AP WORLD PEOPLE TO KNOW Flashcards
Queen Elizabeth I
brought religious peace to England and destroyed the Spanish Armada
William and Mary
After Glorious Revolution, signed English Bill of Rights
Indira Gandhi
leader of India during the Cold War who developed nukes and allied with the USSR
Golda Meir
prime minister of Israel who led country to victory in Yom Kippur War
Margaret Thatcher
the “Iron Lady” who led conservatives in Britain during the 1980s and was a friend to the USA
Jesus
the New Testament, founded the Christian Bible, tells of his birth, death, and ressurection
Muhammad
the final prophet, tasked with spreading the word of Allah to the world
Siddhartha Gautama
Said that the way to end suffering is found in the Middle Way, by following the Eight-fold Path
Asoka
Indian king who converted to Buddhism and spread faith to eastern Asia
Michelangelo
artistic accomplishments like David and the Sistine Chapel
Leonardo da Vinci
“Renaissance man” talented in many fields; painted the Mona Lisa
Shakespeare
Writer of the Northern Renaissance, works on human emotion still influence people today
Erasmus
Christian humanist whose works like “In Praise of Folly” tried to reform Catholicism
Gutenberg
Invention of moveable type press advanced literacy, science, reason, and the Enlightenment
Martin Luther
95 theses pointed out corruption in the Catholic church and sparked the Reformation
John Calvin
His new church taught the belief that God has already chosen who will be saved
King Henry VIII
dismissed the authority of the pope when he was denied the right to divorce his wife
Jan Hus
early attacks on the Catholic church paved the way for reformers but led to his execution
John Wycliffe
Another early reformer who translated the New Testament to English
Nicolaus Copernicus
His work in developing the heliocentric theory is considered the starting point of astronomy
Johannes Kepler
Used math to prove that the planets move in an elliptical orbit around the sun
Galileo Galilei
His telescope proved the heliocentric theory correct, but he was put on trial by the Church
Isaac Newton
He developed the laws of motion after theorizing that gravity holds objects to the earth
William Harvey
Through experimentation and observation, he found that blood is circulated through the heart
Henry the Navigator
Encouraged navigation by starting a school for navigators and funding many sea voyages
Vasco da Gama
First European to reach India by sailing around the southern tip of Africa
Christopher Columbus
His journeys to the “New World” established permanent European settlements
Hernando Cortes
Spanish conquistador who conquered the Aztec empire and executed their king, Montezuma
Francisco Pizarro
Led a Spanish expedition to the Andes Mountains where they defeated the Incan empire
Ferdinand Magellan
Voyage around the world made him the first to circumnavigate the globe
Francis Drake
Second person to circumnavigate the world, but the first from England
Jacques Cartier
His attempts to find a Northwest passage to India led to his discovery of Canada for France
Louis XIV
built the Palace of Versailles as a symbol of royal power as the “Sun King”
Peter the Great
After visiting Europe, he returned to Russia with plans to westernize the nation
Louis XVI
his failure to deal with unrest among the estates led to his execution in the French Revolution
Napoleon
ended the French Revolution, named himself Emperor, and tried to unite all of Europe
Oliver Cromwell
As leader of the Roundheads, he led the Puritans to victory and and set up a dictatorship
Charles I
His refusal to work with parliament led to the Civil War that ended when he was beheaded
Charles II
asked by Parliament to restore England to a monarchy after the death of Cromwell
William (and Mary)
after Glorious Revolution, he signed the English Bill of Rights and ruled with his wife
Voltaire
he advocated for religious toleration and separation of church and state
Thomas Hobbes
wrote that an absolute monarch is best for self-protection in his book, Leviathan
John Locke
in Two Treatises of Government, he explained that our natural rights should be protected
Montesquieu
wrote The Spirit of Laws, that argued for a separation of powers in government
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
his book, the Social Contract, stated that government is a contract between rulers and the people
Thomas Jefferson
was inspired by other Enlightenment thinkers when writing the Declaration of Independence
Johann Sebastian Bach
composed symphonies in the great, baroque style of music
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
his classical music compositions are still considered some of the world’s best
Miguel de Cervantes
his most famous book, Don Quixote, was the first full-length novel written in Europe
Eugene Delacroix
painted in the Romantic style and is best known for Liberty Leading the People
Father Miguel Hidalgo
Catholic priest who incited the people to revolt through a sermon
Toussaint L’Ouverture
led a successful slave rebellion against France on the island of Haiti
Simon Bolivar
led the movements for independence from the Spanish in South America
James Monroe
Monroe Doctrine guaranteed independence for the Americas against European intervention
Count Cavour
used strategic alliances to unite the northern states of Italy against Austria and France
Giuseppe Garibaldi
nationalist leader of the unification movement in southern Italy who relied on war
Otto von Bismarck
“Iron Chancellor” who used warfare to unite the German states under Wilhelm I
James Hargreaves
invented the spinning jenny, which allowed textile factories to spin cotton at much faster rates
James Watt
invention of the steam engine allowed factories and trains to be powered by coal
Eli Whitney
his invention of the cotton gin increased demand for slaves in the United States
Henry Bessemer
his steel making process made it faster and cheaper to produce steel
Edward Jenner
discovered he could inoculate people against smallpox by injecting them with cowpox
Louis Pasteur
Pasteurization and Germ Theory of Disease are just 2 of his contributions to science
Adam Smith
in The Wealth of Nations, described his theory of a free-market, laissez faire economy
Karl Marx
co-wrote the Communist Manifesto to describe the plight of the working class
Friedrich Engels
books described the class struggle that would lead from capitalism to communism
