1.

Anne Frank Biography

Anne Frank (1929-45) was a young Jewish girl who perished in the Holocaust. During the
Second World War her family were forced to hide from the Gestapo, and in the cramped
conditions, she kept a diary of her experiences and thoughts. After the war, her father Otto
Frank discovered her diary and, struck by her maturity and depth of feeling, published it –
originally under the title ‘Diary of A Young Girl ‘– later as “Diary of Anne Frank”. Anne
Frank’s diary has become one of the most famous records of the Holocaust and has helped
to give a human story behind the dreadful Holocaust statistics.

“It’s difficult in times like these; ideals, dreams and cherished hopes rise within us, only to
be crushed by grim reality. It’s a wonder I haven’t abandoned all my ideals, they seem so
absurd and impractical. Yet I cling to them because I believe, in spite of everything, that
people are truly good at heart.”

– Anne Frank 21 July 1944

Anne Frank was born on 12 June 1929 in Frankfurt, Germany, In 1933 (the same year as
the Nazi’s rise to power) her family moved to Holland, where her father ran a successful
business.

However, after the fall of Holland to the Nazi’s in 1940, the Jewish population
experienced ever increasingly repressive measures.

“After May 1940…the trouble started for the Jews. Our freedom was severely restricted
by a series of anti-Jewish decrees: Jews were required to wear a yellow star; Jews were
required to turn-in their bicycles; Jews were forbidden to ride trams or in cars, even their
own…Jews were forbidden to go to theatres, cinemas or any other forms of entertainment;
Jews were forbidden to use swimming pools, tennis courts, hockey fields or any other
athletic fields…You couldn’t do this and you couldn’t do that, but life went on…”

– Anne Frank 20 June 1942

Finally, to escape arrest, Otto Frank took his family into forced hiding, behind one of his
business premises in the heart of Amsterdam. Her family were later joined by the Van
Peels family who were also trying to avoid arrest.

Anne’s diary tells of the difficulties of living in a confined space with so many people.
The atmosphere was at times suffocating, but despite the hardships and challenges of her
situation, she also expressed her optimism and positive view of life and natural joie de
vivre.

“I long to ride a bike, dance, whistle, look at the world, feel young and know that I’m free,
and yet I can’t let it show. Just imagine what would happen if all eight of us were to feel
sorry for ourselves or walk around with the discontent clearly visible on our faces. Where
would that get us?” (December 24, 1943) – Anne Frank

Unfortunately, on August 4th, 1944 (with the Allies closing in on a retreating Germany
army), an anonymous source gave a tip off to the German secret police. The families were
arrested and sent on the last convoy train to Auschwitz. After surviving the selection
process (most people under 15 were sent straight to the gas chambers), Anne was selected
to be sent to Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. It was here that Anne contracted typhoid
fever and she died in March 1945, just one month before the camp was liberated by the
advancing Allied armies.

Except for her father Otto, all her family died in various concentration camps. After the
war, Otto returned to the place where they had hidden for two years. It was here that he
found Anne’s diary and he decided to try and get it published.

Her diary was published in 1947 and, following a glowing article by Jan Romein in the
newspaper Het Parool, became a best seller with people fascinated by her writing and
what she managed to convey in the most difficult of situations.

Her book has become an important symbol of how innocent people can suffer from
intolerance and persecution.
2. Biography Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa (1910–1997) was a Roman Catholic nun who devoted her life to serving
the poor and destitute around the world. She spent many years in Calcutta, India where she
founded the Missionaries of Charity, a religious congregation devoted to helping those in
great need. In 1979, Mother Teresa was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize and became a
symbol of charitable, selfless work. In 2016, Mother Teresa was canonised by the Roman
Catholic Church as Saint Teresa.

“It is not how much we do,

but how much love we put in the doing.
It is not how much we give,
but how much love we put in the giving.”

– Mother Teresa

Short Biography of Mother Teresa

Mother Teresa was born in 1910 in Skopje, the capital of the Republic of Macedonia.
Little is known about her early life, but at a young age, she felt a calling to be a nun and
serve through helping the poor. At the age of 18, she was given permission to join a group
of nuns in Ireland. After a few months of training, with the Sisters of Loreto, she was then
given permission to travel to India. She took her formal religious vows in 1931 and chose
to be named after St Therese of Lisieux – the patron saint of missionaries.

