Famous personality

Ten European countries present famous personalities

FRANCE Marie Skłodowska-Curie (7 November 1867 – 4 July 1934) She was a Polish and naturalized-French physicist and chemist who conducted pioneering research on radioactivity.

She was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, the first person (and only woman) to win twice, the only person to win twice in multiple sciences, and was part of the Curie family legacy of five Nobel Prizes. She was also the first woman to become a professor at the University of Paris, and in 1995 became the first woman to be entombed on her own merits in the Panthéon in Paris.

FRANCE Charles de Gaulle (Nov. 22nd 1890 – Nov. 9th 1970) was born in the industrial region of Lille in the North of France and was the third of five children.

He was raised in a family of devout Roman Catholics who were patriotic and traditionalist, but also quite progressive.

He was a French General and Statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the Fifth French Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969.

He is considered a hero thanks to his repeated service to his country.

France has many monuments built to commemorate his life, from statues to the names of metro stops. France's largest airport, located just outside Paris is even named after him: L’Aeroport Charles de Gaulle!

FRENCH GUIANA Christiane Taubira, Minister of Justice in the French government

FRENCH GUIANA Christiane Taubira, was born on February 2nd, 1952 in Cayenne (French Guiana). She is a French politician, currently Minister of Justice, Garde des Sceaux (Keeper of the Seals Minister of Justice) appointed since May 16th, 2012 in the two governments constituted by Jean-Marc Ayrault. Now, she is the Minister of justice in Manuel Valls government.

She is at the origin of the Act of May 21st 2001 recognizing black people slavery started in the 15th century as a crime against humanity.

She also defended the Act authorising the union between two people of the same gender.

Originally on the left wing in the Parti Socialiste, then candidate in the Parti Radical de Gauche (PRG) during the presidential election of 2002, she has nevertheless remained entirely faithful to only one party, Walwari (a range in French Guianese creole), which she founded in 1993. (by Sophonie Auguste 3ème)

GERMANY

GERMANY Albert Einstein 1879: Albert Einstein was born on 14.03.1879 in Ulm 1896: He begins a mathematical-physical subject teacher studies at the Technische Hochschule Zurich.

1900: Diploma as a teacher of mathematics and physics.

1905: Publications in the "Annals of Physics" about quantum theory and the theory of relativity 1909: Einstein receives a professor of theoretical physics at the University of Zurich.

1914: Since April 1st he can devote himself exclusively to his research at the Prussian Academy of Sciences in Berlin.

1920: Because of his research and his Jewish background Einstein is attacked in Germany.

1925-1927: He works on the quantum theory.

1933: Einstein immigrated to the United States where he gets a new job at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton (New Jersey).

1945: August 6 and 9: After the dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the U.S. Air Force Einstein founded the "Emergency Committee of Atomic Scientists.

1955: He died in Princeton, New Jersey on 18th April 1955.

GERMANY Wernher von Braun Wernher von Braun was a German and later an American rocket engineer and visionary of space.

He was born in Wirsitz on 23 March 1912.

After the Nazis came to power, he joined the SS. He developed the both Rockets “Max and Moritz”. They were tested in a small village called Kummersdorf. In 1936 he developed the next generation of rockets, the A-3! These rockets were too big for a small village like Kummersdorf, so they had to move to a bigger village, Peenemünde.There he worked from 1937 until 1945 Later the rockets weren´t called A, then they were called V for the German word Vergeltung (retaliation).

After World War II,Von Braun and about 100 other scientists were brought to the United States after they surrendered. There, he worked for NASA. In 1955, ten years after entering the country, von Braun became a US citizen. He was very popular as a rocket engineer. Von Braun's work gave people a wider view into the unverse. His rockets sent out spacecrafts like Voyager 1.He also was a producer of the Saturn V rocket, which took people to the moon. NASA is using his ideas to make the Ares V rockets.

He died in Alexandria (Virginia) on 16 June 1977 because of colon cancer.

GERMANY Alexander von Humboldt Alexander von Humboldt was born on 14th September 1769 in Berlin. He was a Prussian geographer and explorer and went to South America, Northern America and Asia for his science trips. He studied physics, chemistry, geology, biology, astronomy and much more. One of his nicknames was the second Columbus or the new Aristoteles.

Alexander von Humboldt was very bad at school, but in his free time he collected insects, plants and stones. He was very interested in all kinds of nature, when he was a child. Later in his life he never slept more than four hours because he loved science so much and worked all the time and made experiments. In 1799 he began a trip to America and the trip ended in 1805.

He won many prizes in his life, but not only German prizes. He won prices from Russia, France and Brazil, too. Later he met the American president Thomas Jefferson.

He died in Berlin on 6th May 1859 when he was 89 years old.

