The Woodguy's Favorite Interesting People
Page
Welcome to the Woodguy's Favorite Interesting People page.
The people on this page are people whom I find interesting for one
reason or another. It doesn't necessarily mean I like these people,
but in most cases, I do. They are not listed in any particular
order.
This page is under 
construction. Many more
people will be added as time allows. No, I'm not a male chauvinist pig, there are many great women whom I admire, but I haven't as yet added them to this page.
Theodore Roosevelt
 |
Theodore Roosevelt was bigger than
life. Known for his policy of walking softly and carrying a big
stick. TR suffered from asthma as a child and through perseverence
and determination overcame the crippling disease. He worked
diligently to improve his mind and body. He was a graduate of
Harvard University, a cowboy in South Dakota, Police Commisioner of
New York City, Under-Secretarly of the Navy, Colonel of the Rough
Riders during the Spanish American War, Vice President, the 26th
President of the United States of America, namesake of the Teddy
Bear, builder of the Panama Canal, author of over 30 books, trust
buster, preservationist, conservationist, and Amazon explorer. |
Abraham Lincoln
 |
>The 16th President of the United
States of America. Known as the Great Emancipator. Lincoln
was born in Kentucky and, as a child, moved to Illinois. He was a
lawyer, congressman, and President. Lincoln was President during
the most difficult time in U. S. history, the
American Civil War.
During the consecration of the National Cemetary in Gettysburg,
Abraham Lincoln delivered one of the greatest speeches ever written,
the Gettysburg Address. |
Thomas Jefferson
 |
The 3rd President of the United
States of America. Jefferson was an inventor,
architect and builder,
author, philosopher, writer of the
Declaration
of Independence, architect of the Louisiana Purchase, President.
Jefferson contracted Lewis and Clark to explore the new territories
and discover a Northwest Passage to the Pacific.
|
Martin Luther King,
Jr.
 |
Leader of the Civil Rights movement
in the 1960s. Born in Atlanta, GA, pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist
Church, activist, pacifist, philosopher, proponent of non-violent
protest, leader of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, orator, wirter,
Nobel Peace prize winner in 1964, and delivered the
I
Have a Dream speech in Washington, DC in 1963 and the
I see
the Promised Land speech in Memphis, TN in 1968. |
William Shakespeare
 |
Possibly the greatest writer in the
English language. William Shakespeare was a playwrite and poet in
Elizabethan England. His plays are still performed today and are
produced as motion pictures around the world. For example, the great
Japanese film director, Akira Kurasawa made several of Shakespeare's
play into films and set them in medieval Japan. His production of
Ran is a brilliant interpretation of King
Lear. Performing Shakespeare, either on stage or film is
the every actor's greatest challenge. Every actor from Elizabeth
Taylor to Mel Gibson has performed Shakespeare. I keep a copy of The
Complete
Works of William Shakespeare with me at work (I've managed to
squeeze some lines from Shakespeare into my technical writing for
IBM), at home, and in my pickup. My favorite plays are Romeo
and Juliet, Macbeth, Henry the
Fifth, King Lear, and The
Tempest.
|
Mark Twain
 |
Mark Twain may very well be the
greatest American writer. Born in Missouri as Samuel Clemens, he
adoped the nom de plume of Mark Twain in honor of his days of
working on Mississippi river boats in which he writes about in
Life on the Mississippi. His most well known and
treasured novels are The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and
The
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (one of my favorite
books). Mark Twain, a great humorist, is also known for his remarks
on life that are still
quoted
today.
|
General George S. Patton
 |
General George S. Patton was our
most flambouyant military leader during the World War II. Patton was
an historian, writer, an mystic. Patton fought in the U.S. Cavalry
against
Pancho
Villa in Mexico, under General John "Blackjack"
Pershing during World War I where he became involved with the
mechanized cavalry. During World War II, Patton took command of the
2nd Corp in North Africa. He led the American forces in the
invasion of Sicily. Patton was removed from command after the
famous
slapping
incident, but was reinstated as leader of the 3rd Army after
the invasion of France. His troops were the first to reach Paris
and relieved Bastogne during the
Battle
of the Bulge. My step-father fought in Patton's 3rd Army,
26th
Infantry Division (The Yankee Division) and was in Belgium
wounded during the Battle of the Bulge. |
Michael Collins
 |
Michael Collins was born in County
Cork, Ireland in 1890. Secretary and then President of the Irish
Republican Brotherhood. Collins took part in the
Easter Rising
of 1916 in Dublin. Collins spent several months as a "guest" of
the English forces occupying Ireland as prisoner of war after the
Rising was put down. Collins led a guerilla war in Ireland against
Great Britain to free Ireland from British rule until the English
relented and started talks for Irish Home Rule. Collins signed a
treaty with England that separated Ireland into the Republic of
Ireland and Northern Ireland. During the Irish Civil War that
followed between pro-treaty and anti-treaty factions, Collins was
appointed Commander-and-Chief of the Army. In 1922, Collins was
assassinated in in his home County Cork. The struggle to
free all of
Ireland continues to this day.
|
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