7 Popular leaders of the World

Barack Obama

Barack Hussein Obama is the 44th and current president of United States. He is the only African american to hold the seat. Barack Hussein Obama was born Aug. 4, 1961, in Honolulu, Hawaii. His father, Barack Obama, Sr., was born of Luo ethnicity in Nyanza Province, Kenya. He grew up herding goats with his own father, who was a domestic servant to the British. Although reared among Muslims, Obama, Sr., became an atheist at some point.

Obama’s mother, Ann Dunham, grew up in Wichita, Kansas. Her father worked on oil rigs during the Depression. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, he signed up for service in World War II and marched across Europe in Patton’s army. Dunham’s mother went to work on a bomber assembly line. After the war, they studied on the G. I. Bill, bought a house through the Federal Housing Program, and moved to Hawaii.

Meantime, Barack’s father had won a scholarship that allowed him to leave Kenya pursue his dreams in Hawaii. At the time of his birth, Obama’s parents were students at the East–West Center of the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

Obama’s parents separated when he was two years old and later divorced. Obama’s father went to Harvard to pursue Ph. D. studies and then returned to Kenya.

His mother married Lolo Soetoro, another East–West Center student from Indonesia. In 1967, the family moved to Jakarta, where Obama’s half-sister Maya Soetoro–Ng was born. Obama attended schools in Jakarta, where classes were taught in the Indonesian language.

Four years later when Barack (commonly known throughout his early years as "Barry") was ten, he returned to Hawaii to live with his maternal grandparents, Madelyn and Stanley Dunham, and later his mother (who died of ovarian cancer in 1995).

He was enrolled in the fifth grade at the esteemed Punahou Academy, graduating with honors in 1979. He was only one of three black students at the school. This is where Obama first became conscious of racism and what it meant to be an African–American.

In his memoir, Obama described how he struggled to reconcile social perceptions of his multiracial heritage. He saw his biological father (who died in a 1982 car accident) only once (in 1971) after his parents divorced. And he admitted using alcohol, marijuana and cocaine during his teenage years.

After high school, Obama studied at Occidental College in Los Angeles for two years. He then transferred to Columbia University in New York, graduating in 1983 with a degree in political science.

Sonia Gandhi

While studying English at the university of Cambridge met Rajiv Gandhi a mechanical engineering student and son of Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. The couple married in 1968 and moved into the prime ministers official residence, although Rajiv eschewed politics for a career as a commercial airline pilot. However, in 1980 his brother, Sanjay, died, and Rajiv subsequently entered the political arena. When Indira Gandhi was assassinated in 1984, Rajiv was named Prime minister. Though Sonia campaigned for Rajiv, she chose to remain in the background, studying art restroation and working to preserve India’s artistic treasures.

When Rajiv was assassinated in 1991, Sonia was seen by many as the natural heir to the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty, and she was offered the leadership of the congress party. She rejected the offer and refused to discuss politics publicly. In 1993, however, she visited Rajiv’s former constituency in Amethi, Uttar pradesh and was greeted by cheering crowds. She subsequently traveled throughout the country on behalf of trusts and committees devoted to Indian public life.

In 1998 Gandhi agreed to become president of the then-struggling Congress Party. Her initial efforts were overshadowed by the party’s loss to the Bharatiya janata party in the following election. Following a nationwide campaign that targeted struggling farmers and the unemployed, the Congress party the 2004 election but failed to secure an absolute majority. The party subsequently formed a new coalition called the United Progressive Alliance (UPA). Gandhi, however, chose not to head the government as prime minister, because her foreign birth had become a politically controversial issue. Instead, she invited the economist Manmohan Singh as prime minister.

In 2006 Gandhi resigned from the Lok Shaba(the lower house of the Indian parliament) and as chairperson of the National Advisory Council—which oversaw the implementation of UPA policies and provided a salary to Gandhi for her work—after accusations that she was breaking a law that banned members of parliament from holding an additional office for profit. She was reelected several months later, however. Her only son, Rahul Gandhi, was also a prominent politician.

7 wonders

7 wonders of the world

Taj Mahal

For centuries, the Taj Mahal has inspired poets, painters and musicians to try and capture its elusive magic in word, colour and song. It is one of the most flawless architectural creations of the world. Since the 17th century, travelers have crossed continents to come and see this ultimate memorial to love, and few have been unmoved by its incomparable beauty.

Taj Mahal stands in the city of Agra, in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, on the banks of the Yamuna River. It was built in the memory of the beautiful Arjumand Bano Begum, who won the heart of a Mughal prince. She was married at 21 to Emperor Jahangir’s third son Prince Khurram and stayed loyally by his side through good times and bad: in the luxurious royal palaces of Agra as well as the transient tents of war camps.

In AD 1628, Khurram became king after a bloody battle of succession: he took the name Shahjahan or “King of the World” and showered his beloved begum with the highest titles. She became Mumtaz Mahal, the exalted of the palace and Mumtaz-ul-Zamani, the exalted of the Age. But Mumtaz Mahal was not destined to be queen for long.

