The document profiles several influential historical figures from the 20th century including leaders, revolutionaries, and activists. It provides brief biographies on important individuals such as David Ben-Gurion, Winston Churchill, Mohandas Gandhi, Mikhail Gorbachev, Adolf Hitler, Martin Luther King Jr., Ayatullah Khomeini, Vladimir Lenin, Nelson Mandela, Pope John Paul II, Ronald Reagan, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Teddy Roosevelt, Margaret Thatcher, Lech Walesa, Mao Zedong, and others. It also includes definitions of relevant terms and concepts mentioned in the biographies. The document concludes by proposing an assignment to create a powerpoint on the most influential people of a particular group from

1. David Ben-Gurion Part Washington, part Moses, he was the architect of a new nation state that altered the destiny of the Jewish people — and the Middle East. By Amos Oz

2. Ho Chi Minh Founder and president of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, Communist North, is shown on Aug. 11, 1965. by Stanley Karnow

3. Winston Churchill FASCISIM: a governmental system led by a dictator having complete power, forcibly suppressing opposition and criticism, regimenting all industry, commerce, etc., and emphasizing an aggressive nationalism and often racism.www.dictionary.com The master statesman stood alone against fascism and renewed the world's faith in the superiority of democracy (during WWII). By John Keegan

4. Mohandas Gandhi His philosophy of nonviolence and his passion for independence began a drive for freedom that doomed colonialism. By SALMAN RUSHDIE COLONIALISM: the control or governing influence of a nation over a dependent country, territory, or people. WWW.DICTIONARY.COM

5. Mikhail Gorbachev By gently pushing open the gates of reform, he unleashed a democratic flood that deluged the Soviet universe and washed away the cold war. By TATYANA TOLSTAYA Cold War: rivalry after World War II between the Soviet Union and its satellites & the democratic countries of the Western world, under the leader- ship of the U.S. www.dictionary.com

6. Adolf Hitler The avatar of fascism posed the century's greatest threat to democracy and redefined the meaning of evil forever. By ElieWiesel AVATAR: An embodiment, as of a quality or concept; an archetype: the very avatar of cunning www.dictionary.com

7. Martin Luther King He led a mass struggle for racial equality that doomed segregation and changed America forever.By JACK E. WHITE

8. AyatullahRuhollahKhomeini AVENGER: (One who) to inflict a punishment or penalty in return for; revenge: avenge a murder.www.dictionary.com A leader who led an Islamic revolution in Iran, perceived himself above all as an avenger of the humiliations that the West had for more than a century inflicted on the Muslims of the Middle East. By MILTON VIORST

9. Vladimir Ilyich Lenin He reshaped Russia and made communism into a potent global force (1917). By David Remnick

10. Nelson Mandela As the world's most famous prisoner and, went on to be, his country's leader, he exemplifies a moral integrity that shines far beyond South Africa.By ANDRE BRINK

11. Pope John Paul II The most tireless moral voice of a secular age, he reminded humankind of the worth of individuals in the modern world. By William F. Buckley, Jr.

12. Ronald Reagan He guided the American victory in the cold war. Under his leadership, a conflict that had absorbed a half-century of Western blood and treasure was ended — and the good guys finally won. By Peggy Noonan

13. Eleanor Roosevelt She shattered the ceremonial mold in which the role of the First Lady had traditionally been fashioned, and reshaped it around her own skills and her deep commitment to social reform. She gave a voice to people who did not have access to power. She was the first woman to speak in front of a national convention, to write a syndicated column, to earn money as a lecturer, to be a radio commentator and to hold regular press conferences. By Doris Kearns Goodwin

14. Franklin D. Roosevelt Future historians, looking back at this most bloody of centuries, will very likely regard the 32nd President of the U.S., as the leader most responsible for mobilizing democratic energies and faith first against economic collapse and then against military terror. By Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.

15. Teddy Roosevelt As 26th President, he’ll be know for bringing America into the 20th century and beginning its modernization. He was a man of action and an expert in many, many fields.

16. Margaret Thatcher Prime Minister of England (1st woman) from 1979-1990. She participated in the collapse of the Soviet Union and was an extremely effective world leader.

17. Unknown Rebel A Chinese man stands alone to block a line of tanks heading east on Beijing's Cangan Blvd. in Tiananmen Square on June 5, 1989. With a single act of defiance, a lone Chinese hero revived the world's image of courage. By Pica Iyer

18. Margaret Sanger Her crusade to legalize birth control spurred the movement for women's liberation. By Gloria Steinem

19. LechWalesa The fly, feisty, mustachioed electrician from Gdansk, shaped the 20th century as the leader of the Solidarity movement that led the Poles out of communism. By Timothy Garton Ash Solidarity Movement: anti- communist Social movement in Poland. A bunch of workers stood up against the Polish govern- ment and won eventually doing away with Communism in Poland.

20. Mao Zedong His ruthless vision united a fractured people and inspired revolutions far beyond China's borders. The leader of the Chinese Peoples Republic in the 1960-1970’s by Jonathon Spence

21. Time Magazine: Most influential people of the 20th century.http://www.time.com/time/time100/leaders Create a power point outlining the most influential people of our decade. Create a twist narrowing your focus by looking only at women, only at teenagers, only at Hispanics, only at African Americans, only at mothers, only at celebrities, only at Coloradans, only at scientists, only at… Choose 10-20 people. Follow this format using a picture, the name and a brief description of the person supporting your choice. Presentation to class. You may work independently or with ONE other person. Remember to cite your sources!! I think I will do this assignment too. I’m thinking about looking at teachers.