Oprah Gail Winfrey (born January 29, 1954), often referred to simply as Oprah, is an American television host, media mogul, and philanthropist. Her internationally-syndicated talk show, The Oprah Winfrey Show, has earned her multiple Emmy Awards and is the highest-rated talk show in the history of television. She is also an influential book critic, an Academy Award-nominated actress, and a magazine publisher. She has been ranked the richest African American of the 20th century, the most philanthropic African American of all time, and the world's only black billionaire for three straight years. She is also, according to some assessments, the most influential woman in the world.
Born in rural Mississippi to a poor teenaged single mother, and later raised in an inner city Milwaukee neighborhood, Winfrey was raped at the age of nine, and at fourteen, gave birth to a son who died in infancy. Sent to live with the man she calls her father, a barber in Tennessee, Winfrey landed a job in radio while still in high school and began co-anchoring the local evening news at the age of 19. Her emotional ad-lib delivery eventually got her transferred to the daytime talk show arena, and after boosting a third-rated local Chicago talk show to first place, she launched her own production company and became internationally syndicated.
Credited with creating a more intimate confessional form of media communication, she is thought to have popularized and revolutionized, the tabloid talk show genre pioneered by Phil Donahue, which a Yale study claimed broke 20th century taboos and allowed gays, transsexuals, and transgender people to enter the mainstream. By the mid 1990s she had reinvented her show with a focus on literature, self-improvement, and spirituality. Though criticized for unleashing confession culture, and promoting controversial self-help fads, she is generally admired for overcoming adversity to become a benefactor to others.
Yelena Isinbayeva
Russian pole vaulter, Honored Master of Sport of Russia
Two-time Olympic Champion - Women's Pole Vault, Athens 2004, Beijing 2008
Holder of 24 world records in Women's Pole Vault
Yelena Isinbayeva was born on June 3, 1982 in Volgograd, Volgograd Region. From the age of 5 to 15, Isinbayeva trained as a gymnast in her hometown of Volgograd. She ultimately left the sport because as she grew she was considered too tall to be competitive in gymnastics, eventually reaching a height of 1.74 m (5' 8½")
In 1998, after graduating from a engineer-technical preparatory school, Isinbayeva entered the regional Reserve Olympians' College (UOR). In her first major competition, the 1998 World Junior Championships in Annecy, France, Yelena jumped 4.00 meter but this left her 10 cm away from securing a medal. In 1999, Yelena improved and won at the World Youth Games in Bydgoszcz, Poland with a vault of 4.10 m to take her first gold medal.
At the 2000 World Junior Championships, Isinbayeva again took first place clearing 4.20 m. The same year the women's pole vault made its debut as an Olympic event in Sydney, Australia where Stacy Dragila of United States took gold. 2001 saw another gold medal for Isinbayeva, this time at the European Junior Championships with a winning height of 4.40 m. She continued to improve in this relatively new event (world records for women's pole vault began in 1992) and 2002 saw her clear 4.55 m at the European Championships finishing 5 cm short of compatriot Svetlana Feofanova's gold medal winning jump.
In 2002 Isinbayeva entered the Volgograd State Academy of Physical Culture and Sport. She would complete her studies in 2005 and would graduate with a specialization in physical education. Continued Progress, and a Memorable 2004. 2003 was another year of progression and saw Yelena win the European Under 23 Championships gold with 4.65 m (in Bydgoszcz). She went onto break the world record clearing 4.82 m on July 13 at a meeting in Gateshead, England.
2004 was the year when the women's pole vault began to evolve as a major sporting event. During a meeting at Donetsk, Ukraine, Isinbayeva set a new indoor worlds best, with a height of 4.83 m only to see Feofanova increase this by a single centimetre the following week. The following month at the World's Indoor in March Yelena broke this with a gold medal winning jump of 4.86 m beating reigning indoor & outdoor champion Feofanova into bronze with reigning Olympic champion Dragila taking silver.
