iam90sbaby 2,720 Posted October 26, 2015 Cyrus The Great (conqueror) - Often described as the founder of the Persian Empire, Cyrus the great reigned from 559-530 B.C. Persia was originally a state within the empire of Medes, until Cyrus liberated Persia, started a revolution and took the Median capital of Ecbatana, and proclaimed himself ruler. His Persian Empire was gigantic, as he conquered from India to the middle east, northern Africa and into Greece. His conquests led to the Persian Empire as being one of the largest and most historically influential empires in recorded history. Unlike Attila, Cyrus created a political infrastructure under him that kept the Persian Empire going long after his death, and his exploits as a conqueror lead to the spread of middle eastern philosophy, literature, culture and religion across Europe and Asia. Persia remained in existence for a long, long time and is often attributed to the spread of Islam and the Islamic “Golden Age”. Mahmud of Ghazni (conqueror) - Mahmud of Ghazni lived from 971-1030 A.D., was the first Sultan in history, and is credited as the founder of the Ghaznavid empire. Sultan had come to mean that he was the ruler of a great expanse of land that covered much of the middle east, in what is now Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and some of India, along with a number of smaller countries. His conquests are largely attributed to the use of extremely powerful archers on horseback, using compound bows atop horses to speed across the battlefield and kill from great distance. Mahmud is possibly one of the best conquerors on this list, for despite his conquests he treasured learning, regularly bestowed honor onto wise and well read men, and created universities and mosques across the middle east and Asia. Though much of his wartime policy involved the death of infidels, or all those who did not believed the sect of Muslim that he did, he often tolerated religious groups so long as they didn’t pose a military threat to him. The Mahmud of Ghanzi is undoubtedly a conqueror that fits more into the grey areas of despotism, as he in many ways showed a temperate and learned disposition while ruling his empire. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Voltaire 5,391 Posted October 26, 2015 Two top shelf picks in Conqurer. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
vuduchile 1,945 Posted October 26, 2015 Religious leader John The Baptist Forerunner to Jesus Christ. http://christianity.about.com/od/newtestamentpeople/p/johnthebaptist.htm Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Voltaire 5,391 Posted October 27, 2015 Just go TBBOM Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
titans&bucs&bearsohmy! 2,745 Posted October 28, 2015 All right. In my last pick, I mentioned that only the emergence of one of Romes great leaders saved her from the foolishness of my last pick. I will take that leader now. Administrator- Gaius Marius Born to a wealth Italian (but not Roman) family, Marius became a noted businessman and the most talented military commander of his day. He was ultimately elected consul an unheard of seven times, despite his non Roman birth. After the disaster against the Cimbri, Rome had no army. The Roman legions had always been recruited from the landed classes, and were responsible for providing their own gear. Needing a new army to meet the German threat, Marius forced the senate to allow him to recruit an army from the capite censi, or the head count, the lowest class of the stews of Rome. He also forced the senate to pay to equip them. He ultimately utterly reformed the Roman army, introducing regular pay, land grants upon retirement, and the system of each group of ten carrying thier own gear. This highly mobile force became known as "Marius' mules" and were the beginning of the legions as we think of them today. Since the state was paying them, Marius put them to work when they were not fighting, building roads, damns, and fortifications. This created the first Roman standing army, and greatly improved the Roman system of roads, making it easier to march legions anywhere. Marius deferred the Cimbri in stunning fashion, being hailed as the third founder of Rome. Unfortunately, his reorganization of the legions, while Making them far more effective, also made them more loyal to the general than the state. This enabled him, his brother in law Cornelius Sulla, and later his nephew, Julius Caesar, to March on Rome, ultimately ending the Roman Republic and establishing the Roman Empire when Augustus Octavian became the first emperor in the generation following Marius' death. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Voltaire 5,391 Posted October 28, 2015 46.5 Sui Wendi - Conqurer 47.1 Menes - Conqurer This wasn't the plan. I wasn't going to revisit this category, I just picked it. That change though. I crapped my pants when 90sbaby doubled down with two top picks in this category. Especially Cyrus, I loved that pick. I figured I'd better grab my four chairs here and shut this category down. Sui Wendi reunified China after it'd been broken up for 250 years. He also pushed out it's boundaries and divided/befuddled the various barbarian tribes surrounding China who'd gotten too big for their britches while China was in disarray. Menes is the first phraoah of the first dynasty. A very long time ago, way, way, way back, at the very beginnings of the first civilisation, it was he who is recognized as unifying Upper Egypt with lower Egypt. I don't know much about him but when you usher in the dawn of Egyptian civilization and civilization anywhere, that's pretty d@mn impressive. He established the city of Memphis, not TBBOM's Memphis; the other one. Here's a cut and paste better than the wiki entry for Menes from : http://biography.yourdictionary.com/king-menes King Menes Facts Menes's reign of Egypt from 3407 to 3346 B.C. was treated as the dawn of Egyptian civilization in many classical histories. In earlier Egyptian lore he was called Ohe and Mena, "The Fighter," and then was referred to as "The Established." He is remembered as the conqueror who first united Egypt under one rule and established the famous capital of Memphis, the seat of Egypt's unparalleled cultural achievements during the time of the Pharaohs. In the fourth century B.C., Ptolemy II Philadelphus ordered the priest Manetho to compile a complete history of Egypt for his great library at Alexandria. Menes was the earliest man that he mentioned by name, as the first king of the First Dynasty of Upper and Lower Egypt. Modern archaeological findings have since displaced Menes as the first name in Egyptian history, and though experts today agree that Mena is the correct name for one of the first kings of Upper and Lower Egypt, there is some doubt that Menes was the military "Unifier of the Two Lands." Discerning the role of Menes in the "hazy outline of the general drift of events" in predynastic Egypt has been a major topic of discussion for J. H. Breasted and other twentieth century Egyptologists, and the reader of modern histories of Egypt will find that Menes is still a favorite subject for creative hypothesis and scholarly debate. He is still regarded by some scholars as the legendary military conqueror who unified Egypt through war, but others now hypothesize that Lower Egypt had already been conquered at least a generation before Menes, and that Menes was actually a savvy politician who consolidated the legal claim to the throne of the southern "Hawk-kings" by assuming the gods and rituals of the north, and by marrying into their most prominent royal family. The Unification of Upper and Lower Egypt Manetho's treatment of the generations before Menes as "prehistoric" or "predynastic" has fostered the misconception that Menes was the first king in Egypt. Today it is known that Egypt contained a number of advanced and organized societies as early as the sixth millennium B.C. The ancestors of Menes, named "Horus-people" or " Hawk-people" after an early king who became one of their chief gods, consolidated the disparate southern districts around the First Cataract of Aswan in the Nile Valley into the Upper Kingdom, named for its location upstream on the northward-flowing Nile. The Hawk-people established their center at Theni during the reigns of as many as 50 kings while they gradually fought their way northward (down the Nile) against the "Set-people," presumably a wealthier and more advanced civilization who controlled the enviable farmland in the Fertile Crescent. Besides ideal farmland that never required irrigation, the Delta region also had the advantage of proximity to the Mediterranean Sea, the ancient highway of commerce, for trading with the ancient Syrians and Libyans. In roughly 3400 B.C. after a very long period of war, the Horus-worshipers defeated the north in a battle near Anu (Heliopolis), and established their rule over the Delta region and the entrance to the sea. By the account of Manetho, recorded three millennia later, the victorious Hawk-king was Menes. Egyptologists in the twentieth century, however, try to give Manetho as little credence as the availability of more reliable evidence allows. J. H. Breasted, the premier Egyptian scholar of the early 20th century, even called Manetho's writings "the compilation of puerile folk-tale…. hardly worthy of the name history." In the case of Menes, however, the most informative artifacts have actually confused his identity by providing the descriptions of two other kings that correspond in name or in deed with his legend: Narmer and Aha. The most famous piece of evidence concerning the "Unifier of the Two Lands" is a predynastic slate palette found among the ruins of Nekhen (Hierakonpolis) and entitled 'Narmer.' The slate depicts a king wearing the signature White Crown of the south with a mace held over his head, preparing to club a kneeling figure wearing the Red Crown of the north. Scholars all agree that Narmer was the king who took control of the north, but because it was traditional for Egyptian kings to be known by as many as five names, some Egyptologists are comfortable with the simple explanation that Menes and Narmer were two names used by the same man. The complications with the archaeological record arose when a piece of ivory label was found near Thebes, bearing the first and only contemporary mention of the fabled Menes. The Horus-king inscription was that of Aha, previously known as a king who reigned shortly before or shortly after Narmer. Along with the Horus-inscription was a so-called Nebti title, which referred to the two great goddesses of the north and south, indicating that the label referred to a time after the unification of the two lands. This sign bore the name of Mena, and many scholars now argue that Aha is the Upper Kingdom or Horus-name, and Mena the combined kingdom or Nebti-name for the same king. In 1961 Sir Alan Gardiner gave a scenario in which Ohe Meni (Aha-Menes) was actually the son of Narmer, born a Horus-king, who took several important political steps in consolidating the kingdom after the military conquest that later earned him the title of Meni "The Established" in the north and in the south. Gardiner posited that Menes followed Narmer as the Hawk-king at Theni when he was not much older than 15, at which time he was known as Ohe or Aha. Some time after he was recognized in the south he married Princess Neihotpe, the heiress to the throne of the Set-people of Fayum, just south of the Delta region and then took on the title of Meni. This strategic marriage could explain why Menes could become tradition's first king of the Upper and Lower Kingdoms even if Narmer had gained the surrender of the northern armies before Menes acceded the throne. According to Gardiner, "The Egyptians were ever sticklers for legal form," and the northern people would not be apt to recognize the power of a man who had no legal ties to their ruling family. Menes's name could easily have eclipsed Narmer's as the story was passed down through generations if his kingship was more widely recognized. Menes's Architectural and Cultural Legacy Menes left the temples and festivals of Set in place, and assumed the other gods of the north as well. His wise actions make it clear that the worshipers of Horus had no intention of wiping out the advancements of the Set-people, but attacked in order to establish a premise for the civilizations to merge, albeit under Horus's control. It was not until the fifth king of the unified kingdom, King Semti, that the combined hieroglyph meaning "King of the South, King of the North" was put into use, indicating that the First Dynasty kings did establish their power in the north gradually, and not in a single, decisive, imperialistic step. The city of Memphis, a Greek rendering of the Egyptian Men-nofre, meaning "The Well-Established," was built on the site of an earlier stronghold of the Upper or "White" Kingdom known as White Wall. It was strategically located in the center of the unified kingdom, a few miles south of modern Cairo on the west side of the Nile. In order to capture "the sweet northern breeze" that blew south along the Nile from the Mediterranean, Menes built the city right in the Nile's flood plain, and constructed a great dam to divert the river during the annual inundation. Memphis was a nearly unassailable city, because the temperate valley of the Nile turned immediately into hot, barren desert on the East and West. Diodorus recorded that Menes established the rituals of divine worship in the new city, and that he taught the citizens "how to adorn their couches and tables with rich cloths and coverings, and was the first that brought in an elegant and sumptuous way of living." The tradition continued that Menes founded the temple of Ptah, the divine Craftsman and Potter of the gods, and we can see from later events that Ptah was lavishly worshiped at Memphis. Some 600 years later the Third Dynasty vizier Imhotep, who became the divine son of Ptah, was said to have appeased the god by instructing his King Zoser to make an offering of 70 miles on either side of the Nile along with its full harvest, in addition to the temple's usual endowment of food and precious metals. With the Upper and Lower Kingdoms continuing to stabilize as a single culture, the Memphites took advantage of the security of the capital and the superb farming conditions there to amass an unprecedentedly large