Culture

This article is dedicated to ten significant people who, undoubtedly, left a huge mark on the lives of many people on this planet. Perhaps the proposed choice will seem rather one-sided to some, but this is not surprising, since all significant personalities about whom we're talking about in this article, are considered as such in the opinion of Americans. In other words, one can dispute the fact that not a single Russian person was included in this list, but one cannot but agree that all the people presented on this list had a huge impact (including negative) on many areas of life different people on our planet.


10. Bill Gates

It is known that Bill Gates, who was born in 1955, created his first computer program while still a student high school. Everyone famous company Microsoft Corporation, one of the founders of which is Bill Gates, appeared in 1975, and 18 years later, in 1993, Gates was officially declared the richest man on Earth. Despite the far ambiguous attitude towards the products offered by the Gates Corporation, it cannot be denied that this man not only made a real revolution in computer software, but also did a lot of good and useful things. For example, Bill, with his own money, founded several of the largest charitable foundations pursuing good causes around the world (for example, the fight against polio, and so on).

9. Martin Luther King (1929-1968)

Despite the fact that Martin Luther King was an American citizen who actively fought for the rights of black residents and against racial discrimination and racism, this man became known far beyond the borders of the United States of America. He was a real ideological fighter who was inspired by his spiritual mentor and fighter for Indian independence, Mahatma Gandhi. Despite the extremely pressing problem of racial discrimination against the black population in the United States, King always advocated peaceful methods of resolving the issue, while being an unsurpassed orator. In 1964, King was awarded Nobel Prize peace. And, despite the fact that King was assassinated in 1968, he is still remembered because, according to many, to this person managed to achieve the impossible by forcing the white population of America to listen to and respect the opinions of the black population.

8. Nelson Mandela

Another no less famous human rights activist who devoted his life to fierce opposition to apartheid - the policy of racial suppression of certain groups of the population in South Africa, in which black people did not even have the right to vote - Nelson Mandela, born in 1918, appeared. For his tough, uncompromising stance in the fight against the racist government Mandela was arrested in 1964. The future president of the Republic of South Africa emerged from prison only 26 years later, and was almost immediately elected leader of the state. In 1993, Nelson Mandela also received the Nobel Peace Prize for his services in the fight against apartheid.


7. Adolf Hitler (1889-1945)

The German leader, who came to power in 1933, undoubtedly left not only one of the most significant marks in the history of mankind, but also the bloodiest and most destructive mark. Fierce hatred of Jews, exaggerated ideas about the right to advantage of the Aryan race on our planet, as well as manic commitment to one’s ideas- all this led to the death of tens of millions of people in Eastern Europe. And although Adolf Hitler’s diabolical plans were not destined to come true, this man is unlikely to be erased from people’s memory (as well as many other dictators).


6. Albert Einstein (1879-1955)

Einstein, who is rightfully considered the greatest physicist of all time, has become a true symbol of genius. When Albert Einstein managed to prove one of his most significant works in 1919 - general theory relativity - scientists around the world recognized the genius of this man, as a result of which he was awarded the Nobel Prize for achievements in physics in 1921. Unfortunately, despite the fact that Einstein was an undoubted pacifist, his scientific research later helped other researchers create atomic bomb. Einstein was so burdened by this fact that a week before his death, in a letter addressed to Bertrand Russell, a British philosopher and ardent supporter of nuclear disarmament, he declared his readiness to sign an appeal to all countries calling on them to abandon the use of atomic energy in warfare. purposes.

5. Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948)

Mahatma Gandhi, the spiritual leader of the Indian people and a fighter for the independence of this country from Great Britain, began his career as an ordinary lawyer, only later taking up political issues. He led a peaceful civil disobedience movement against the British regime in India, and conducted active negotiations with the leaders of Foggy Albion until 1947 when his country gained independence. In fact, Gandhi became the true embodiment of independence for all Indians for all time! Mahatma Gandhi is also known for his modest way of life and calls for religious tolerance, which, undoubtedly, only contributed to strengthening the people's love and faith in their leader.