On her arrival in India, she began by working as a teacher; however, the widespread
poverty of Calcutta made a deep impression on her, and this led to her starting a new order
called “The Missionaries of Charity”. The primary objective of this mission was to look
after people, who nobody else was prepared to look after. Mother Teresa felt that serving
others was a fundamental principle of the teachings of Jesus Christ. She often mentioned
the saying of Jesus,

“Whatever you do to the least of my brethren, you do it to me.”

As Mother Teresa said herself:

“Love cannot remain by itself – it has no meaning. Love has to be put into action, and that
action is service.” – Mother Teresa

She experienced two particularly traumatic periods in Calcutta. The first was the Bengal
famine of 1943 and the second was the Hindu/Muslim violence in 1946, before the
partition of India. In 1948, she left the convent to live full-time among the poorest of
Calcutta. She chose to wear a white Indian sari, with a blue border, out of respect for the
traditional Indian dress. For many years, Mother Teresa and a small band of fellow nuns
survived on minimal income and food, often having to beg for funds. But, slowly her
efforts with the poorest were noted and appreciated by the local community and Indian
politicians.

In 1952, she opened her first home for the dying, which allowed people to die with
dignity. Mother Teresa often spent time with those who were dying. Some have criticized
the lack of proper medical attention, and their refusal to give painkillers. Others say that it
afforded many neglected people the opportunity to die knowing that someone cared.

Her work spread around the world. By 2013, there were 700 missions operating in over
130 countries. The scope of their work also expanded to include orphanages and hospices
for those with terminal illnesses.

“Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.”

—- Mother Teresa

Mother Teresa never sought to convert those of another faith. Those in her hospices were
given the religious rites appropriate to their faith. However, she had a very firm Catholic
faith and took a strict line on abortion, the death penalty and divorce – even if her position
was unpopular. Her whole life was influenced by her faith and religion, even though at
times she confessed she didn’t feel the presence of God.
The Missionaries of Charity now has branches throughout the world including branches in
the developed world where they work with the homeless and people affected by AIDS. In
1965, the organization became an International Religious Family by a decree of Pope Paul
VI.

In the 1960s, the life of Mother Teresa was brought to a wider public attention by
Malcolm Muggeridge who wrote a book and produced a documentary called “Something
Beautiful for God”.

In 1979, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize “for work undertaken in the struggle to
overcome poverty and distress, which also constitutes a threat to peace.” She didn’t attend
the ceremonial banquet but asked that the $192,000 fund be given to the poor.

In later years, she was more active in western developed countries. She commented that
though the West was materially prosperous, there was often a spiritual poverty.

“The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for bread.”

-— Mother Teresa

When she was asked how to promote world peace, she replied, “Go home and love your
family”.

Over the last two decades of her life, Mother Teresa suffered various health problems, but
nothing could dissuade her from fulfilling her mission of serving the poor and needy. Until
her very last illness she was active in travelling around the world to the different branches
of The Missionaries of Charity. During her last few years, she met Princess Diana in the
Bronx, New York. The two died within a week of each other.

Following Mother Teresa’s death, the Vatican began the process of beatification, which is
the second step on the way to canonization and sainthood. Mother Teresa was formally
beatified in October 2003 by Pope John Paul II. In September 2015, Pope Francis
declared:
 “Mother Teresa, in all aspects of her life, was a generous dispenser of divine mercy,
making herself available for everyone through her welcome and defense of human life,
those unborn and those abandoned and discarded,”
“She bowed down before those who were spent, left to die on the side of the road, seeing
in them their God-given dignity. She made her voice heard before the powers of this
world, so that they might recognize their guilt for the crime of poverty they created.”

Mother Teresa was a living saint who offered a great example and inspiration to the world.

Awards given to Mother Teresa

 The first Pope John XXIII Peace Prize. (1971)

 Kennedy Prize (1971)
 The Nehru Prize – “for promotion of international peace and understanding” (1972)
 Albert Schweitzer International Prize (1975),
 The Nobel Peace Prize (1979)
 States Presidential Medal of Freedom (1985)
 Congressional Gold Medal (1994)
 U Thant Peace Award 1994
 Honorary citizenship of the United States (November 16, 1996),

3. Marie Curie Biography

Marie Curie (1867 – 1934) was a Polish scientist who won a Nobel prize in both
Chemistry and Physics. She made ground-breaking work in the field of Radioactivity,
enabling radioactive isotypes to be isolated for the first time. During the First World
War, Curie developed the practical use of X-Rays; she also discovered two new
elements, polonium and radium. Her pioneering scientific work was made more
remarkable because of the discrimination which existed against women in science at
the time. She was the first female professor at the University of Paris and broke down
many barriers for women in science.
“Humanity needs practical men, who get the most out of their work, and, without
forgetting the general good, safeguard their own interests. But humanity also needs
dreamers, for whom the disinterested development of an enterprise is so captivating
that it becomes impossible for them to devote their care to their own material profit.”

