Famous Americans

Lesson 6, Ex.2

Not everyone who's on top today got there with success after success. More often than not, those who history best remembers were faced with numerous problems that made them work harder and show more determination than others. Next time you're feeling down about your failures at school or any other business, keep these ten famous people in mind and remind yourself that sometimes failure is just the first step towards success.

A. While Henry Ford is known as one of the richest and influential people in the world whose introduction of the Model T automobile revolutionized transportation and American industry, he wasn't an immediate success. In fact, his early businesses failed and left him broke five times before he founded the successful Ford Motor Company.

B. Bill Gates didn't seem to promise any success after giving up his studies in Harvard and starting a failed first business called Traf-O-Data with his friend Paul Allen. While this early idea didn't work, Gates' later work did, creating the global empire that is Microsoft.

C. Today Walt Disney rakes in billions from products, movies and theme parks around the world, but Walt Disney himself had a bit of a rough start. Hardly had he started his first job in a newspaper when he was fired because, "he lacked imagination and had no good ideas." After that, Disney started a number of businesses that didn't last too long and ended with loss of money and failure. He kept working hard, however, and eventually found a recipe for success that worked.

D. Most of us take Albert Einstein's name as synonymous with genius, but he didn't always show such promise. Einstein did not speak until he was four and did not read until he was seven, causing his teachers and parents to think he had mental problems, was slow and anti-social. Eventually, he was expelled from school and couldn’t enter the Zurich Polytechnic School. It might have taken him a bit longer, but most people would agree that he caught on pretty well in the end, winning the Nobel Prize and changing the face of modern physics.

E. In his early years, teachers told Thomas Edison he was "too stupid to learn anything." Work was no better, as he was fired from his first two jobs for not being productive enough. Even as an inventor, Edison made 1,000 unsuccessful attempts at inventing the light bulb. Of course, all those unsuccessful attempts finally resulted in the design that worked.

F. The brothers Orville and Wilbur Wright had to cope with depression and family illness before starting the bicycle shop that would lead them to experimenting with flight. After numerous attempts at creating flying machines, several years of hard work, and tons of failed models, the brothers finally created a plane that could get up in the air and stay there.

G. While today Abraham Lincoln is remembered as one of the greatest leaders of our nation, Lincoln's life wasn't so easy. In his youth he went to war a captain and returned a private (if you're not familiar with military ranks, just know that private is as low as it goes.) Lincoln didn't stop failing there, however. He started numerous failed businesses and lost in numerous elections for public office he participated in.

H. Oprah Winfrey: Most people know Oprah as one of the most iconic faces on TV as well as one of the richest and most influential women in the world. Oprah faced a hard road to get to that position, however, having a terrible childhood. No sooner had she been born than her teenage mother fled away leaving her to live on her grandmother’s farm. The family was so poor that Winfrey often wore dresses made of potato sacks, for which the local children made fun of her. At 13, after years of horrific life, Winfrey ran away from home. Later she also had numerous career setbacks including losing her job as a television reporter because she was "unfit for TV."

I. Stephen King: The first book by this author, the iconic thriller Carrie, was turned down 30 times, finally causing King to give up and throw it in the trash. His wife fished it out and encouraged him to finish it and send it again, and the rest is history, with King now having hundreds of books published the distinction of being one of the best-selling authors of all time. His books have sold more than 350 million copies which have been made into many movies and television films.

