People Archives - Page 3 of 4 - Informative Facts

Facts About Astronaut Valentina Vladimirovna Tereshkova

February 13, 2019 By admin Leave a Comment

Valentina Tereshkova, pilot-cosmonaut, first female cosmonaut, Hero of the USSR. Pictured as a Major of the Soviet Air Forces. (1969)
**RIA Novosti archive, image #612748 / Alexander Mokletsov / CC-BY-SA 3.0**

Valentina Tereshkova is a Soviet astronaut known for being the first woman to go into space. Valentina was born on 6th March 1937 in the village of Maslennikovo.

Facts about the first woman in space:

She joined the Russian Air Force because she wanted to become a cosmonaut.
Out of 400 applicants Valentina became the first woman to go into space.
On 16th June 1963, after extensive training she was put on the Vostok 6 capsule which was sent into space. Valentina was only 26 at the time.
Her capsule orbited the earth 48 times and stayed in space for 3 days.
Her capsule landed on June 19, 1963 in Southern Siberia. She bruised her nose while landing her parachute.
Valentina also has a PhD in engineering.
Apart from being a cosmonaut and engineer, she is also a politician. Valentina held many political positions during her career.
She retired as a Major General from the Russian Air Force in 1997.
Valentina married a fellow astronaut in 1963 and became a mother in 1967.
In 1982, she divorced her first husband and remarried someone else later.

Valentina at the opening of the Lenin Museum in Gorki, Pereslavl region

Valentina Tereshkova in 2017
**Kremlin.ru** / **(CC BY 3.0)**

Facts on Wernher Von Braun: Inventor of the V-2 Rocket

February 12, 2019 By admin Leave a Comment

Wernher Von Braun was born on March 23rd 1912 in Wrsitz(Back then, part of the German Empire, but now in Poland). Von Braun is mostly known for developing the V-2 Rocket for Germany in World War II and later on, the Saturn V Rocket System for the Americans, after being secretly shifted to the United States.

Facts about Dr. Werner Von Braun:

He studied engineering at Universities of Berlin and Zurich.
He also got a PhD in physics in 1934.
In 1936 he was appointed Technical Director of a Rocket Research Facility.
In just 2 years after his appointment, Von Braun developed a prototype rocket, capable of carrying a warhead for 11 miles. After getting support from Hitler he perfected the design. This improved version was called the V-2(vergeltungswaffe), meaning reprisal or retribution weapon.
Each V-2 rocket was capable of carrying warheads weighing 1000kg for 200 miles.
Germans launched over 3000 V-2 rockets on Allied Forces during World War II.
These V-2 attacks resulted in the deaths of over 9000 civilians and soldiers.
The V-2 rocket was the world’s first ballistic missile system.
In May 1945 Von Braun and his brother who was also a rocket scientist, surrendered to the American Forces.
He was brought to the United States and made an American citizen.
Braun was made Director of the U.S. Ballistic Missile Agency in Alabama.
In addition to developing the V-2 rockets Von Braun is also known for developing the Red Stone rocket, America’s first ballistic missile.
Braun also developed the first Untied States satellite which was launched from Cape Canaveral on 31st January 1958.
Besides this, he is also responsible for the Saturn V Rocket System. The Saturn V rocket was used in the Apollo missions.
The successful flight which resulted in the Moon Landing of July 1969, also used Saturn V rockets.
Dr. Von Braun was known as a ladies man. While studying in Berlin, he was often seen in the company of two girlfriends at once.
Braun also wrote a science fiction novel about humans going to Mars but his manuscript was rejected by at least 18 publishers.
Von Braun also worked with Walt Disney on the production of three educational films about space exploration.
Some people accused him of enforcing slave labor in V-2 rocket factories. However, Braun denied these allegations.
He said that he was aware of slave labor being used in the factories but he was helpless and couldn’t do anything about it.
Dr. Braun died of pancreatic cancer on June 16th 1977.

Dr. Von Braun holding a model of the V-2 rocket

Von Braun was a brilliant scientist who made some great accomplishments in science. He encouraged space exploration and himself had a passion to go on the Moon. Some people believe, Americans couldn’t have made it to the Moon if it wasn’t for Von Braun.

Some Facts About General Omar Nelson Bradley

February 12, 2019 By admin Leave a Comment

Omar Nelson Bradley was a United States Army General. He is most known for commanding the Normandy landings on D-Day, June 6th 1944.