– Marie Curie

Short Bio Marie Curie

Marya Sklodowska was born on 7 November 1867, Warsaw Poland. She was the
youngest of five children and was brought up in a poor but well-educated family.
Marya excelled in her studies and won many prizes. At an early age she became
committed to the ideal of Polish independence from Russia – who at the time were
ruling Poland with an iron fist, and in particular making life difficult for intellectuals.
She yearned to be able to teach fellow Polish woman who were mostly condemned to
zero education.

Unusually for women at that time, Marya took an interest in Chemistry and Biology.
Since opportunities in Poland for further study was limited, Marya went to Paris,
where after working as a governess she was able to study at the Sorbonne, Paris.
Struggling to learn in French, Marya threw herself into her studies, leading an ascetic
life dedicated to education and improving her scientific knowledge. She went on to get
a degree in Physics and finished top in her school. She later got a degree in Maths,
finishing second in her school year. Curie had a remarkable willingness for hard work.

“Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and
above all confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something,
and that this thing, at whatever cost, must be attained.”

Pierre and Marie Currie

It was in Paris that she met Pierre Curie, who was then chief of the laboratory at the
school of Physics and Chemistry. He was a renowned Chemist, who had conducted
many experiments on crystals and electronics. Pierre was smitten with the young
Marya and asked her to marry him. Marya initially refused but, after persistence from
Pierre, she relented. Until Pierre’s untimely death in 1906, the two become inseparable.
In addition to co-operation on work, they spent much leisure time bicycling and
travelling around Europe together.

Marie Curie work on Radioactivity

Marie pursued studies in radioactivity. In 1898, this led to the discovery of two new
elements. One of which she named polonium after her home country.

There then followed four years of extensive study into the properties of radium. Using
dumped uranium tailings from a nearby mine, very slowly, and with painstaking effort,
they were able to extract a decigram of radium.

Radium was discovered to have remarkable impacts. In testing the product, Marie
suffered burns from the rays. It was from this discovery of radium and its properties
that the science of radiation was able to develop. It was found that radium had the
power to burn away diseased cells in the body. Initially, this early form of radiotherapy
was called ‘curietherapy.

The Curries agreed to give away their secret freely; they did not wish to patent such a
valuable element. The element was soon in high demand, and it began industrial scale
production.

For their discovery, they were awarded the Davy Medal (Britain) and the Nobel Prize
in Physics in 1903. Marie Curie was the first woman to be awarded a Nobel Prize.

In 1906, Pierre was killed in a road accident, leaving Marie to look after the laboratory
and her two children. Her two children were Irène Joliot-Curie (1897–1956) and Ève
Curie (1904–2007). Irene won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1935, jointly with her
husband.

In 1911, she was awarded a second Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the discovery of
actinium and further studies on radium and polonium.

The success of Marie Curie also brought considerable hostility, criticism and suspicion
from a male dominated science world. She suffered from the malicious rumors and
accusations that were spread amongst jealous colleagues.
The onset of World War I in 1914, led to Marie Curie dedicating her time to the
installation of X-ray machines in hospitals. Marie understood that X-ray machines
would be able to locate shrapnel, enabling better treatment for soldiers. By, the end of
the First World War, over a million soldiers had been examined by her X-ray units.

Marie Curie at International Conference. Einstein is second on the right.

At the end of the First World War, she returned to the Institute of Radium in Paris. She
also published a book – Radiology in War (1919) which encompassed her great ideas
on science. Curie was also proud to participate in the newly formed League of Nations,
through joining the International Commission for Intellectual Cooperation in August
1922.

“I believe international work is a heavy task, but that it is nevertheless indispensable to

go through an apprenticeship in it, at the cost of many efforts and also of a real spirit of
sacrifice: however, imperfect it may be, the work of Geneva has a grandeur that
deserves our support.”

Letter to Eve Curie (July 1929)

Marie Curie was known for her modest and frugal lifestyle. She asked any financial
prizes to be given to research bodies rather than herself. During the First World War,
she offered her Nobel Prizes to the French Treasury.
 Marie Curie died in 1934 from Cancer. It was an unfortunate side effect of her own
ground-breaking studies into radiation which were to help so many people.

Legacy

Marie Curie pushed back many frontiers in science, and at the same time set a new bar
for female academic and scientific achievement.