June 27 saw her return to Gateshead and once again the world record mark was improved to 4.87 m. Feofanova bounced back the following week to again break the record by a centimetre in Heraklion, Greece.On July 25 in Birmingham, England, Yelena reclaimed the record jumping 4.89 m and five days later in Crystal Palace, London, added a further centimetre to the record.
The pole vault was one of the most eagerly awaited events at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece and although the competition did not reach the heights that were anticipated the rivalry between Yelena and Feofanova brought the event alive. With all of the other events finished the whole crowd were focused on the pole vault.
When Feofanova failed at 4.90 m the gold medal went to Yelena, who completed the memorable night by attempting and clearing a new world record height of 4.91 m. She broke her own record later that year at the Memorial Van Damme in Brussels with a 4.92 m jump.
In July 2005, she broke the world record four times over three separate meetings. First in Lausanne, Switzerland, she added an extra centimetre to her own mark clearing 4.93 m. It was the 14th world record of Isinbayeva's career coming just three months after she broke her own indoor mark (4.89 m) in Lievin. Eleven days later, in Madrid, Spain, she added an additional 2 cm to clear 4.95 m. In Crystal Palace, London on July 22, after improving the record to 4.96 m, she raised the bar to 5.00 m. She then became the first woman pole vaulter to clear this metric barrier, achieving the mark with a single attempt. At the 2005 World Championships in Athletics, she once again broke her own world record, performing 5.01 m in her second attempt, and winning the competition.
At an indoor meeting on February 12 in Donetsk, Ukraine, Isinbayeva set a new indoor world record. She cleared 4.91 m. In August she won the gold medal at the 2006 European Athletics Championships in Gothenburg.
Isinbayeva was crowned Laureus World Sports Woman of the Year for the 2006 season.
On 10 February 2007 in Donetsk, Ukraine, Isinbayeva broke the world indoor pole vault record again, by clearing 4.93 metres. It was Isinbayeva's 20th world record.
On 28 August 2007 she repeated as world champion in Osaka at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics with a modest 4.80 m, then failing three times at setting a new world record at 5.02 m. The next three competitors did no better than 4.75 m.
During the indoor season, Isinbayeva set her twenty-first world record, clearing 4.95 metres on 16 February 2008 in Donetsk, Ukraine. A few weeks later, in Valencia, Spain, Isinbayeva won the World Indoor Championships over Jennifer Stuczynski. Both vaulters achieved the same height, with Isinbayeva winning by virtue of fewer unsuccessful attempts.
On July 11 2008, at her first competition of the season, Rome's Golden Gala, Isinbayeva broke her own world record, clearing 5.03 metres. This was her first world record outdoors since the 2005 World Championships. Isinbayeva stated that she had tried so many times at 5.02 metres and was still unsuccessful, her coach told her to change something and so she attempted 5.03 metres. This record came just as people began to speculate her fall from the top of pole vaulting, as American Jennifer Stuczynski cleared 4.92 metres at the American Olympic Trials. Isinbayeva stated that this motivated her to maintain her reputation as the world's greatest female pole vaulter. A few weeks later, at the Aviva London Grand Prix, Isinbayeva and Stuczynski copmeted together for the first time of the outdoor season. Isinbayeva won the competition, with Stuczynski finishing second. Both attempted a new world record of 5.04 metres. Isinbayeva was tantalisingly close on her final attempt, with the bar falling only after Isinbayeva had landed on the mat.
Isinbayeva broke her 19-day old world record on July 29, in Monte-Carlo, Monaco. She cleared 5.04 metres, her twenty-third world record, on her final attempt.
On August 18, 2008 Isinbayeva broke her own women's pole vault world record on the way to defending her Olympic title. She beat the record by a centimetre with a clearance of 5.05 metres, finishing ahead of American Jennifer Stuczynski, who cleared 4.80m. Russia's Svetlana Feofanova took bronze with a vault of 4.75m. Isinbayeva showed her delight following her latest achievement: "I was trying to do my best for the crowd [...] It makes me happy, so happy, I felt that I could not go out without the world record because of the support the crowd gave me."
