetsudan) was a Japanese diplomatic journey around the world, initiated in 1871 by the oligarchs of the Meiji period. Although it was not the only such 'mission', it is the most well-known and possibly most important for the modernization of Japan after a long period of isolation from the West. It was first proposed by the influential Dutch missionary and engineer Guido Verbeck and was probably based on the model of the Grand Embassy of Peter I.<br/><br/> The Iwakura mission followed several such missions previously sent by the Shogunate, such as the Japanese Embassy to the United States (1860), the First Japanese Embassy to Europe (1862), and the Second Japanese Embassy to Europe (1863).
Auguste Pavie (1847 - 1925) was the founding father of French influence in Laos. After a long career in Cambodia and Cochinchina, Pavie became the first French vice-consul in Luang Prabang in 1885, eventually becoming the first Governor-General and plenipotentiary minister of the newly formed French colony of Laos.
Salt, the son of a physician, was born in Lichfield. He trained as a portrait painter, first in Lichfield and then in London under Joseph Farington and John Hoppner. In 1802 he was appointed secretary and draughtsman to George Annesley, Viscount Valentia. They started on an eastern tour, traveling to India via the Cape. Salt explored the Red Sea area, and in 1805 visited the Ethiopian highlands. He returned to England in 1806. Salt's paintings from the trip were used to the Lord Valentia's Voyages and Travels to India, published in 1809. <br/><br/> Salt returned to Ethiopia in 1809 on a government mission to explore trade and diplomatic links with the Tigrayan warlord Ras Wolde Selassie. On his return he published A voyage to Abyssinia, and travels into the interior of that country, executed under the orders of the British government in the years 1809 & 1810, and a collection of drawings entitled Twenty-four Views Taken in St Helena, The Cape, India, Ceylon, Abyssinia and Egypt.
Sir Ernest Mason Satow PC, GCMG, (30 June 1843 – 26 August 1929), known in Japan as 'アーãƒã‚¹ãƒˆãƒ»ã‚µãƒˆã‚¦' (Ä€nesuto SatÅ), known in China as (traditional Chinese) 'è–©é“義' or (simplified Chinese) 'è¨é“义', was a British scholar, diplomat and Japanologist.<br/><br/> Satow was born to an ethnically German father (Hans David Christoph Satow, born in Wismar, then under Swedish rule, naturalised British in 1846) and an English mother (Margaret, née Mason) in Clapton, North London. He was educated at Mill Hill School and University College London (UCL).<br/><br/> Satow was an exceptional linguist, an energetic traveller, a writer of travel guidebooks, a dictionary compiler, a mountaineer, a keen botanist (chiefly with F.V. Dickins) and a major collector of Japanese books and manuscripts on all kinds of subjects before the Japanese themselves began to do so. He also loved classical music and the works of Dante on which his brother-in-law Henry Fanshawe Tozer was an authority. Satow kept a diary for most of his adult life which amounts to 47 mostly handwritten volumes.<br/><br/> Satow served in Siam (1884–1887), during which time he was accorded the rare honour of promotion from the Consular to the Diplomatic service, Uruguay (1889–93) and Morocco (1893–95). In 1886, while serving in Siam, he travelled to Chiang Mai and the Lan Na states and left a detailed account of his visit.
While living in Mexico City, Guevara met Raúl and Fidel Castro, joined their 26th of July Movement, and sailed to Cuba aboard the yacht, Granma, with the intention of overthrowing U.S.-backed Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista. Guevara soon rose to prominence among the insurgents, was promoted to second-in-command, and played a pivotal role in the victorious two year guerrilla campaign that deposed the Batista regime.<br/><br/> Following the Cuban Revolution, Guevara performed a number of key roles in the new government. These included reviewing the appeals and firing squads for those convicted as war criminals during the revolutionary tribunals, instituting agrarian reform as minister of industries, helping spearhead a successful nationwide literacy campaign, serving as both national bank president and instructional director for Cuba’s armed forces, and traversing the globe as a diplomat on behalf of Cuban socialism. Guevara left Cuba in 1965 to foment revolution abroad, first unsuccessfully in Congo-Kinshasa and later in Bolivia, where he was captured by CIA-assisted Bolivian forces and executed.
Aubrey Nigel Henry Molyneux Herbert (1880 – 26 September 1923) was a British diplomat, traveller, and intelligence officer associated with Albanian independence. Twice he was offered the throne of Albania.<br/><br/> From 1911 until his death, he was a Conservative Member of Parliament.
