Saddam Hussein was the President of Iraq from 1979 to 2003, during which time he developed a reputation for enforcing one of the world’s most brutal dictatorships. His regime was responsible for countless massacres, which targeted Kurds, Shia Muslims and opponents of the Ba’ath Party, among others. In just 50 minutes, you will find out about the events that led...
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Saint Thomas Aquinas is one of the most influential Catholic theologians of all time, and left behind a vast body of work on an impressively wide range of subjects. In particular, he believed that theology could not exist without philosophy, that reason can allow us to attain knowledge of God’s existence, and that happiness is a key goal of human...
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Joseph Stalin was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1922 and the leader of the USSR from 1924 to 1953. Known in particular for his rule of terror over the USSR, Stalin governed Russia with an iron fist, propelling the country into rapid industrialization through his infamous five-year plans, introducing forced labor camps known as...
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There is arguably no group that has had as much of an influence on modern pop and rock music as the Beatles. The Liverpool-born band, made up of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, burst onto the scene in the early 1960s and inspired such passionate devotion that the fervor surrounding them was dubbed “Beatlemania” by the...
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Theodore Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States. Known in particular for being the youngest president in the history of the USA, Roosevelt was a very important historical figure, to such an extent that his image is immortalized on Mount Rushmore. Roosevelt was not only a Republican who contributed a great deal to the assertion of American imperialism, but also...
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Thomas Jefferson was the 3rd President of the United States and one of the country's Founding Fathers. Known in particular for his role in the drafting of the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson was a talented political writer who served as Vice-President under John Adams before being elected President in 1801. He also significantly increased the size of his home country:...
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Josip Broz Tito was the first President of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, holding the role from 1953 to his death in 1980. After distinguishing himself in the resistance during the Second World War, he played a crucial role in shaping the new federal state and went on to defy Stalin, calling instead for a “third way” between the Eastern...
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Thanks to the discovery of his opulent tomb by the Egyptologist Howard Carter in 1922 and the alleged curse that was unleashed as a result, Tutankhamun holds a prominent place in the popular imagination. “King Tut”, as he is colloquially known, ruled Egypt during the 18th Dynasty and oversaw far-reaching religious reform and a series of conflicts with Egypt’s enemies...
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Vasco da Gama was a Portuguese explorer who, along with Christopher Columbus and Ferdinand Magellan, was one of the most famous European explorers of his time. Known in particular for being the first person to open up a direct maritime route between Europe and Asia, da Gama sailed around Africa to reach the Western coast of India in the late...
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Vladimir Lenin was a Russian communist revolutionary and politician whose actions shaped the fate of Russia. He toppled the centuries-old tsarist regime to lead the proletariat to victory during the Russian Revolution, becoming a legendary figure for the people of Russia in the process. However, it is difficult to separate fact from fiction, as Lenin became surrounded by a cult of personality...
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Winston Churchill was the British Prime Minster during the Second World War. Known in particular for his role in the Allied victory over Nazi Germany, Churchill was a respected politician who is considered to be one of the greatest British leaders of the 20th century. However, a lesser-known fact is that Churchill was also a historian and a writer, and...
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