a
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Emilio Aguinaldo
General, World Leader / 1869 - 1964
Filipino leader Emilio Aguinaldo led his country to achieve independence after fighting off both the Spanish and the Americans.
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(1869-1964)
General, World Leader
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Agustín I
Military Leader, Emperor / 1783 - 1824
Agustin de Iturbide was a Mexican military chieftain who was the leader of the conservative factions in the Mexican independence movement and emperor of Mexico.
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(1783-1824)
Military Leader, Emperor
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Ahmadou Ahidjo
World Leader / 1924 - 1989
Ahmadou Ahidjo was the first president of the United Republic of Cameroon. He lead one of the few successful attempts at supraterritorial African unity.
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(1924-1989)
World Leader
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Alexander I of Serbia
King / 1876 - 1903
Aleksandar Obrenovi was King of Serbia (1889–1903), whose authoritarian reign resulted in his assassination and the end of the Obrenovi dynasty.
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(1876-1903)
King
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Salvador Allende
World Leader / 1908 - 1973
Salvador Allende was the president of Chile from 1970 until 1973, and the first democratically elected Marxist president of Latin American country.
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(1908-1973)
World Leader
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Antipope John XXIII
Pope / 1370 - 1419
John XXIII was a schismatic antipope in Italy 1410–1415, during the Western Schism. Eventually the Germans, English, and French demanded his abdication.
See full bio
(1370-1419)
Pope
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Jean-Bertrand Aristide
World Leader, Priest / 1953 -
After the Duvalier family of dictators was overthrown, Salesian Priest Jean-Bertrand Aristide was chosen as president of Haiti in its first democratic election.
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(1953-)
World Leader, Priest
b
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Francis Bacon
Academic, Lawyer, Political Leader, Scientist, Academic Author / 1561 - 1626
Francis Bacon was an English Renaissance statesman and philosopher, best known for his promotion the scientific method.
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(1561-1626)
Academic, Lawyer, Political Leader, Scientist, Academic Author
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Fulgencio Batista
Dictator, World Leader / 1901 - 1973
Fulgencio Batista served as president of Cuba from 1940 to 1944. He returned eight years later and ruled as a brutal dictator until 1958.
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(1901-1973)
Dictator, World Leader
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Rod Blagojevich
U.S. Governor / 1956 -
Rod Blagojevich is an Illinois-based politician whose career has been marred by as many scandals as it has been highlighted by successes.
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(1956-)
U.S. Governor
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William Blount
Governor, U.S. Representative / 1749 - 1800
William Blount was the first territorial governor of and later one of the first two U.S. senators from Tennessee.
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(1749-1800)
Governor, U.S. Representative
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Jean-Bédel Bokassa
Military Leader, World Leader, Emperor / 1921 - 1996
Jean-Bedel Bokassa was the president of the Central African Republic (1966-1976) and a self-proclaimed emperor of the Central African Empire (1976-1979).
See full bio
(1921-1996)
Military Leader, World Leader, Emperor
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Napoleon
Military Leader, Political Leader, Emperor / 1769 - 1821
Napoleon Bonaparte was a military general who became the first emperor of France. His drive for military expansion changed the world.
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(1769-1821)
Military Leader, Political Leader, Emperor
c
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Caligula
Emperor / 12 - 41
Gaius Caesar, known as Caligula, succeeded Tiberius and served as Roman emperor from 37 to 41 A.D.
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| Watch video
(12-41)
Emperor
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Sadi Carnot
Engineer, World Leader / 1837 - 1894
Sadi Carnot served as the fourth president (1887–94) of the Third French Republic until he was assassinated by an Italian anarchist.
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(1837-1894)
Engineer, World Leader
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Nicolae Ceausescu
World Leader / 1918 - 1989
Nicolae Ceausescu was the leader of Communist Romania for more than two decades until his execution in 1989.
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| Watch video
(1918-1989)
World Leader
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Hugo Chávez
World Leader / 1954 - 2013
Hugo Chávez served as president of Venezuela from 1999 until his death in 2013. During his presidency, he sold oil to Cuba and resisted efforts to stop narcotic trafficking in Columbia, and subsequently strained relations with the United States.