Auguste Pavie (1847 - 1925) was the founding father of French influence in Laos. After a long career in Cambodia and Cochinchina, Pavie became the first French vice-consul in Luang Prabang in 1885, eventually becoming the first Governor-General and plenipotentiary minister of the newly formed French colony of Laos.
John VII Grammatikos or Grammaticus, i.e., 'the Grammarian' (Greek: Ιωάννης Ζ΄ ΓραμματικÏŒς, IÅannÄ“s VII Grammatikos), Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from January 21, 837 to March 4, 843, died before 867.<br/><br/> John was renowned for his learning (hence the nickname Grammatikos), and for his persuasive rhetoric in the endless debates that are a favorite subject of hagiographic sources reflecting the second period of Iconoclasm. John was also charged with tutoring the future Emperor Theophilos during the reign of his father Michael II, and is credited with instilling strong Iconoclast sympathies in his student. On the accession of Theophilos, John was appointed synkellos (patriarch's assistant), a position that made him a likely heir to the patriarchate.<br/><br/> In c. 830, John was dispatched on an embassy to the Caliph al-Ma'mun, but this did little to prevent a period of fierce warfare between the Byzantine Empire and the Abbasids. He did, however, bring back a plan of the Abbasid palace at Baghdad for the amusement of his emperor and supervised the building of a similar structure in Bithynia.<br/><br/> The circumstances of John VII's patriarchate are obscure. He was appointed patriarch by his student Theophilos and may have been responsible for the slight intensification of the persecution of Iconodules. He was deposed by Theophilos' widow Theodora (his own relative) as a preliminary towards the ending of Iconoclasm in 843. The deposed patriarch survived into the 860s.
Sogdiana or Sogdia (Old Persian: Suguda-; Ancient Greek: Σογδιανή; New Persian: سغد – SÅÄ¡d; Tajik: Суғд – Sughd; Turkish: SoÄŸut; Chinese:粟特人) was the ancient civilization of an Iranian people and a province of the Achaemenid Persian Empire, eighteenth in the list on the Behistun Inscription of Darius the Great.<br/><br/> Sogdiana, at different times, included territories around Samarkand, Bukhara, Khujand and Kesh in modern Uzbekistan. The inhabitants of Sogdiana were the Sogdians, an Eastern Iranian people, who are among the ancestors of modern-day Tajiks and Yagnobis.
Cordell Hull (October 2, 1871 – July 23, 1955) was an American politician from the U.S. state of Tennessee. He is best known as the longest-serving Secretary of State, holding the position for 11 years (1933–1944) in the administration of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt during much of World War II.<br/><br/> Hull received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1945 for his role in establishing the United Nations, and was referred to by President Roosevelt as the "Father of the United Nations".
Dean Gooderham Acheson (April 11, 1893 – October 12, 1971) was an American statesman and lawyer. As United States Secretary of State in the administration of President Harry S. Truman from 1949 to 1953, he played a central role in defining American foreign policy during the Cold War. Acheson helped design the Marshall Plan and played a central role in the development of the Truman Doctrine and creation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.<br/><br/> Acheson's most famous decision was convincing President Truman to intervene in the Korean War in June 1950. He also persuaded Truman to dispatch aid and advisors to French forces in Indochina, though in 1968 he finally counseled President Lyndon B. Johnson to negotiate for peace with North Vietnam. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, President John F. Kennedy called upon Acheson for advice, bringing him into the executive committee (ExComm), a strategic advisory group.
Dean Gooderham Acheson (April 11, 1893 – October 12, 1971) was an American statesman and lawyer. As United States Secretary of State in the administration of President Harry S. Truman from 1949 to 1953, he played a central role in defining American foreign policy during the Cold War. Acheson helped design the Marshall Plan and played a central role in the development of the Truman Doctrine and creation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.<br/><br/> Acheson's most famous decision was convincing President Truman to intervene in the Korean War in June 1950. He also persuaded Truman to dispatch aid and advisors to French forces in Indochina, though in 1968 he finally counseled President Lyndon B. Johnson to negotiate for peace with North Vietnam. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, President John F. Kennedy called upon Acheson for advice, bringing him into the executive committee (ExComm), a strategic advisory group.