4. Karl Marx (1818-1883)

It can be said without exaggeration that the ideas of the German thinker Karl Marx in the field of economics and sociology changed the world. Marx was one of those social philosophers who were dissatisfied with the bourgeois structure of the world, predicting social equality for everyone in the future. Of course, many of us know Marx primarily for his monumental work called Capital, but he became famous for his work written together with Friedrich Engels, another German philosopher, in a work entitled "Manifesto communist party"(This is where the famous phrase came from - “A ghost is haunting Europe - the ghost of communism”). As you know, it was the ideas of Karl Marx that inspired Russian revolutionaries and communists. In 1950, already half of the inhabitants of our planet lived in countries where the communist regime ruled !

3. Charles Darwin (1809-1882)

There is probably no need to explain to anyone that it was Charles Darwin who became the founder modern theory evolution. Of course, it didn’t all start right away. Darwin's first thoughts on this topic began to form during the period when he went to trip around the world as a naturalist on a Royal Navy vessel called the Beagle (1831-1836). And Darwin devoted the rest of his life to the development of these ideas. The main work of his life, published in 1859 - “The Origin of Species” - caused a harsh reaction from conservative society. And this is not surprising: in fact, Darwin openly opposed the Bible and the version of the divine creation of the surrounding world, replacing it with the theory of the evolutionary development of all living beings. It was then that humanity first had to try to comprehend the fact that the direct ancestors of people were apes(according to Darwin).

2. William Shakespeare (1564-1616)

The appearance of William Shakespeare on this list is the most significant people in human history is not accidental. In fact, Shakespeare has been overwhelmingly voted the greatest English-language playwright in human history. Considering that this top ten was compiled according to the opinions of Americans, this choice is not surprising. But no matter what they say gossips, Shakespeare, as a writer, had a huge influence on the entire world of drama.. He started as an ordinary actor, and eventually wrote 154 poems and 37 plays, among which the most famous were “Hamlet”, “King Lear”, “Romeo and Juliet”, “Macbeth” and so on. The influence of William Shakespeare was so great that thanks to his work, English language was replenished with more than 1,700 new words.

1. Christopher Columbus (1451-1506)

It would probably be surprising if the list of the most significant people in the world, compiled by the Americans, did not include Christopher Columbus, one of the most famous travelers and discoverers. After all, it is believed that it was precisely thanks to his search for the coast of the so-called Western India that European settlers discovered two continents, which were later called America (and hardly anyone will dare to challenge America’s influence on the whole world). Among other things, Christopher Columbus became famous as a talented navigator. It is believed that of all the reliably known travelers, it was he who was the first to cross Atlantic Ocean, sailed in the Caribbean Sea and generally gave Europe a whole new world.

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Simple and amazing stories of real heroes. Everyone should know their names.

History knows a huge number of people who performed outstanding deeds and discoveries, but at the same time went unnoticed.

website believes that many of them deserve fame and wide recognition. This article collects the stories of seven such heroes - they are all different, but each of them made life on planet Earth a little - or even a lot - better and happier.

Story from Konstantin Paustovsky

“It was the spring of 1912, before the exams, a meeting was organized in the garden. All the high school students in our class were called to it, except the Jews. The Jews were not supposed to know anything about this meeting.

At the meeting, it was decided that the best students from Russians and Poles should get a B in the exams in at least one subject, so as not to receive a gold medal. We decided to give all the gold medals to the Jews. Without these medals they were not accepted into the university.

We swore to keep this decision secret. To the credit of our class, we did not let it slip either then or later, when we were already university students. Now I am breaking this oath, because almost none of my comrades from the gymnasium are alive. Most of them died during big wars experienced by my generation. Only a few people survived."

