Who is Who

[gracemini]

White, Patrick Victor Martin Sale (1912-90): Novelist, the first Australian to win a Noble Prize for literature (1973). The Tree Of Man, The Eye of the Storm.

Whitefield, George (1714-70): Founder of the Calvinistic Methodist Church in England.

Whitman, Walt (1819-’92): American poet. Leaves of Grass, Drum Taps. Known for his elegies to Abraham Lincoln, (“O Captain! My Captain!”)

Whitney, Eli (1765-1825): American manufacturer, invented cotton gin.

Wiesel, Elie (b.1928): Romanian-US novelist. Works reflect his experiences as a survivor of the Holocaust. Nobel Peace Prize, 1986. Night, A Beggar in Jerusalem, The Forgotten.

Wilde, Oscar (1854-1900): Irish author and dramatist, remembered for his flamboyant style and caustic wit. A Woman of No Importance, The Picture of Dorian Gray, The Importance of Being Earnest.

Wilhelmina (1880-1962): Queen of the Netherlands form 1890 until she abdicated in favour of her daughter Juliana in 1948.

Wilkinson, John (1728-1808): British industrialist who found many applications fro iron. Known as ‘the great Stafforeshire ironmaster’.

Williams, Venus (b.1980) and Serena (b.1981): Most successful tennis playing sisters (USA). In 1999 won both French and US Open doubles titles. Venus beat Serena to win Open 2001, and won Wimledon in 2005.

Wilson, Shiny (b.1965): Athlete, represented India in more than in 75 competitions, including four Olympic Games, First Indian woman athlete to enter semifinals in Olympics. Arjuna Award, Padma Shri.

[gracemini]

Wilson, Sir Harold (1916-’95): British statesman, PM (1964-’66)-7’0, 1974-’76.

Wilson, Woodrow (1856-1924): U.S president, 1913-’21.

Windsor, Duke of (Formerly Edward VIII) (1894-1972): English monarch who abdicated to marry the American divorcee Wallis Simpson.

Winfrey, Oprah (b.1954): American TV talkshow host. First woman to top the forbes magazine list of entertainment millionaires.

Wodehouse, Pelham Grenvile (1881-1975): English comic novelist; creator of the immortal butler, Jeeves.

Wolfowitz, Paul (b.1943): President of world bank.

Wolsey, Cardinal Thomas (1975-1530): Cardinal and Lord Chancellor of England. In virtual control of all state businessman his ambitions led to his doom. Failing to get king Henry VIII a divorce from Catherine of Aragon, he was charges with high treason.

Wonder, Stevie (b.1950): American singer A precocious child, despite being blind from birth. First album at age 12. Talking Book, Hotter than July.

Woods, Tiger (b.1975): Golfer, youngest ever to win the sport’s career Grand Slam (all 4 majors), at age 24, when he won the British Open, 2000.


Woolf Virginia (1882-1941): English writer who developed the stream of consciousness technique, To the Lighthouse, Mrs. Dalloway, The Waves, Orlando.

[gracemini]

Wordsworth, William (1770-1850): English Romantic poet, interpreter of nature I her many moods. Poet Laureate, 1843. The Prelude, Sonnets.

Wouke, Herman (b.1915): US novelist. The Caine Mutiny. Pulitzer prize.

Woulfe, Peter (1727-1803): British chemist after whom glass laboratory bottle with two or more necks is known.

Wright, Frank Lloyd (1869-1959): American architect who gained fame for building the imperial Hotel in Tokyo that withstood the 1923 earthquake.

Wright, Orville (1871-1948) and his brother Wilbur (1867-1912): American inventors and pioneers in aviation. The two brothers were the first men to design and fly powered, man-carrying airplane.

Xerxes (c.519-465 B.C): King of Persia 485 to 465 B.C; a great commander; assassinated.

Xiaoping, Deng (1904-’97)L Chinese politician rehabilitated in 1977. The country’s senior leader until death.

Yadav, Santosh (b.1969): AN Indo Tibetan border police officer, the only woman in the world to have climbed the peak twice (’92.’93).

Yashpal, Prof. (b.1926): Scientist, UGC chairman, missionary of scientific thinking. His TV show ‘Turning Point’ was very popular.

Yeats, William Butter (1865-1939): Irish Lyric poet and playwright. The Hour Glass, Deidre, The Second Coming.

Yelsin, Boris (1931-2000): President of Russia (1991-99). The first leader of Russia eve to be hosen by popular vote. Presided over the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

[gracemini]

Yew, Lee Kuan (b.1923): Singaporean statesman. Became the first PM of Singapore in 1959 and held the post for 31 years, Dominated the affairs of the region for three decades.

Young, Thomas (1773-1829): English physicist who uncovered some of the mysteries of light and color. He spoke nine languages, including Latin, by the age of 16.

Yunus, Mohammed (b.1940): Bangladesh’s micro credit leader. Among the 30 all time top entrepreneurs identified by ‘Business Week’. Nobel Prize.

Zedong, Mao (1893-1976): Architect of the Chinese revolution and founder of the people’s republic of China. Experiments: ;’Communes’, the ‘great leap forward’ and the ‘cultural revolution’ (’65-’69).

Zeppelin, Ferdinand (1838-1917): German inventor who built the first rigid frame motor-driven airship (1900); subsequent models named after him.

Zhou En-lai (1898-1976): Chinese revolutionary statesman. Formed close partnership with Mao Zedong. Prime minister of the new China in 1949.

Zidane, Zinedine (b.1972): One of the greatest footballers of his generation. French captain. With a transfer fee of $66m. in 2001, most expensive football player in history. In 2006 world cup, he won the Golden Ball. Retired in 2006.

Zola, Emile (1840-1902): French novelist. L’Assommoir, Nana, Germinal.

Zoroaster (Zarathustra) (6th cent B.C): Persian founder of the Parsee religion. He was a monotheist, and saw the world as a struggle between good and evil.

Zwingli, Ulrich (1484-1531): Swiss religious (Protestant) reformer.

Zworykin, Vladimir (1889-1982): Russian inventor of the iconoscope, first electronic-scanning television camera.