Great Men of History

Being calm in the face of distress and apathy is the hardest thing to do. But, when you see such a thing happening, you are sure to think that the person with such a mind set and attitude to be happy and inspire people around him to be happy even during difficulties, is the greatest man alive! Dalai Lama. The name itself inspires you to give out a smile. He is one such person who has been able to keep his cool and calmness even when his whole country is under a tyranny rule by China. The biggest difference between Tibet and its neighboring India in fighting their invaders is that the Chinese are not as sympathetic as the British to give way to non- violent struggles (akin to Gandhiji’s). It is due to this fact that Dalai Lama still remains unsuccessful in his campaign to free his nation from the Chinese. Nevertheless, he still advises his country men to remain calm and happy whatsoever may come. He believes in the Buddhist principles of non- violence and peace. His life history has become an inspiration for scores of people from all parts of the world and he can definitely qualify to be one of the most inspirational people in the present generation.

Alexander Graham Bell has been one of the best driving forces in recorded history for development of technologies with respect to communication. He was a vigorous and hard working scientist who had wanted to make an improvement to the cutting edge technology of his days- the telegraph. The telegraph was a rather new invention at the time Graham Bell started working on scientific equipments. He wanted tom make an improvement to the existing device and started working on the multiple telegraph which was his ultimate aim. But, during the path of the work, something struck him and he diverted his attention slightly towards a new idea which he stumbled upon and this idea would later take shape as the first ever telephone to have functioned on the planet. The contemporaries who lived during his days were very much interested and astonished at the sudden improvement in technology which was brought about by the invention of Graham Bell. The idea of listening over to your friend speak from a far distance was yet to settle in the minds of people and scientists alike. As with all the great personalities mentioned here, Graham Bell too goes into the history books for having shaped the next few centuries in world history by revolutionizing the very idea of communication!

Sigmund Freud was one of the most famous psychologists who has ever existed. He was responsible for shaping the field of psychology and especially Narco analysis during his lifetime. His philosophy towards psychology was simply amazing and his studies involving subjects were totally different from the usual patterns of his days. He proposed several controversial theories such as the Cappgraff syndrome and the Oedipus syndrome which was not accepted by even one psychologist of his time! But, it has been found by extensive experimental research that the proposed theories of Freud were absolutely true. Freud approached each of his patient’s and the problems of psychology on a whole with the view point that each of man’s actions is sexually directed and sex plays a major role in deciding the course of a man’s actions. This approach of Freud was totally new at his time and was not received well. But, with experimental results, similar to Narco analysis, this concept and approach of Freud was also accepted widely by psychologists. Freud is perhaps rightly credited to have been the greatest psychologist who has ever lived. His Narco analysis technique is still being used in present day police interrogation techniques to pull out the truth from hardened criminals!

In popular culture, there is a saying that without Michael Faraday, none of us would have made a day possible! So much is Faraday’s influence on modern day science and technology that almost all the inventions and machines of present day use Faradic principles for their functioning. The concept of magnetism and chemical processes called as electrolysis are all the brain child of Michael Faraday who is known to be the greatest experimentalist who has ever lived. The principles of electromagnetism which was discovered and documented by Faraday lead to a number of present day discoveries including the dynamo, the generator, the photocopying machine, the telephone, computer monitors, television sets, radio sets and a long list of other day- to- day items. The generator which produces electricity through mechanical forces is one of the greatest inventions ever known to man. Without the generator, it is hard to comprehend how the present day world would have been. I can very well understand the meaning of what our forefathers meant by saying that small things go a long way in making the world develop a bit each day! Faraday would go down in history as the electricity man; whose mere thought would leave your chemical senses of the brain in an excited state!

It is not necessary that the most influential people in world history must just be great inventors and scientists who helped make the world a better place to live in. Some of the best known and most influential persons have been exactly the opposite to people whom we have described about so far. These kinds of people can range anywhere between those who indict mass murders and homicides to genocides and mass suicides. One of the best known controversial figures in this clan is none other than Adolf Hitler who is still remembered for his anti- Jewish policies. His school of thought was that the Nazis were the most superior and advanced race in the world and none other than people of this race had the rights to live! The world wars and the great depression combined together to give Hitler the power and idea to become the dictator of Germany. Germans regretted bringing the Nazi party to power. Legitimate officers of the German official establishments were thrown out and replaced with Nazi Reich officers. All these took place under the decree of emergency which was in place. This was favorable for the Nazi dictator Hitler who started carrying out his anti- Jewish genocides and mass murders for which he is still being feared by the masses.