"I remember my feelings from Athens 2004 and I wanted to feel that again," Isinbayeva said. "Everyone was so sure that I would win so I felt a lot of pressure." Isinbayeva also gave her thoughts on the prospects of breaking the number of world records set by pole vault legend Sergei Budka with 35.
"I will do it. I just have 12 more to go. Life would be boring without records to break so I want to continue on forever. "It is hard to be more perfect than this. I will still improve and the next goal is London 2012."
In August 2005, in an interview with the BBC, top UK pole vault coach Steve Rippon remarked that Isinbayeva, "is one of the few female pole vaulters I look at and think her technique is as good as the men's. In fact, the second part of her jump is probably better than any male pole vaulter currently competing. She has a fantastic technique, she's quite tall and she runs extremely well."
Isinbayeva's high level of body control (courtesy of her background in gymnastics) especially pays off in the so-called "L-Phase", where it is vital to use the pole's rebound to convert horizontal speed into height.
Sonia Gandhi
Sonia Gandhi gän´dē , 1946-, Indian politician, b. Turin, Italy, as Sonia Maino. She met Rajiv Gandhi in 1965 when they were students in Cambridge, England.
They were married in 1968 and settled in his family home in India. Sonia Gandhi, who became an Indian citizen in 1983, was close to her mother-in-law, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi , accompanying her on many trips throughout India.
When Indira was assassinated (1984) and succeeded as prime minister by Rajiv, Sonia remained in the background. When Rajiv, too, was assassinated (1991), she continued to shun political life. She finally entered the public arena in 1998, campaigning for the faltering Congress party (see Indian National Congress ); she was instrumental in Congress's winning an increased number of seats in parliament and was elected head of the party.
In the 1999 elections Gandhi won a seat in parliament but failed to lead Congress in a return to power. When the 2004 elections resulted in a surprise victory for Congress and its allies, she chose not to become prime minister but remained the influential leader of the party. She resigned from parliament in 2006 when opposition politicians sought to have her disqualifed because she also headed the National Advisory Council (NAC), an unsalaried government post that nonetheless could be considered an "office of profit" and subject her to parliamentary disqualification. At the same time she also resigned her NAC post. Despite critics who object to her Italian birth, Sonia Gandhi, along with her son, Rahul, and daughter, Priyanka, remain immensely popular heirs to the Nehru family dynasty.
Queen Elizabeth II
Of the many pupils fondly remembered by Horace Smith, Royal Riding Master throughout the reigns of six British Monarchs, one young rider was always held in the very highest esteem. At the age of 12, having already distinguished herself as a gifted and eager horsewoman, Princess Elizabeth confided to her teacher that, had she not been born to be Queen, she would “like to be a lady living in the country with lots of horses and dogs”. These youthful remarks are revealing indeed, demonstrating not only a genuine passion for an aspect of Royal life that outsiders often dismiss as mere pomp and ceremony, but also for a remarkable degree of prescience and acuity. Even as a child, Princess Elizabeth understood the full significance of the role into which she had been born; and yet coupled with that awareness was an ardent desire to lead a simple, traditional country life. Little could the Princess have imagined then just how prophetic her words would be; for it is perhaps this blend of her sense of regal duty with a love of simple pleasures that came so uniquely to characterise the style of Elizabeth II’s reign.
Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary was born in London at 17 Bruton Street, at 2.40am on April 21, 1926. She was the first child of the Duke and Duchess of York, subsequently King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. With the Victorian era not three decades past, it might appear peculiar that Elizabeth’s parents applied so thoroughly modern a manner of bringing up their daughter – for, from the outset, it was decided that the Princess’s life was to be as normal as possible. No longer was the future Monarch to be sheltered from her people’s concerns by Royal excess and opulence; instead, she was to understand the inescapable reality of a nation still coming to terms with the loss of so many of its sons in the First World War. She was born in the year of the General Strike, and British society was undergoing a profound change. Accordingly, the Duke and Duchess of York were determined that Elizabeth should neither be shielded nor spoilt.