John Foster Dulles (February 25, 1888 – May 24, 1959) served as U.S. Secretary of State under President Dwight D. Eisenhower from 1953 to 1959.<br/><br/> He was a significant figure in the early Cold War era, advocating an aggressive stance against communism throughout the world. He advocated support of the French in their war against the Viet Minh in Indochina and it is widely believed that he refused to shake the hand of Zhou Enlai at the Geneva Conference in 1954.<br/><br/> He also played a major role in the Central Intelligence Agency operation to overthrow the democratic Mossadegh government of Iran in 1953 and the democratic Arbenz government of Guatemala in 1954
On December 12, 1960, Democratic President-elect John F. Kennedy appointed Rusk Secretary of State.<br/><br/> As Secretary of State, Rusk believed in the use of military action to combat Communism. Despite private misgivings about the Bay of Pigs invasion, he remained noncommittal during the Executive Council meetings leading up to the attack and never opposed it outright. During the Cuban missile crisis he supported diplomatic efforts.<br/><br/> Early in his tenure, he had strong doubts about US intervention in Vietnam, but later his vigorous public defense of US actions in the Vietnam War made him a frequent target of anti-war protests.<br/><br/> Rusk also drew the ire of supporters of Israel after he let it be known that he believed the USS Liberty incident was a deliberate attack on the ship, rather than an accident.
On December 12, 1960, Democratic President-elect John F. Kennedy appointed Rusk Secretary of State.<br/><br/> As Secretary of State, Rusk believed in the use of military action to combat Communism. Despite private misgivings about the Bay of Pigs invasion, he remained noncommittal during the Executive Council meetings leading up to the attack and never opposed it outright. During the Cuban missile crisis he supported diplomatic efforts.<br/><br/> Early in his tenure, he had strong doubts about US intervention in Vietnam, but later his vigorous public defense of US actions in the Vietnam War made him a frequent target of anti-war protests.<br/><br/> Rusk also drew the ire of supporters of Israel after he let it be known that he believed the USS Liberty incident was a deliberate attack on the ship, rather than an accident.
While living in Mexico City, Guevara met Raúl and Fidel Castro, joined their 26th of July Movement, and sailed to Cuba aboard the yacht, Granma, with the intention of overthrowing U.S.-backed Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista. Guevara soon rose to prominence among the insurgents, was promoted to second-in-command, and played a pivotal role in the victorious two year guerrilla campaign that deposed the Batista regime.<br/><br/> Following the Cuban Revolution, Guevara performed a number of key roles in the new government. These included reviewing the appeals and firing squads for those convicted as war criminals during the revolutionary tribunals, instituting agrarian reform as minister of industries, helping spearhead a successful nationwide literacy campaign, serving as both national bank president and instructional director for Cuba’s armed forces, and traversing the globe as a diplomat on behalf of Cuban socialism. Guevara left Cuba in 1965 to foment revolution abroad, first unsuccessfully in Congo-Kinshasa and later in Bolivia, where he was captured by CIA-assisted Bolivian forces and executed.
Somdet Phra Narai (1633 - 11 July 1688) or Somdet Phra Ramathibodi III was the king of Ayutthaya from 1656 to 1688. His reign was the most prosperous during the Ayutthaya period and saw great commercial and diplomatic activities with foreign nations including the Persians and the West.<br/><br/> During the latter years of his reign, Narai gave the Greek adventurer Constantine Phaulkon so much power that technically he became the chancellor of the state. Through Phaulkon's arrangements, the Siamese kingdom came into close diplomatic relations with the court of Louis XIV and French soldiers and missionaries filled the Siamese aristocracy and defense.<br/><br/> The dominance of French officials led to frictions between them and the native mandarins and led to the turbulent revolution of 1688 towards the end of his reign. Narai’s reign was also known for a small war with England in 1687 and the invasion of Burmese Lanna in 1662.
Kissinger served as National Security Advisor and later concurrently as Secretary of State in the administrations of Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. After his term, his opinion was still sought by many following presidents and many world leaders.<br/><br/> A proponent of Realpolitik, Kissinger played a dominant role in United States foreign policy between 1969 and 1977. During this period, he pioneered the policy of détente with the Soviet Union, orchestrated the opening of relations with the People's Republic of China, and negotiated the Paris Peace Accords, ending American involvement in the Vietnam War.<br/><br/> Various American policies of that era, including the bombing of Cambodia, remain controversial.