surplus of food, a luxury which historians believe was the key to the rapid advancement of government institutions and the phenomenal leaps in technology that occurred at Memphis over the next thousand years. With easy access to the Mediterranean, the surplus food could be dearly traded with the Syria-Palestinians, Libyans, and Mesopotamians, and the Memphites quickly progressed from the elegant, sumptuous way of living introduced by Menes to the opulent displays of wealth and achievement that they are known for today. Duplicate Tombs Present Questions The ancient Egyptians had a custom of honoring their kings by taking their bodies to the site of their rule for burial. For the kings who ruled exclusively at Memphis, the burial site was nearby Sakkara. Menes and the other kings of the First Dynasty who ruled during the construction of Memphis, however, were also recognized at Theni, posing a dilemma for those who had to decide where they should be enshrined. The First Dynasty kings, including King Aha, solved this problem by constructing tombs at both Sakkara and Abydos—a real tomb which would house the mummy, and a cenotaph, an empty tomb to serve as a shrine rather than an actual grave. Since no bones were found in either location, Egyptologists will never know which was the real grave and which was the empty marker, and the scant evidence that can be gleaned from Menes's burial is as duplicitous as the record of his life. Instead of providing new answers, the evidence of Aha's tombs has provided only another heated topic for discussion in the attempt to discover the identity of Menes. Read more at http://biography.yourdictionary.com/king-menes#yqFWDeHeTqIqbCUV.99 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
titans&bucs&bearsohmy! 2,745 Posted October 28, 2015 Richard Wagner - composer One of the most hateful and unpleasant people who ever walked the earth. Wagner despised Jews, and blamed all the problems of the world on them. But you cant hold any of that against him when you hear his music. It transcends all the idiocy of the man himself. He only wrote operas, which he termed music dramas. But of them, his finest masterpieces are Tannhauser, Lohengrin, in which youll find the world famous Here Comes the Bride theme, Tristan und Isolde, which some consider his finest achievement, Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg, Parsifal, and his gargantuan four-opera cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen.These last four operas are the single most famous masterpiece in opera history. Of the top ten longest operas, 7 are by Wagner. The average opera length is 3 hours. Gotterdamerung, the last of the Ring cycle, is 6 hours long. More importantly, Wagner invented the leitmotif, a very short melody which represents a character, emotion, event, or object. He revolutionized the art of opera, and operas are not written in any other style today except his, or the Classical style which preceded him. There has been no progress beyond him in operatic art. It has also been said that the art of filmmaking would be set back 500 years, had Wagner not existed. Film soundtracks owe their ability to enhance the story to Wagner alone, who owes his ability to the next composer, and almost all film composers, including John Williams, agree that Wagner is the greatest film composer in history. Films can be set to his music.His finest work is probably Tristan und Isolde, but the Ring cycle could well be equal to it. Everything he wrote, from Tannhauser on (video above), could be his finest work. All his mature works are unparalleled in orchestration, and he is one of the very few opera composers who wrote his own libretti. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Voltaire 5,391 Posted October 28, 2015 I know the Nazis loved Wagner and you can't see footage of marching Nazi armies without hearing Wagner music playing but I never held that against him. Wagner was dead before the Nazis appeared on the scene. I hadn't realized though that Wagner himself was anti-semitic, let alone "One of the most hateful and unpleasant people who ever walked the earth. Wagner despised Jews, and blamed all the problems of the world on them." Wow. Kind of like I don't hold it at all against Ronald Reagan that RP is a fan of his, I also didn't hold it against Wagner that Hitler loves him. That's not his fault. Chris Christie has a one-sided love affair with Bruce Springsteen so these things are possible. Maybe I should Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