GREECE Georgios Papanikolaou/Γεώργιος Παπανικολάου 1883-1962 Georgios Nikolaou Papanikolaou was a Greek pioneer in cytopathology and early cancer detection, and inventor of the "Pap smear".

Papanikolaou studied at the University of Athens, where he received his medical degree in 1904. Six years later he received his Ph.D. from the University of Munich, Germany.He had also spent time at the universities of Jena and Freiburg. In 1910, Papanikolaou returned to Athens and got married to Andromahi Mavrogeni and then departed for Monaco where he worked for the Oceanographic Institute of Monaco, participating in the Oceanographic Exploration Team of the Prince of Monaco (1911). In 1913 he emigrated to the U.S. in order to work in the department of Pathology of New York Hospital and the Department of Anatomy at the Cornell Medical College Cornell University.

He first reported that uterine cancer could be diagnosed by means of a vaginal smear in 1928, but the importance of his work was not recognized until the publication, together with Herbert Frederick Traut, of Diagnosis of Uterine Cancer by the Vaginal Smear in 1943. The book discusses the preparation of vaginal and cervical smears, physiologic cytologic changes during the menstrual cycle, the effects of various pathological conditions, and the changes seen in the presence of cancer of the cervix and of the endometrium of the uterus. He thus became known for his invention of the Papanicolaou test, commonly known as the Pap smear or Pap test, which is used worldwide for the detection and prevention of cervical cancer and other cytologic diseases of the female reproductive system.

In 1961 he moved to Miami, Florida, to develop the Papanicolaou Cancer Research Institute at the University of Miami, but died in 1962 prior to its opening.

Papanicolaou was the recipient of the Albert Lasker Award for Clinical Medical Research in 1950.

Papanikolaou's portrait appeared on the obverse of the Greek 10,000-drachma banknote of 1995-2001,[4] prior to its replacement by the Euro. In 1978 his work was honored by the U.S. Postal Service with a 13-cent stamp for early cancer detection.

At a 1928 medical conference in Battle Creek, Michigan, Papanicolaou introduced his low-cost, easily performed screening test for early detection of cancerous and precancerous cells. However, this potential medical breakthrough was initially met with skepticism and resistance from the scientific community.

GREECE

ITALY GALILEO GALILEI Galileo Galilei (Pisa 1564-Florence1642) is an Italian astronomer and physicist and he has been called the founder of modern experimental science.

1584- He discovered the law of the pendulum while watching a great lamp swing from the ceiling of the cathedral in Pisa.

1585- He invented the hydrostatic balance, which is used to find the specific gravity of objects by weighing them in water.

1589- He discovered the famous law of falling bodies.

1597- He invented the sector, a type of compass still used by draftsmen.

1610- He discovered the four bright satellites of Jupiter.

1612- He improved the power of telescope.

1630- He added support to the Copernican system: the Earth moves around the sun and not the contrary 1632- He published his masterpiece "A Dialogue on the two Principal System of the World". The Holy Office, or Inquisition,immediately called him to appear before it. The Church also bitterly opposed Galileo’s theories and confined him to a villa in Florence.

1635/1642- He spent his last years writing on the laws of force, motion, acceleration and gravity.

ITALY RITA LEVI - MONTALCINI RITA LEVI - MONTALCINI (Turin 1909 – Rome 2012) was a great woman who won the Nobel Prize for physiology or medicine in 1986.

1936: She graduated in medicine and surgery. She worked at the university in Turin.

1938: Benito Mussolini instituted laws in Italy that decreed that people with Jewish heritage, like Levi-Montalcini, could no longer work at universities or in most professions, including medicine. But Rita proceeded to set up a lab in her bedroom, where she used surgical instruments made out of sharpened sewing needles.

1945-46: She served as a doctor in a refugee camp before returning to the University of Turin.

1947: She became a professor at Washington University. She isolated nerve growth factor, a protein that promotes nerve growth in nearby developing cells. So this offers possible treatments for condition such as Alzheimer’s disease, infertility and cancer.

1962: She established the Institute of Cell Biology in Rome.

1986: She won the Nobel Prize for her discovery of a protein that stimulates nerve cell growth.

1992: She created an educational foundation, because she believed that “ with education we can beat ignorance that is at the root of poverty and hunger”.

2002: She set up the European Brain Research Institute.

2007: She became a Senator for life in the Italian Parliament.

2002-2012: She continued conducting research every day.

“It is the imperfection – not perfection – that is the end result of the program written into that formidably complex engine that is the human brain.”

POLAND Astronomer Copernicus, or Conversations with God by Jan Matejko

Nicolaus Copernicus

POLAND Nicolaus Copernicus was born on 19th February, 1473 in Toruń , in Poland.