A world without nuclear war

September 26, 1983 Lieutenant Colonel Stanislav Petrov was on duty in Serpukhov-15, secret bunker near Moscow, and was busy monitoring the satellite system Soviet Union. Shortly after midnight, one of the satellites signaled to Moscow that the United States was launching 5 ballistic missiles to Russia. All responsibility at this moment fell on the forty-four-year-old lieutenant colonel: he needed to make a decision on how to respond to this signal.

The alarm came at a difficult time, relations between the USSR and America were strained, but Petrov decided that it was false and refused to take any retaliatory measures. Thus, he prevented a possible nuclear disaster - the signal actually turned out to be false.

Vasily Arkhipov, an officer in the Russian Navy, also once made a decision that saved the world. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, he prevented the launch of a nuclear torpedo. The Soviet submarine B-59 was surrounded near Cuba by eleven American destroyers and the aircraft carrier Randolph. Despite the fact that this took place in international waters, the Americans used depth charges against the boat to force it to rise to the surface.

The submarine commander, Valentin Savitsky, prepared to launch a retaliatory atomic torpedo. However, Arkhipov, the senior officer on board, showed restraint and paid attention to the signals from the side American ships and stopped Savitsky. The signal “Stop the provocation” was sent from the boat, after which the American military forces were withdrawn and the situation was somewhat defused.

The Man with the Golden Arm

At thirteen, Australian James Harrison underwent major breast surgery and urgently needed about 13 liters of donor blood. After the operation he was in the hospital for three months. Realizing that donated blood saved his life, he made a promise to start donating blood as soon as he turned 18 years old.

As soon as Harrison reached the age required to donate blood, he immediately went to the Red Cross blood donation center. It was there that it turned out that his blood was unique in its own way, since its plasma contained special antibodies, thanks to which it was possible to prevent Rh conflict between a pregnant mother and her fetus. Without these antibodies, Rh conflict leads to a minimum of anemia and jaundice of the child, and a maximum of stillbirth.

When James was told what exactly was found in his blood, he asked only one question. He asked how often you can donate blood.
Since then, every three weeks, James Harrison comes to a medical center near his home and donates exactly 400 milliliters of blood. To date, he has already donated approximately 377 liters of blood.
Over the 56 years since his first donation, he has donated blood and its components almost 1,000 times and saved about 2,000,000 children and their young mothers.

Polish Schindler

Eugene Lazowski was a Polish doctor who saved thousands of Jews during the Holocaust. Thanks to the discovery of his friend, Dr. Stanislav Matulewicz, Lazowski simulated an outbreak of typhus, a dangerous infectious disease. Matulevich discovered that healthy person You can be vaccinated with certain bacteria, and then the test results for typhus will be positive, and the person himself will not experience any manifestations of the disease.

The Germans were afraid of typhus because it was highly contagious. At a time when Jews infected with typhus were routinely executed, Lazowski vaccinated the non-Jewish population in the neighborhoods surrounding the ghetto, near the town of Rozwadov. He knew that the Germans would be forced to refuse to approach the Jewish settlements, and they ended up simply quarantining the area. This saved approximately 8,000 Polish Jews from certain death in concentration camps.

The scientist who saved millions of lives

American biologist Maurice Ralph Hilleman created 36 vaccines during his life - more than any other scientist in the world. Of the fourteen vaccines that are now used everywhere, he invented 8, including measles, meningitis, chickenpox, hepatitis A and B.

In addition, Hilleman was the first person to determine how the influenza virus mutates. Almost single-handedly, he worked to create a vaccine that prevented the 1957 Asian flu outbreak from becoming a repeat of the 1918 Spanish pandemic, which killed 20 million people worldwide.

Immortal Cell Donor

African American Henrietta Lacks died of cancer in 1951 at the age of thirty-one. However, she became the donor of cellular material that allowed Dr. George Otto Gay to create history's first immortal line of human cells, known as the HeLa line. “Immortality” meant that these cells did not die after several divisions, which means they could be used for many medical experiments and research.