Famous People of Belarus

The Belarusian land gave birth to many famous people whose names are known all over the world.    The history of the Belarusian culture is more than one thousand years old. The names of such Belarusian thinkers as Euphrosyne Polotskaya and Kirill Turovsky have been known since ancient times. Since the 12th century we have known the name of the great Belarusian jeweler Lazar Bogsha and his priceless creation - the Cross of St. Euphrosyne, which was decorated with numerous precious stones.    The age of Renaissance enriched our culture with new names of great Belarusian statesmen, writers and printers. For example, Lev Sapega, the dynasty of Radzivil, Mikola Gusovsky and many others. The name of the first printer Francisak Skaryna and his followers Symon Budny and Vasil Tyapinsky are known throughout the world. In 2000 we celebrated the 510th anniversary of the birth of Dr. F. Skaryna, the first-printer and the first translator of the Bible into the native Belarusian language.    It goes without saying Belarusian literature has made a great contribution to world literature. The names of Yanka Kupala and Yakub Kolas, Maxim Bagdanovich, Kandrat Krapiva, Vladimir Korotkevich, Vasil Bykov are world famous. These names are followed by a number of other well-known writers and poets, such as K. Chorny , P. Brovka, I. Shamyakin, M. Tank, N. Gilevich, A. Adamovich. Their works are translated into many European languages. Many of Minsk streets are named after the Belarusian writers.    As for Belarusian art the names of K. Malevich, Mark Shagal, Ya. Drosdovich, A. Isachev, M. Savitsky and others are known far beyond the borders of our country.    The Belarusian culture is also famous for its ballet. The Opera and Ballet Theatre in Minsk is the center of the national Belarusian school of ballet. V. Elizaryev is one of the famous choreographers in the world. The national Belarusian theatre school is well-known too. The names of G. Makarova, S. Stanyuta, N. Eremenko, L. Filatov and other actors of the Y. Kupala Academic Theatre are also of great popularity abroad.    It's also a pleasure to mention the names of such famous Belarusian composers as N. Churkin, I. Luchenok, V. Alovnikov, A. Bogatyrev, N. Aladov. The Belarusian groups "Pesnyary", "Verasy", "Charovnitsa", "N.R.M." and dance group "Khoroshky" have been a great success in Europe.    Many prominent names in the history of Belarus of the 20th century are connected with two main events, the Great Patriotic War and space exploration. All Belarusians fought heroically defending their Motherland. But we are especially proud of the heroes of the last war: K. Zaslonov, E. Osipova, N. Gastello, V. Talalikhin, the defenders of Brest fortress and many others. In the family of cosmonauts there are also two Belarusians, A. Kovalyonok and P. Klimuk.    At the present day time, the time of revaluation of values, it's difficult to find heroes, especially among politicians. Time will put everything in its place and give everybody his due. But one thing is obvious: great times are created by great men. Their names are sure to become history whatever it may be.

Famous Belarusians - 2

http://eng.belarustourism.by/belarus/people/

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Who_are_some_famous_people_from_belarus

Who are some famous people from Belarus?

1)Barbara Radziwill 
Grand Duchess, Queen of Poland

2) Tadeusz Kosciuszko 

Born in Belarus in 1746, Kosciuszko is considered a national hero in America, Belarus and Poland for his leadership in the American Revolutionary War and the uprising against Imperial Russia and the Prussian Empire in 1794.

3) Ignat Domejko

Born in Belarus in 1802. Domejko was a well-known geologist who spent most of his life in Chile where he became a national hero. He is officially recognised by UNESCO for his achievements.

4)Zhores Alferov 

Born in Vitebsk in 1930, Alferov won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 2000.

5) Louis Burt Mayer 

Born in Minsk in 1885. Cinematographer Luis Bart Mayer is best known as one of founders of the Hollywood film studio "Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer".

6) Haim Wiezman 

Born in Belarus in the small village near Pinsk in 1874. Haim Weizman was an outstanding chemist who gave lectures in Switzerland and Great Britain. As an active Zionist he was selected as a first president of Israel (1949) and remained at this post until his death (1952).

7) Francysk Skaryna

Born in Polotsk in 1486. Skaryna is most famous in Belarus for translating the Bible into Belarusian. 

8) Saint Euphrosyne 

Born in the 12th century, Euphrosyne is considered the patron saint of Belarus. Descended from a noble family, she became a nun at the age of 12 and spent her life helping the poor and building churches and monasteries across Belarus. She died on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and her relics were returned to Belarus in 1910.

9) Maxim Mirnyi

Maxim Mirnyi is the most famous Belarusian tennis player. He has won a series of international doubles titles and has led the Belarus national team to its best-ever result in the Davis Cup.

10) Victoria Azarenka 

Women's Tennis Association (WTA) World No. 1, April 2012.

11) Darya Domracheva 

The bronze medalist in the women's 15km individual race at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver. The winner of the Biathlon Award 2010 (Female Athlete of the Year).

http://www.belarus.by/en/about-belarus/famous-belarusians
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_from_Belarus
http://www.belarusguide.com/as/heritage/famous.html

The Nobel Prize

The Nobel Prize  - any of six international prizes awarded annually for outstanding work in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature, economics (since 1969), and the promotion of peace. The Nobel Prizes, first awarded in 1901, were established by the will of Alfred Nobel and are traditionally awarded on December 10, the anniversary of his death. The awards are decided by boards of deputies appointed by Swedish learned societies and, in the case of the peace prize, by the Norwegian Parliament.

Alfred Bernhard Nobel (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈɑlfred noˈbɛl] (21 October 1833 – 10 December 1896) was a Swedish chemist, engineer, innovator, and armaments manufacturer. He was the inventor of dynamite.