He was an astronomer, mathematician, translator and polyglot, doctor of canon law, scientist and practising physician. He was also economist , who formulated a version of “quantity theory of money” and worked on military strategy. Copernicus was also diplomat and a priest.

He is best known as the first astronomer who thought that it is not the Sun going around the Earth, but the other way round. He noticed that other planets also orbit the Sun. He wrote a book called “De revolutionibus orbium coelestium”, which is often thought - the most important book about astronomy. It was published for the very first time in 1542 and caused changes in science which are known as the Copernican Revolution.

Copernicus studied astronomy at the university of Bologna and then medicine and philosophy in Padova in Italy. In Italy he learned about works of Plato and Cicero on astronomy and it helped him to form his own works. For a long time he was afraid to share his theory, because he knew it would be thought as heresy.

The ideas of Nicolaus Copernicus were very important for the evolution of astronomy and still are the base of today’s knowledge about Solar System.

Copernicus died in 1543 - a year after his revolutionary book was published.

SLOVAKIA š ɒ

ʌʃ

He is a Slovak inventor, pioneer in wireless telecommunication. Probably he was the first in the world who made a radio transmission with some spoken words. His patents have gained recognition all around the world.

He was born on 17th of February 1864 in Tajov, Slovakia. He studied at gymnasium in Banská Bystrica, but he was interested in painting, too. Then he studied at Bratislava´s seminar and later in the year 1884 at Ostrihom´s seminar. In year 1888 he was ordained to be a Roman-Catholic´s churchman. Later he studied painting in Budapest, than 4 years at art academy in Munich. He painted some altarpieces in every church where he acted.

In Ostrihom he became interested in electronics. In 1896, he went to USA to Wilkes Barre. There he started with electronics. In 1903, Murgaš sent his first sign-up for patent acceptance. He was given two patents by the Federal Patent Ministry in 1904.

1907 – he invented an electric transformer, 1908 - he invented an equipment for the production of electromagnetic waves, 1909 – he created a detector of electromagnetic waves.

His most important discovery is still the achievement of the wireless transmission of speech for which he is mentioned in history as the inventor of radio.

He was also popular for collecting of mushrooms, minerals and plants, he had a unique collection of insects He used his contacts to pave the way for negotiations for establishing Czechoslovakia, which had to arise upon the agreement of 30 May 1918 in Pittsburgh. Murgaš was one of the signatories of the Pittsburgh Agreement. He organized a collection among American Slovaks to yield $ 1 million to fund basic cash exchange of Czechoslovakia.

SLOVAKIA

SPAIN

SPAIN Adolfo Suárez was a Spanish lawyer and a politician. Suárez was the first democratically elected Prime Minister in Spain after the dictatorship of Francisco Franco, and the key figure in the country's transition to democracy.

Ramón y Cajal was a Spanish pathologist, histologist, neuroscientist and Nobel laureate. His original pioneering investigations of the microscopic structure of the brain have led him to be designated by many as the father of modern neuroscience.

Santa Teresa de Jesús was a prominent Spanish mystic, Roman Catholic saint, Carmelite nun, an author of the Counter Reformation and theologian of contemplative life through mental prayer.

She was a reformer of the Carmelite Order.

Severo Ochoa was a Spanish - American Doctor of Medicine and Biochemist and he won the Nobel Prize in Physiology in 1959. He worked in some universities in USA and Europe doing some research.

SWEDEN Raoul Wallenberg was a Swedish architect and businessman. He was born in the 4th of july, 1912.

His family was famous and they still are. He worked at the Swedish embassy, in Budapest. He is famous because he saved tenthousands of Jews from the nazi under the Holocaust. In 1944 he handed out Swedish passes to the Jews and then he protected them in buildings on the Swedish territory. 1945 he got suspected for spying and after that he disappeard. Everyone thought that he was kidnapped by the Russia. He we kept in Lubjanka, a building in Moscow, Russia. No one knows why he was kidnapped by the Russians and no one will probably ever know, because there was never clear what actually happened to him. It was reported that he died in 17th of july, 1947. He is still very important today in Sweden.

He has many schools, streets and parks called after him in Sweden. He got honor membership in USA, Canada, Australia and Israel. He was the second person after Winston Churchill that have been given honor membership in USA.

SWEDEN Alfred Nobel was born 21of October 1833 in Stockholm and is known for that he invented dynamite and other explosive things. He devoted himself to study explosives. Alfred Nobel invented dynamite to get a much safer explosive, which was invented year 1867. Alfred Nobel established the Nobel prices year 1895. The prices are: physics, chemistry, literature, peace, physiology or medicine and Nobel memorial prize in economic sciences. The peace prize is awarded in Oslo, Norway while the other prizes are awarded in Stockholm.

