Leonardo da Vinci was born on 15 April 1452 near the Tuscan town of
Vinci, the illegitimate son of a local lawyer. He was apprenticed to the
sculptor and painter Andrea del Verrocchio in Florence and in 1478
became an independent master. In about 1483, he moved to Milan to
work for the ruling Sforza family as an engineer, sculptor, painter and
architect. From 1495 to 1497 he produced a mural of 'The Last Supper'
in the refectory of the Monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milan.
Da Vinci was in Milan until the city was invaded by the French in 1499
and the Sforza family forced to flee. He may have visited Venice before
returning to Florence. During his time in Florence, he painted several
portraits, but the only one that survives is the famous 'Mona Lisa'
(1503-1506).
In 1506, da Vinci returned to Milan, remaining there until 1513. This
was followed by three years based in Rome. In 1517, at the invitation
of the French king Francis I, Leonardo moved to the Château of Cloux,
near Amboise in France, where he died on 2 May 1519.
Neil Alden Armstrong (August 5, 1930 – August 25, 2012) was an
American astronaut and historian and is known as the first person to
walk on the moon. On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin
landed on the moon in a small spacecraft that had been sent to the
moon using the Saturn V rocket. The rocket was called Apollo 11. They
both walked on the moon, and millions of people watched and heard
this event on live television.
He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautical engineering
from the Purdue University and a Master of Science degree in
Aerospace engineering from the University of Southern California. In
1970 he received an Honorary Doctorate of Engineering from the
Purdue University. From 1971 to 1979 he became professor for
aerospace engineering at the University of Cincinnati.
In 2005 he received the Honorary Doctorate of letters from the
University of Southern California. The Houston Chronicle newspaper
reported on October 1, 2006, that Australian computer programmer
Peter Shann Ford found the missing "a" from Armstrong's famous first
words on the Moon. Ford reported that he downloaded the audio
recording from a NASA web site and analyzed it using editing software
originally intended for use with hearing disabled people. Armstrong is
said to have been pleased with Ford's finding of the missing "a".
Abraham Lincoln was born on 12 February 1809 near Hodgenville,
Kentucky. He was brought up in Kentucky, Indiana and Illinois. His
parents were poor pioneers and Lincoln was largely self-educated. In
1836, he qualified as a lawyer and went to work in a law practice in
Springfield, Illinois. He sat in the state legislature from 1834 to 1842
and in 1846 was elected to Congress, representing the Whig Party for
a term. In 1856, he joined the new Republican Party and in 1860 he
was asked to run as their presidential candidate.
In the presidential campaign, Lincoln made his opposition to slavery
very clear. His victory provoked a crisis, with many southerners fearing
that he would attempt to abolish slavery in the South. Seven southern
states left the Union to form the Confederate States of America, also
known as the Confederacy. Four more joined later. Lincoln vowed to
preserve the Union even if it meant war.
In 1864, Lincoln stood for re-election and won. In his second inaugural
address, he was conciliatory towards the southern states.
On 9 April 1865, the Confederate general Robert E Lee surrendered,
effectively ending the war. It had lasted for more than four years and
600,000 Americans had died. Less than a week later, Lincoln was shot
while attending a performance at Ford's Theatre in Washington DC and
died the next morning, 15 April 1865. His assassin, John Wilkes Booth,
was a strong supporter of the Confederacy.
