These European personalities made a change, moved us forward and left footprints in the European history with their innovative ideas and visions. Who would be your role model?
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These European personalities made a change, moved us forward and left footprints in the European history with their innovative ideas and visions. Who would be your role model?
After the very first flight by the Wright Brothers in 1903, Henri Coandă (1886-1972) left a military career to build and allegedly fly the world’s first jet aircraft, inventing the ‘Coandă effect’ as he went. The Romanian aeronautical engineer studied in Berlin, Liège and Paris, where he was friends with Gustave Eiffel, and exhibited his flying device in 1910.
Jacques Delors (born 1925) is the father of the modern day EU as we know it. As president of the European Commission between 1985 and 1995, he was an architect of the euro. An internationalist and former socialist finance minister of France, he argued for a ‘social Europe’, and for the common values of fairness and decency.
While never elected to public office, French political economist Jean Monnet (1888-1979) was a unifying force in the birth of the EU: ‘We are not forming coalitions of states, we are uniting men’. Born into a family of cognac merchants, he lived in London and travelled the world, conceiving the integration of the French and German coal and steel industries.
From soprano singer to organist and composer, Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) created masterpieces in every Baroque genre. Augmenting established German musical styles, he declared his 200 cantatas ‘for the glory of God alone’. His music influenced modern genres, and is infused by tragedy in his life; as an orphan, or in his violin solo after losing his wife.
‘In the beginning was the word…’ Little is known of German inventor Johannes Gutenberg (1398-1468), who ushered in a revolution with his movable printing press. By cutting letters into wood, and printing them onto molten metal squares, the businessman paved the way for mass book production. His Gutenberg Bible was printed in 1456; just 49 copies survive today.
Dubbed “The travelling pope” Karol Józef Wojtyła (1920-2005) was the first non-Italian head of the Catholic Church in 455 years. As a Pope John Paul II, he undertook more pastoral trips than all of his predecessors combined. His revolutionary teachings about human dignity encouraged nations to rebel against autocratic regimes, such as in his homeland of Poland. He saw Europe as a “union of nations” built on spiritual and economic grounds.
Famous for his moustache, Polish former electrician Lech Wałęsa (born 1943) entered politics when he became the leader of Solidarity, the largest anti-communist social movement in Central Europe. In the 1980s he led mass protests in Poland, which eventually contributed to the downfall of the Soviet Union. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1983, and elected as the president of Poland in 1990.
Often described as the greatest mind the world has produced, Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) was an Italian Renaissance painter, scientist and inventor. His achievements laid the ground for the development of innovations seen by his contemporaries as impossible, such as mechanical engines, cranes, parachutes, helicopters, and bicycles.
The “Grandmother of the European Union”, French journalist and feminist Louise Weiss (1893-1983) was an influential voice in international affairs from the 1920s. She founded The New Europe magazine, inspired ideas about European integration, and led France to granting voting rights for women in 1944. Elected to the European Parliament at the age of 86, she was the oldest MEP at the time.
German composer Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) created some of the world’s best musical masterpieces such as Moonlight Sonata or Für Elise. Despite the loss of his hearing, he wrote music that evoked the spirit of humanism: admiration for life, human strength and the power of solidarity. His 9th Symphony accompanied by Friedrich Schiller’s lyrical verse, Ode to Joy, was chosen as the European anthem.
Maria Callas (1923-77), one of the most renowned and influential opera singers of the 20th century, is still classical music’s best-selling soprano. Her vocal abilities revived opera works long dropped from repertoires. Her temperament, dramatic versatility and devotion to art contributed to her image as “La Divina”.
This Polish-French chemist and physicist Marie Skłodowska-Curie (1867-1934) changed the world of science. Her revolutionary works in the field of radioactivity and radioactive isotopes helped to develop modern x-rays and new methods of cancer treatment. She was the first female double Nobel Prize winner and gave name to the EU Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions.