the Medici Family
made wealthy by starting a banking
industry in Florence, Italy, who were
major patrons to the arts during the
Renaissance time period.
Leonardo da Vinci
Original Renaissance Man.
Italian painter, engineer, musician, and scientist.
The most versatile genius of the Renaissance, Leonardo filled notebooks with engineering and scientific observations that
were in some cases centuries ahead of their time.
As a painter Leonardo is best known for The Last Supper (c. 1495) and Mona Lisa (c. 1503).
Michelangelo
(1475-1564) An Italian sculptor, painter, poet, engineer, and architect.
Famous works include the mural on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, and the
sculpture of the biblical character David.
William Shakespeare
(1564-1616) Playwright of Elizabethan literature known for his original
characters, diversity, and language.
Wrote Julius Caesar, Henry IV, Richard II, Othello, Macbeth, and Hamlet.
Johannes Gutenberg
(1400-1468) German printer who invented the Printing Press. The mass production of literature using his press effectively led
Europe out of the Dark Ages.
The printing press lead to the grown of the Renaissance and increased literacy rates.
Without his invention many of the cultural feats world would have been impossible especially the ones involving literature.
Galileo Galilei
1500-1600s - supported the Copernican model (Heliocentric, Sun-Centered Model of the Solar System)
urged a new relationship between religion and science; collided with Aristotelian philosophy and the authority of the Catholic
Church; devised his own telescope;
wrote a series of letters describing how you could be a sincere Copernican and a sincere Catholic since the Church was upset;
said the Church should not get involved in explaining the natural world
Nicolaus Copernicus
(1473-1543) clergyman/scientist.
First person to claim Sun was the center of the universe (Heliocentric Model/Theory) and the planets went around it.
In contrast to Aristotle's view of the Earth centered (Geocentric Model/Theory) of the universe, which was the commonly
accepted theory at the time.
Isaac Newton
(1642-1727) English mathematician and natural philosopher.
He discovered the law of gravity as well as laws on the physics of objects.
English mathematician and scientist who invented differential calculus and formulated the theory of universal gravitation, a
theory about the nature of light, and three laws of motion.
His treatise on gravitation, presented in Principia Mathematica (1687), was supposedly inspired by the sight of a falling
apple.
Prince Henry the Navigator
1394-1460, Portuguese prince.
First European royal to heavily promote discovery and exploration.
Motivated by mercenary as well as missionary factors. Seeking to promote Portuguese economic interests (challenging
Muslim monopoly of gold trade) and to further Christian influence.
Prince Henry promoted settlement of islands in the Atlantic and exploration of the African coast. Founded the school for
navigators at Sagres at the southwestern tip of Portugal.
Vasco da Gama
Portuguese explorer. In 1497-1498 he led the first naval expedition from Europe to sail to India, opening an important
commercial sea route.
Da Gama had been hired by the Portuguese government under King Manuel I to find a sea route to the East by going
around Africa.
He set up trading posts along this route, and Portugal became one of the great trading countries of Europe.
Christopher Columbus
(1451-1506) An Italian navigator who was funded by the Spanish Government to find a passage to the Far East.
He is given credit for discovering the "New World."
He made four voyages to the "New World." The first sighting of land was on October 12, 1492, and three other journies until
the time of his death in 1503.
Ferdinand Magellan
(ca. 1480-1521) Portuguese mariner (Ocean Explorer) in the service of Spain.
Set sail in pursuit of Columbus's goal of reaching the Spice Islands by sailing westward.
led an expedition that was the first to circumnavigate (Go completely around) the world.
Hernan Cortes
1519 began his journey to Mexico in search of gold, ended up capturing
the city capital city of the Aztecs, Tenochtitlan, and with it beginning the
new race of people known as mestizos, combination of Indian and
European heritage.
Martin Luther
(1483-1546) a German monk who, in 1517, took a public stand against the sale of indulgences and church corruption.
By nailing his 95 Theses to the door of the church in Wittenburg.
he believed that people did not need priests to interpret the Bible for them; his actions began the Protestant Reformation.
John Calvin
(1509-1564) Protestant reformer. Influenced by the ideas of Martin Luther.
Published a book called Institutes of the Christian Religion.
Main Beliefs: faith will save you, not good deeds; absolute sovereignty of God; kept baptism and the Lord's supper.
King Henry VIII
(reigned 1509-1547) The king of England who led his country through the Reformation.
At first a supporter of Catholicism against the reformers, he eventually broke with the pope and the Catholic Church and
established the CHURCH OF ENGLAND, with himself at its leader.
All because of his dispute with the Catholic Church over his desire to divorce his wife.
Queen Mary I
Became Queen of England in 1533.
Mary was raised Catholic and wanted to make England a Catholic kingdom again.
She restored the Catholic Church and arrested Protestants who opposed. Mary burned protestant people in her struggle to
make England Catholic again.
The English were horrified and called her "Bloody Mary".
Queen Elizabeth I
(r. 1558-1603) Became queen after half-sister's death, Queen Mary.
Reigned for 45 years. Ruled as a Protestant and was a strong ruler, skilled politician. She wanted religious peace through
political compromise.
She had Parliament declare her supreme governor of the Church of England with a solidly Protestant doctrine and Catholic
form of church government.
Ronald Reagan
(1981-1985) and (1985-1989), first elected president in 1980 and elected again in 1984.
President during the end of the Cold War, and Communist scare.
He developed Reagannomics, the trickle down effect of government incentives, and cut out many welfare and public works
programs.
He used the Strategic Defense Initiative to avoid conflict.
His meetings with Gorbachev were the first steps to ending the Cold War and the Fall of the Berlin Wall.
Joseph Stalin
Head of the Soviet Communists after 1924 and dictator of the Soviet Union from 1928 to 1953.
