Baytown Bert's Look at History

December 7, 1941

2010-12-07T06:04:00.000-06:00

President Franklin D. Roosevelt: Yesterday, December 7, 1941—a date which will live in infamy—the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.

The United States was at peace with that nation, and, at the solicitation of Japan, was still in conversation with its government and its emperor looking toward the maintenance of peace in the Pacific. Indeed, one hour after Japanese air squadrons had commenced bombing in the American island of Oahu, the Japanese ambassador to the United States and his colleague delivered to our secretary of state a formal reply to a recent American message. While this reply stated that it seemed useless to continue the existing diplomatic negotiations, it contained no threat or hint of war or armed attack.

It will be recorded that the distance of Hawaii from Japan makes it obvious that the attack was deliberately planned many days or even weeks ago. During the intervening time the Japanese government has deliberately sought to deceive the United States by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace.

The attack yesterday on the Hawaiian Islands has caused severe damage to American naval and military forces. I regret to tell you that very many American lives have been lost. In addition, American ships have been reported torpedoed on the high seas between San Francisco and Honolulu.

Yesterday the Japanese government also launched as attack against Malaya.

Last night Japanese forces attacked Hong Kong.

Last night Japanese forces attacked Guam.

Last night Japanese forces attacked the Philippine Islands.

Last night Japanese forces attacked Wake Island.

And this morning the Japanese attacked Midway Island.

Japan has, therefore, undertaken a surprise offensive extending throughout the Pacific area. The facts of yesterday and today speak for themselves. The people of the United States have already formed their opinions and well understand the implications to the very life and safety of our nation.

As commander in chief of the Army and Navy I have directed that all measures be taken for our defense. But always will our whole nation remember the character of the onslaught against us. . .

Source: Courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library, Hyde Park, New York.

Historical Figures Quiz 16

2008-11-23T06:49:00.006-06:00

This is the sixteenth in a series of six famous people who affected history in a significant way. I polled people from all walks of American life, ethnicity, education, age groups and work experience. I showed passerbys the photos, minus the names at the bottom and asked them all the same question: "Who are these people"?

1. Karl Rove:
Don't know - 26
Correct - 9
Jerry Falwell - 1

2. Bill O'Reilly:
Don't know - 16
Correct - 19
Ted Poe - 1

3. Dick Cheney:
Don't know - 13
Correct - 21
John McCain - 1

4. Rahm Emanuel:
Don't know - 10
Correct - 25

5. Ron Paul:
Don't know - 24
Correct - 8
Lee Iacocca - 1
Alan Greenspan - 1

6. Ted Kaczynski:
Don't know - 20
Correct - 11
Charles Manson - 2
Saddam Hussein - 1

1. Karl Christian Rove (born December 25, 1950) was Deputy Chief of Staff to President George W. Bush until his resignation on August 31, 2007. He has headed the Office of Political Affairs, the Office of Public Liaison, and the White House Office of Strategic Initiatives. Since leaving the White House, Rove has worked as a political analyst and contributor for Fox News, Newsweek, and the Wall Street Journal.

2. William James O'Reilly, Jr. (born September 10, 1949) is an American television/radio host, author, syndicated columnist, and self-described "traditionalist" political commentator. He is the host of the cable news program The O'Reilly Factor.

3. Richard Bruce "Dick" Cheney (born January 30, 1941) is the forty-sixth and current Vice President of the United States. As Vice President, Cheney is also the President of the United States Senate.

4. Rahm Israel Emanuel (born November 29, 1959) is an American politician who has been a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives since 2003, representing Illinois's 5th congressional district, which covers much of the north side of Chicago and parts of suburban Cook County. On November 6, 2008, Emanuel accepted an offer from President-elect Barack Obama to become the White House Chief of Staff in Obama's administration, which begins on January 20, 2009.

5. Ronald Ernest Paul (born August 20, 1935) is a Republican United States Congressman from Lake Jackson, Texas, a physician, a bestselling author, and the fourth-place finisher in the 2008 Republican presidential primaries. He is also the founder of the Campaign for Liberty.

6. Theodore John Kaczynski (born May 22, 1942), also known as the Unabomber, is an American mathematician and social critic who carried out a campaign of bombings.

Historical Figures Quiz 15

2008-11-09T07:08:00.010-06:00

This is the fifteenth in a series of six famous people who affected history in a significant way. I polled people from all walks of American life, ethnicity, education, age groups and work experience. I showed passerbys the photos, minus the names at the bottom and asked them all the same question: "Who are these people"?

