Greatest Ukrainians (and Irish, Poles, Canadians etc)

[happy_gunner]

Here in Misty Albion there is a right hoo-hah over an ongoing TV poll over the 10 Greatest Britons, with the usual suspects + some surprises. As it stands: http://www.bbc.co.uk/apps/ifl/greatb...ent+top+ten%21
1. I.K.Brunel
2. Di Spencer (cringe)
3. Churchill
4. Darwin
5. Shakespeare
6. Newton
7. Elizabeth 1st
8. John Lennon
9. Nelson
10. Cromwell

Who would make up the top 10 Ukrainians, or considering the make-up of this Forum, the top 10 Irish, US, Canadian, Russian, Polish, Malay, French etc etc.

And are there enough great Belgians to make a list of 10?

[Ulysses]

I had was typing a detailed response but my pc froze as I was replying!!!

1. George Washington- General of the Continental Army, Founder of the Country, President
2. Thomas Jefferson- Philosopher,Statesman, President
3. Abraham Lincoln- President, manage to restore the Union
4. FDR- Led the country ouf of the great depression and through WWII
5. Ben Franklin- Diplomat, Inventor, obtained European assitance in the Revolutionary War.
6. Patrick Henry- Patriot, Statesmaninfluenced adoption of the Bill of Rights
7. Henry David Thoreau- Essayist, philosopher and poet. Originator of civil disobedience, which Ghandi and Martin Luther King Jr. adopted in challenging injustice.
8. Martin Luther King Jr.- Civil Rights leader
9. Samuel Langhorne Clemens (Mark Twain)-Writer, lecturer and humorist. Created characters Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, based upon youth in Missouri.
10.Ralph Waldo Emerson -Philosopher, poet, essayist and lecturer. The outstanding American philosopher of his age.

[Drij]

since i'm form canada I hardly know much about historic figures since it had to fo with natives which i could careless about, i would probably name most of those greatest americans, Ulysses I would add Bill Clinton to that list for everything he did for the country and to see the difference look at what bush has done no matter what the circumstances have been.

Drij

[Ulysses]

Perhaps I should compile a list of the 10 Greatest American villians and criminals.

Originally posted by Drij
since i'm form canada I hardly know much about historic figures since it had to fo with natives which i could careless about, i would probably name most of those greatest americans, Ulysses I would add Bill Clinton to that list for everything he did for the country and to see the difference look at what bush has done no matter what the circumstances have been.

Drij

[forest]

Hello Uylesses. A lot of poloticians in your list, but the most well known one over here J.F.Kennedy is missing, Also you missed Bill Gates Microsoft Boss without whome we probably would not be having this conversation . I understand its all opinion all the best.

Hey gunner . I am the same as you, no disrespect to lady Di but how did she get on the list ,whats her claim for greatness.

[forest]

Hello Drij. Read this the other day ,The last man to be killed in W.W.1 was Canadian George Lawrence Price aged 25 28 SASKATCHEWAN regiment, 2 minutes before the ceasefire he bent to pick up some flowers and was shot by a German sniper .He is buried in St Symphorien war cemetery a few yards from the first casualty of that war Briton Private Parr. I think that is sad

[Zbyszek]

Good idea, Happy Gunner,

It was a hard choice. I made a mini-poll within my family. Here are the results:

1.Mikolaj Kopernik / Nicolaus Copernicus - oustanding XVI th century astronomer.
2. Maria Sklodowska / Marie Curie-Sklodowska - double Nobel prize winner in chemistry (1903, 1911) . She discovered new radioactive chemical elements: radium and polonium.
3. Fryderyk Chopin /Frederic Chopin - XIX th cent. romantic composer, genius, probably the best spokesman for explaining the very essence of the Slavic soul.
4. Tadeusz Kosciuszko - XVIII th cent. military commander, Polish and American hero, a friend of George Washington, an enemy of Catherine II.
5. Lech Walesa, living - "Solidarity" trade union leader in Poland, Nobel prize winner, the president of the independent Poland.
6. Karol Wojtyla aka John Paul II, living
7. John Sobieski - handsome and brave king of Rzeczpospolita (Poland+Lithuania)in the XVIIth century, he saved Europe from the Turkish invasion; ladies of Vienna threw bouquets of flowers from the balconies of their appartments, in front of his horse as he twirled up his moustache parading through the town streets. In vain, because he was in deep romantic love with a French princess Mary d'Arquien.
8. Henryk Sienkiewicz /Henry Sienkiewicz- history fiction master, Nobel prize winner for his Quo Vadis novel. He also created little literary gems like "The Lighthouse Keeper" published in the "Literature & Film" forum.
9. Kazimierz Pulaski/Casimir Pulaski - another XVIII th century Polish and American freedom fighter, he clashed with the Russian Imperial Army (darn it, Catherine II again, not everyone knows she was a German princess in fact), his troops defeated the British Imperial Army in Charleston, he died in famous Savannah siege (USA).
10. Andrzej Wajda, living, (gosh, seemingly tongue-breaking name, it should be pronounced as Vayda) - film director, Oscar prize winner, an oustanding representative of the European cinematography as an alternative to the Hollywood productions.

All of these people were born in Poland in history terms, Sobieski e.g. was born in today's Ukraine, Kosciuszko in today's Belarus, they spoke Polish as their native language. Some of the above names do not sound Polish. Some of them, like Sklodowska and Chopin happily emigrated from Poland because otherwise they may have died fighting for her freedom. Poland was erased from the European map for long 123 years but if you had asked any Polish emigrant arriving in America in the XIXth century, everyone would have said: I came from Poland.
I am impatiently waiting for the ten top Russians and Ukrainians.
Ulysses, I appreciate your jocular remark on the ten top American villains. It is embarrasing but I'd have no problem with selecting ten top PL rascals. If you identify yourself with the best of your nation, there should be no escape from taking on the burden of disgrace.


(HG, the reputable Welsh's first name is Norman, is it enough?, sorry for teasing you... lol)

[Edited by Zbyszek on 24th November 2002 at 17:02]