Her discovery of radium enabled Ernest Rutherford to investigate the structure of the
atom and it provided the framework for Radiotherapy for cancer.

Curie also played a leading role in redefining women’s role in society and science.

4. Helen Keller Biography

Helen Keller (1880-1968) was an American author, political activist and campaigner for
deaf and blind charities. Helen became deaf and blind as a young child and had to
struggle to overcome her dual disability. However, she became the first deaf-blind person
to attain a bachelor’s degree and became an influential campaigner for social, political
and disability issues. Her public profile helped de-stigmatize blindness and deafness, and
she was seen as a powerful example of someone overcoming difficult circumstances.

“Once I knew the depth where no hope was, and darkness lay on the face of all things.
Then love came and set my soul free. Once I knew only darkness and stillness. Now I
know hope and joy.”

– Helen Keller, On Optimism (1903)

Short Biography of Helen Keller

Helen Keller was born 27 June 1880 in Tusculum, Alabama. When she was only 19
months old, she experienced a severe childhood illness, which left her deaf and blind (only
a very partial sight). For the first few years of her life, she was only able to communicate
with her family through a rudimentary number of signs; she had a little more success
communicating with the six-year-old daughter of the family cook. However, unable to
communicate properly, she was considered to be badly behaved; for example, eating from
the plates of anyone on the table with her fingers.

In 1886, Helen was sent to see an eye, ear and nose specialist in Baltimore. He put them in
touch with Alexander Graham Bell, who was currently investigate issues of deafness and
sound (he would also develop the first telephone) Bell was moved by the experience of
working with Keller, writing that:

“I feel that in this child I have seen more of the Divine than has been manifest in anyone I
ever met before.”

Alexander Bell helped Keller to visit the Perkins Institute for the Blind, and this led to a
long relationship with Anne Sullivan – who was a former student herself. Sullivan was
visually impaired and, aged only 20, and with no prior experience, she set about teaching
Helen how to communicate. The two maintained a long relationship of 49 years.

Learning to Communicate

In the beginning, Keller was frustrated by her inability to pick up the hand signals that
Sullivan was giving. However, after a frustrating month, Keller picked up on Sullivan’s
system of hand signals through understanding the word water. Sullivan poured water over
Keller’s left hand and wrote out on her right hand the word ‘water’. This helped Helen to
fully understand the system, and she was soon able to identify a variety of household
objects.

“The most important day I remember in all my life is the one on which my teacher, Anne
Mansfield Sullivan, came to me. I am filled with wonder when I consider the
immeasurable contrasts between the two lives which it connects. It was the third of March,
1887, three months before I was seven years old.”
– Helen Keller, The Story of My Life, 1903, Ch. 4

Keller made rapid progress and quickly overcame her bad habits. She became proficient in
Braille and was able to begin a fruitful education, despite her disability. Keller made more
progress than anyone expected. She would later learn to write with a Braille typewriter.

Keller came into contact with American author, Mark Twain. Twain admired the
perseverance of Keller and helped persuade Henry Rogers, an oil businessman to fund her
education. With great difficulty, Keller was able to study at Radcliffe College, where in
1904, she was able to graduate with a Bachelor of Arts degree. During her education, she
also learned to speak and practise lip-reading. Her sense of touch became extremely
subtle. She also found that deafness and blindness encouraged her to develop wisdom and
understanding from beyond the senses.

“We differ, blind and seeing, one from another, not in our senses, but in the use we make
of them, in the imagination and courage with which we seek wisdom beyond the senses.”

― Helen Keller, The Five-sensed World (1910)

Keller became a proficient writer and speaker. In 1903, she published an autobiography
‘The Story of My Life ‘It recounted her struggles to overcome her disabilities and the way
it forced her to look at life from a different perspective.

“When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the
closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us.”

― Helen Keller

Political Views

Keller also wrote on political issues, Keller was a staunch supporter of the American
Socialist party and joined the party in 1909. She wished to see a fairer distribution of
income, and an end to the inequality of Capitalist society. She said she became a more
convinced socialist after the 1912 miners’ strike. Her book ‘Out of the Dark ‘(1913)
includes several essays on socialism. She supported Eugene V Debs, in each of the
Presidential elections he stood for. In 1912, she joined the Industrial Workers of the World
(IWW); as well as advocating socialism, Keller was a pacifist and opposed the American
involvement in World War One.

Religious Views

In religious matters, she advocated the teachings of Emanuel Swedenborg, a Christian

theologian who advocated a particular spiritual interpretation of the Bible. She published
‘My Religion ‘in 1927.

