7 facts about Fidel Castro

 1. As a schoolboy in 1940, Fidel Castro wrote a letter to President Franklin Roosevelt asking for a ten-dollar bill and offering to lead him to Cuban iron mines that could provide ore for use in American shipbuilding.

2. Fidel Castro holds the Guinness Book of Records title for the longest speech ever delivered at the United Nations: 4 hours and 29 minutes, on September 29, 1960. His longest speech on record in Cuba was 7 hours and 10 minutes in 1986 at the III Communist Party Congress in Havana.

3. Fidel Castro was the world's third longest-serving head of state, after Britain's Queen Elizabeth and the King of Thailand. He was not been seen in public since illness forced him to hand over day-to-day control of the country to his brother Raul Castro in July 2006.

4. Despite the CIA plots, a U.S.-backed exile invasion at the Bay of Pigs and four and a half decades of economic sanctions, Castro outlasted nine U.S. presidents, from Eisenhower to Clinton, and faced increased hostility under President George W. Bush, who tightened enforcement of financial sanctions and a travel ban.

5. Fidel Castro claims he survived 634 attempts on his life, mainly masterminded by the Central Intelligence Agency. They allegedly included poison pills, a toxic cigar, exploding mollusks, and a chemically-tainted diving suit as well as powder to make his beard fall out so as to undermine his popularity.

6. Fidel Castro, once a cigar-chomping guerrilla fighter, gave up cigars in 1985. Years later he summed up the harm of smoking tobacco by saying: "The best thing you can do with this box of cigars is to give them to your enemy."

7. One of Castro's pet projects was a cow called Ubre Blanca, or "White Udder", that produced prodigious quantities of milk and became a propaganda tool for Cuba's collectivized agriculture in the 1980s. Ubre Blanca is in the Guinness Book of Records for the highest milk yield by a cow in one day: 110 liters.

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Facts about Benito Mussolini

 1. Benito Mussolini was born in Dovia di Predappio, a small town in the province of Forlì in Emilia-Romagna in 1883

2. Benito Mussolini began using the title Il Duce by 1925

3. Mussolini was born in Dovia di Predappio, a small town in the province of Forlì in Emilia-Romagna

4. Benito Mussolini also created and held the supreme military rank of First Marshal of the Empire along with King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy

5. In 1902, Mussolini emigrated to Switzerland to work on his political horizons

6. Benito Mussolini was among the founders of Italian fascism, which included elements of nationalism, corporatism, national syndicalism, expansionism, social progress and anti-communism

7. He was also head of the all-powerful Fascist Party and the armed local fascist militia, the MVSN or "Blackshirts," who terrorised incipient resistances in the cities and provinces

8. In 1915, he had a son with Ida Dalser, a woman born in Sopramonte, a village near Trento

9. At various times after 1922, Benito Mussolini personally took over the ministries of the interior, foreign affairs, colonies, corporations, defense, and public works

10. Since 1927, and more even after 1929, Mussolini, with his anti-Communist doctrines, convinced many Catholics to actively support him

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Thomas Jefferson quotes

• When the people fear the government, there is tyranny. When the government fears the people, there is liberty.
• My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government.
• The glow of one warm thought is to me worth more than money.
• The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.
• Do you want to know who you are? Don't ask. Act! Action will delineate and define you.
• Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom.
• No freeman shall be debarred the use of arms.
• I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past.
• Never spend your money before you have earned it.
• Commerce with all nations, alliance with none, should be our motto.
• If God is just, I tremble for my country.

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Thomas Jefferson quotes. Great quotes by Thomas Jefferson. Thomas Jefferson quotations.

Otto von Bismarck quotes

Fools learn from experience. I prefer to learn from the experience of others.

People never lie so much as before an election, during a war, or after a hunt.

It is the destiny of the weak to be devoured by the strong.

When you want to fool the world, tell the truth.

Never believe anything in politics until it has been officially denied.

Laws are like sausages. It's better not to see them being made.

Hounds follow those who feed them.

The main thing is to make history not to write it.

Politics ruins the character.

Politics is the art of the next best.

Preventive war is like committing suicide for fear of death.


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Otto von Bismarck quotes. Famous quotes by Otto von Bismarck. Otto von Bismarck quotations.