Captain Sir Richard Francis Burton KCMG FRGS (19 March 1821 – 20 October 1890) was an English explorer, translator, writer, soldier, orientalist, ethnologist, linguist, poet, hypnotist, fencer and diplomat. He was known for his travels and explorations within Asia and Africa as well as his extraordinary knowledge of languages and cultures.
While living in Mexico City, Guevara met Raúl and Fidel Castro, joined their 26th of July Movement, and sailed to Cuba aboard the yacht, Granma, with the intention of overthrowing U.S.-backed Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista. Guevara soon rose to prominence among the insurgents, was promoted to second-in-command, and played a pivotal role in the victorious two year guerrilla campaign that deposed the Batista regime.<br/><br/> Following the Cuban Revolution, Guevara performed a number of key roles in the new government. These included reviewing the appeals and firing squads for those convicted as war criminals during the revolutionary tribunals, instituting agrarian reform as minister of industries, helping spearhead a successful nationwide literacy campaign, serving as both national bank president and instructional director for Cuba’s armed forces, and traversing the globe as a diplomat on behalf of Cuban socialism. Guevara left Cuba in 1965 to foment revolution abroad, first unsuccessfully in Congo-Kinshasa and later in Bolivia, where he was captured by CIA-assisted Bolivian forces and executed.
Somdet Phra Narai (1633 - 11 July 1688) or Somdet Phra Ramathibodi III was the king of Ayutthaya from 1656 to 1688. His reign was the most prosperous during the Ayutthaya period and saw great commercial and diplomatic activities with foreign nations including the Persians and the West.<br/><br/> During the latter years of his reign, Narai gave the Greek adventurer Constantine Phaulkon so much power that technically he became the chancellor of the state. Through Phaulkon's arrangements, the Siamese kingdom came into close diplomatic relations with the court of Louis XIV and French soldiers and missionaries filled the Siamese aristocracy and defense. The dominance of French officials led to frictions between them and the native mandarins and led to the turbulent revolution of 1688 towards the end of his reign. Narai’s reign was also known for a small war with England in 1687 and the invasion of Burmese Lanna in 1662.
The Bowring Treaty is the name given to an agreement signed on April 18, 1855 between the United Kingdom and the Kingdom of Siam that liberalized foreign trade in Siam. The Treaty was signed by King Mongkut of Siam and Sir John Bowring, Governor of Hong Kong and Britain's envoy. Sir John Bowring, KCB (Chinese translated name: 寶寧,å¯¶éˆ or 包令) (17 October 1792 – 23 November 1872) was an English political economist, traveller, miscellaneous writer, polyglot, and the 4th Governor of Hong Kong. In 1849, Bowring was appointed British consul at Canton (today's Guangzhou), and superintendent of trade in China, a post which he held for four years. On 13 April 1854, Bowring was sent to Hong Kong as governor. During his governorship, a dispute broke out with the Chinese and the irritation caused by his spirited or high-handed policy led to the Second Opium War (1856–1860). At the same time, he allowed the Chinese citizens in Hong Kong to serve as jurors in trials and become lawyers. Finally, Bowring is credited with establishing Hong Kong's first commercial public water supply system and establishing the Hong Kong buildings ordinance, ensuring the safer design of all future construction projects in the colony. In 1855 he visited Siam, and negotiated with King Mongkut a treaty of commerce, now commonly referred as the Bowring Treaty. Bowring retired in March 1859 and received a pension for his duties.
Emperor Taizong of Tang (January 23, 599 – July 10, 649), personal name Li Shimin, was the second emperor of the Tang Dynasty of China, ruling from 626 to 649. He is ceremonially regarded as a co-founder of the dynasty along with Emperor Gaozu. He is typically considered one of the greatest, if not the greatest, emperors in Chinese history. Throughout the rest of Chinese history, Emperor Taizong's reign was regarded as the exemplary model against which all other emperors were measured, and his era was considered a golden age of Chinese history and required study for future crown princes.<br/><br/> During his reign, Tang China flourished economically and militarily. For more than a century after his death, Tang China enjoyed peace and prosperity. During Taizong's reign, Tang was the largest and the strongest nation in the world. It covered most of the territory of present-day China, Vietnam, Mongolia and much of Central Asia as far as eastern Kazakhstan. It laid the foundation for Xuanzong's reign, which is considered Tang China's greatest era.