1. Sarah Palin:
Don't know - 0
Correct - 17

2. Michael Phelps:
Don't know - 2
Correct - 14
John Kerry - 1

3. Albert Einstein:
Don't know - 1
Correct - 15
Thomas Edison - 1

4. Henry Ford:
Don't know - 11
Correct - 4
Dr. Jack Kevorkian - 1

5. Che Guevara:
Don't know - 11
Correct - 4
Zero Mostel - 1
Eddie Vedder - 1

6. Helen Keller:
Don't know - 8
Correct - 3
Susan B. Anthony - 1
Amelia Earhart - 1
Madame Marie Curie - 1
Mona Lisa - 1
Elenour Roosevelt - 1
mary Lou Retton - 1

1. Sarah Louise Heath Palin (born February 11, 1964) is the governor of the U.S. state of Alaska and was the Republican Party's vice-presidential candidate in the 2008 United States presidential election.

2. Michael Fred Phelps (born June 30, 1985) is an American swimmer. He has won 14 career Olympic gold medals, the most by any Olympian. As of 2008, he also holds seven world records in swimming.

3. Albert Einstein (14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist. He is best known for his theory of relativity and specifically mass–energy equivalence, expressed by the equation E = mc². Einstein received the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics "for his services to Theoretical Physics, and especially for his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect."

4. Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) was the American founder of the Ford Motor Company and father of modern assembly lines used in mass production. His introduction of the Model T automobile revolutionized transportation and American industry. He was a prolific inventor and was awarded 161 U.S. patents. As owner of the Ford Company he became one of the richest and best-known people in the world.

5. Ernesto "Che" Guevara (June 14, 1928 – October 9, 1967), commonly known as Che Guevara, El Che, or simply Che, was an Argentine Marxist revolutionary, politician, author, physician, military theorist, and guerrilla leader. After his death, his stylized image became a ubiquitous countercultural symbol worldwide.

6. Helen Adams Keller (June 27, 1880 – June 1, 1968) was an American author, activist and lecturer. She was the first deafblind person to graduate from college.

Historical Figures Quiz 14

2008-08-29T12:59:00.007-05:00

This is the fourteenth in a series of six famous people who affected history in a significant way. I polled people from all walks of American life, ethnicity, education, age groups and work experience. I showed passerbys the photos, minus the names at the bottom and asked them all the same question: "Who are these people"?

1. Ted Kennedy:
Don’t know - 6
Correct - 33
Newt Gingrich - 1

2. Michelle Obama:
Don't know - 9
Correct - 29
Condoleezza Rice - 2

3. Joe Biden
Don't know - 19
Correct - 21
Richard Nixon - 1

4. Joe Lieberman:
Don't know - 25
Correct - 18
Joe Biden - 1

5. Cindy McCain:
Don't know - 27
Correct - 12
Hillary Clinton - 2

6. Mitt Romney:
Don't know - 18
Correct - 16
Rick Perry - 1
John Stossel - 2
Jeb Bush - 1

1. Edward Moore "Ted" Kennedy (born February 22, 1932) is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts and a member of the Democratic Party. In office since November 1962, Kennedy is the second most senior member of the Senate, after President pro tempore of the United States Senate Robert Byrd of West Virginia.

2. Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama (born January 17, 1964) is an American lawyer and the wife of Illinois senator Barack Obama, the 2008 Democratic nominee for President.

3. Joseph Robinette "Joe" Biden, Jr. (born November 20, 1942), is the senior United States Senator from Delaware. He is both the Democratic vice presidential candidate for the November 2008 election and is a candidate for re-election in the U.S. Senate.

4. Joseph Isadore "Joe" Lieberman (born February 24, 1942) is the junior United States Senator from Connecticut. Lieberman was first elected to the United States Senate in 1988, and was elected to his fourth term on November 7, 2006.

5. Cindy Lou Hensley McCain (born Cindy Lou Hensley on May 20, 1954) is an American businessperson and philanthropist, who is the wife of United States Senator and 2000 and 2008 presidential candidate John McCain of Arizona. She is chair of Hensley & Co., one of the largest Anheuser-Busch beer distributors in the United States.

6. Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947 in Detroit, Michigan) is an American businessman and former Governor of Massachusetts. Romney is also a former candidate for the Republican nomination in the 2008 United States presidential election.

Historical Figures Quiz 13

2008-07-28T04:23:00.008-05:00

This is the thirteenth in a series of six famous people who affected history in a significant way. I polled people from all walks of American life, ethnicity, education, age groups and work experience. I showed passerbys the photos, minus the names at the bottom and asked them all the same question: "Who are these people"?