A few facts about General Bradley:

Omar Bradley was born on February 12th 1893 in Clark, Missouri.
He graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1915.
Most of his early military assignments were in the United States.
As a second lieutenant he served in the 14th Infantry Regiment. He was posted at the U.S border with Mexico.
By 1917, during World War II, Bradley was promoted to Captain. Bradley was given the task to guard the Butte, Montana copper mines.
From 1920 to 1924 Bradley was a mathematics instructor at the U.S Military Academy.
By 1924 he was promoted to the rank of Major.
In 1936 he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and was posted in the war department.
In 1941 he was given the command of an infantry school. By this time Bradley had become a Brigadier General after bypassing the rank of Colonel.
After the start of World War II, Bradley was promoted to the rank of Major General.
In 1943 Bradley became a Lieutenant General and was given the command of American 2nd Corps stationed in Tunisia. He was incharge of the invasion of Sicily during which the Allied troops retook the Island of Sicily from the Axis powers.
Bradley was made Commander-in-Chief of the American ground forces and was then moved to London in 1944 to command the Normandy invasion.
General Bradley had under his command 11 million men. This was the largest army ever entrusted to any General in United States history.
His men invaded Normandy, advanced to Cherbourg, and drove through Avranches, right into the heart of France.
His troops crossed the Rhine at Remagen, Germany and met up with Russian troops on 25th April 1945.
By 1950 he was promoted to the highest U.S. army rank and was made General of the Army.
From 1948 to 1953 Bradley served as the Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chief of Staff.
Bradley is famously nicknamed as the GI General.
He was responsible for building up NATO and assessing American strategy in the Korean War.
He served on active duty for more than 69 years. Thus making his active duty career the longest ever in U.S. history.
General Bradley died on April 8th 1981 of a cardiac arrhythmia.

Generals Dwight D. Eisenhower and Omar Bradley talk with a young member of the French resistance in the American sector during the liberation of Lower Normandy in the summer of 1944

Facts about William Makepeace Thackeray: Author of the Novel ‘Vanity Fair’

February 8, 2019 By admin 2 Comments

William Makepeace Thackeray is the author of many 19th Century satirical works including the popular novel Vanity Fair. Mr. Thackeray lived until the age of 52, from 1811 – 1863 primarily in England. This wonderful novelist and poet began his early career in journalism and, while highly educated, attending prestigious schools like Cambridge, Mr. Thackeray did not confer an actual degree. In his adult life, William was the recipient of a large inheritance and used the money to launch two newspapers: The National Standard and The Constitutional.

Here are a few facts about William Makepeace Thackeray:

William Makepeace Thackeray was born in Calcutta, India and later lived his life in England.
Mr. Thackeray was a free spirit and had many life experiences that he drew upon for his literature.
William was an illustrator and also studied law and fine arts.
The novel Vanity Fair is based on satire and English society from his personal experiences.
William was escalated to a credible novelist after finishing Vanity Fair at the age of 37.
Mr. Thackeray was a gambler and is rumored to have lost some of his inheritance to the habit.
William deeply loved his wife. She fell mentally ill after their third child was born.
William Makepeace Thackeray studied caricature art in Paris.
Mr. Thackeray worked in London for Fraser’s Magazine and Punch.
William Makepeace Thackeray was born July 18, 1811 and passed away on Christmas Eve, December 24, 1863 after suffering a stroke.

William Makepeace Thackeray is one of the most influential authors of our time. While difficult to list his many fine works of literature, he is best known for The Memoirs of Barry Lyndon, Vanity Fair, Pendennis, The Newcomers and The History of Henry Esmond. Paralleling his writing career, Mr. Thackeray also ran for parliament but did not have any success. At the end of his life he accepted a brief editor position with Cornhill Magazine. William Makepeace Thackeray is buried in Kensal Green, in an area of London, England and memorialized at Westminster Abbey.

Facts About Friedlieb Ferdinand Runge: Famous German Chemist

February 8, 2019 By admin Leave a Comment

Friedlieb Ferdinand Runge was born on 8th February 1794.
He got his doctorate degree from the University of Berlin.
He taught at the University of Breslau till 1831 after which he started working in a chemical company.
Runge was an analytical chemist by profession.
He’s mostly know for discovering and separating caffeine from coffee beans . He did this in 1819.
He’s also known for discovering the pupil dilating effect of belladonna plant’s extract.
Runge also wrote two books describing the use of paper chromatography to separate chemicals.
Runge is also credited with discovering the first coal tar dye.
In addition to this he also devised a way to extract sugar from beet juice.
Runge was also one of the first scientists to isolate quinine, a drug used to treat diseases like malaria and babesiosis.
In 1852 Runge was fired from the company he worked in, by a disgruntled boss.
Runge died in extreme poverty at the age of 73 on March 25th 1867.

Facts About Ching Shih: The Famous Female Pirate

February 7, 2019 By admin Leave a Comment

An 18th century engraving portraying Ching Shih in battle.