Ho Chi Minh

   Ho Chi Minh (1890-1969), became president of North Vietnam in 1954. Ho gained popularity when his forces defeated the French rulers of Vietnam in 1954. In the 1950's and 1960's, Ho's Communist government sent supplies and troops to aid rebels in South Vietnam who were trying to overthrow the anti-Communist government there.
   Ho was born Nguyen Van Thanh in central Vietnam. He became a Communist in 1920, and helped found the French Communist Party. Near the end of World War II, Ho became head of a Vietnamese government that opposed France's rule. In 1946, fighting broke out between the French and Ho's troops, the Vietminh.
   After the Vietminh defeated the French in 1954, an international conference divided Vietnam into two nations. Ho then became president of North Vietnam.

Adolf Hitler quotes

1. If you win, you need not have to explain...If you lose, you should not be there to explain!
2. If you tell a big enough lie and tell it frequently enough, it will be believed.
3. Do not compare yourself to others. If you do so, you're insulting yourself.
4. The only preventative measure one can take is to live irregularly.
5. The art of reading consists in remembering the essentials and forgetting non essentials.
6. Who says I am not under the special protection of God?
7. I use emotion for the many and reserve reason for the few.
8. The victor will never be asked if he told the truth.
9. Reading is not an end to itself, but a means to an end.
10. I do not see why man should not be as cruel as nature.
11. Great liars are also great magicians.
12. What good fortune for governments that the people do not think.
13. The man who has no sense of history, is like a man who has no ears or eyes.
14. It is not truth that matters, but victory.

Who was Franco?

   Francisco Franco (1892-1975), generalissimo and head of the Span­ish state, was born in Galicia. Educated in the military academy of the Alcazar at Toledo, he served in Morocco so successfully in the 1920's that by the time he was 32 he was a general. From 1928 to 1931 he was director of the military academy at Saragossa, but the establishment of the republic in 1931 caused that institution to be abolished and Franco to be banished to the Balearic Islands. He was brought back to Spain in 1933, however, by a decisive election victory of the right, and by 1935 he was chief of staff. The following year, Franco, dissatisfied with the republic, organized Moroccan troops in a rebellion against it. His ultimate success, which came with the surrender of Madrid and Valencia in 1939, was largely due to assistance from Germany and Italy. He did not forget these friends during World War II, for he gave them all aid short of entering the war, including a divi­sión of "volunteers" (the Blue Divi­sion) to fight on the Soviet front. Not until 1945, when Germany had plainly lost the war, did Franco sever relations with Berlin. But the action came too late, and Franco was diplomatically isolated. By 1953, however, the world situation had forced the West to seek his help against Communism. In 1947 Spain was declared a kingdom. Franco was named chief of state for life, and the Cortes—or Spanish parliament—gave him the right to appoint his successor.

David Ben-Gurion

   The first prime minister of Is­rael was David Ben-Gurion (1886-1973). He was born in Plonsk, Russia (now in Poland), the son of Sheindal and Avigdor Green. As a child, he said, "One day I will be the leader of Israel."
   He went to Palestine in 1906 to work as a farm laborer. At that time, Palestine was part of the Turldsh Ottoman Empire. Young David Green wanted the country to be free. He helped organize a Jewish defense force. He became editor of a weekly Hebrew newspaper, signing his first article Ben-Gurion, which means "young lion."
   Ben-Gurion was forced to leave Palestine because he plotted to form a Jewish state. He sailed for the United States. Later, he helped form a Jewish Legion in Canada to fight for Palestine's freedom. After World War II, Ben-Gurion returned to Palestine to form a secret army. The United Nations in 1947 voted to divide Palestine into Jewish and Arab states. In 1948, at a meeting in a museum in Tel Aviv Ben-Gurion read a proclamation aloud. "The State of Israel is in existence," he said.
   Ben-Gurion headed the new government from 1949 to 1953 and again from 1955 until he retired in 1963. He was the minister of defense during the early battles with Arab armies.