In 1954, a strain of HeLa cells was used by Jonas Sock to develop a vaccine against polio. In 1955, HeLa became the first human cells to be successfully cloned. The demand for these cells grew rapidly. They were put into mass production and sent to scientists around the world to study cancer, AIDS, the effects of radiation and other diseases. Scientists are now growing about 20 tons of Henrietta cells, and there are almost 11,000 patents related to them.

Inventor of the seat belt

July 10, 1962 Volvo Corporation employee Nils Bohlin patented his invention - three point belt security. This was exactly the system that is still used in cars today: Bolin spent a little on its creation. less than a year, and was first introduced on Volvo cars in 1959.

The corporation made the seat belt design free to other automakers, and it soon became a worldwide standard. According to recent studies, Bolin's invention saved about a million lives during its existence.

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Egor Beroev and Ksenia Alferova

The couple has been helping children with cerebral palsy, Down syndrome and autism for several years. Three years ago they opened their own charitable foundation"I am!" Egor and Ksenia try to make the life of their charges brighter and more colorful; for this they organize various holidays, exhibitions and concerts. They also try to create for such children all the conditions for healthy adaptation in adulthood.

Orlando Bloom

The famous actor has been a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) since 2009. Over the course of several years, Bloom managed to visit many countries as part of charity projects. Among other things, he visited humanitarian missions in Ethiopia, Jordan, Syria and Macedonia.

Chulpan Khamatova and Dina Korzun

In 2006, friends and actresses jointly established the Gift of Life foundation, which has since helped children with severe cancer and hematological diseases. Today in Russia, more and more children with such terrible diagnoses are getting a chance to recover and happy life, this is largely thanks to the help of the Khamatova Foundation.

Keanu Reeves

This Hollywood actor has long been famous for his - in a positive sense - eccentricity. Keanu often gave almost all of the proceeds from the film to the needs of charitable organizations. Reeves knows firsthand about serious illnesses - his sister fought cancer for 10 years, so the actor spares no expense in supporting cancer funds.

Natalya Vodyanova

The beautiful Russian woman Natalia Vodianova has become famous throughout the world not only as a super successful model, but also as a philanthropist. The actress has been actively involved in charitable activities for many years. Younger sister Vodianova has suffered from a severe form of autism since birth, and Vodianova own experience knows that children with such diseases need special care and attention. Natalya heads the Naked Heart Foundation and annually holds charity concerts, marathons and auctions - all the money from such events goes to help children in need.

Oprah Winfrey

The legendary American TV presenter, producer and actress Oprah Winfrey has been actively involved in charity work for many years. In addition to financial support of many foundations, Winfrey is the founder of a special school for girls in South Africa. In a country where violence and murder are a daily reality, girls have virtually no chance of finishing school. Thanks to Oprah's efforts, several hundred graduates of this school have already received diplomas from prestigious American universities.

Maria Mironova, Igor Vernik and Evgeny Mironov

In 2008, the actors jointly established the Artist charity foundation, designed to help older artists. In addition to providing all kinds of material assistance to theater and film veterans, the foundation’s volunteers also provide moral support: they go to visit their wards, give gifts on holidays, and organize impromptu concerts.

Brad Pitt

A few years ago famous actor founded the Make It Right charity to help New Orleans residents affected by Hurricane Katrina. In less than 10 years, Pitt and his organization managed to build more than 109 houses. The best architects and engineers were invited to work on the project. The actor personally supervised the work of volunteers and controlled the construction process at all stages.

Konstantin Khabensky

The activities of the Konstantin Khabensky Charitable Foundation are aimed at helping children with severe brain diseases. The foundation's motto is “One life saved is one life saved.” The actor spares neither time nor money for charitable activities. During the work of the fund, more than 150 children were saved - this, undoubtedly, is a great merit of Konstantin Khabensky personally.