Ching Shih was a powerful female pirate that dominated the China Sea during the early 19th century. This female pirate from China is a rare historical figure because she is one of the few women in history to lead a pirate crew that was the size of a kingdom. According to historical accounts, Ching Shih lead a force of up to 40,000 pirates operated 300 junks( A Chinese sailing ship). Ching Shih was feared, revered, respected and hated by thousands of people who lived in the regions situated along the China Sea.

No written records exist on Ching Shih’s childhood. While historians have figured out that she was born in the Guangdong province in 1775 they do not have any information about her mother, father or economic condition.
Ching Shih was working as a sex worker in a brothel inside of a city named Canton. The year was 1801 when Ching was first introduced into the world of piracy. She was going about her daily routine of offering sex for sale when a ruthless pirate named Zheng Yi raided Canton. Shih was captured with other women and she caught the attention of Zheng Yi.
Zheng Yi apparently liked Ching more so than the other females because he selected her to be his wife.
Ching Shih’s name was given to her after she married Zheng Yi. No one knows her original name. Apparently, she never told anyone this information. Ching Shih means “widow of Zheng”.
After the couple were married, Ching Shih participated in Zheng Yi’s activities. She learned about the daily routines and habits of piracy from her husband. She was also exposed to the different situations that usually accompany the life of an outlaw.
Zheng Yi used his reputation and power to consolidate the pirates in Canton into a formidable alliance. Zheng Yi ruled them and they were known as the Red Flag Fleet.
In 1807 Zheng Yi died while in Vietnam. Ching Shih did not want to lose any of the power that she had with her husband. After his death she immediately began to set up control over the Red Flag Fleet.
Ching Shih formed relationships with her rivals to recognize her position as the next ruler of the pirate alliance. She called upon members of Zheng Yi’s family who were powerful pirate lords. Cheng Pao-yand and Cheng Ch’i was Zheng Yi’s nephew and cousin and their influence was necessary for keeping the pirates under control for Ching. Most of the captains who served under Ching and her husband continued to remain loyal to her.
Ching Shih realized that she needed someone to handle the daily routine of governing the pirates and she chose a man by the name of Chang Pao.
Chang Pao was Zheng Yi’s adopted son and his sex slave. Apparently, Zheng Yi was a bisexual man and captured young Chang Pao when he was 15 years old. Zheng Yi then adopted him and he became a recognized authority figure among the pirates. None of this mattered to Ching Shih because she ended up marrying Chang Poa because the other pirates respected him as a leader.
Ching Shih had a son with Chang Pao right before he died. No one knows how Chang Pao lost his life.
While Chang Pao was alive he issued a set of pirate codes for his large crew to follow. The codes were strictly enforced.
The codes that were given by Chang Pao required the pirates to strictly follow the orders given by Ching Shih and her superiors. Pirates who made up their own orders or who did not obey Ching Shih were beheaded. The second rule stated that no one could steal from the funds or villages that supported the large pirate fleet. The last code required all treasure taken in raids to be inspected and then placed into the public coffers. The original seizer of the treasure was given 20% of loot that was taken.
People who did not follow these rules could be beaten, whipped or killed.
Ching Shih used terror tactics in order to control the China sea. People who opposed her were either badly beaten or killed.
The British Empire operated in this part of the world at the time and they would often report Ching Shih as a Terror of South China.
China’s natvies could not defeat Ching Shih. Neither could the British or Portuguese fleets that operated in that region. She was so powerful that they had no choice but to give amnesty to all pirates in Southern China.
The Qing Dynasty was ruling China during the time of Ching Shih’s reign. A government official named Zhang Bai decided on amnesty but he wanted Ching Shih, Chang Pao and the pirates to bow before the rulers of China. The pirates refused. Ching Shih and Chang Pao found a way to satisfy this requirement by getting the blessing of the government to marry. They had to do this because Chang Pao was still considered Ching Shin’s son before they got married.
Chang Pao and Ching Shih both retired from piracy after this event took place. Chang Pao and Ching Shih were two very rich individuals and Chang took a government’s position before he suddenly died at the age of 36.
After Chang Pao’s, Ching Shih opened up a gambling house with her son. She worked this place until she died in 1844 at the age of 69.
Ching Shih’s life has been romanticized in books, films and video games.
The History of Piracy by Philip Gosse is the original manuscript that outlines the life of Ching Shih.
A graphic novel called Afterlife portrays a character based off of Ching Shih as a female warrior that battles demons in the afterlife.
Mistress Ching in the Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End is based off of Ching Shih.
The TV series,Red Flag is based on the life of Ching Shih.

When Ching Shih retired from piracy in 1810 she was never defeated in battle. For close to nine years she dominated the world of piracy in Southern China. This would not have been an easy feat for any person to do. After all she commanded a vast army of pirates and they followed her closely. While China and the western powers had found a way to make her complacent, they could not end her legacy. Her fame and notoriety still lives on in modern times.