Lee Quan Yew helped Singapore achieved self-government and was elected prime-minister in 1959. He industrialized Singapore, making it a sovereign state, and increased the standard of living. With numerous reforms like emancipating women and establishing free labor he made Singapore one of the most prosperous countries in the Southeast Asia.

The French philosopher Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) expressed his belief that men are naturally good-willed but are corrupted by social organization in his Discourse on the Origin and Foundations of Inequality Among Men. In the Social Contract he states that a civil society is based upon a genuine contract, allowing political liberty.

Prussian general and author Carl von Clausewitz's (1780-1871) On War influenced modern military thought and strategy. The book emphasized the need for a serious attitude toward strategic decisions as opposed to listing situational military strategies. He regarded war as a continuation of political compromise as opposed to a means to an end.

Giuseppi Garibaldi (1807-1882) took southern Italy from Austria by creating and commanding a force, uniting Italy and declaring Victor Emmanuel II the king. During the war of independence from Austria, he defended Rome with a small band of “Red Shirts.” His ability to raise an army without government backing showed great leadership.

His contributions to westward expansion in North America made Kit Carson (1809-1868) a folk legend. He was a guide to John C. Fremont's expeditions of the West and a guide to Stephen Kearny during the Mexican War. He was appointed a U.S. official for Indian relations and was made superintendent of Indian affairs for the Colorado territory.

Italian political theorist Nicholas Machiavelli (1469-1527) wrote The Prince, a guide for ruling and governing. His perception that human nature is self-serving influenced his suggestion that good rulers should be ruthless and scheming. The book was respected but condemned for being too cynical, and spawned the term “Machiavellian,” meaning deceitful.

Italian painter Sandro Botticelli (1445-1510), active during the Italian Renaissance, is highly esteemed for his prolific religious images and mythological paintings. He was part of a group of Florentine and Umbrian artists assigned to decorate the Sistine Chapel. His portraits portray the influence of Flemish art by having the figure in front of a landscape.

W.H. Auden (1907-1973) was a writer and poet who wrote about political and moral issues of public concern as well as fantastical, dream-like worlds. He attended Oxford University and moved to the U.S. later in his life. He was an opponent of the evils in capitalism and totalitarianism during the 1930s.

Daniel Bernoulli (1700-1782) came from a family of distinguished Swiss mathematicians and devised the Bernoulli principle, which relates pressure, velocity and height for a fluid with a steady flow. The principle explains the lift motion needed to explain the upward motion of an airplane, for as the speed of the fluid increases, the pressure decreases.

Sisyphus was the King of Corinth who was punished in Hades by having to continuously roll a giant boulder up a hill. He cheated death by having Death chained up so that it couldn't reach him. When it did, he asked his wife to not bury his body, and he was permitted to return to earth to punish his wife. His trickery resulted in his punishment in Hades.

U.S. newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst (1863-1901) helped bring about the era of yellow journalism in the late 1800s, creating strategies that increased circulation and greatly influenced U.S. journalism. His journalism created a resentment towards Spain that eventually led to the Spanish-American war.

In the 1930s, Chinese communist leader Chou En Lai (1898-1976) joined Mao Zedong and Zhu De in Jiangxi as a commissar of the Red Army. When the communists prevailed over the nationalist, he became the premier of the People's Republic of China. He arranged the meeting between Nixon and Zedong that led to the recognition of China's government.

Indian spiritual leader Siddhartha Guatama, known as Buddha, meaning “enlightened one,” was the founder of Buddhism. Renouncing his luxurious life as a prince, he sought enlightenment and discovered the Four Noble Truths while meditating. He preached that by following the Eightfold Path one could liberate themselves from the reincarnation cycle and achieve nirvana.

Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu, living during 4th century B.C., was the author of the earliest known writing on war and military science, The Art of War. The book's emphasis on close relations between politics and military policy influenced military strategy in the East. It emphasizes unpredictability and the importance of accurate information.

Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881) was a writer who was twice prime minister of Britain and a leader of the conservatives in Parliament. He made a series of speeches against the repeal of the Corn Laws and helped pass the Social Reform Bill of 1867. His stance of strong foreign policy won concessions for Britain.

Chief Joseph of the Nez Pierce (1840-1904) led his followers on a trek to Canada to escape from being relocated to Idaho by the U.S. government. He fought the federal troops well enough and conducted himself so humanely that he was able to reach the Canadian border before being moved to the Indian Territory.

Clarence Darrow (1857-1938), a U.S. lawyer and orator, established a reputation as being one of the most influential union and criminal lawyers. His most famous cases included the defense of Eugene V. Debs from charges created from the Pullman strike and the defense of a high school teacher in the Scopes trial.

Demosthenes was an Athenian statesman known as the greatest orator of Ancient Greece and the first example of power in media. He was employed as a speechwriter by powerful people and supported democratic principles. He swayed Athens against Philip II through his Phillipics, and later against Alexander the Great.