Prince ItÅ Hirobumi, (伊藤 åšæ–‡?, October 16, 1841 – October 26, 1909, also called Hirofumi / Hakubun and Shunsuke in his youth) was a samurai of ChÅshÅ« domain, Japanese statesman, four time Prime Minister of Japan (the 1st, 5th, 7th and 10th), genrÅ and Resident-General of Korea.<br/><br/> ItÅ was assassinated by Korean independence activist An Jung-geun in 1909.
Sir Thomas Francis Wade, GCMG, KCB (25 August 1818 – 31 July 1895), was a British diplomat and Sinologist who produced a syllabary in 1859 that was later amended, extended and converted into the Wade-Giles romanization for Mandarin Chinese by Herbert Giles in 1892. Thomas' Chinese name was Wei Tuoma (å¨å¦¥ç‘ª).<br/><br/> Born in London, he was the son of Major Wade of the Black Watch and Anne Smythe (daughter of William Smythe) of Barbavilla, County Westmeath, Ireland. He was educated at the Cape, in Mauritius, at Harrow and at Trinity College, Cambridge. In 1838, his father purchased for him a commission in the 81st Foot. Exchanging (1839) into the 42nd Highlanders, he served with his regiment in the Ionian Islands, devoting his leisure to the congenial study of Italian and modern Greek.<br/><br/> On receiving his commission as lieutenant in 1841 he exchanged into the 98th Foot, then under orders for Qing China, and landed in Hong Kong in June 1842. The scene of the First Opium War had at that time been transferred to the Yangtze River, and Wade was ordered there with his regiment. There he took part in the attack on Zhenjiang and in the advance on Nanking.<br/><br/> In 1845, he was appointed interpreter in Cantonese to the Supreme Court of Hong Kong, and in 1846 assistant Chinese secretary to the superintendent of trade, Sir John Francis Davis. In 1852 he was appointed vice-consul at Shanghai. The Taiping Rebellion had so disorganized the administration in the neighborhood of Shanghai that it was considered advisable to put the collection of the foreign customs duties into commission, a committee of three, of whom Wade was the chief, being entrusted with the administration of the customs. This formed the beginning of the imperial maritime customs service.<br/><br/> In 1855, Wade was appointed Chinese secretary to Sir John Bowring, who had succeeded Sir J. Davis at Hong Kong. On the declaration of the Second Opium War in 1857, he was attached to Lord Elgin's staff as Chinese secretary, and with the assistance of Horatio Nelson Lay he conducted the negotiations which led up to the Treaty of Tientsin (1858). In the following year he accompanied Sir Frederick Bruce in his attempt to exchange the ratification of the treaty, and was present at Taku when the force attending the mission was attacked and driven back from the Pei Ho (Hai River).<br/><br/> After retiring from working over forty years in the British embassies in China, he returned to England in 1883, and donated 4,304 volumes of Chinese literature to the Cambridge University Library's Oriental Collection three years later. In 1888, he was elected the first Professor of Chinese at the University of Cambridge. He held the position as a professor until his death in Cambridge at 77. He served as president of the Royal Asiatic Society from 1887 to 1890.
Count Kaneko KentarÅ (é‡‘å­ å …å¤ªéƒŽ, February 4, 1853 – May 16, 1942) was a statesman and diplomat in Meiji period Japan. Kaneko was born into a samurai family of Fukuoka Domain (Chikuzen Province's Sawara district, present-day Chuo-ku, Fukuoka). At the age of 9, he began his studies at Shuyukan. He was selected to be a student member of the Iwakura Mission, and was left behind in the United States to study at Harvard University while the rest of the mission continued on to Europe and around the world back to Japan.<br/><br/> From 1906, Kaneko served as a member of the Privy Council, and was elevated in title to viscount (shishaku) in 1907.<br/><br/> In his later years he was engaged in the compilation of a history of the Imperial family and served as secretary general of the association for compiling historical materials about the Meiji Restoration. He completed an official biography of Emperor Meiji in 1915. He was awarded the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun in 1928, and elevated to hakushaku (count) in 1930.<br/><br/> Kaneko was a strong proponent of good diplomatic relations with the United States all of his life. In 1900, he established the first American Friendship Society (ç±³å‹å”会 Beiyu KyÅkai). In 1917, he established and became chairman of the 'Japan-American Association' (日米å”会 Nichibei KyÅkai). In 1938, during a time of increasingly strident anti-American rhetoric from the Japanese government and press, he established the Japan-America Alliance Association (日米åŒå¿—会 Nichibei DÅmeikai ), a political association calling for a Japanese-American Alliance, together with future Prime Minister Takeo Miki. He was one of the few senior statesmen in Japan to speak out strongly against war with the United States as late as 1941.