1. Ray Nagin:
Don’t know - 15
Correct - 14
Barack Obama - 2

2. Nancy Pelosi:
Don't know - 15
Correct - 14
Barbara Boxer - 1

3. Sam Houston:
Don’t know - 18
Correct - 12
G.W.Bush - 2
Mark Twain - 1
James Buchanan - 1
Ulysses S. Grant - 1
John Q. Adams - 1
Abe Lincoln - 1

4. Davy Crockett:
Don't know - 17
Correct - 4
Aaron Burr - 1
Abraham Lincoln - 1
Stephen F. Austin - 4
John Q. Adams - 1
Bejamin Harrison - 1
Dr. Ashbel Smith - 1

5. Al Sharpton:
Don't know - 9
Correct - 19
Jesse jackson - 1

6. Laura Bush:
Don't know - 4
Correct - 24
Barbara Bush - 1

1. Clarence Ray Nagin, Jr.(born June 11, 1956) is the mayor of New Orleans. He was first elected on March 2, 2002, to succeed his fellow Democrat, Marc Morial. Nagin gained international attention in 2005 in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, which devastated the New Orleans area.

2. Nancy Patricia D'Alesandro Pelosi (born March 26, 1940) is the current Speaker of the United States House of Representatives. Before being elected Speaker in the 110th Congress, she was the House Minority Leader from 2002 to 2007, holding the post during the 107th, 108th, and 109th Congresses.

3. Samuel Houston (March 2, 1793 – July 26, 1863) was a 19th century American statesman, politician, and soldier. Born on Timber Ridge, just north of Lexington in Rockbridge County, Virginia, in the Shenandoah Valley, Houston was a key figure in the history of Texas, including periods as President of the Republic of Texas, Senator for Texas after it joined the United States, and finally as governor.

4. Colonel David Stern Crockett (August 17, 1786 – March 6, 1836) was a celebrated 19th-century American folk hero, frontiersman, soldier and politician; referred to in popular culture as Davy Crockett and often by the popular title "King of the Wild Frontier." He represented Tennessee in the U.S. House of Representatives, served in the Texas Revolution, and died at the age of 49 at the Battle of the Alamo. His nickname was the stuff of legend, but in life he shunned the title "Davy" and referred to himself exclusively as "David".

5. Alfred Charles "Al" Sharpton Jr. (born October 3, 1954) is an American Baptist minister, political and civil rights/social justice activist, and radio talk show host. In 2004, Sharpton was a candidate for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. presidential election.

6. Laura Lane Welch Bush (born on November 4, 1946, in Midland, Texas) is the wife of the forty-third and current President of the United States George W. Bush and is the current First Lady of the United States.

Historical Figures Quiz 12

2008-07-12T15:10:00.006-05:00

This is the twelfth in a series of six famous people who affected history in a significant way. I polled people from all walks of American life, ethnicity, education, age groups and work experience. I showed passerbys the photos, minus the names at the bottom and asked them all the same question: "Who are these people"?

1. Barack Obama:
Don’t know - 17
Correct - 19
OJ Simpson - 7
Mike Evans from TV's "Good Times" - 1
Denzel Washington - 1
Houston Mayor Lee Brown - 1
Michael Jackson - 2
Gale Sayers - 1

2. John McCain:
Don’t know - 32
Correct - 13
John Kerry - 1
George W. Bush - 1
Steve McQueen - 1

3. Rick Perry:
Don’t know - 28
Correct - 17
John Kerry - 1
John Edwards - 1
Mitt Romney - 1
Dick Vermeil - 1

4. Geraldine Ferraro:
Don’t know - 30
Correct - 11
Geraldine Ford - 1
Barbara Bush - 1
Laura Bush - 1
Margaret Thatcher - 1
Sandra Day O'Connor - 2
Dianne Feinstein - 1
Kay Bailey Hutchison - 1

5. Bill White:
Don’t know - 22
Correct - 27

6. Ann Richards:
Don’t know - 16
Correct - 26
Barbara Bush - 2
Kay Bailey Hutchison - 1

Barack Hussein Obama (born August 4th, 1961) is the junior United States Senator from Illinois. He is the presumptive nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2008 presidential election, and the first African American to be a major party's presumptive nominee for President of the United States.

John Sidney McCain III (born August 29, 1936) is the senior United States Senator from Arizona and presumptive Republican Party nominee for President of the United States in the 2008 election.

James Richard "Rick" Perry (born March 4, 1950) is a Republican politician and the current Governor of Texas.

Geraldine Anne Ferraro (born August 26, 1935) is a Democratic politician and a former member of the United States House of Representatives. She is perhaps best known as the first—and, to date, only—female Vice Presidential candidate representing a major American political party.

William Howard "Bill" White (born June 16, 1954) is the current mayor of the city of Houston, Texas (January 2, 2004–present).

