prettyphrases

(Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill; Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire, 1874 – London, 1965) British politician especially remembered for his tenure as Prime Minister (1940-45) during World War II: with his “blood, sweat and tears” motto, managed to raise the morale of the troops and the civilian population and sustain the nation until the allied victory. Throughout … Read more

Despite the efforts of his biographers, a background of legend is still hovering over the figure of Walt Disney (1901-1966). A repeated rumor assures that Disney was a European emigrant, probably Spanish, who arrived in the United States and who, later, for fear of suspicion, falsified his origin. The circumstances of his death have also been mythologized: … Read more

(François-Marie Arouet; Paris, 1694 – 1778) French writer. Dominant intellectual figure of his century and one of the main thinkers of the Enlightenment, he left a heterogeneous and uneven literary work, of which his stories and books of ideological controversy stand out. As a philosopher, Voltaire was a brilliant popularizer, and his secular and anticlerical creed guided … Read more

Vince Lombardi is one of the most special figures in the National Football League (NFL) , the most important American football league on the planet , which this year celebrates its 100th season . This man, the son of Italian immigrants born in Brooklyn, is remembered for having been a coach for the Green Bay … Read more

(Tupac Amaru Shakur; New York, 1971 -1996) American rapper, probably the most influential in the history of the genre. Murdered in his youth in circumstances that have not yet been clarified, his premature death cut short a rising career and helped elevate him to the category of rap legend. His parents, members of the Black Panthers … Read more

Third President of the United States of America (Shadwell, Virginia, 1743 – Monticello, Virginia, 1826). Thomas Jefferson belonged to the aristocracy of great landowners in the South, a position he had fulfilled by becoming a lawyer. His intellectual concerns brought him closer to the philosophy of the Enlightenment and liberal ideas, making him abandon religion. He became … Read more

(Athens, 470 BC – id., 399 BC) Greek philosopher. Despite the fact that he did not leave any written work and there are few ideas that can be safely attributed to him, Socrates is a leading figure of ancient thought, to the point of being called pre- Socratic philosophers before him. Breaking with the previous predominant orientations, his reflection … Read more

Muslim mystic poet from Persia, whose full name is Jalal al-Din Rumi. Although he was born in Balkh (Korasan), his life was linked to the city of Iconium (now Konya), in Turkey. It was there that he took the name of Rumi, replacing his original Mohamed, in honor of the sultan Alauddín —commonly called Rumi— who invited … Read more

(Kilton, Illinois, 1911 – Los Ángeles, 2004) Cuadragésimo presidente de los Estados Unidos de América (1981-1989). Tras una breve experiencia en la radio, fue actor profesional de cine, interviniendo en múltiples películas de Hollywood entre 1937 y 1964. Nunca llegó a ser una gran estrella, pero adquirió cierta notoriedad como presidente del sindicato de actores … Read more

(Boston, 1803-Concord, 1882) Poeta y filósofo estadounidense. Maestro por Harvard y pastor unitario (1829), renunció al sacerdocio en 1832, tras perder a su esposa, aunque conservó el espíritu de su secta, que negaba la Trinidad. En Europa conoció a Samuel Taylor Coleridge, William Wordsworth y Thomas Carlyle y se inició en el idealismo alemán. Bajo el influjo de Carlyle, defendió … Read more