Irish poet, dramatist, and writer William Butler Yeats (1863-1939) won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1923 and is one of the greatest English-language poets of 1920's. His poetry was rooted in mysticism and Irish folklore but also expressed complex ideas concerning themes like politics.

U.S. Physician and researcher Dr. Jonas Salk (1914-1995), working with other scientists to classify the poliovirus, found that killed strains of the virus produced antibodies without producing disease and created the polio vaccine. He directed the Salk Institute in 1963 and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977.

Procrustes was a robber who strapped his victims to an iron bed. If the victims were shorter than the bed he would stretch the bodies to fit the bed. If the bodies were longer than the bed he would cut pieces of the body off. Something described as “procrustean” is designed to produce strict conformity through ruthless means.

U.S. journalist “Ernie” Pyle (1900-1945) reported for the campaigns in North Africa, Sicily, Italy and France during World War II and won a Pulitzer Prize in 1944. His experiences provided material that was printed widespread in many newspapers. He was killed in battle during the Okinawa campaign.

Pakistani politician Benazir Bhutto (born 1953) was the first woman leader of a Muslim nation in modern history. She led political opposition to President Zia-ul-Haq' when he died in a plane crash, she became prime minister of a coalition government. She was unable to end Pakistan's problems and was overthrown on charges of corruption.

Lao Tzu was a Chinese philosopher in 6th century B.C. who established Daoism. He may have been a scholar or caretaker of sacred books for the Zhou dynasty. He is respected as a philosopher by Confucianists, as a saint by most people in China, and as a divinity by Doaists.

Admiral Lord Nelson (1726-1799) commanded the British fleet to victory in the Battle of the First of June during the French Revolutionary Wars, and provided an example of tactical excellence for his successors. He also defeated the French and Spaniards by commanding the Channel fleet and serving as first lord of the Admiralty.

Mata Hari (1876-1917) was a Dutch courtesan and apparent spy during World War I. She began exotic dancing in Paris in 1905 and had numerous lovers, including military officers. She seemed to be spying for Germany since 1916, and was arrested by the French and executed in 1917.

As sultan of Egypt and Syria, Saladin (1138-1198) succeeded in uniting Egypt, Syria, northern Mesopotamia, and Palestine, founding the Ayyubid dynasty. His pious and virtuous ruling inspired Muslims to fight courteously in the conquest against the Crusades. He achieved a victorious outcome and additionally captured Jerusalem.

Cochise (died 1874) was the Chiricahua Apache chief who led the resistance to white incursions into the American Southwest. When fighting broke out between the Apache and the U.S. Army in 1861, he and his followers eluded capture for 10 years. However, ultimately, the Apache was made to move into reservations.

British poet and playwright Christopher Marlowe (1564-1593) wrote many brilliant and various plays and poems, making him William Shakespere's most important contemporary in English drama. His most famous play is The Tragicall History of Doctor Faustus, which uses the style of a morality play to present temptation, fall, and damnation.

Greek tragic dramatist Aeschylus (525-456 B.C.) is considered the father of Greek tragic drama because of his innovation in adding a second actor to the performance and enabling the later development of dialogue and dramatic action. He wrote over 80 plays, preceding both Greek tragedians Sophocles and Euripides.

English poet Alfred Lord Tennyson (1809-1892) was one of the leading poets of the Victorian age, as well as a spokesman for the educated English middle class. His poetry often dealt with the hardships that occur when traditions are questioned by science and modern progress. His most famous work is The Charge of the Light Brigade.

Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, and designer Salvador Dali (1904-1989) is the world's most famous Surrealist artist. His paintings show a dream-like world where normal objects, painted realistically, are contorted and deformed in unnatural ways. He also made Surrealistic films and later designed stage sets, jewelry, interiors, and book illustrations.

U.S. writers Will Durant (1885-1981) and Ariel Durant wrote the 11-volume The Story of Civilization after Will's success with his Story of Philosophy. They won a Pulitzer Prize for Rousseau and Revolution, one volume of their lengthy book. Ariel was not listed as coauthor, though involved in the writing of every volume, until the seventh.

English physicist and mathematician Sir Isaac Newton (1643-1727) made many discoveries involving the laws of motion, orbital dynamics, the tidal theory, and the theory of universal gravitation, regarded as the most significant work of modern science. He also worked on the fundamentals of calculus and laid the foundations of physical optics.

In Greek religion, Prometheus was one of the Titans and a god of fire who stole fire from the gods and gave it to humans. To punish him, Zeus had him chained to a mountain and had an eagle devour his liver, which regenerated every night so he could suffer his fate repeatedly.

Thor, the son of Odin, is a deity from Norse mythology. He was benevolent toward humans but the enemy of a race of giants, and he carried a powerful hammer named Mjollnir. He was destined to kill and be killed by the world serpent Jormungand during the Ragnarok.

Beowulf is the Scandinavian hero of the epic poem Beowulf who gains fame by killing the monster Grendel and Grendel's mother. He also slays a dragon as an old king but soon dies after, honored and lamented. The poem belongs to Germanic heroic tradition but also shows definite Christian influence.