Dorothy Ann Willis Richards (September 1, 1933 – September 13, 2006) was an American politician from Texas. She first came to national attention as the state treasurer of Texas, when she delivered the keynote address at the 1988 Democratic National Convention. Richards served as Governor of Texas from 1991 to 1995 and was defeated for re-election in 1994 by George W. Bush. Ann Richards was the second female governor of Texas.

Who are these people 11?

2006-12-30T08:29:00.001-06:00

This is the eleventh in a series of three famous people who affected history in a significant way. I polled people from all walks of American life, ethnicity, education, age groups and work experience. I showed passerbys the photos, minus the names at the bottom and asked them all the same question: "Who are these people"?

1. Jacques Chirac:
Don’t know – 16
Correct – 3
François Mitterrand – 1
Charles de Gaulle – 1
Hubert Humphrey - 1

2. Jesse Jackson:
Don’t know – 3
Correct – 19

3. John Lennon:
Don’t know - 2
Correct – 20

Jacques René Chirac (born November 29, 1932 in Paris) is a French politician and the current President of the French Republic. He was elected to this office in 1995 and re-elected in 2002. His current term expires in 2007. As President, he is an ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra and Grand Master of the French Légion d'honneur.

Jesse Louis Jackson (born October 8, 1941) is an American politician, civil rights activist, and Baptist minister. He was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988, and is a prominent leader of the American Christian left. He is the father of Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr.

John Ono Lennon, MBE (born John Winston Lennon, 9 October 1940 – 8 December 1980) was an iconic 20th century English rock and roll songwriter and singer, who gained worldwide fame as the founder of The Beatles.

Who are these people 10?

2006-12-28T08:34:00.001-06:00

This is the tenth in a series of three famous people who affected history in a significant way. I polled people from all walks of American life, ethnicity, education, age groups and work experience. I showed passerbys the photos, minus the names at the bottom and asked them all the same question: "Who are these people"?

1. Fidel Castro:
Don’t know – 2
Correct – 20
Saddam Hussein - 1

2. Lee Harvey Oswald:
Don’t know – 6
Correct – 16
Billy the Kid - 1

3. Osama Bin Laden:
Don’t know - 3
Correct – 20

Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (born August 13, 1926) is the President of Cuba. After commanding the revolution that overthrew Fulgencio Batista in 1959, he held the title of Prime Minister of Cuba until 1976, when he became president of the Council of State as well as of the Council of Ministers. Castro became First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba in 1965, and led the transformation of Cuba into a one-party socialist republic. As president he also holds the supreme military rank of Comandante en Jefe ("Commander in Chief") of the Cuban armed forces. On July 31, 2006, Castro, after undergoing intestinal surgery, transferred his responsibilities to the vice-president, his younger brother Raúl.

Lee Harvey Oswald (October 18, 1939 – November 24, 1963) was, according to four United States government investigations, responsible for the assassination of US President John F. Kennedy. On November 22, 1963, Oswald was arrested on suspicion of killing President Kennedy and Dallas policeman J. D. Tippit earlier that day. Oswald denied the charges, claiming he was a "patsy". Two days later, Oswald was shot and killed by Jack Ruby on live television while in police custody.

Osama bin Muhammad bin 'Awad bin Laden born March 10, 1957), most often mentioned as Osama bin Laden or Usuma bin Laden, is a Saudi Arabian militant Islamist and is widely believed to be one of the founders of the organization called al-Qaeda. In conjunction with several other Islamic militants, bin Laden issued a fatwa (Islamic religious edict), that Muslims should kill civilians and military personnel from the United States and allied countries until they withdraw support for Israel and military forces from Islamic countries.

Who are these people 9?

2006-12-26T09:09:00.001-06:00

This is the nineth in a series of three famous world leaders, or people who affected history in a significant way. The people polled come from all walks of American life, education, age groups and work experience. I showed passerbys the photos, minus the names at the bottom and asked them all the same question: "Who are these people"?

1. George Wallace:
Don’t know – 18
Correct – 8
Richard Nixon – 1
Al Capone – 1
Lyndon Johnson - 1

2. Indira Gandhi:
A. Don’t know – 19
Correct – 4
Mother Theresa - 5
Golda Meir - 1

3. Gerald Ford:
Don’t know - 8
Correct – 20
Lyndon Johnson - 1

George Corley Wallace or officially George C. Wallace, Jr. (August 25, 1919 – September 13, 1998), was an American politician who was elected Governor of Alabama as a Democrat four times (1962, 1970, 1974 and 1982) and ran for U.S. President four times, running as a Democrat in 1964, 1972, and 1976, and as the American Independent Party candidate in 1968. He is best known for his pro-segregation attitudes, which he later recanted, during the American desegregation period.