Leonardo DiCaprio

Leonardo DiCaprio is famous not only for his phenomenal film roles, but also for his active work in protecting environment. In 2012, the actor became a UN Ambassador of Peace. The choice of DiCaprio for such a high position was not accidental - the actor in Hollywood is considered the main supporter of the “green” lifestyle. In 1998, Leo created his own charitable foundation, main goal which is the education of harmonious relationships between people and nature. Every year, the actor spends huge amounts of his fees to solve environmental problems.

Angelina Jolie

It is difficult to name all the charitable projects in which Angelina Jolie took part. She is a UN Goodwill Ambassador for Refugees. For more than 15 years of charitable activity, she managed to visit many hot spots with humanitarian missions (including Iran, Syria, Jordan, Kosovo, Pakistan). Together with Brad Pitt, Jolie created the Jolie/Pitt Foundation in 2006, the funds of which go to finance Doctors Without Borders programs.

Stars Russian show and film businesses spend their money on different things: clothes, cars, gadgets, etc. But which of the modern stars is involved in charity work?

Anita Tsoi

In 2001, the singer opened the Anita Foundation, which helps children with congenital disabilities. In just one year, he helped more than 35 thousand children. In 2010, Tsoi, together with Universal Music, launched the “Show Business with a Conscience” program: all the income she received from the album “To the East” was redirected to orphanages.

About 160 thousand euros were raised from the concert that Anita Tsoi held in Moscow and this money was donated to children affected by the Beslan tragedy.

Dina Korzun and Chulpan Khamatova

They created the “Gift of Life” foundation, which is currently being written and talked about a lot. The mission of the foundation is to support children with hematological and oncological diseases.

They provide assistance to special clinics by purchasing for them necessary equipment and drugs. They provide social and psychological services to sick children, draw attention to children who have cancer and find blood donors. They also hold events, charity concerts and auctions on the premises of the children's clinical hospital.


Konstantin Khabensky

After the death of his wife Anastasia, the actor, in 2008, created a charitable foundation dedicated to supporting children suffering from severe brain diseases.

The motto of the foundation is “One life saved is one life saved.” Konstantin helps purchase medicines, organizes rehabilitation programs for sick children, as well as psychological support. In addition, the foundation helps Russian institutions involved in the diagnosis and treatment of brain diseases.


Joseph Kobzon

The singer has been involved in charitable activities for many years. In 1992, he founded the Shield and Lyre Foundation.

What the fund does: providing assistance to the families of fallen military personnel and social protection of internal affairs workers. Kobzon also restored the temple in Krasnodar and donated a large sum to the restoration of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. He also patronizes two orphanages and provides children with a variety of assistance.


Egor Beroev and Ksenia Alferova

The couple organized a special charitable foundation “I am!”.

They help people with disabilities, especially for children suffering from cerebral palsy, autism and Down syndrome. They are actively trying to make the lives of these children brighter and more diverse, creating educational programs which are aimed at teaching children.


Gosha Kutsenko

In 2011, the actor founded the “Step Together” foundation. He supports children who suffer from cerebral palsy. Twice a year he holds holiday concerts for sick children and charity events, with invited film, pop and theater stars.

Now the organization provides consulting assistance, targeted assistance to children in special need, legal assistance, and also purchases medical equipment.


Charitable Foundation "Artist"

Evgeny Mironov, Maria Mironova and Igor Vernik.

In 2008, the actors organized a foundation dedicated to supporting orphans, disabled children and the elderly.

The founders of the fund help elderly actors who have no home and money, and also support orphans and disabled orphans. The fund helps them get back on their feet and start living independently. The actors organized events where the funds raised went to help stage veterans and disabled children.

Natalya Vodyanova

The Naked Heart Foundation was founded by the model in 2005. The foundation builds children's playgrounds throughout Russia and the first city in which Vodianova gave children a holiday was Nizhny Novgorod(the city in which Natalya lived). The impetus for the creation of the fund was the tragedy in Beslan. The model set out to build a play park in Beslan to bring some joy to the children. Not immediately, but the plan was brought to life.