He led the Soviet Union with an iron fist, using Five-Year Plans to increase industrial production and terror to crush
opposition.
A powerful man in the communist party who took over after Lenin's death. He established total control of all aspects of life
in the Soviet Union.
He built a totalitarian state by building a police stage and eliminated anyone who threatened his power.
He used propaganda and censorship to make himself look good. he also controlled education and brainwashed the
Franklin D. Roosevelt
32nd president of the U.S.;
Was elected an unprecedented four times.
He initiated the New Deal to combat the Great Depression.
Led the U.S. during all but the last few months of World War II
Vlademir Lenin
he overthrew the Russian government in
November of 1917 and established a
communist government there, Leader in the
Russian Revolution; founder of the
Bolsheviks; offered "bread, land, and peace"
for all people. Became first head of the USSR
(1870-1924)
Fidel Castro
Cuban revolutionary leader who overthrew the corrupt regime of the dictator Fulgencio Batista in 1959.
Soon after established a Communist state.
He was prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and has been president of the government and First Secretary of the
Communist Party since 1976.
Mao Zedong
1893-1976. Chinese military and political leader who led the Communist Party of China to victory against the Kuomintang in
the Chinese Civil War.
Leader of the People's Republic of China from establishment in 1949 till death in 1976.
Heralded as an influential leader who transformed China into world power.
Established programs led to large unnecessary loss of life and damage to the culture, society, economy, and foreign
relations.
The United Nations
A world organization made up of 192 countries that serves as an international congress to discuss world issues.
1945 - reps from 50 nations met in San Francisco to establish an international peacekeeping body 5 - UN built in New York
City - 11 security council - 5 permanent member s were the former allies (US, Great Britain, France, China, USSR)
The League of Nations
At the end of World War I, Woodrow Wilson insisted upon the creation of this new international
peace-keeping organization
The US never joined, ineffective in upholding world peace, and ultimately failed leading to
WWII.
Arthur Zimmerman
Germany's foreign secretary who attempted to persuade Mexico to join the war on the German
side in exchange for Germany's help to get back Mexico's lost land in Texas and Arizona through
the Zimmerman Telegram.
The Zimmerman Telegram, was intercepted and given to US. Leading to the US entering the war.
Adam Smith
(1723-1790) Believed that individual interests naturally harmonized with the interests of the whole society.
Published "An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations."
Rejected mercantilism and endorsed the concept of "laissez-faire."
Claimed the gov't should focus solely on protection.
Karl Marx
1818-1883. 19th century philosopher, political economist, sociologist, humanist, political theorist, and revolutionary.
Often recognized as the father of communism.
Held the belief that communism would replace capitalism as it replaced feudalism. Believed in a classless society.
Montesquieu
(1689-1755) Enlightenment Philosopher.
Wrote Spirit of the Laws, which revolutionized thinking on how people should be ruled by proposing CHECK AND
BALANCES on their government.
His ideas provided much of the foundation for the American Constitution. His Persian Letters also gave Europeans a look at
themselves from the perspective of foreigners for the first time, promoting Europeans to begin to ask if they had a
Eurocentric view of the world.
John Locke
(1632-1704) Enlightenment Philosopher who defended the
Glorious Revolution with the argument that all people are born
with certain NATURAL RIGHTS, LIBERTY, and PROPERTY.
Thomas Hobbes
(1588-1679) Enlightenment Philosopher. Developed the notion of a "social
contract," whereby people surrender certain liberties in favor of order;
advocated a powerful state government with ABSOLUTE POWER AND
LEADERS.
3rd Estate
During the time of the French Revolution 98% of the population.
Common people, paid heavy taxes, rented land they worked on, paid tithe,
terrible/unfair living conditions compared to the 1st and 2nd Estate.
Peter the Great
(1672-1725) Czar of Russia.
He was responsible for the westernization of Russia in the 18th century.
King Louis XIV
Reigned from 1643 to 1715, Desired to be the sole leader of France. Known as the Sun King.
"I am the state"
Had absolute power, developed a large army, and over spent on maintaining his court in the
Versailles and wars.
Archduke Franz Ferdinand
Also known as Frances Ferdinand, he was the heir of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire.
He was assassinated in Sarajevo in 1914.
This event sparked a series of actions that led to the beginning of World War I.
Woodrow Wilson
28th president of the United States during WWI
Expanded the power of the federal government. Created Federal Reserve, Federal Trade Commission. progressive income
tax, lower tariffs.
Treaty of Versailles, Created the 14 point plan at the end of WWI, and League of Nations (but failed to win U.S. ratification).
Pancho Villa & Emiliano Zapata
...
Winston Churchill
1874 to 1965. Prime minister of Great Britain.
Great wartime leader.
Rallied the British with his speeches, infectious confidence, and bulldog determination.
Known for his "iron curtain" speech; led the British during World War II; agreed Hitler should be conquered.
Adolf Hitler
1889-1945. Austrian-born German politician who led the National Socialist German Workers Party. (Nazi Party).
Lead vast rearmament of Germany and exploited nationalism, anti-semitism, anti-communism, and other propaganda.
Invaded Poland, effectively starting WWII.
Responsible for the Holocaust and execution of various other "undesirables".
Benito Mussolini
Fascist dictator of Italy (1922-1943).
He led Italy to conquer Ethiopia (1935).
Joined Germany in the Axis pact (1936). and allied Italy with Germany in World War II.
He was overthrown in 1943 when the Allies invaded Italy. (p. 786)
Hideki Tojo
This general was premier of Japan during World War II while this man was dictator of the
country.
He gave his approval for the attack on Pearl Harbor and played a major role in Japan's military
decisions until he resigned in 1944