Indira Priyadarśinī Gāndhī: (November 19, 1917 – October 31, 1984) was Prime Minister of India from January 19, 1966 to March 24, 1977, and again from January 14, 1980 until her assassination on October 31, 1984.
Daughter of India's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, and mother of another, Rajiv Gandhi, Indira Gandhi was one of India's most remarkable political leaders after independence. In spite of her famous surname, she was of no relation to Mahatma Gandhi.

Gerald Rudolph Ford, Jr., (born Leslie Lynch King Jr. on July 14, 1913) was the 38th (1974–1977) President of the United States. Ford also served as the 40th (1973–1974) Vice President. He was the first person appointed to the Vice-Presidency under the terms of the 25th Amendment, and upon succession to the presidency became the first (and to date, only) president in U.S. history to fill that office without having been elected either President or Vice-President. He is also the longest-lived United States president ever, having surpassed Ronald Reagan's record on November 12, 2006.

Who are these people 8?

2006-12-19T07:41:00.001-06:00

This is the eighth in a series of three famous world leaders, or people who affected history in a significant way. The people polled come from all walks of American life, education, age groups and work experience. I showed passerbys the photos, minus the names at the bottom and asked them all the same question: "Who are these people"?

1. Geronimo:
Don’t know – 5
Correct – 18
Sitting Bull – 4
Crazy Horse - 1

2. Buffalo Bill Cody:
A. Don’t know – 3
Correct – 8
Lewis or Clark – 1
Wild Bill Hickok – 8
Sam Houston – 1
General George Custer – 4
Pat Garrett – 1
Davy Crockett – 1
Buffalo Bill Coyote - 1

3. Calamity Jane:
Don’t know - 9
Correct – 2
Daniel Boone – 2
Davy Crockett – 1
Billy the Kid – 7
Jesse James – 1
Roy Rogers - 1
Anne Oakley - 5

Geronimo (Chiricahua Goyaałé 'One Who Yawns'; often spelled Goyathlay in English) (June 16, 1829–February 17, 1909) was a prominent Native American leader of the Chiricahua Apache who warred against the encroachment of the United States on his tribal lands and people for over 25 years.

William Frederick "Buffalo Bill" Cody (February 26, 1846 – January 10, 1917) was an American soldier, buffalo hunter and showman. He was born in the American state of Iowa, near Le Claire. He was one of the most colorful figures of the Old West, and mostly famous for the shows he organized with cowboy themes.

Martha Jane Canary-Burke, better known as Calamity Jane (May 1, 1852-August 1, 1903), was a frontierswoman and professional scout most well-known for her claim of being a close friend of Wild Bill Hickok, but also having gained fame fighting Native Americans.

Who are these people 7?

2006-12-17T13:36:00.001-06:00

This is the seventh in a series of three famous world leaders, or people who affected history in a significant way. The people polled come from all walks of American life, education, age groups and work experience. I showed passerbys the photos, minus the names at the bottom and asked them all the same question: "Who are these people"?

1. Eleanor Roosevelt:
A. Don’t know – 7
B. Correct – 14
C. Madam Marie Curie – 1
D. Rosa Parks – 1
E. Madeline Albright – 1
F. Queen of England – 1
G. Kathy Whitmire - 1

2. Margaret Thatcher:
A. Don’t know – 9
B. Correct – 14
C. Madeline Albright – 1
D. Madam Marie Curie – 1
E. Betty Ford - 1

3. Geraldine Ferraro:
A. Don’t know - 14
B. Correct – 12

Anna Eleanor Roosevelt (October 11, 1884 – November 7, 1962) was an American political leader who used her stature as First Lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945 to promote her husband's (Franklin D. Roosevelt's) New Deal, as well as Civil Rights. After his death she built a career as an author-speaker, a New Deal Coalition advocate and spokesperson for human rights. She was a First-wave feminist and was an activist role model as First Lady. Eleanor was a leader in forming the United Nations, the United Nations Association and Freedom House. She chaired the committee that drafted and approved the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. President Harry S. Truman called her the First Lady of the World in honor of her extensive human rights promotions.

Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, LG, OM, PC, FRS (born 13 October 1925) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990.
Thatcher was the longest-serving British Prime Minister since William Gladstone, and had the longest continuous period in office since Lord Liverpool in the early nineteenth century. She is also the only woman to have served as Prime Minister, one of only two women to have led a major political party in the UK, and one of only two to have held any of the four great offices of state (the second being Margaret Beckett). Undoubtedly one of the most significant British politicians in recent political history, she is also one of the most divisive, being loved and loathed on different sides of the political spectrum.

Geraldine Anne Ferraro (born August 26, 1935) is a politician from New York who, while serving in the United States House of Representatives, received the nomination of the Democratic Party to run for Vice President of the United States in 1984.
Ferraro is the first (and, to date, only) woman to be so nominated on a major party ticket, and is the best-known woman to have run for the Vice Presidency. She and fellow Democrat Walter Mondale were defeated in a landslide by the re-election campaign of President Ronald Reagan and Vice President George H. W. Bush in the 1984 election.

