Lorenzo Valla was born into an affluent Roman family in 1407, and died there in 1457. Valla was a humanist as well as a philosopher, philologist, priest and author. Valla single-handedly disproved the dubious, yet sacred document enabling the Papacy to own territory in Constantinople in his book, Falsely-Believed and Forged Donation of Constantine, or under its abridged original title, Declamatio. His discovery of the forgery led to a questioning of the Church and its integrity. But his...

Important Issues in the Kravitz Family Duddy's obsession with land lies within his grandfather, Simcha. When Duddy was small, he spoke those unforgettable words to him, "A man without land is nobody." When it seemed as if nobody cared or respected him, Simcha did. Duddy did not receive the same kind of love from his father or uncle as Lennie did. When Duddy comes back from work at, he asks, "Why [Max] didn't answer any of [his] letters?" He replies he wasn't "one for letters." "But Duddy...

A Little About Kobe By Kobe Bryant I was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on August 23, 1978 to Pamela and Joe Bryant. I have two sisters, Shaya and Sharia, who are both great athletes. The reason I have the name Kobe is unusual, and I love it. As part of our family lore, my grandmom told me when she first heard my name, she thought, "What in the world were Pam and Joe thinking naming (me) Kobe; perhaps they'll have time to change it before the birth certificate is registered. Maybe...

Biography of Aldous Huxley Aldous Huxley, English novelist, established himself as one of the premiere fiction writers of the twentieth century. Such works as Brave New World and Doors of Perception sparked positive reviews from critics and readers across the globe. He was born on July 26, 1894, in Godalming, Surrey, England. Ever since he was very young, Huxley’s peers and family considered him to be “different”. This was not necessarily a bad thing to anyone. ...

John F. Kennedy John F. Kennedy was born on May 29th, 1917 in Brooklyn, Massachusetts. He was married to Jacqueline Bouvier. They had three children, Caroline, John Jr. and Patrick. JFK was elected to replace Dwight Eisenhower in 1960, barely beating Richard Nixon. John F. Kennedy had many good ideas and services to the United States, Such as his economic programs that launched the country on its longest sustained expansion since WWI. In Kennedy’s first year in office he passed a bill...

Frederick Douglass: Elements of Douglas’ Abolitionist Argument The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass gives a first person perspective on the life of a slave laborer in both the rural south and the city. Frederick Douglass, having educated himself against terrible odds, was able to read and think endlessly about the evils of slavery and the reasons for its abolishment. The primary reason for his disgust with slavery was its effect of dehumanizing the slaves, as well as their...

Robert E. Lee Biography Robert E. Lee was born in Virginia on January 19, 1807. Robert E. Lee’s father fought in George Washington’s army. As a child Robert and his brother begged his father to tell them about what he did in the army. Roberts father told them the stories many times, but they never got sick of them and always wanted to hear them again. Soon Roberts father had to go on a trip to the West Indies. Roberts Father took him and his brother for a walk before he left. ...

The trials and tests that Giuseppe Verdi endured was a catalyst for the musical works that he was to compose; ultimately assisting in making him one of times most relished romantic composers. Such works as Oberto and I Lobartti, were operas that helped to catapult Verdi into the musical spotlight. Born in 1813 in the small Italian village of Le Roncole Italy, Giuseppe started his illustrious life. In contrast to his traditional family work of landowning, and tavern owners, Giuseppe wanted...

The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, commonly known by its abbreviation PSLV, is an expendable launch system developed and operated by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). It was developed to allow India to launch its Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) satellites into sun synchronous orbits, a service that was, until the advent of the PSLV, commercially viable only from Russia. PSLV can also launch small size satellites into geostationary transfer orbit (GTO). The PSLV has launched 41...

Living a Musical Language through the Work of Stravinsky Stravinsky Stravinsky is considered to be one of the greatest composers of the twentieth century. He introduced two of the first major suggestions of contemporary music. He is thought of as somewhat revolutionary because of the clamorous reception of his new style. Igor Fedorovich Stravinsky was born on June 17, 1882. His birthplace is Oranienbaum, Russia, which is now Lomonosov. His father was the leading bass singer at the Imperial...