Zhuge Liang (CE 181-234) was Chancellor of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. He is often recognised as the greatest and most accomplished strategist of his era. Often depicted wearing a robe and holding a fan made of crane feathers, Zhuge was not only an important military strategist and statesman; he was also an accomplished scholar and inventor. His reputation as an intelligent and learned scholar grew even while he was living in relative seclusion, earning him the nickname Wolong (literally Crouching Dragon). Zhuge is an uncommon two-character compound family name. His name – even his surname alone – has become synonymous with intelligence and tactics in Chinese culture.
Koo Vi Kyuin or Ku Wei-chün (simplified Chinese: 顾维钧; traditional Chinese: 顧維鈞; pinyin: Gù WéijÅ«n; Wade–Giles: Ku Wei-chün) (January 29; 1887 – November 14; 1985); often known by the Western name V.K. Wellington Koo; was a prominent diplomat under the Republic of China; representative to the Paris Peace Conference of 1919; Ambassador to France; Great Britain; and the United States; participant in founding the League of Nations and the United Nations; and judge on the International Court of Justice at the Hague from 1957 to 1967.<br/><br/> Between October 1926 and June 1927; while serving as Minister of Foreign Affairs; Koo briefly held the concurrent positions of acting Premier and interim President of the Republic of China. Koo is the first and only Chinese head of state known to use a Western name publicly.
Koo Vi Kyuin or Ku Wei-chün (simplified Chinese: 顾维钧; traditional Chinese: 顧維鈞; pinyin: Gù WéijÅ«n; Wade–Giles: Ku Wei-chün) (January 29; 1887 – November 14; 1985); often known by the Western name V.K. Wellington Koo; was a prominent diplomat under the Republic of China; representative to the Paris Peace Conference of 1919; Ambassador to France; Great Britain; and the United States; participant in founding the League of Nations and the United Nations; and judge on the International Court of Justice at the Hague from 1957 to 1967.<br/><br/> Between October 1926 and June 1927; while serving as Minister of Foreign Affairs; Koo briefly held the concurrent positions of acting Premier and interim President of the Republic of China. Koo is the first and only Chinese head of state known to use a Western name publicly.
Count Kaneko KentarÅ (é‡‘å­ å …å¤ªéƒŽ, February 4, 1853 – May 16, 1942) was a statesman and diplomat in Meiji period Japan. Kaneko was born into a samurai family of Fukuoka Domain (Chikuzen Province's Sawara district, present-day Chuo-ku, Fukuoka). At the age of 9, he began his studies at Shuyukan. He was selected to be a student member of the Iwakura Mission, and was left behind in the United States to study at Harvard University while the rest of the mission continued on to Europe and around the world back to Japan.<br/><br/> From 1906, Kaneko served as a member of the Privy Council, and was elevated in title to viscount (shishaku) in 1907.<br/><br/> In his later years he was engaged in the compilation of a history of the Imperial family and served as secretary general of the association for compiling historical materials about the Meiji Restoration. He completed an official biography of Emperor Meiji in 1915. He was awarded the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun in 1928, and elevated to hakushaku (count) in 1930.<br/><br/> Kaneko was a strong proponent of good diplomatic relations with the United States all of his life. In 1900, he established the first American Friendship Society (ç±³å‹å”会 Beiyu KyÅkai). In 1917, he established and became chairman of the 'Japan-American Association' (日米å”会 Nichibei KyÅkai). In 1938, during a time of increasingly strident anti-American rhetoric from the Japanese government and press, he established the Japan-America Alliance Association (日米åŒå¿—会 Nichibei DÅmeikai ), a political association calling for a Japanese-American Alliance, together with future Prime Minister Takeo Miki. He was one of the few senior statesmen in Japan to speak out strongly against war with the United States as late as 1941.