Who are these men 6?

2006-12-12T13:13:00.001-06:00

This is the sixth in a series of three famous world leaders, or people who affected history in a significant way. The people polled come from all walks of American life, education, age groups and work experience. I showed passerbys the photos, minus the names at the bottom and asked them all the same question: "Who are these men"?

1. George S. Patton:
A. Don’t know – 14
B. Correct – 15
C. Douglas MacArther - 2

2. Idi Amin Dada:
A. Don’t know – 15
B. Correct – 13
C. Arturo Durazo Moreno - 1
D. Leader of Rwanda - 1
E. Kelvin McGregor - 1

3. Hugo Chavez:
A. Don’t know - 12
B. Correct – 12
C. Manuel Noriega – 6
D. President of Mexico - 1

George Smith Patton Jr. (November 11, 1885 – December 21, 1945) was a leading U.S. Army general in World War II. In his 36-year Army career, he was an advocate of armored warfare and commanded major units of North Africa, Sicily, and the European Theater of Operations. Many have viewed Patton as a pure, ruthless and ferocious warrior, known by the nickname "Old Blood and Guts", a name given to him after a reporter misquoted his statement that it takes blood and brains to win a war. But history has left the image of a brilliant military leader whose record was also marred by insubordination and some periods of apparent instability.

Idi Amin Dada (c. 1924–16 August 2003) was an army officer and President of Uganda (1971–1979). His tenure witnessed much sectarian violence, including the persecution of the Acholi, Lango, Indian and other ethnic groups as well as Hindus and Christians in Uganda. The death toll during Amin's regime will never be accurately known. An estimate from the International Commission of Jurists is that it was not less than 80,000 and more likely around 300,000. Another estimate, compiled by exile organizations with the help of Amnesty International, put the number killed at 500,000.
He gave himself the title "His Excellency President for Life, Field Marshal Al Hadji Doctor Idi Amin, VC, DSO, MC, Lord of All the Beasts of the Earth and Fishes of the Sea, and Conqueror of the British Empire in Africa in General and Uganda in Particular."

Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías (born July 28, 1954) is the current President of Venezuela. As the leader of the "Bolivarian Revolution," Chávez promotes his vision of democratic socialism, Latin American integration, and anti-imperialism. He is also an ardent critic of neoliberal globalisation and U.S. foreign policy.
A career military officer, Chávez founded the leftist Fifth Republic Movement after orchestrating a failed 1992 coup d'état against former president Carlos Andrés Pérez. Chávez was elected President in 1998 on promises of aiding Venezuela's poor majority, and was reelected in 2000 and 2006. Domestically, Chávez has launched Bolivarian Missions, whose goals are to combat disease, illiteracy, malnutrition, poverty, and other social ills. Abroad, Chávez has acted against the Washington Consensus by supporting alternative models of economic development, and has advocated cooperation among the world's poor nations, especially those in Latin America.
Chávez's reforms have evoked exceptional controversy in Venezuela and abroad, receiving both criticism and praise. Venezuelans are split between those who say he has empowered the poor and stimulated economic growth, and those who say he is autocratic and has mismanaged the economy. Some foreign governments view Chávez as a threat to global oil prices and regional stability, while others welcome his bilateral trade and reciprocal aid agreements. In May 2006 he was named one of Time magazine's 100 most influential people.

Who are these men 5?

2006-12-12T07:39:00.001-06:00

This is the fifth in a series of three famous world leaders, or people who affected history in a significant way. The people polled come from all walks of American life, education, age groups and work experience. I showed passerbys the photos, minus the names at the bottom and asked them all the same question: "Who are these men"?

1. Booker T. Washington:
A. Don’t know – 24
B. Correct – 4
C. George Washington Carver – 8
D. W.E.B. Du Bois – 1
E. Colin Powell – 1
F. Mohammad Ali – 1