titans&bucs&bearsohmy! 2,745 Posted October 28, 2015 I know the Nazis loved Wagner and you can't see footage of marching Nazi armies without hearing Wagner music playing but I never held that against him. Wagner was dead before the Nazis appeared on the scene. I hadn't realized though that Wagner himself was anti-semitic. Kind of like I don't hold it at all against Ronald Reagan that RP is a fan of his, I also didn't hold it against Wagner that Hitler loves him. That's not his fault. Chris Christie has a one-sided love affair with Bruce Springsteen so these things are possible. The wedding march from Lohengren and the flight of the valkyries alone make him a legend. Sometime if you feel like getting out of your comfort zone, listen to the gotteramerdung online. It is truly awesome. It means "the death of the gods" and is wagoners musical interpretation of ragnarok. It is what hitter was listening to when he killed himself. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Voltaire 5,391 Posted October 28, 2015 Like I said when I took Beethoven, this Composer category is my weakest. I'm entirely at the mercy of the judgement of others in assessing what's going on in it. Vudu can go anytime. When a guy is skipped, he misses two picks. Then we'll repause on him after eight other picks are in if it takes that long. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
vuduchile 1,945 Posted October 28, 2015 Nonfiction writer: Dale Carnegie His best known work is How to Win Friends and Influence People. But my personal favorite is How to Stop Worrying and Start Living. Much of what he wrote has become cliche, and people may criticize his advice as too simplistic or old fashioned. But, a cliche doesn't invent itself. It is so for a reason. I've been up at 3 am many times with Dale and his no-nonsense, pull yourself up by your bootstraps approach to life always helps me stay grounded. He is the undisputed king of self-help authors, and motivational speakers. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Voltaire 5,391 Posted October 28, 2015 I've been up at 3 am many times with Dale and his no-nonsense, pull yourself up by your bootstraps approach to life always helps me stay grounded. By chance is today one of those times? I always assumed he was related to Andrew but I looked him up just now and he's not. He did change the spelling of his name from Carnagay, according to wiki, to give himself some marketing help. To 90sbaby... We very well may come full circle on Bear. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
vuduchile 1,945 Posted October 28, 2015 By chance is today one of those times? I always assumed he was related to Andrew but I looked him up just now and he's not. He did change the spelling of his name from Carnagay, according to wiki, to give himself some marketing help. To 90sbaby... We very well may come full circle on Bear. Nope. Up sick with a cold this time. At first, I thought he was related. I guess his marketing ploy worked. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
iam90sbaby 2,720 Posted October 28, 2015 I am still at work will be here for a few mores hours, you can skip me in the meantime. But if someone takes who I want I might have to step on your toes. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
vuduchile 1,945 Posted October 28, 2015 Conqueror: Odoacer, also called Odovacar, or Odovakar (born c. 433died March 15, 493, Ravenna), first barbarian king of Italy. The date on which he assumed power, 476, is traditionally considered the end of the Western Roman Empire Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Voltaire 5,391 Posted October 28, 2015 Daggone. It's been a long time with no Bear. I hope he's OK. We'll pause here. He has three picks when he gets back plus 90sbaby's two he graciously allowed to be skipped. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
iam90sbaby 2,720 Posted October 28, 2015 Gaius Marius (statesmen) - was a Roman general and statesman. He held the office of consul an unprecedented seven times during his career. He was also noted for his important reforms of Roman armies, authorizing recruitment of landless citizens, eliminating the manipular military formations, and reorganizing the structure of the legions into separate cohorts. Marius defeated the invading Germanic tribes (the Teutones, Ambrones, and the Cimbri), for which he was called "the third founder of Rome."[1] His life and career were significant in Rome's transformation from Republic to Empire. William Wallace (statesmen) - was a Scottishknight who became one of the main leaders during the Wars of Scottish Independence.[3] Along with Andrew Moray, Wallace defeated an English army at the Battle of Stirling Bridge in September 1297. He was appointed Guardian of Scotland and served until his defeat at the Battle of Falkirk in July 1298. In August 1305, Wallace was captured in Robroyston, near Glasgow, and handed over to King Edward I of England, who had him hanged, drawn, and quartered for high treason and crimes against English civilians. Since his death, Wallace has obtained an iconic status far beyond his homeland. He is the protagonist of Blind Harry's 15th-century epic poem The Wallace and the subject of literary works by Sir Walter Scott and Jane Porter, and of the Academy Award-winning film Braveheart (1995). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