Hu Shih (simplified Chinese: 胡适; traditional Chinese: 胡é©; pinyin: Hú Shì, 17 December 1891 — 24 February 1962) was a Chinese philosopher, essayist and diplomat. Hu is widely recognized today as a key contributor to Chinese liberalism and language reform in his advocacy for the use of written vernacular Chinese. He was influential in the May Fourth Movement, one of the leaders of China's New Culture Movement, was a president of Peking University, and in 1939 was nominated for a Nobel Prize in literature. He had a wide range of interests such as literature, history, textual criticism, and pedagogy.
The First Anglo-Burmese War ( 5 March 1824 – 24 February 1826) was the first of three wars fought between the British and Burmese Empire in the 19th century. The war, which began primarily over the control of northeastern India, ended in a decisive British victory, giving the British total control of Assam, Manipur, Cachar and Jaintia as well as Arakan Province and Tenasserim. The Burmese were also forced to pay an indemnity of one million pounds sterling, and sign a commercial treaty.<br/><br/> The war was the longest and most expensive war in British Indian history. Fifteen thousand European and Indian soldiers died, together with an unknown number of Burmese army and civilian casualties. The high cost of the campaign to the British, five million pounds sterling to 13 million pounds sterling (roughly 18.5 billion to 48 billion in 2006 US dollars), led to a severe economic crisis in British India in 1833.<br/><br/> For the Burmese, it was the beginning of the end of their independence. The Third Burmese Empire, for a brief moment the terror of British India, was crippled and no longer a threat to the eastern frontier of the British Raj. The Burmese would be crushed for years to come by repaying the large indemnity of one million pounds (then US$5 million), a large sum even in Europe of that time. The British would make two more wars against a much weakened Burma, and swallow up the entire country by 1885.
ShÄh ‘AbbÄs the Great (or ShÄh ‘AbbÄs I) (Persian: شاه عباس بزرگ) (January 27, 1571 – January 19, 1629) was Shah (king) of Iran, and generally considered the greatest ruler of the Safavid dynasty. He was the third son of Shah Mohammad.<br/><br/> Abbas came to the throne during a troubled time for Iran. Under his weak-willed father, the country was riven with discord between the different factions of the Qizilbash army, who killed Abbas' mother and elder brother. Meanwhile, Iran's enemies, the Ottoman Empire and the Uzbeks, exploited this political chaos to seize territory for themselves.<br/><br/> In 1587, one of the Qizilbash leaders, Murshid Qoli Khan, overthrew Shah Mohammed in a coup and placed the 16-year-old Abbas on the throne. But Abbas was no puppet and soon seized power for himself. He reduced the influence of the Qizilbash in the government and the military and reformed the army, enabling him to fight the Ottomans and Uzbeks and reconquer Iran's lost provinces. He also took back land from the Portuguese and the Mughals.
Zhuge Liang (CE 181-234) was Chancellor of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. He is often recognised as the greatest and most accomplished strategist of his era. Often depicted wearing a robe and holding a fan made of crane feathers, Zhuge was not only an important military strategist and statesman; he was also an accomplished scholar and inventor.<br/><br/> His reputation as an intelligent and learned scholar grew even while he was living in relative seclusion, earning him the nickname Wolong (literally Crouching Dragon). Zhuge is an uncommon two-character compound family name. His name – even his surname alone – has become synonymous with intelligence and tactics in Chinese culture.
Sir Robert Hermann Schomburgk (5 June 1804 - 11 March 1865), was a German-born explorer for Great Britain who carried out geographical, ethnological and botanical studies in South America and the West Indies, and also fulfilled diplomatic missions for Great Britain in the Dominican Republic and Thailand.<br/><br/> Schomburgk was born at Freyburg, Prussian Saxony, the son of a Protestant minister. In 1820, while staying with his uncle, he learned botany from a professor.
A peer of Scotland, Lord Napier was an elected Scottish representative in the House of Lords from 1824 to 1832.<br/><br/> In December 1833, upon the ending of British East India Company's monopoly on trade in the Far East, Lord Napier was appointed by Lord Palmerston, the foreign secretary and a family friend of Napier, the first Chief Superintendent of Trade at Canton (now Guangzhou), in China. He arrived at Macau on 15 July 1834, and Canton ten days later, with the mission of expanding British trade into inner China. Lacking the necessary diplomatic and commercial experience, he was not successful in achieving the objective.<br/><br/> Having failed to secure a meeting with the Viceroy of Canton, amid a litany of breaches of protocol, misunderstandings approaching complete communication breakdown and stubbornness on both sides, Napier's frustration in failing to break an intractable trade deadlock led to his favoring a military solution. He sent the frigates Andromache and Imogene to Whampoa in plain breach of Imperial Viceroy Loo's edict, with fatalities resulting on both sides in the skirmish of cannon fire as they breached the defences at the Bocca Tigris.<br/><br/> After a prolonged stalemate, Lord Napier was forced, sapped by typhus, to retire to Macau in September 1834, where he died of the fever on 11 October. He was buried in Macau but later exhumed for reburial at his beloved Ettrick in Scotland. Napier was first to suggest establishment of a British presence on Hong Kong, then the site of a few small villages.
