30 September 2009

Happy Birthday Bapu - October 2

Born October 2, 1869
Porbandar, Kathiawar Agency, British India
Died January 30, 1948 (aged 78)
New Delhi, Union of India
Cause of death Assassination
Resting place Rajghat in New Delhi
Other names Mahatma Gandhi, Bapu, Gandhiji
Alma mater University College London
Known for Prominent Figure of Indian Independence Movement
Propounding the philosophy of Satyagraha and Ahimsa
Religious beliefs Hinduism
Spouse(s) Kasturba Gandhi
Children: Harilal, Manilal, Ramdas, Devdas
Parents: Putlibai Gandhi (Mother)& Karamchand Gandhi (Father)

Those are the bare bones facts about one of the most inspiring men who has ever graced the earth. A simple biography is available on Wikipedia, but the link under the picture will take you to the Gandhi page with a wealth of information on his writings and research sources.    He was the pioneer of resistance to tyranny through mass civil disobedience, firmly founded upon total non-violence.  This led to the independence of India  from the British, and he is known as the father of the nation.  Gandhi's life became the motivation for campaigns for civil rights and freedom across the world. As is often the case with peaceful men, Gandhi's life was ended by violence with his assassination in 1948.  Still he left behind a legacy of activism and quotes that have led others to great ideals and aspirations.

He is officially honoured in India as the Father of the Nation; his birthday, 2 October, is commemorated there as Gandhi Jayanti, a national holiday, and worldwide as the International Non Violence and Peace Day.  You can start practicing peace now as a warm up for the Blog Blast for Peace on November 5.  Don't forget to get your Peace Globe at the link from the site.

Nine years ago Gandhi made number 17 on the list of most influential people of the 20th century.  It is an interesting list and you might quibble about some of the names or think that someone should rank higher or lower, but just getting into the top fifth in quite a feat for a man who made his greatest impact by quietly sitting.

Let’s review those 100 names, beginning at the bottom of the list. As you read and consider the impact made by each individual.  This was a somewhat popular vote as well as a panel of experts, so even after only a decade some of the names may seem to have lost their luster while others may move up or down.  One thing is not in doubt and that is the impact Mohandas Gandhi had on his country and the world.
100. Suleiman I
99. Vasco Da Gama
98. Louis Armstrong
97. Jonas Salk
96. Enrico Caruso
95. Charlie Chaplin
94. Patient Zero
93. Eleanor Roosevelt
92. Florence Nightingale
91. Steven Spielberg
90. Louis Daguerre
89. Susan B. Anthony    
88. Robert Oppenheimer
87. Rachel Carson
86. James Joyce 
85. Ronald Reagan
84. Guglielmo Marconi
83. Peter the Great  
82. Neils Bohr
81. Nelson Mandela
80. Elizabeth I  
79. Joseph Stalin
78. Isabella  
77. Thomas Hobbes
76. The Beatles   
75. Gregory Pincus 
74. Enrico Fermi
73. Princess Diana
72. Simon Bolivar
71. Harriet Tubman
70. Pope Gregory VII
69. William Harvey
68. Benjamin Franklin
67. Vladimir Zworykin
66. D.W. Griffith
65. Werner Heisenberg
64. Pablo Picasso
63. Jane Austen
62. Walt Disney
61. Michael Faraday
60. Franklin D. Roosevelt
59. Immanuel Kant
58. Joan of Arc
57. Elvis Presley
56. Elizabeth Stanton
55. Ferdinand Magellan
54. Marco Polo
53. Marie Curie 
52. Winston Churchill
51. Edward Jenner
50. Margaret Sanger
49. Mikhail Gorbachev
48. Mary Wollstoncraft
47. Charles Babbage
46. Niccolo Machiavelli
45. William the Conquerer
44. Alexander Graham Bell
43. Mao Zedong
42. Gregor Mendel
41. Bill Gates
40. The Wright Brothers
39. Dante Alighieri
38. Francis Bacon
37. Voltaire
36. Alexander Fleming
35. Vladimir Lenin
34. Jean-Jacques Rousseau
33. Martin Luther King, Jr.
32. Rene Descartes
31. Watson and Crick
30. Ludwig van Beethoven
29. Henry Ford
28. Johann Sebastian Bach
27. Napoleon Bonaparte
26. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
25. James Watt
24. St. Thomas Aquinas
23. Abraham Lincoln
22. Genghis Khan
21. George Washington
20. Adam Smith
19. Michelangelo
18. John Locke
17. Mahatma Gandhi
16. Adolf Hitler
15. Thomas Jefferson
14. Thomas Edison
13. Louis Pasteur
12. Sigmund Freud
11. Leonardo DaVinci
10. Galileo Galilei
  9. Nicolaus Copernicus
  8. Albert Einstein
  7. Karl Marx
  6. Christopher Columbus
  5. William Shakespeare
  4. Charles Darwin
  3. Martin Luther
  2. Isaac Newton
  1. Johann Gutenberg

"My Life is My Message"

1 comment:

Travis said...

I'm curious about this list. Is it the list of 100 most influential people of all time? If it's just the 20th century, then I'm wonder why so many of the 100 were not alive in the 20th century.

But regardless, Ghandi belongs on any list of most influential.

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