Simon Bolívar

Simón Bolívar (1783-1830)

   One of South America's greatest statesmen and generals was Simón Bolívar. Called "The Liberator," he led the fight for independence from Spain.
Bolívar was born in Caracas, Venezuela, at a time when the American colonies to the north had just won independence from England. His family had lived in Vene­zuela for more than 200 years. Its first members arrived with Spanish settlers in the early 1500s. Bolívar's parents died when he was very young, and left him a large fortune. He was able to travel widely in the United States and Europe. In these places, young Simón saw how revolutions were bringing new freedom.
   When he was 28, Bolívar joined the fight for the freedom of Vene­zuela and all of South America. After a long struggle, he and his troops defeated the Spaniards in 1819, at the Battle of Boyaca (in Colombia). He became President of Colombia, and wrote a constitution for the new country of Bolivia, which was named after him.
   Because he helped win indepen­dence for Bolivia, Colombia, Ecua­dor, Peru, and Venezuela, Bolívar became President of all these countries. He dreamed of a union for all new South American countries, but the dream never came true. He died a saddened and poor man at the age of 47.

Frederick the Great

   Frederick William I had a real worry as he nearer the end of his life. His son had little interest in either military life or government service. Instead, he spent his time writing poetry, playing the flute, and reading philosophy. The king used the harshest methods, even imprisonment to force his heir to be more nearly the son he desired.
As it turned out, Frederick William's son proved to be an even stronger ruler than his father. He turned out to be one of Prussia's great­est military and political leaders and is known Frederick the Great.
   Frederick William's son took the throne of Prussia as Frederick II in 1740, the same year in which Maria Theresa became ruler of Austria. He was a skilled administrator, who instituted social reforms and began work on a Prussian law code. Like his grandfather, he admired French culture He also wrote several books, including a history of Brandenburg and a book on the duties of rulers.

Otto von Bismarck

   The man who gathered many small kingdoms into modern, powerful Germany was Otto von Bismarck (1815-1898). He was born in Prussia, now northern Germany. Bismarck studied law at the universities of Gottingen and Berlin. After serving in the Prussian legislature for 11 years, he became ambassador, first to Russia, then to France.
   In 1862, he became prime minister of Prussia. Prussia was then one of 39 weak German states. Bismarck wanted to unite all the states into one strong nation. He organized 22 states into the North German Confederation, in 1867, with Prussia as leader.
   To unite the rest of Germany, Bismarck steered Prussia into three wars. First, Prussia fought with Austria against Denmark. Then Prussia turned against and defeated Austria. Prussia's war with France, from 1870 to 1871, established the German Empire. The German states not in the confederation helped Prussia win, then found themselves part of the empire.
   Wilhelm I became emperor. But Bismarck became chancellor (chief minister of state) and had all the power. He ruled for 19 years, and was called the "iron chancellor," because he allowed no one to disagree with him, and because he said that only "iron and blood' could unite Germany. In 1888, Wilhelm II be­came emperor. He was jealous of Bismarck's power, which he wanted for himself. So he forced Bismarck to retire in 1890.

7 facts about Winston Churchill

1. Churchill painted more than 570 paintings, but only a few major shows were held in his own lifetime.
2. Winston Churchill was born in a ladies’ room during a dance.
3. During the Boer War (1899-1902) Churchill was captured and escaped. The Boers put a bounty of only 25 pounds on his head.
4. Churchill wrote 3 books, saw 4 wars on 4 continents and was elected to the House of Commons - all by the age of 26!
5. Winston Churchill was a large collector of toy soldiers.
6. In 1953 Churchill won the Nobel Prize for Literature.
7. Time Magazine named Winston Churchill “man of the year” in 1940 and 1946.

15 interesting facts about Adolf Hitler

1. Hitler was the founder and leader of Nazi Party, Reich Chancellor and guiding spirit of the Third Reich (from 1933 to 1945), Head of State and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces.
2. Adolf Hitler, one of the most notorious figures in history, ruled Germany for 13 years.
3. One of the most infamous persons in the world history, Adolf Hitler ruled Germany for 13 years, from 1933 to 1945.
4. His half brother Alois Hitler owned a bar in Germany that was frequented by prominent Nazi officials. However, Alois never shared his opinion on Adolf, as he was scared that the latter would withdraw his liquor license.
5. He was born on 20th April 1889, in Brannau, a town in Austria. He was the fourth child of Klara Hitler and Alois Schickelgruber.
6. He was voted as ‘Man of the Year’ by Times Magazine in 1938.
7. Hitler married his long-time mistress Eva Braun during the final days of World War II. The two committed suicide less than two days later.
8. In less than three years of his reign, he occupied most of Europe and large parts of Africa, East and Southeast Asia and the Pacific Ocean.