Ellen Key a world- known writer, educator, peace zealot

, feminist and visionary. During the 1890s she was in the centre of the national debate and was both praised and criticised for her views. In 1900 she had her international breakthrough with her most famous book Child's Century, which was translated into 13 languages. She wished that all women would have the right to vote . She could vote for the first time in 1921 when she was 72 years old. She died in her house 1926 , where she created a centre for women, which is still used today.

TURKEY CAHİT ARF(1910-1997) The most important Turkish mathematician Cahit Arf was born in Thessaloniki. With the outbreak of the Balkan War, Arf’s family escaped to Istanbul. Cahit Arf’s interest in mathematics was stimulated during his school years in Izmir by a teacher who encouraged him to solve problems in Euclidean geometry.In 1926 Arf won a scholarship to continued his education in Paris and he returned to France,graduating from the Ecole Normale Superieure after spending two years there. Arf joined the Mathematics Department of Istanbul University. In 1937,he went to the University of Göttingen to study for his doctorate under the supervision of Helmut Hasse.He completed his doctoral studies in 1938 obtaining, among other results,the theorem now known as the Hasse Arf theorem.He had studied at Göttingen through the very difficult period leading up to World War II but Hasse asked him to remain there for another year to continue his work and during this period Arf’s work produced what are today called the Arf invariants. Arf returned from Germany to Istanbul University where he worked until 1962.He was promoted to professor in 1943 and to ordinarius professor in 1955. During this period he spent one year as a visiting professor at the University of Maryland and was honoured by being elected a corresponding member of the Mainz Academy. In 1963 Arf taught at Robert Collage in Istanbul.Then, between 1964 and 1966,Arf worked at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton in the United States.After remaining in the United States for a further year spent visiting the University of California at Berkeley,he returned to Turkey in 1967 and joined the Middle East Technical Univesity in Ankara.Arf retired in 1980 and lived in Istanbul. Arf played a prominent role in establishing TUBITAK in 1971,the Scientific and Technical Research Council of Turkey.

TURKEY

Register France: French Guiana:

Marie Skłodowska-Curie, Charles de Gaulle Christiane Taubira

Germany:

Albert Einstein, Wernher von Braun, Alexander von Humboldt

Greece:

Georgios Papanikolaou

Italy: Poland:

Galileo Galilei, Rita Levi - Montalcini Nicolaus Copernicus

Slovakia:

Jozef Murgaš

Spain:

Adolfo Suárez, Ramón y Cajal, Santa Teresa de Jesús, Severo Ochoa

Sweden:

Raoul Wallenberg, Alfred Nobel, Ellen Key

Turkey:

Cahit Arf

Peaceful Horizons - C.O.M.P.A.S.S. Logo of the project

„Peaceful Horizons: Come over – make a project attempt to social solidarity (C.O.M.P.A. S.S)“ is a Comenius project that joined 10 European countries in an attempt to fight against stereotypes, xenophobia and its aim is developing a better knowledge of our different cultural heritages, raising awareness of cultural identity in a local, national and European context. Encouraging, through ongoing contact with other people and cultures, a positive view of European citizenship. Encouraging solidarity and open-mindedness among the different cultures, including the opportunity to make friends with people from other countries and cultures.

Mrs.Sandrine BOITIERE KILANI, Magali RAVEL and Annette SOKOLOWSKI - Lycée Henri Bergson, Paris, FRANCE Mrs. Sandra MACABRE - Collège La Canopée, Matoury, FRENCH GUIANA Ms. Birgit DRUBE-BLOCK - Haupt- und Realschule Grasberg/Worpswede mit Standort Worpswede, GERMANY Mrs. Athanasia KRIKONI- 1o Gymnasio Palamas, Palamas Karditsa, GREECE Mrs. Giuseppa PICCOTTI - Scuola Secondaria I Grado "Mastro Giorgio", Gubbio, ITALY Mrs. Katarzyna ŁASTAWIECKA - Fundacja Szkolna, Warszawa, POLAND Mrs. Gabriela KRÍŽOVSKÁ - Základná škola s materskou školou, Jarná ulica 3168/13, Poprad, SLOVAKIA Miss Carmen LOZANO ACEDO - Colegio Nuestra Señora del Carmen, Badajoz, SPAIN Mrs. Zenita NORDBERG - Brattebergsskolan Öckerö kommun, Öckerö, SWEDEN Mr. Yasin SEVIM - Hasan Zeki Boz Anadolu Lisesi, Uşak, TURKEY The work presented in this document is supported by the European Union. The content of this document is the sole responsibility of the author and it does not represent the opinion of the European Union and the European Union is not responsible or liable for any use that might be made of information contained herein.

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