Warren Buffett

A U.S.A. citizen born August 30, 1930 in Omaha Nebraska. Ranked fourth on Forbes 2013 list for world's top billionaires. He is a magnate investor who is the largest shareholder of the company Berkshire Hathaway.

Not only is he considered to be among the wealthiest people on the planet. He is also now recorded as among the world's biggest givers. In 2006 he made an announcement that he is going to give away his fortune to charity (estimated 62 billion dollars - biography.com), and has already been doing so in increments since that time. His generosity is the largest act of giving to charity in the United States ever.

Karl Marx

Karl Marx was a philosopher and economist who today is mostly known for being one of the main influencers of communism. His most widely known writing is The Communist Manifesto which he wrote with Friedrich Engels. Born May 5, 1818 and died March 14, 1883, he lived in a capitalist society which is what was his catalyst for creating the communist ideology as he did not like the principles of capitalism. A lot of his inspiration came from a man named Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel. Today much of his ideas are in the few communist countries left and all the socialist countries around the world.

To take a brief look at some of his main ideas. He believed that capitalism exploits the working class and thought that the citizens of a society should all be equal, or more specific given what they earn or what they need. With capitalism the people at the top own property and make large incomes which feed off the working classes labor while the ones at the bottom, the working class, work for their survival. This creates class struggle which to best summarize is what Karl Marx mainly opposed.

Nelson Mandela

 

Born July 18, 1918, oddly enough near the end of the first world war.

In 1944 he joined the African National Congress. An organization devoted to end apartheid in South Africa. This is the cause that he would dedicate his life to, creating equality among blacks and whites.

His greatest role model was Mohandas Gandhi mainly for his non violence approach to politics.

In 1964 he was sentenced to prison and was released in 1990. In 1993 he won the Nobel peace prize, and in 1994 he became the first democratically black elected president of South Africa, so his goals for his cause came to pass.

Jesus

 

To kick things off I felt it would be a good idea to start with a man who one can make a high argument for being the most influential person through all history. His name is Jesus. He lived through the time of the Roman Empire and is believed to be born between year 0 and 5 BC.

He's known as the Christ to Christians. Derived from the Greek word 'Christos' which is the equivalent to Moshiach (Hebrew), or Messiah (English). It is a title meaning the anointed one reserved for a descendent of Israel's King David prophesied of in Judaic texts, or for Christians The Old Testament.

I like this picture I chose of him because I feel it gives a fairer depiction of what he probably looked like. Given he spent most of his time outdoors and was a carpenter, it is probable he had somewhat of a tan and a build; contrary to common depictions of him appearing as a pale white and weak figure.

There is a great deal that can be said about Jesus, but I'd rather try and keep this short. I think what interests me most is how he made such a large influence on the future in such a short time span and without actually writing anything. From the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John the conclusion has been made that his ministry lasted 3 1/2 years, starting when he was 30 and ending when he was 33.

Introduction

To get things started up here I thought it would be a good idea to get a bit of ground work in order here. This is a blog about people. Peoples actions are responsible infrastructures, inventions, wars, and the list goes one. This study will give insight into history and several different fields of study. I believe it will spark interesting discussions and maybe even debates.

This is an open blog. To keep some order what I have in mind is each posting will feature a different person, and then discussions and comments can follow the postings as participants see fit. This is just a guideline, so breaking it isn't that big a deal (for example: posting a timeline, starting a discussion as a new thread, or something else appropriate that can't be done through a comment).

Feel free to use this thread to give any suggestions or input into the blog, or to post what you're interested in getting from the study.