Tales of Old Japan (1871) is an anthology of short stories, compiled by Algernon Bertram Freeman-Mitford, Lord Redesdale, writing under the better known name of A.B. Mitford.<br/><br/> These stories focus on the varying aspects of Japanese life in centuries past. The book, which was written in 1871, is still regarded as an excellent introduction to Japanese literature and culture, by virtue of its ease of access and supplemental notes by the writer. Also included are the author's eyewitness accounts of a selection of Japanese rituals, ranging from the harakiri and marriage to a selection of sermons.<br/><br/> This book had a lasting influence on the Western perception of Japanese history, culture and society, particularly because of one widely known tale about samurai revenge, 'Forty-seven Ronin'.
While living in Mexico City, Guevara met Raúl and Fidel Castro, joined their 26th of July Movement, and sailed to Cuba aboard the yacht, Granma, with the intention of overthrowing U.S.-backed Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista. Guevara soon rose to prominence among the insurgents, was promoted to second-in-command, and played a pivotal role in the victorious two year guerrilla campaign that deposed the Batista regime.<br/><br/> Following the Cuban Revolution, Guevara performed a number of key roles in the new government. These included reviewing the appeals and firing squads for those convicted as war criminals during the revolutionary tribunals, instituting agrarian reform as minister of industries, helping spearhead a successful nationwide literacy campaign, serving as both national bank president and instructional director for Cuba’s armed forces, and traversing the globe as a diplomat on behalf of Cuban socialism. Guevara left Cuba in 1965 to foment revolution abroad, first unsuccessfully in Congo-Kinshasa and later in Bolivia, where he was captured by CIA-assisted Bolivian forces and executed.
ShÄh ‘AbbÄs the Great (or ShÄh ‘AbbÄs I) (Persian: شاه عباس بزرگ) (January 27, 1571 – January 19, 1629) was Shah (king) of Iran, and generally considered the greatest ruler of the Safavid dynasty. He was the third son of Shah Mohammad.<br/><br/> Abbas came to the throne during a troubled time for Iran. Under his weak-willed father, the country was riven with discord between the different factions of the Qizilbash army, who killed Abbas' mother and elder brother. Meanwhile, Iran's enemies, the Ottoman Empire and the Uzbeks, exploited this political chaos to seize territory for themselves.<br/><br/> In 1587, one of the Qizilbash leaders, Murshid Qoli Khan, overthrew Shah Mohammed in a coup and placed the 16-year-old Abbas on the throne. But Abbas was no puppet and soon seized power for himself. He reduced the influence of the Qizilbash in the government and the military and reformed the army, enabling him to fight the Ottomans and Uzbeks and reconquer Iran's lost provinces. He also took back land from the Portuguese and the Mughals.
ShÄh ‘AbbÄs the Great (or ShÄh ‘AbbÄs I) (Persian: شاه عباس بزرگ) (January 27, 1571 – January 19, 1629) was Shah (king) of Iran, and generally considered the greatest ruler of the Safavid dynasty. He was the third son of Shah Mohammad.<br/><br/> Abbas came to the throne during a troubled time for Iran. Under his weak-willed father, the country was riven with discord between the different factions of the Qizilbash army, who killed Abbas' mother and elder brother. Meanwhile, Iran's enemies, the Ottoman Empire and the Uzbeks, exploited this political chaos to seize territory for themselves.<br/><br/> In 1587, one of the Qizilbash leaders, Murshid Qoli Khan, overthrew Shah Mohammed in a coup and placed the 16-year-old Abbas on the throne. But Abbas was no puppet and soon seized power for himself. He reduced the influence of the Qizilbash in the government and the military and reformed the army, enabling him to fight the Ottomans and Uzbeks and reconquer Iran's lost provinces. He also took back land from the Portuguese and the Mughals.