Important Men In History You Probably Didn’t Know About
Some of the greatest heroes and manliest men in history are rarely taught about in school books. But it’s not not pure strength or gall that makes a real guy, it’s the forethought (and consequences) of their actions that makes a man truly memorable. Here are 10 real guys who have made a mark in history.
1. Miyamoto Musashi
Miyamoto Musashi is widely considered as a Kensei (an honorary title given to a warrior with legendary sword skills) and is considered one of the greatest warriors of all time. He wrote a book called The Book of Five Rings that is still studied today. He was said to have never lost a duel in his life, and won his first duel at the age of 13.
2. Charles Martel
Also known as Charles the Hammer, he was Charlemagne’s grandfather and only lost one battle in his lifetime. He even turned down the title of Consul from the Pope in 739. He’s often credited with developing the feudal system and the concept of knighthood.
3. Edmund of East Anglia
Edmund of East Anglia, also known as Edmund the Martyr, protected the land of what became Britain from the pagan Danes. He died like a hero after being repetitively shot with arrows. He ended up being canonized by the Catholic Church and is the saint of Wolves, Kings and Torture Victims.
4. Matthew Gaines
Matthew Gaines was a former slave turned Senator of Texas. During his term, Gaines addressed the issues of public education, prison reform, the protection of black voters, and tenant farming reformation. The issue that was nearest to his heart though, was public education. He made valuable contributions towards the establishment of free public education in the state of Texas.
5. Aristides de Sousa Mendes
Aristides de Sousa Mendes was a Portugese diplomat that disobeyed orders from the Portugese government and issued visas free of charge to 30,000 WWII refugees, including 12,000 Jews.
6. Cordell Hull
Cordell Hull served as the longest-running Secretary of State in the U.S. under Franklin D. Roosevelt. He’s known as the “Father of the UN” and oversaw many projects that helped the U.S. win WWII.
7. Fighting Jack Churchill
A British soldier who lived through WWII and fought on the front lines using only a longbow, arrows and a Scottish broadsword called a Claymore. (Claymores are typically about 4 and a half feet long.) After WWII, he joined up with a branch of the British Army called the Seafort Highlanders and once coordinated the evacuation of 700 people from a hospital that had come under attack in Jerusalem.
8. Hans Joachim Friedrichs
In 1989, the government of East Germany was trying to close loopholes that allowed East Germans into West Germany through Hungary and Czechoslovakia. The government then rushed out some legislation that allowed some refugees access throughout the Berlin Wall. There was some confusion on the subject, which led East German anchorman, Hans Joachim Friedrichs, to inadvertently declare that the border was open, which led to the fall of the Berlin wall and the reunification of Germany.
9. Rodolfo “Corky” Gonzáles
Corky Gonzales was an important leader for young and poor Mexican Americans in the 1960s. He is often considered one of the founding fathers of the Chicano Movement. He started The Crusade for Justice, a group that pushed for civil rights and equality for Mexican Americans. He also wrote the famous poem “I Am Joaquín.”
10. Tim Berners-Lee
Tim Berners-Lee is known by most as the man who invented the modern-day Internet. (Sorry Al Gore.) Berners-Lee is an English computer scientist who, with help from a couple of colleagues, implemented the first communication between a hypertext transfer protocol client (the foundation of the World Wide Web) and a server.
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patriciaa7 2 months agoExcuse me, the Americans did not “win WWII.” The Allies did: The Brits, Canadians, Australians, Free French, U.S., Russia, and eventually, the Italians, among others.
And it’s the SEAFORTH Highlanders. -
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wulfr 11 months agoHanns Joachim Friedrichs wasn’t the one who accidentially declared that the border was open. That was Günter Schabowski, then speaker of the central committee of Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED), the ruling party of the GDR. Friedrichs was anchor man of the West German news magazine Tagesthemen and was always known to put accuracy above everything. A major journalist award is named after him.
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Kee L. a year agoArgh! A zombie lie that will not die! Again! Al Gore never said he invented the internet. EVER. Never did. That is a Lie! He did not say it. OK, Got that? What is it about conservatives that they can never EVER admit they are wrong, nor stop repeating lies that have been thoroughly debunked for more than a decade? It is merely ignorant vindictiveness, or are they just incapable of learning anything? Or, more likely, both.
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therblig a year agoi won a prize for writing a clerihew about tim berners-lee. no, really: http://robinabrahams.com/2009/06/29/clerihew-contest/ http://poesygalore.blogspot.com/2008/07/clerihews-at-boston-globe.html honest, it was before i met you, buzzfeed. Tim Berners-Lee
Invented HTTP
Thus the world wide web was born
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