Since 2011, the foundation has been involved in the “Every Child Deserves a Family” program. It's aimed at refraction Russian trend abandonment of children with special needs.

Ingeborga Dapkunaite

Charitable Foundation "Vera". After the foundation was created in 2006, it quickly became the center of the hospice movement. Today it is the only non-profit organization in Russia that supports hospices and their patients.

The board of trustees includes writers, famous artists, musicians, journalists, and doctors. The chairmen of the board of trustees are actresses Ingeborga Dapkunaite and Tatyana Drubich. The Vera Foundation was the first to create endowment capital in the field of healthcare. We continue to look for opportunities to replenish our target capital. Areas of activity of the fund:

- Help to the First Moscow Hospice;
- Assistance to regional hospices;
- Help for terminally ill children;
- Development of the volunteer movement;
- Publishing activities;
- Formation of public interest in the problems of terminally ill people.


The delight of fans, the applause of the audience, the first roles on stage and in films - for these men, this is not the main thing. They are convinced that an artist must bring good to people. And they do it personally - in charity projects.

The press and audience call him a sex symbol of Russian cinema, but the status of actor Danila Kozlovsky is far from limited to this. Almost nine years ago, he began actively helping the work of Ksenia Rappoport’s Children of Bel Foundation, which cares for “butterfly people” suffering from a rare incurable disease, and this year he became a member of its board of trustees. Also, since 2013, Danila has been an official of the “Exit in St. Petersburg” foundation, which works with autism problems, helps Maxim Matveev’s “Doctor Clown” foundation, visits children in hospitals, and participates in numerous charity events and auctions.

The Konstantin Khabensky Charitable Foundation was created in 2008, after his wife tragically passed away famous actor Anastasia. His motto is: “One life saved is one life saved.” The foundation's activities are dedicated to children who suffer from cancer and other serious diseases of the brain. Here they provide assistance in organizing treatment and purchasing medications, provide rehabilitation programs and provide psychological support to the families of young patients. In addition, the fund helps medical institutions that specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of brain diseases.

Gosha Kutsenko

An ironic look and brutal appearance do not tell everything about the star actor. The charity foundation “Step Together”, founded by him in 2011, helps children suffering from cerebral palsy. “In this world, what makes us rich is not what we get, but what we give,” it is written on home page his website. The foundation specifically takes care of the neediest little patients, provides consulting and legal assistance, purchases medicines and necessary medical equipment. And twice a year, Gosha Kutsenko gathers movie, theater and show business stars to please children undergoing treatment and their parents with festive concerts.

Together with actress Maria Mironova, two selfless knights of stage and silver screen created the Artist charity foundation in 2008 to provide full support to elderly people who have devoted their entire lives to art, as well as orphans and disabled children. Numerous projects and cultural events organized by the foundation allow us to collect funds and direct them to help the most vulnerable.

Together with his wife, actress Ksenia Alferova, Egor Beroev in 2012 became the founder of the charity foundation “I am!”, which helps “special” children - with Down syndrome, autism and cerebral palsy. Egor and Ksenia are convinced: to learn and develop, to live fully, joyful life and communicate with other children - every child should have this opportunity.

Together with his wife, producer Varya Avdyushko, film director, screenwriter and producer Timur Bekmambetov in 2006 created the Sunflower charity foundation for children. Here they provide targeted help to children suffering from congenital immunodeficiency and autoimmune diseases: they find funds to buy expensive but necessary medications, conduct creative activities with children, and organize holidays and concerts for young patients.

The main one of the “Moscow Virtuosi”, a famous violinist and conductor, created his own foundation in 1994 to help young talented artists, music and art schools, and art schools. Also, the Vladimir Spivakov International Charitable Foundation takes care of child health programs, helps orphans, disabled children, orphanages and hospitals.