Biography

Post Views: 95 Indra Nooyi, (born October 28, 1955, Madras [now Chennai], India), Indian-born American businesswoman who was instrumental in the lucrative restructuring and diversification of soft-drink manufacturer PepsiCo, Inc.’s brands. Nooyi served as the company’s CEO (2006–18) and chairman of the board (2007–19). Nooyi earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Madras Christian College in 1976 and a master’s …

Post Views: 57 Elon Musk, (born June 28, 1971, Pretoria, South Africa), South African-born American entrepreneur who cofounded the electronic-payment firm PayPal and formed SpaceX, maker of launch vehicles and spacecraft. He was also one of the first significant investors in, as well as chief executive officer of, the electric car manufacturer Tesla. In addition, Musk acquired Twitter in 2022. Early life …

Post Views: 6 Ferdowsī, also spelled Firdawsī, Firdusi, or Firdousi, pseudonym of Abū al-Qasem Manṣūr, (born c. 935, near Ṭūs, Iran—died c. 1020–26, Ṭūs), Persian poet, author of the Shāh-nāmeh (“Book of Kings”), the Persian national epic, to which he gave a final and enduring form, although he based his poem mainly on an earlier prose version. Ferdowsī was born in a village …

Post Views: 98 Benjamin Britten, in full Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten Of Aldeburgh, (born November 22, 1913, Lowestoft, Suffolk, England—died December 4, 1976, Aldeburgh, Suffolk), leading British composer of the mid-20th century, whose operas were considered the finest English operas since those of Henry Purcell in the 17th century. He was also an outstanding pianist and …

Post Views: 17 Oliver Knussen Biography by Rachel Campbell Oliver Knussen’s composing and conducting careers began with early successes, and he continued to be active in both fields. His early compositions were influenced by the Russian and American traditions of orchestral writing. A large proportion of these early pieces were also …

Post Views: 87 Leonardo da Vinci, (Italian: “Leonardo from Vinci”) (born April 15, 1452, Anchiano, near Vinci, Republic of Florence [Italy]—died May 2, 1519, Cloux [now Clos-Lucé], France), Italian painter, draftsman, sculptor, architect, and engineer whose skill and intelligence, perhaps more than that of any other figure, epitomized the Renaissance humanist ideal. His Last …

Post Views: 16 Sergey Rachmaninoff, in full Sergey Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff, Rachmaninoff also spelled Rakhmaninov, or Rachmaninov, (born March 20 [April 1, New Style], 1873, Oneg, near Semyonovo, Russia—died March 28, 1943, Beverly Hills, California, U.S.), composer who was the last great figure of the tradition of Russian Romanticism and a leading piano virtuoso of his time. He is especially …

Post Views: 56 Mario Schifano (Homs-Libya 1934 – Rome 1998) Mario Schifano (born in Homs, Libya in 1934; died in Rome, Italy in 1998), made his first important appearance with the exhibition “Five Roman painters: Angeli , Festa, Lo Savio, Schifano and Uncini” presented by Pierre Restany in 1960 at …

Post Views: 66 Vincent van Gogh, in full Vincent Willem van Gogh, (born March 30, 1853, Zundert, Netherlands—died July 29, 1890, Auvers-sur-Oise, near Paris, France), Dutch painter, generally considered the greatest after Rembrandt van Rijn, and one of the greatest of the Post-Impressionists. The striking colour, emphatic brushwork, and contoured forms of his work powerfully …

Post Views: 109 Rūmī, in full Jalāl al-Dīn Rūmī, also called by the honorific Mawlānā, (born c. September 30, 1207, Balkh [now in Afghanistan]—died December 17, 1273, Konya [now in Turkey]), the greatest Sufi mystic and poet in the Persian language, famous for his lyrics and for his didactic epic Mas̄navī-yi Maʿnavī (“Spiritual Couplets”), which widely influenced mystical thought and literature …