a
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Mordecai Anielewicz
Military Leader / 1919 - 1943
Mordecai Anielewicz organized Jews to fight off the Germans during the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising of 1943.
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(1919-1943)
Military Leader
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Patricia Arquette
Film Actress, Television Actress, Television Personality / 1968 -
American actress Patricia Arquette has had a long career in film and television, continually showing her great range as a performer across genres.
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(1968-)
Film Actress, Television Actress, Television Personality
b
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David Ben-Gurion
Prime Minister / 1886 - 1973
A Zionist statesman and political leader, David Ben-Gurion was the first prime minister and defense minister of Israel.
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(1886-1973)
Prime Minister
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Günter Blobel
Biologist / 1936 -
Cellular and molecular biologist Günter Blobel won the Nobel Prize in 1999 for his discoveries about proteins and their placement in the cell.
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(1936-)
Biologist
c
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Catherine II
Political Leader, Empress / 1729 - 1796
Catherine II was empress of Russia, and led her country into the political and cultural life of Europe, carrying on the work begun by Peter the Great.
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(1729-1796)
Political Leader, Empress
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Frédéric Chopin
Songwriter, Pianist / 1810 - 1849
Considered Poland's greatest composer, Frédéric Chopin focused his efforts on piano composition and was highly influential.
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(1810-1849)
Songwriter, Pianist
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Joseph Conrad
Author / 1857 - 1924
English novelist and short-story writer Joseph Conrad’s works include the novels Lord Jim, Nostromo and The Secret Agent and the story “Heart of Darkness”.
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(1857-1924)
Author
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Nicolaus Copernicus
Mathematician, Astronomer / 1473 - 1543
Astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus identified the concept of a heliocentric solar system, in which the sun, rather than the earth, is the center of the solar system.
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(1473-1543)
Mathematician, Astronomer
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Marie Curie
Physicist / 1867 - 1934
Marie Curie was a Polish-born French physicist famous for her work on radioactivity and twice a winner of the Nobel Prize.
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(1867-1934)
Physicist
h
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Oscar Hammerstein I
Entrepreneur, Publisher / 1847 - 1919
After earning a fortune in the cigar industry, Oscar Hammerstein I, grandfather of lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II, built numerous theaters and opera houses.
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(1847-1919)
Entrepreneur, Publisher
k
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Lech Kaczynski
World Leader / 1949 - 2010
Lech Kaczynski was a politician who served as president of Poland until his sudden death in a plane crash in 2010.
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(1949-2010)
World Leader
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Klaus Kinski
Film Actor / 1926 - 1991
Actor Klaus Kinski made his mark in such films as Aguirre (1972), Nosferatu (1979) and Fitzcarraldo (1982).
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(1926-1991)
Film Actor
l
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Meyer Lansky
White Collar Criminal, Organized Crime Boss / 1902 - 1983
Meyer Lansky was a Polish American organized crime figure instrumental in the development of the National Crime Syndicate in the United States.
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(1902-1983)
White Collar Criminal, Organized Crime Boss
m
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Bronislaw Malinowski
Anthropologist, Scientist / 1884 - 1942
Bronislaw Kasper Malinowski is principally associated with studies of the peoples of Oceania and with the school of thought known as functionalism.
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(1884-1942)
Anthropologist, Scientist
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Benoit Mandelbrot
Mathematician, Academic Author / 1924 - 2010
Benoit Mandelbrot was known as the father of the fractals, a concept he popularized in The Fractal Geometry of Nature in 1982.
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(1924-2010)
Mathematician, Academic Author
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Robert Merrill
Film Actor, Singer, Journalist / 1917 - 2004
Baritone Robert Miller was best known as a favorite of the Metropolitan Opera for 30 years, also appearing in orchestras, films and musical comedies.
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(1917-2004)
Film Actor, Singer, Journalist
p
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Ignacy Paderewski
Songwriter, Pianist, Political Leader / 1860 - 1941
Ignacy Paderewski was a world famous concert pianist who also became Poland’s first prime minister in 1919.
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(1860-1941)
Songwriter, Pianist, Political Leader
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John Paul II
Pope / 1920 - 2005
Pope John Paul II made history in 1978 by becoming the first non-Italian pope in more than four hundred years.
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(1920-2005)
Pope
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I.L. Peretz
Author / 1852 - 1915
I.L. Peretz was a Jewish author who gained fame after writing folktales, ballads and plays about the ideals of Judaism.
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(1852-1915)
Author
r
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Agnieszka Radwanska
Tennis Player / 1989 -
World-ranked tennis pro Agnieszka Radwanska became the first Polish player in history to receive a WTA tour singles title—at the Nordea Nordic Light Open in Sweden.
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(1989-)
Tennis Player
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Joseph Rotblat
Activist, Physicist, Journalist / 1908 - 2005
Physicist Joseph Rotblat participated in the Manhattan project. After the World War II, he devoted himself to peaceful applications of nuclear physics.
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(1908-2005)
Activist, Physicist, Journalist
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Art Rubinstein
Pianist / 1887 - 1982
Art Rubinstein was a famous Polish pianist who is regarded by many as the greatest Chopin interpreter of the 20th century.
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(1887-1982)
Pianist
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Helena Rubinstein
Entrepreneur, Philanthropist / 1870 - 1965
Helena Rubinstein was a Polish entrepreneur best known for her global cosmetics empire.
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(1870-1965)
Entrepreneur, Philanthropist
s
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Isaac Bashevis Singer
Author / 1904 - 1991
Isaac Bashevis Singer was a Jewish-American writer who won the 1978 Nobel Prize in Literature.
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(1904-1991)
Author
w
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Lech Walesa
Activist, World Leader / 1943 -
Labor activist and later Polish president Lech Walesa helped form and lead communist Poland's first independent trade union, Solidarity and won a Nobel Prize.
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(1943-)
Activist, World Leader
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Weegee
Photographer / 1899 - 1968
Weegee was a photographer noted for his gritty yet compassionate images of the aftermath of New York street crimes and disasters.
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(1899-1968)
Photographer
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Paul Wolfowitz
Government Official / 1943 -
Paul Wolfowitz is a U.S. government official who is best known as the leading architect of the Iraq War under President George Bush's administration.
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(1943-)
Government Official
z
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Yitzhak Zuckerman
Civil Rights Activist, Folk Hero / 1915 - 1981
Yitzhak Zuckerman was a hero of Jewish resistance to the Nazis in WWII and one of the few survivors of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.
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(1915-1981)
Civil Rights Activist, Folk Hero