2. Jack Kevorkian:
A. Don’t know – 22
B. Correct – 16
C. Augusto Pinochet - 1

3. Mikhail Gorbachev:
A. Don’t know - 12
B. Correct - 24
C. Nikita Khrushchev – 2
D. Vladimir Putin - 1

Booker Taliaferro Washington (April 5, 1856 – November 14, 1915) was an American political leader, educator and author. He was one of the dominant figures in African American history in the United States from 1890 to 1915.
Washington was born into slavery to a white slave owner, who was his father and a black, slave mother in Franklin County, Virginia. He eventually learned to read and write while working at manual labor jobs. At the age of sixteen, he went to Hampton, Virginia to Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute, now Hampton University, to train as a teacher. In 1881, he was named as the first leader of the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. He was granted an honorary Masters of Arts degree from Harvard University in 1896 and an honorary Doctorate degree from Dartmouth College in 1901. Washington played a very prominent role in black politics.
Washington received national prominence for his famous Atlanta Address of 1895, attracting the attention of politicians and the public as a popular spokesperson for African American citizens. Although labeled by some activists as an "accommodator"; his work, in cooperating with white people and enlisting the support of wealthy philanthropists, helped raise funds to establish and operate hundreds of small community schools and institutions of higher education for the betterment of black persons throughout the South.
In addition to the substantial contributions in the field of education, Dr. Washington did much to improve the overall friendship and working relationship between the races in the United States. His autobiography, Up From Slavery, first published in 1901, is still widely read.

Jack Kevorkian, M.D. (born Pontiac, Michigan, May 29, 1928), is a controversial American pathologist. He is most noted for publicly championing a terminal patient's "right to die" and claims to have assisted at least 130 patients to that end. He is famous for his quote "dying is not a crime." Imprisoned in 1999, he is currently serving out a 10 to 25 year prison sentence for second-degree murder in the 1998 poisoning of Thomas Youk, 52, of Oakland County, Michigan.

Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachyov, commonly written as Mikhail Gorbachev; born March 2, 1931) was the last leader of the Soviet Union, serving from 1985 until its collapse in 1991. His attempts at reform helped to end the Cold War, and also ended the political supremacy of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) and dissolved the Soviet Union. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990.

Who are these men 4?

2006-12-11T14:14:00.004-06:00

This is the fourth in a series of three famous world leaders, or people who affected history in a significant way. The people polled come from all walks of American life, education, age groups and work experience. I showed passerbys the photos, minus the names at the bottom and asked them all the same question: "Who are these men"?

Malcolm X
A. Don’t know – 2
B. Correct – 16
C. Martin Luther King - 1

Al Capone:
A. Don’t know – 9
B. Correct – 10

Kim Il Jung:
A. Don’t know - 3
B. Correct - 9
C. Mao Tse Tung - 1
D. Emperor of Japan - 1
E. President of Taiwan - 1
F. Emperor of China - 2
G. Leader of Vietnam - 1

1. Malcolm X
Malcolm X, born Malcolm Little, also known as Detroit Red and Al-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz (Omaha, Nebraska, May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965 in New York City) was a Black Muslim Minister and National Spokesman for the Nation of Islam. He was also founder of the Muslim Mosque, Inc. and the Organization of Afro-American Unity.
During his life, Malcolm went from being a drug dealer and burglar to one of the most prominent black nationalist leaders in the United States; he was considered by some as a martyr of Islam and a champion of equality. As a militant leader, Malcolm X advocated black pride, economic self-reliance, and identity politics. He ultimately rose to become a world-renowned African American/Pan-Africanist and human rights activist.
Following a pilgrimage to Mecca in 1964, Malcolm converted to orthodox Islam. Less than a year later he was assassinated in Washington Heights on the first day of National Brotherhood Week. Although three members of the Nation of Islam were convicted of his assassination (one of whom confessed), there are several conspiracy theories positing the involvement of elements of the United States Government.

2. Al Capone
Alphonse Gabriel Capone (January 17, 1899 – January 25, 1947), popularly known as Al "Scarface" Capone, was an infamous Italian-American Gangster in the 1920s and 1930s. His business card reportedly described him as a used furniture dealer.
Born in New York City to Neapolitan emigrants Gabriele and Teresina Capone, he began his career in Brooklyn before moving to Chicago and becoming Chicago's most notorious crime figure. By the end of the 1920s, the Federal Bureau of Investigation had placed Capone on its list. Capone's downfall occurred in 1931 when he was indicted and convicted by the federal government for income tax evasion.

3. Kim Jong-il
Kim Jong-il (also written as Kim Jong Il [2]) (Korean:) (born February 16, 1941) is the leader of Democratic People's Republic of Korea, a position he has held since 1994.
Officially he is the Chairman of the National Defense Commission of North Korea, Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army, and General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea (the ruling party since 1948). He succeeded his father Kim Il-sung, the founder of the Democratic People's Republic, who died in 1994.

Who are these men 3?

2006-12-06T13:59:00.002-06:00

This is the third in a series of three famous world leaders, or people who affected history in a significant way. The people polled come from all walks of American life, education, age groups and work experience. I showed passerbys the photos, minus the names at the bottom and asked them all the same question: "Who are these men"?