iam90sbaby 2,720 Posted October 28, 2015 Had to get the statesmen category out of the way, not to many great ones left since a lot of generals etc... could be considered statesmen too. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Voltaire 5,391 Posted October 28, 2015 Gaius Marius just went to TBBOM a few picks ago. On my phone so it's hard to check but he took him as an administrator I think. Edit, no new to check, just scroll to the top of this page. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
iam90sbaby 2,720 Posted October 28, 2015 You can tell the cream of the crop is gone now, I keep picking people that JUST got picked. Cleisthenes - was a noble Athenian of the Alcmaeonidfamily. He is credited with reforming the constitution of ancient Athens and setting it on a democratic footing in 508/7 BC.[1] For these accomplishments, historians refer to him as "the father of Athenian democracy."[2] He was the maternal grandson of the tyrant Cleisthenes of Sicyon, as the younger son of the latter's daughter Agariste and her husband Megacles. Also, he was credited with increasing the power of the Athenian citizens’ assembly and for reducing the power of the nobility over Athenian politics. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Voltaire 5,391 Posted October 28, 2015 Pause here. Three picks for Bear. This is so very much not like him. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BiPolarBear 495 Posted October 29, 2015 I was at the hospital for a relative, but I did have a tablet and could not figure where my pick was when I checked. Johann Wolfgang von Gotthe - Writer (Fiction) He was a poet that used many styles, even haiku. He was a playwright and a successful novelist, which made him famous by the age of 25. I will be back with two more. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Voltaire 5,391 Posted October 29, 2015 Arggh.... Goethe gone! Glad to see the two will be in soon. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BiPolarBear 495 Posted October 29, 2015 Andre Segovia was hired to play at an event. He is considered the Grand Master of the Classical guitar. Also on the bill was another guitarist who showed up without a guitar. He borrowed one and blew the house away. Among the impressed was Andre Segovia, who approached the guitarist for a copy of his music. The guitarist, who according to legend had been drinking before his performance, informed the Master that there was no music and he made it up on the spot. He had lost the use of two fingers on his left hand in a fire when he was 18 and soloed with only two fingers. Django Reinhart - Artist (preforming) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BiPolarBear 495 Posted October 29, 2015 Jane Goodall - Scientist (other) http://www.janegoodall.org/ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Voltaire 5,391 Posted October 29, 2015 Youtube is blocked for me but to prepare for my next pick, I'd like a link to the Opening Ceremony of the 2012 Olympic Games in London if somebody could provide that for me. Thanks. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
titans&bucs&bearsohmy! 2,745 Posted October 29, 2015 Seeing as how the conquerors are flying off the board, I will take another. Conqueror- Charles Pepin aka Charles I aka Charles the Great aka Charlemagne Created the largest European empire since the Romans, and not to be seen again until Napoleon. Included most of modern day France, about half of the Italian peninsula, the low countries, most of modern Germany, and some Slavic holdings. Was crowned the Holy Roman Emperor by the Pope. His empire, like most great conquerors, did not long survive him. According to custom, it was divided among his sons, laying the foundations for the modern states of France and Germany. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
iam90sbaby 2,720 Posted October 29, 2015 Check inbox Jeff. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
