Dr. Seuss (1904)

Theodor Seuss Geisel, popularly known by his pen name, Dr. Seuss, was a famous American writer and cartoonist. His outlandishly illustrated books captivate readers with their unique blend of whimsy, zany humor, and catchy verse. He is best known for his children’s books, which include enduring classics like The Cat in the Hat, Green Eggs and Ham, and How the Grinch Stole Christmas!. How has the pronunciation of “Seuss” changed since Geisel first adopted the pseudonym? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Yitzhak Rabin (1922)

Rabin was an Israeli military leader, politician, and Nobel Peace Prize winner. He rose in rank from brigade commander in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War to chief of staff in 1964 and was credited with Israel’s military success in the Six Day War. After retiring to pursue a diplomatic post, Rabin succeeded Golda Meir as Prime Minister of Israel in 1974. He served two terms before his political career was cut short when he was assassinated in 1995. What event was he attending when he was killed? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Mario Andretti (1940)

Mario Andretti is the only racecar driver to have won the Indianapolis 500, the Daytona 500, and the international Formula One championship. He retired from Indy-car racing in 1994 with 52 victories but continued his attempts to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans sports-car endurance race until the age of 60. The Italian-American legend has been called the “Driver of the Century.” How many members of the Andretti family have followed in Mario’s footsteps and become racecar drivers? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

David H. Hubel (1926)

In 1981, neurobiologist David Hubel and his research partner, Torsten Wiesel, received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their research in the area of visual perception and their discoveries concerning information processing in the visual system. Their observations of the various nerve impulses and nerve cells responsible for different types of visual stimuli opened the door for the understanding and treatment of what ailments? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Nadezhda Konstantinovna Krupskaya (1869)

Krupskaya was a Russian revolutionary and educator who was a Marxist agitator in the years leading up to the Russian Revolution. She married Bolshevik founder Vladimir Lenin in 1898, while both were serving terms in exile. After the Revolution, she joined the People’s Commissariat of Education and helped develop educational systems that offered both academic and professional training to women and workers. Her biography is known as the most detailed account of Lenin’s life but omits what events? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841)

Renoir’s paintings number in the thousands and are notable for their saturated color, vibrant light, and warm sensuality. Early in his career, Renoir developed a close relationship with Claude Monet and became a celebrated artist of the Impressionist style. At times the two painters worked side-by-side, creating several pairs of paintings that depict the same scenes. Though crippled with rheumatoid arthritis in his later life, Renoir continued to paint. How did he manage to do so? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500)

Charles V was the influential 16th-century European monarch who held the thrones of both the Holy Roman Empire and Spain for approximately 40 years. He played a key role in fighting Protestantism during the Reformation and was later an ardent supporter of the Counter Reformation. He also fought several wars against France and the Ottoman Empire before abdicating in the 1550s, dividing his realms between his son and brother and retiring to a monastery. What saying about Paris originated with him? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

W.E.B. Du Bois (1868)

Du Bois was an early African-American civil rights leader and scholar, as well as the first African American to receive a PhD from Harvard University. He was an outspoken critic of the social inequalities that existed in the US during the early part of the 20th century, and he helped found the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). What led Du Bois to seek Ghanaian citizenship at the age of 95? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

George Washington (1732)

Washington is often called the “Father of his Country” because of the central role he played in the founding of the United States. As commander of the Continental Army, he led colonial forces to victory over the British and served as the new nation’s first president. He then relinquished that power and retired after two terms, thereby setting a key precedent for republican democracy. What other precedent of the US presidency did Washington set? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Robert Mugabe (1924)

Mugabe has served as the head of the government of Zimbabwe since 1980, after rising to prominence in the 1970s as leader of a Marxist-inspired guerrilla war against the government of Rhodesia. Though he remains a hero to some for his role in the independence movement, his administration now faces accusations of corruption, suppression of political opposition, mishandling of land reform, and human rights abuses. What 2005 movie was banned by his office amid claims that it is CIA propaganda? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary