Voltaire (Authors-Reformers)

Francois-Marie Arouet (November 21, 1694-May 30, 1778), better known by the pen name Voltaire, was a French Enlightenment writer, deist and philosopher. Voltaire was born in Paris to Francois Arouet and Marie-Marguerite Daumart or D’Aumard. Both parents were of Poitevin extraction, but the Arouets were long established in Paris, the grandfather being a prosperous tradesman.

Maulana Abul Kalam Muhiyuddin Ahmed (Reformers)

was born on 11 November 1888 in Mecca & died on 22 February 1958 Delhi, India, was an Indian Muslim scholar and a senior political leader of the Indian independence movement. He was one of the most prominent Muslim leaders to support Hindu-Muslim unity, opposing the partition of India on communal lines.

Dr Ernesto Rafael Guevara de la Serna (Reformers)

(June 14, 1928¹ – October 9, 1967), commonly known as Che Guevara, was an Argentine-born Marxist revolutionary and Cuban guerrilla leader. Guevara was a member of Fidel Castro’s "26th of July Movement", which seized power in Cuba in 1959. After serving various important posts in the new government, Guevara left Cuba in 1966 with the hope of fomenting revolutions in other countries, first in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and later in Bolivia, where he was captured in a CIA-organized military operation. Some believe that the CIA wanted to keep him alive for interrogation but he was executed by the Bolivian army, although this is disputed. After his death, Guevara became a hero of Third World socialist revolutionary movements, as a theorist and tactician of asymmetric warfare.

Aung San Suu Kyi (Reformers)

is one of the world’s most renown freedom fighters and advocates of nonviolence, having served as the figurehead for Burma’s struggle for democracy since 1988. Born on June 19th, 1945 to Burma’s independence hero, Aung san, Aung San Suu Kyi was educated in Burma, India, and the United Kingdom. Her father was assassinated when she was only two years old.

Dr. Laura Schlessinger (Reformers)

Radio talk show host. Born on January 16, 1947, and raised in Brooklyn, New York. She received her BS in Biological Sciences from the State University of New York (SUNY) at Stonybrook, Long Island, NY, and her Masters and Ph.D. in Physiology from Columbia University (College of Physicians and Surgeons) in New York. She earned a post-doctoral certification in Marriage, Family, and Child Counseling from the University of Southern California. Schlessinger was a faculty member at USC and Pepperdine University in Malibu, and has taught at UCLA. She was in private practice for twelve years before turning her attention to a national audience.

William Booth (Reformers)

Booth was born in Sneinton, Nottingham, England, the only son of four surviving children born to Samuel Booth and Mary Moss. His father was wealthy by the standards of the time, but during Booth's childhood, as a result of his father's bad investments, the family descended into poverty.

Lord Baden Powell (Reformers)

(1857-1941) was a British general and founder of the modern Scouting movement.He studied at Charterhouse school and served in the British army from 1876 -1910. He became a national hero during the Boer war of 1899-1900 when, with a small garrison, he commandered the defence of Mafeking.

Sir Syed Ahmad Khan (Reformers)

The greatest Muslim reformer and statesman of the 19th Century, Sir Syed Ahmad Khan was born in Delhi on October 17, 1817. His family on the maternal and paternal side had close contacts with the Mughal court. His maternal grandfather, Khwajah Farid was a Wazir in the court of Akbar Shah II. His paternal grandfather Syed Hadi held a mansab and the title of Jawwad Ali Khan in the court of Alamgir II. His father, Mir Muttaqi, had been close to Akbar Shah since the days of his prince-hood. Syed Ahmad's mother, Aziz-un-Nisa, took a great deal of interest in the education and upbringing of her son. She imposed a rigid discipline on him and Sir Syed himself admitted that her supervision counted for much in the formation of his character.

Malcolm X (Reformers)

Malcolm Little was born in Omaha, Nebraska, May 19, 1925. His father was a Baptist preacher and staunch supporter of Marcus Garvey - a radical exponent of black rights. Later, Malcolm's father was murdered by locals.

Desmond Mpilo Tutu (Reformers)

was born in Klerksdorp, Transvaal 7 October 1931 in South Africa. As a vocal and committed opponent of apartheid in South Africa he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984. After graduating from school he studied at the University of South Africa. With a degree he became a high school teacher. Desmond Tutu then took up the study of theology and spent several years in England to further his theological study.

Rosa Louise McCauley Parks (Reformers)

(February 4, 1913 – October 24, 2005) was an African American civil rights activist and seamstress whom the U.S. Congress dubbed the "Mother of the Modern-Day Civil Rights Movement".

William Tyndale (Reformers)

1494 – 1536 was a protestant reformer, who made the first complete translation of the Bible into English. He was later burnt at the stake for his heresy. Tyndale was born in 1494 in a village in Gloucestershire. He studied at Oxford University (Magdalen Hall) and after gaining his Bachelor of Arts became a priest. He was shocked that although studying theology, this did not include studying the scriptures. He formed local Bible study groups to meet and discuss the bible.

Florence Nightingale (Reformers)

Born in 1820 to a wealthy family, Florence was educated at home by her father. She aspired to serve others, in particular she wanted to become a nurse. Her parents were opposed - at that time, nursing was not seen as an attractive or 'respectable' profession. Despite her parents disapproval, Florence went ahead and trained to be a nurse. Florence later wrote that she felt suffocated by the vanities and social expectations of her upbringing. On one occasion, sitting in her parent's garden, she felt a call from God to serve others. She resolved to try and follow God’s will in being of service to others.

Mother Teresa (Reformers)

was born (1910) in Skopje, capital of the Republic of Macedonia. Little is known about her early life, but at a young age she felt a calling to serve through helping the poor. At the age of 18 she was given permission to join a group of nuns in Ireland. After a few months of training Mother Teresa travelled to Calcutta, India where she formally accepted the vows of a nun.

Martin Luther (Reformers)

(November 10, 1483 – February 18, 1546) was a German monk who became the father of the Protestant reformation. He is most widely known for criticising aspects of the Roman Catholic Church. In particular he believed that it was the Bible and not the Roman Catholic Church which was the source of legitimacy for interpreting the word of Christ. Martin Luther also translated the bible into German, making it more accessible to the general public.

William Wilberforce (Reformers)

    “God Almighty has set before me two great objects, the suppression of the slave trade and the reformation of manners (morality).”

William Wilberforce was one of Britain’s great social reformers. In particular, William Wilberforce is remembered for his active participation in getting Parliament to outlaw the slave trade.

Martin Luther King (Reformers)

"I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal." I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slaveowners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood"