With his splayed walk, bowler hat and madcap moustache, Charlie Chaplin (1889-1977) was one of the most memorable entertainers of the 20th century. Born in poverty in London, he performed eccentric characters such as the drunken tramp or the great dictator with pathos and comedy. As Hollywood’s silent cinema moved into ‘talkies’, he continued work as a writer, composer and director.
They smashed windows and went on hunger strikes, all in the tireless campaign to bring the right to vote to women in Britain. Leader of the Suffragettes Emmeline Pankhurst (1858-1928), incarcerated multiple times, died a month before her dream was realised. Her encouragement of women in the war effort went a long way in convincing the government of their cause.
The founder of modern nursing, Britain’s Florence Nightingale (1820-1910) rebelled against the expected role of a woman of her status in Victorian Britain, training in Germany and visiting hospitals in Paris and Rome. The support of her humanitarian efforts in the Crimean War enabled ‘the Lady with the Lamp’ to push for healthcare reform in Europe.
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.
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.
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.
His fictional knight-errant rescued ‘imaginary damsels’, and spawned the word ‘quitoxic’. Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes’ (1547-1616) Don Quixote de La Mancha is the first modern novel, and sits among the top 10 most translated books. An ex-soldier, Cervantes was captured by pirates and enslaved in Algiers before writing the Western literary classic.
Robert Lewandowski (born 1988) is not only an icon of Polish and European football and one of the best strikers in the world, but also a successful entrepreneur. He invests mostly in innovative business ideas and promising startups. His civic engagement in charities supporting disadvantaged families and kids made him one of the most respected personalities in Polish public life.
A symbol of the peaceful transition from communism to democracy in Eastern Europe, writer and idealist Václav Havel (1936-2011) was transformed from an imprisoned dissident to the president of the Czech Republic. During the so-called Velvet Revolution, he showed that an important political change can be implemented in a non-violent way – even if it seems impossible.
Winning a gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics at the age of 15, swimmer Rūta Meilutytė (born 1997) became one of the youngest gold medallists ever. Born in Lithuania, she now lives and trains in the UK. She is the only swimmer in history to hold the Olympic, World and European titles at both senior and youth levels at the same time.