See full bio
(1954-2013)
World Leader
d
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Idi Amin
Military Leader, World Leader / 1925 - 2003
Idi Amin was a Ugandan president best known for his brutal regime and crimes against humanity while in power from 1971-1979.
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(1925-2003)
Military Leader, World Leader
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Maximilien de Robespierre
Philosopher, Scholar, Activist, Lawyer, Judge, Journalist, Government Official / 1758 - 1794
Maximilien de Robespierre was an official during the French Revolution and one of the principal architects of the Reign of Terror.
See full bio
(1758-1794)
Philosopher, Scholar, Activist, Lawyer, Judge, Journalist, Government Official
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Porfirio Díaz
General, Dictator, World Leader / 1830 - 1915
Porfirio Díaz was a soldier and president of Mexico who is best known for establishing a strong centralized state during his term.
See full bio
(1830-1915)
General, Dictator, World Leader
e
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Anwar el-Sadat
World Leader / 1918 - 1981
Anwar el-Sadat was the one-time president of Egypt (1970-1981) who shared the 1978 Nobel Peace Prize for establishing peace agreements with Israel.
See full bio
(1918-1981)
World Leader
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Joseph Estrada
Film Actor, Producer, World Leader / 1937 -
Filipino actor and politician Joseph Estrada served as the 13th president of the Philippines from 1998 to 2001.
See full bio
(1937-)
Film Actor, Producer, World Leader
g
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Rómulo Gallegos
World Leader, Author / 1884 - 1969
Rómulo Gallegos was the first cleanly elected president of Venezuela and is best known as one of the leading novelists in Latin American literature.
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(1884-1969)
World Leader, Author
h
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John Parker Hale
Lawyer, Diplomat, U.S. Representative / 1806 - 1873
John Parker Hale was an American lawyer, senator, and reformer. In the House of Representatives, he came to prominence as a champion of anti-slavery forces.
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(1806-1873)
Lawyer, Diplomat, U.S. Representative
i
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José María Velasco Ibarra
Dictator, World Leader / 1893 - 1979
José María Velasco Ibarra was a lawyer, a major political figure in Ecuador from the 1930s to the 1970s and five times president of Ecuador.
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(1893-1979)
Dictator, World Leader
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Hipólito Irigoyen
Activist, World Leader / 1852 - 1933
Known as "the father of the poor," Hipolito Irigoyen was Argentina's first president elected by its citizenry (1916).
See full bio
(1852-1933)
Activist, World Leader
j
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Benito Juárez
World Leader / 1806 - 1872
Benito Juárez was a national hero and president of Mexico, who, for three years (1864-'67), fought against foreign occupation under Maximilian.
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(1806-1872)
World Leader
k
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Kim Young-Sam
World Leader / 1927 -
South Korean politician Kim Young-Sam was a moderate opposition leader for 30 years, and was president of South Korea from 1993 to 1998.
See full bio
(1927-)
World Leader
m
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John D MacArthur
Entrepreneur / 1767 - 1834
John D. McArthur was an agriculturist and promoter who helped found the Australian wool industry, which became the world's largest.
See full bio
(1767-1834)
Entrepreneur
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Niccolò Machiavelli
Diplomat, Writer / 1469 - 1527
Italian diplomat Niccolò Machiavelli is best known for writing The Prince, a handbook for unscrupulous politicians that inspired the term "Machiavellian" and established its author as the "father of modern political theory."
See full bio
(1469-1527)
Diplomat, Writer
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Maximilian
Military Leader, Emperor / 1832 - 1867
Maximilian was the Archduke of Austria and the Emperor of Mexico from 1863-1867. He was executed in 1867 by President Benito Juárez's victorious forces.
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(1832-1867)
Military Leader, Emperor
n
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Imre Nagy
Prime Minister, Government Official / 1896 - 1958
Prime Minister of Hungary Imre Nagy withdrew Hungary from the Warsaw Pact and led Hungarians against the Soviets in the Hungarian Uprising of 1956.
See full bio
(1896-1958)
Prime Minister, Government Official
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Napoleon III
Military Leader, Emperor / 1808 - 1873
Napoleon III, the nephew of Napoleon I, was emperor of France from 1852 to 1870. His downfall came during the Franco-Prussian War, when his efforts to defeat Otto Von Bismarck ended in his capture.
See full bio
(1808-1873)
Military Leader, Emperor
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Alexei Nikolaevich
Duke, Prince, Tsar / 1904 - 1918
Alexei Nikolaevich was the only son of Nicholas II, the last tsar of Russia, and the tsarina Alexandra. He was killed with his family during the Russian Revolution.
See full bio
(1904-1918)
Duke, Prince, Tsar
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Kwame Nkrumah
World Leader, Prime Minister / 1909 - 1972
Kwame Nkrumah was a Ghanaian nationalist leader who led the Gold Coast's independence from Britain and presided over its emergence as the new nation of Ghana
See full bio
(1909-1972)
World Leader, Prime Minister
o
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Milton Obote
World Leader, Prime Minister / 1925 - 2005
Ugandan statesman, prime minister and president Apollo Milton Obote founded the Uganda People's Congress.
See full bio
(1925-2005)
World Leader, Prime Minister
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Otto
King / 1815 - 1867
Otto, the son of King Louis I of Bavaria, served as the first king of modern Greece, but a revolt in 1862 forced him to step down and return to Bavaria.
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(1815-1867)
King
p
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Juan Perón
Military Leader, World Leader / 1895 - 1974
Juan Perón was an army colonel who became president of Argentina (1946-52, 1952-55, 1973-74) and was the founder and leader of the Peronist movement.
See full bio
(1895-1974)
Military Leader, World Leader
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Peter
King / 1334 - 1369
Peter the Cruel was the Spanish king of Castile and León, son an successor of Alfonso XI, best known for his vicious characteristics as a ruler.
See full bio
(1334-1369)
King
s
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Haile Selassie I
Emperor / 1892 - 1975
Emperor Haile Selassie I worked to modernize Ethiopia for several decades before famine and political opposition forced him from office in 1974.
See full bio
(1892-1975)
Emperor
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King Mohammed Zahir Shah
King / 1914 - 2007
King Mohammed Zahir Shah was king of Afghanistan from 1933 to 1973, during which time he provided an era of stable government to his country.
See full bio
(1914-2007)
King
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Ariel Sharon
Military Leader, Prime Minister / 1928 -
Ariel Sharon is an Israeli statesman and retired general, who served as Israel's 11th prime minister.
See full bio
(1928-)
Military Leader, Prime Minister
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Shekhar, Chandra
Prime Minister / 1927 - 2007
Chandra Shekhar Singh was a politician and legislator who served as Prime Minister of India from 1990-1991.
See full bio
(1927-2007)
Prime Minister
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Julius Streicher
Political Leader, Editor / 1885 - 1946
Julius Streicher was a Nazi demagogue and politician who gained infamy as one of the most virulent advocates of the persecution of Jews during the 1930s.
See full bio
(1885-1946)
Political Leader, Editor
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Sukarno
World Leader / 1901 - 1970
Sukarno is best known as the first president of the Republic of Indonesia.
See full bio
(1901-1970)
World Leader
t
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Taksin
Military Leader, King / 1734 - 1782
Taksin was an 18th century Thai general and king.
See full bio
(1734-1782)
Military Leader, King
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Leon Trotsky
Activist, Political Leader / 1879 - 1940
Communist Leon Trotsky helped ignite the Russian Revolution of 1917, and built the Red Army afterward. He was exiled and later assassinated by Soviet agents.
See full bio
(1879-1940)
Activist, Political Leader
v
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Getúlio Vargas
World Leader / 1882 - 1954
Controversial Brazilian president Getúlio Vargas seized power after leading a revolution in 1938.
See full bio
(1882-1954)
World Leader
y
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Lee Kuan Yew
Lawyer, Prime Minister / 1923 -
Lee Kuan Yew was the prime minster of Singapore from 1959 to 1990, making him the longest-serving PM in history. During his long rule, Singapore became the most prosperous nation in Southeast Asia.
See full bio
(1923-)
Lawyer, Prime Minister
z
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Zhao Ziyang
Political Leader / 1919 - 2005
Zhao Ziyang was a Chinese politician and prime minister best known for introducing radical and successful market-oriented rural reforms during his service.
See full bio
(1919-2005)
Political Leader