titans&bucs&bearsohmy! 2,745 Posted October 29, 2015 I'll go ahead and skip Volty, as I highly doubt this guy is on his list. General, Tactical - Flavius Belisarius Flavius Belisarius (Greek: Βελισάριος, c. 505[2] – 565 AD) was a general of the Byzantine Empire. He was instrumental to Emperor Justinian's ambitious project of reconquering much of the Mediterranean territory of the former Western Roman Empire, which had been lost less than a century previously. One of the defining features of Belisarius' career was his success despite varying levels of support from Justinian. His name is frequently given as one of the so-called "Last of the Romans". He fought many successful campaigns, reclaiming north Africa from the Vandals, Italy from the Goths (for a time) and successfully fending of Bulgar incursions from the north, and Persian ones from the East. He always was able to work miracles with far inferior forces. One key to his success was his Household Guard. He organized a body of light cavalry, proficient in lance and sword, as well as horse archery. This highly mobile, well trained force was the key to his success. He selected his men carefully, wanting a mixed body of men with different skills. He could have crowned himself emperor of the West. The crown was offered to him by the Goths. But he remained loyal to Justinian. For his trouble, according to legend/history, Justinian became jealous and had his eyes put out. Belisarius ended his days as a blind beggar. I highly recommend the book "Count Belisarius" by Robert Graves. And excellent read on a remarkable man. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Voltaire 5,391 Posted October 29, 2015 This is the 2012 Olympic games in London which I can't watch but I know by memory: In 2002 the BBC took a poll to determine who was the greatest Briton of all time. We have many on the draft list already including Winston Church who went first overall in the BBC poll but until now, we didn't have the #2 on the list and he's a bit of a surprise in that many Americans don't know or recognize him. But you've seen him before (or rather an actor portaying him as he's long dead now) if you watched these Olympic games. He is the host and also the major theme as he overseas the construction of the 2012 logo. We start with the pastorial pleasant countryside setting with a horsedrawn carriage arriveing. Aboard that carriage is my pick here. He's the man who gets off and recites Shakespeare. Do you recognize him? BBC's #2 Briton of all time? He looks like this: https://sp.yimg.com/xj/th?id=OIP.M9b09b863df72be88690f5fc6e2cde78cH0&pid=15.1&P=0&w=300&h=300 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Voltaire 5,391 Posted October 29, 2015 Isambard Kingdom Brunel - Engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel, FRS (/ˈɪzəmbɑrd bruːˈnɛl/; 9 April 1806 – 15 September 1859), was an English mechanical and civil engineer who is considered "one of the most ingenious and prolific figures in engineering history",[1] "one of the 19th century engineering giants",[2] and "one of the greatest figures of the Industrial Revolution, [who] changed the face of the English landscape with his groundbreaking designs and ingenious constructions".[3] Brunel built dockyards, the Great Western Railway, a series of steamships including the first propeller-driven transatlantic steamship and numerous important bridges and tunnels. His designs revolutionised public transport and modern engineering. Though Brunel's projects were not always successful, they often contained innovative solutions to long-standing engineering problems. During his career, Brunel achieved many engineering "firsts", including assisting in the building of the first tunnel under a navigable river and development of SS Great Britain, the first propeller-driven ocean-going iron ship, which was at the time (1843) also the largest ship ever built.[4][5] Brunel set the standard for a well-built railway, using careful surveys to minimise grades and curves. This necessitated expensive construction techniques and new bridges and viaducts, and the two-mile-long Box Tunnel. One controversial feature was the wide gauge, a "broad gauge" of 7 ft 1⁄4 in (2,140 mm), instead of what was later to be known as 'standard gauge' of 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm). The wider gauge added to passenger comfort but made construction much more expensive and caused difficulties when eventually it had to interconnect with other railways using the narrower gauge. As a result of the Regulating the Gauge of Railways Act 1846, the gauge was changed to standard gauge throughout the GWR network. Brunel astonished Britain by proposing to extend the Great Western Railway westward to North America by building steam-powered iron-hulled ships. He designed and built three ships that revolutionised naval engineering. In 2002, Brunel was placed second in a BBC public poll to determine the "100 Greatest Britons". In 2006, the bicentenary of his birth, a major programme of events celebrated his life and work under the name Brunel 200.[6] ------- TV shows, documentaries. Statues honoring this guy are all over Britian. Along with the various stuff he constructed, he left a huge mark on the landscape there. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Voltaire 5,391 Posted October 29, 2015 Next pick is Ibn al-Haytham (Alhazen) - Thinker Abū ʿAlī al-Ḥasan ibn al-Ḥasan ibn al-Haytham (Arabic: أبو علي، الحسن بن الحسن بن الهيثم; c. 965 – c. 1040 ce), better known by the Latinization Alhazen or Alhacen[n 1] or as Ibn al-Haytham (ابن الهيثم), was an Arab[9] Muslim[10] polymath and philosopher who is widely considered as one of the most influential scientists of all time. Referred to as the father of experimental physics and modern optics and scientific methodology, he made significant contributions to the principles of optics, astronomy, mathematics, meteorology,[11] visual perception and the scientific method. Alhazen is regarded to be the first theoretical physicist and he has been the earliest to discover that a hypothesis has the necessity to be experimented through confirmable procedures or mathematical evidence, hence developing the scientific method 200 years before it was approved by Renaissance scientists.[12] In medieval Europe, he was honored as the "Second Ptolemy" (Ptolemaeus Secundus)[13] or simply called "The Physicist".[14] He is also sometimes called al-Basri البصري) after his birthplace, Basra.[15] He spent most of his life close to the court of the Fatimid Caliphate in Cairo and earned his living authoring various treatises and tutoring members of the nobilities.[16] Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Voltaire 5,391 Posted October 29, 2015 TBBOM already went twice so it goes back to Bear again. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Voltaire 5,391 Posted October 29, 2015 I'll go ahead and skip Volty, as I highly doubt this guy is on his list. You've said that twice and were right both times I don't mind you doing it so feel free ... it's just... I dunno... I assume all my guys are on everybody's list. Recently: Goethe, Cyrus, Lucreia Borgia, (Charlemagne sort of, as he was Plan C if I didn't get Sui Wendi and Menes last time but since I've now filled the 'Conqurer' category, he wasn't on the radar anymore this time around). It's like Aaarrrrggghhh!! I can't squeeze these names out fast enough! My question is, how do you -accuratly- "highly doubt" somebody is on my list? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
titans&bucs&bearsohmy! 2,745 Posted October 29, 2015 You've said that twice and were right both times I don't mind you doing it so feel free ... it's just... I dunno... I assume all my guys are on everybody's list. Recently: Goethe, Cyrus, Lucreia Borgia, (Charlemagne sort of, as he was Plan C if I didn't get Sui Wendi and Menes last time but since I've now filled the 'Conqurer' category, he wasn't on the radar anymore this time around). It's like Aaarrrrggghhh!! I can't squeeze these names out fast enough! My question is, how do you -accuratly- "highly doubt" somebody is on my list? If it's someone quite well known, I'll wait. If it is someone pretty obscure, I'll take the chance. I also trust you. If you said "hey , that guy was gonna be one of mine!" I'd believe you and yield the pick. The Japanese guy who survived both nukes, and belisarius are both fairly obscure. I felt save taking the shot to keep thing moving. Actually, we ought to just switch it to where I pick twice then you pick twice. At this point in the draft, it's gonna get pretty obscure anyway. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
iam90sbaby 2,720 Posted October 29, 2015 I think to be fair there should be a time limit per pick.... hasn't happened yet but now that we are getting to the bottom of the bottle things might get hasty. Maybe 6 hours after X person made pick? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
titans&bucs&bearsohmy! 2,745 Posted October 29, 2015 I think to be fair there should be a time limit per pick.... hasn't happened yet but now that we are getting to the bottom of the bottle things might get hasty. Maybe 6 hours after X person made pick? Problem with that is the 13 hour time difference between me and volty and the rest of you. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Voltaire 5,391 Posted October 29, 2015 What I've been doing is essentially a 20 hours time limit. Now, 24 hours would seems more natural but I don't like it because these picks often are made at at bedtime or just about and so 24 hours after them is bedtime again. With a 20 hour clock, it is more likely to go off at 6 or 7 PM and so when that goes off, maybe a couple of evening picks can still be made and salvidge the day. It's been a long slog though. I think two rounds, ten picks a day is an alright pace but we seldom hit it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Voltaire 5,391 Posted October 29, 2015 óÔÔò ʕ·͡ᴥ·ʔ óÔÔò Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BiPolarBear 495 Posted October 29, 2015 óÔÔò ʕ·͡ᴥ·ʔ óÔÔò I like it. Thank you. "Dr. Livingstone, I presume?" David Livingstone - Explorer Share this post Link to post Share on other sites