Charity Work

From 1918, she devoted much of her time to raising funds and awareness for blind
charities. She sought to raise money and also improve the living conditions of the blind,
who at the time were often badly educated and living in asylums. Her public profile
helped to de-stigmatize blindness and deafness. She was also noted for her optimism
which she sought to cultivate.

“If I am happy in spite of my deprivations, if my happiness is so deep that it is a faith, so

thoughtful that it becomes a philosophy of life, — if, in short, I am an optimist, my
testimony to the creed of optimism is worth hearing.”

― Helen Keller, Optimism (1903)

Towards the end of her life, she suffered a stroke, and she died in her sleep on June 1,
1968. She was given numerous awards during her life, including the Presidential Medal of
Freedom in 1964, by Lyndon B. Johnson.

5. Short Biography of Oprah Winfrey

Oprah Winfrey (1954 –) Influential talk show host, author, philanthropist, actress and
media personality. Oprah Winfrey has played a key role in modern American life, shaping
cultural trends and promoting various liberal causes. Through her talk shows and books,
she has focused on many issues facing American women. She has been an important role
model for black American women, breaking down many invisible barriers.

“The biggest adventure you can ever take is to live the life of your dreams.”
– Oprah Winfrey

Oprah Winfrey was born in Kosciusko, Mississippi. Her parents were unmarried and
separated soon after conception. Oprah had a difficult childhood. She lived in great
poverty and often had to dress in potato sacks for which she was mocked at school. She
was also sexually abused at an early age.

“Turn your wounds into wisdom.”

– Oprah Winfrey

From the age of 14, she went to live with her father. Oprah says he was strict, but she was
in the mood to be disobedient during her teenage years. After working her way through
college, she became interested in journalism and media and got her first job as a news
anchor for a local TV station.

Her emotional style did not go down well for a news programmed, so she was transferred
to an ailing daytime chat programmed. After Oprah had taken over, the daily chat show
took off, and this later led to her own programmed – The Oprah Winfrey Show.

The Oprah Winfrey show has proved to be one of the most successful and highly watched
TV show of all time. It has broken many social and cultural barriers such as gay and
lesbian issues. Oprah has also remained a powerful role model for women and black
American women in particular. She is credited with promoting an intimate confessional
form of media communication, which has been imitated across the globe.

In recent years, the Oprah Winfrey show has focused on issues of self-improvement,
spirituality and self-help. Diet has also been a big issue with Oprah once successfully
losing a lot of weight. Her subsequent diet book sold millions of copies.

Oprah Winfrey has promoted many spiritual books, which have focused on the aspect of
taking responsibility for your life – not changing your circumstances, but changing the
way you look at your life.

“What I learned at a very early age was that I was responsible for my life. And as I
became more spiritually conscious, I learned that we all are responsible for ourselves, that
you create your own reality by the way you think and therefore act. You cannot blame
apartheid, your parents, your circumstances, because you are not your circumstances. You
are your possibilities. If you know that, you can do anything.”

– O Magazine (January 2007), pages 160 & 217

Oprah Wealth

Her range of media enterprises have made Oprah one of the richest self-made women. The
Forbes’ international rich list has listed Winfrey as the world’s only black billionaire from
2004 to 2006 and as the first black woman billionaire in world history. In 2014 Winfrey
has a net worth of more than 2.9 billion dollars.

Book Club

The Oprah Winfrey book club has become the most influential book clubs in the world. A
recommendation from Oprah Winfrey frequently sends books to the top of the best-seller
lists. Many commentators agree that Oprah Winfrey exerts enormous influence. Some
estimated her support for Barack Obama helped him gain one million votes in the 2008
election.

As Vanity Fair said of Oprah Winfrey:

“Oprah Winfrey arguably has more influence on the culture than any university president,
politician, or religious leader, except perhaps the Pope”

Acting career

Oprah Winfrey was also nominated for an Oscar in the film – A Color Purple. Produced
by Steven Spielberg, the epic Color Purple told of segregation in America’s deep south.
Oprah was widely admired for her role as Sofia.

Support for Obama

From 2006 to 2008, she lent her support to the Presidential campaign of Barack Obama.
Her influence and personal following played a key role in helping Obama to become the
first African-American to become president.

In 2013, Oprah gained a unique interview with the professional cyclist, Lance Armstrong.
It was on Oprah that Armstrong finally made a dramatic confession that he had used
performance-enhancing drugs during his cycling career.