1. Muammar al-Gaddafi
A. Yes - 30
B. No - 9
C. Colombian Drug Lord - 1
D. That Syrian guy - 1
E. Saddam Hussein - 1
F. Manuel Noriega - 2
G. Anwar Sadat - 1
H. Fidel Castro - 1

2. Ho Chi Minh
A. Yes - 12
B. No - 26
C. That Chinese guy - 4
D. Hirohito - 1
E. Mao Tse Tung - 1
F. Pol Pot - 2

3. Dwight D. Eisenhower
A. Yes - 26
B. No - 17
C. Gerald Ford – 1
D. James Baker – 1
E. Vladimir Putin - 1

Muammar al-Gaddafi has been the de facto leader of Libya since 1969. Although Gaddafi holds no public office or title, he is accorded the honorifics "Guide of the First of September Great Revolution of the Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya" or "Brotherly Leader and Guide of the Revolution" in government statements and the official press.

Ho Chi Minh is most famous for being the founder of the Viet Minh independence movement in 1941 and establishing Communist control in part of Vietnam in the 1950s. Ho was fluent in English, several dialects of Chinese, French, German and Russian besides his native Vietnamese. Ho Chi Minh City was named after him.

Dwight D. Eisenhower was an American soldier and politician. During World War II, he served as Supreme Commander of the Allied forces in Europe, with responsibility for planning and supervising the successful invasion of France and Germany in 1944-45. In 1949 he became the first supreme commander of NATO. As a Republican, he was elected the 34th President of the United States (1953–1961). As president he ended the Korean War, kept up the pressure on the Soviet Union during the Cold War, re-oriented the defense budget toward nuclear weapons, launched the space race, enlarged the Social Security program, and began building the interstate highway system.

Who are these men 2?

2006-12-06T06:13:00.003-06:00

This is the second in a series of three famous world leaders, or people who affected history in a significant way. The people polled come from all walks of American life, education, age groups and work experience. I showed passerbys the photos, minus the names at the bottom and asked them all the same question: "Who are these men"?

1. Khomeini
A. Yes - 13
B. No - 10
C. Shah of Iran - 2
D. Bin Laden - 2

2. de Gaulle
A. Yes – 9
B. No – 13
C. Hitler – 4
D. Francisco Franco - 1

3. Hoover
A. Yes – 9
B. No – 16
C. Bob Hope – 1
D. LBJ – 1

Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini was a Shi`i Muslim cleric and marja, and the political leader of the 1979 Islamic Revolution of Iran which saw the overthrow of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran. Following the Revolution, Khomeini became Supreme Leader of Iran—the paramount figure in the political system of the new Islamic Republic—until his death.

Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle, in France commonly referred to as Général de Gaulle, was a French military leader and statesman.
Prior to World War II, he was primarily known as an armored warfare tactician and an advocate of the concentrated use of armored and aviation forces. During World War II, he reached the rank of Brigade General and then became the leader of the Free French government-in-exile and an anti-Nazi guerrilla leader; and in 1944 – 1946, following the liberation of France from German occupation, he was head of the French provisional government.
Called to form a government in 1958, he inspired a new constitution and was the Fifth Republic's first president, serving from 1958 to 1969. His political ideology is known as Gaullism, and it has been a major influence in subsequent French politics.

John Edgar Hoover was the founder of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in its present form and its director from May 10, 1924, until his death in 1972. President Calvin Coolidge appointed Hoover the first director of the FBI. During his tenure, Hoover attained extraordinary power and unusual discretionary authority, while also feuding with many adversaries. It is because of Hoover that, since his tenure, FBI directors have been limited to ten-year terms.

Who are these men?

2006-12-06T06:09:00.002-06:00

This is the first in a series of three famous world leaders, or people who affected history in a significant way. The people polled come from all walks of American life, education, age groups and work experience. I showed passerbys the photos, minus the names at the bottom and asked them all the same question: "Who are these men"?

1. Stalin:
A. Don’t know – 14
B. Mussolini – 1
C. Correct – 10
D. Raul Castro - 1

2. Roosevelt :
A. Don’t know – 8
B. Adolf Hitler – 1
C. Correct – 13
D. Truman - 4

3. Churchill:
A. Don’t know – 12
B. That British dude – 1
C. Correct – 8
D. Some Russian – 2
E. Nikita Khrushchev – 2

Note: I imagine poor Winston would be flopping around in his grave if he read this.

The Tehran Conference (codenamed SEXTANT) was the meeting of Joseph Stalin, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill between November 28 and December 1, 1943 in Tehran, Iran. It was the first World War II conference among the Big Three Allies (the Soviet Union, the United States, and the United Kingdom) in which Stalin was present. It succeeded the Cairo Conference and was followed by Yalta Conference and Potsdam Conference. The chief discussion was centered on the opening of a second front in Western Europe. At the same time a separate protocol pledged the three countries to recognize Iran's independence.