Much of the Princess’s early years were spent at the family home at 145 Piccadilly. Her parents’ commitment to providing the future Queen with an appreciation of both her privileges and her responsibilities was absolute. Yet Princess Elizabeth’s first year of life proved a rather solitary affair. Duty-bound to undertake an official visit to Australia in order to open its new Commonwealth Parliament, her parents were obliged to leave her in the hands of her nanny, Clara “Alla” Knight. This early separation was not as traumatic as one might expect – on the contrary, it served to forge an unbreakable bond between Elizabeth and her grandparents. King George V and Queen Mary were immediately entranced by their granddaughter, and proudly informed her parents of every new tooth and word.
When the Yorks returned in June 1927, they found a loving, confident, and slightly mischievous child. “Tillabet”, as the Princess referred to herself, was always ready to amuse. During that year’s Christmas party for the tenants of the Sandringham Estate, she clambered on to the dining-table and proceeded to pelt the guests with cracker after cracker, handed to her by her mother. Her well-developed sense of fun was equally evident in the games that she persuaded her grandfather to play with her. The Archbishop of Canterbury was once utterly discombobulated when, upon attending an audience with George V, he found the King crawling on all fours across the floor, pretending to be a horse, and the young Princess taking the role of groom.
By 1936, the elderly Monarch was dead, and “Tillabet” had become “Lilibet”, the affectionate name by which she is known to her Family to this very day. She had gained a little sister, five years previously, with the birth of Princess Margaret. Princess Elizabeth was initially educated at home, although the Duchess of York had always harboured the hope that one day her daughter would attend public school, and thus learn about matters both intellectual and social. This, however was not to be, as the new King, Edward VIII, had decided that it would not do for a Princess to be educated alongside commoners, and thus Elizabeth received the entirety of her instruction in private.
Given contemporary circumstances, it may well have been the case that the King was merely trying to minimise the level of press scrutiny on the affairs of the Royal Family. His relationship with Wallis Simpson was soon to become the United Kingdom’s most popular source of common gossip, and there can be little doubt that he was apprehensive as to the public reaction when news of her divorce came to light. By the end of 1937, Elizabeth’s life had changed dramatically: Edward VIII had abdicated, her father had been crowned King George VI, and she was Heiress Presumptive to the Throne.
Despite the requisite move to Buckingham Palace, and the ever-increasing pressure of life as the daughter of the King, the 11-year-old Elizabeth was essentially unchanged. Her propensity for pranks and play had been replaced by a more mature and responsible attitude to life and duty, but her formidable sense of humour remained very much intact.
As befitted an Heiress Presumptive, she took it upon herself to discover all she could about the matters that would one day form the basis of her ruling life. She began to attend lessons in constitutional history at Eton College, one of England’s most illustrious and intellectually demanding public schools. Soon, her love of all things historical led her to broaden her education in order to take in the history of Europe. A famous anecdote recounts the occasion on which Princess Marie Louise apologised to her fellow guests at a dinner party held at Windsor Castle for having spoken for so long about her life. With her customary warmth and sincerity, Princess Elizabeth answered: “But Cousin Louise, it’s history, and therefore so thrilling!”
The Princess’s idyllic days of study and self-improvement were soon to be curtailed by the menacing shadow that had fallen over Europe. Hitler’s National Socialist Party, in power since 1933, held Germany in its thrall, and, once again unified with Austria, was threatening to drag the world into another bloody conflict. When war came in September 1939, the people of Great Britain dug deeply, and pulled together as never before. The arbitrary divisions of class were rapidly cast aside as London was pounded by the full force of Germany’s Luftwaffe aircraft.
Princess Elizabeth decided it was time to show that she was ready to assume the full weight of her Royal responsibilities. Realising the need to boost morale, she became patron of organisations whose work she valued. Already President of charities such as the Queen Elizabeth Hospital for Children in Hackney, east London, and the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, she embarked on a series of national visits with the King and Queen. She first bore the full weight of regal office at the age of 18, in 1944, when, during the King’s absence on a tour of the Italian battlefields, she performed many of the official duties of Head of State.
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