In 1631, Shahjahan went on an expedition to the south and, as always, Mumtaz Mahal accompanied him. But she died in childbirth at Burhanpur. She had borne Shahjahan fourteen children, of whom four sons and three daughters survived. When Mumtaz Mahal died, she was just 39 years old. Shahjahan was inconsolable and contemporary chronicles tell of the royal court mourning for two years. there was no music, no feasting, and no celebration of any kind.



Leaning Tower of Pisa






















The Leaning Tower of Pisa or simply The Tower of Pisa (La Torre di Pisa) is the freestanding bell tower, in the Italian city of Pisa. It is situated behind the cathedral and is the third oldest structure in Pisa's Cathedral Square after the cathedral and the baptistry.

Although intended to stand vertically, the tower began leaning to the southeast soon after the onset of construction in 1173 due to a poorly laid foundation and that has allowed the foundation to shift direction. The tower presently leans to the southwest.

The height of the tower is 55.86 m (183.27 ft) from the ground on the lowest side and 56.70 m (186.02 ft) on the highest side. The width of the walls at the base is 4.09 m (13.42 ft) and at the top 2.48 m (8.14 ft). Its weight is estimated at 14,500 tons. The tower has 296 or 294 steps; the seventh floor has two fewer steps on the north-facing staircase. The tower leaned at an angle of 5.5 degrees. But after the restoration works between 1990 and 2001 the tower leans at an angle of 3.99 degrees. This means that the top of the tower is 3.9 metres (12 ft 10 in) from where it would stand if the tower were perfectly vertica.



Aya Sofya















Probably Istanbul's most famous landmark, the Hagia Sophia (also spelled Ayasofya) was built by the emperor Justinian I in the year 537 AD. Built in only six years, the structure was designed by the architects Anthemius of Tralles and Isidore of Miletus. On May 7, 558, the dome of the church collapsed due to a December 557 earthquake, and though a new dome was quickly rebuilt, historical records tell us that it was not identical to the original.

During the spring and summer of 1996, Marcus Hurley (Princeton class of 1997) created a detailed computer model of the Hagia Sophia using the Pro/ENGINEER modeling program. The model is intended to serve in a number of functions. It will be used in structural, finite element analysis of the church, can be used in visualization and walk throughs, and provides a mobile, multi-media tool for scholars interested in Byzantine architecture. Finally, it provides a useful illustration in determining the form of original structure.


Chichen Itza

















Chichen a large pre columbian archielogical structure by the mayan civilization in the northern center of the present da mexico.
Throughout its nearly 1,000 years history, different peoples have left their mark on this city. The Maya and Toltec vision of the world and the universe is revealed in their artistic works and stone monuments. Several buildings have survived.
In the northern region of the Yucatan peninsula, on a limestone plateau lie the relics of Chichen Itza, once one of the most powerful cities of the Maya. Ruins of the temples of this ancient civilization spread from the Guatemala jungles to the Yucatan. Today, Chichen Itza attracts millions of visitors who come to marvel at the spectacular remains. The Maya also developed social class system which was a well-ordered and carried on trade throughout a network of cities that went as far south as Panama and as far north as Central Mexico. Mathematicians, their number system included the concept of zero, an idea unknown to the old Greeks, expert mathematicians themselves.
The Maya used their mathematical knowledge along with celestial observations to finesse a calendar created by the Olmec which is a culture from the Mexican Gulf Coast and to create monuments to observe and commemorate movements of the moon, the sun, and Venus.
Spectacular examples of these monuments can still be seen at Chichen Itza today.


Golden Gate Bridge

















Golden Gate Bridge is the largest bridge in the world. An internationally renowned symbol of San Fransisco. The bridge is over the pacific ocean.

It connects between the city of San Francisco on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula and the Marin County as a part of US Highway 101 and California State Highway 1.

It is the second longest suspension bridge in the United States. The Golden Bridge is of 1.7 miles long and the height is of 220 feet above the water in the mid span.

The main cables are 36.5 inches in diameter which contains 80,000 miles of steel wire strands. The air shows over Golden Gate Bridge are very spectacular. At weekends, the civil and the cultural activities called the Fiesta will be held in this place.

The bridge is said to be one of the modern Wonders of the World. Behind the Golden Gate Bridge arch, is Angel Island and to the left is Tiburon, California and to the east is by hill.

Great Wall of China

The Great Wall of China was built mainly to protect the Chinese Empire from the Mongolians and other invaders. It was first built in the 7th century B.C. when China was still divided into many small states. The construction of the Great wall had never ceased for nearly all the Chinese fuadal dynasties.

the Great Wall of China extends 4,000 miles westward: from the China Sea town of shanhaiguan to Gansu province.

The majestic Great Wall was built with wisdom, dedication, blood, sweat and tears. It has been estimated that somewhere in the range of 2 to 3 million Chinese died as part of the centuries-long project of building the wall.

Nearly everyone has heard of the huge stone wall known as the Great Wall of China. As one of the UNESCO World Heritage Site in China, The Great Wall is not just a wall, but a symbol of bravery and wisdom of Chinese people. The Great Wall is the world's longest human-made structure, stretching over approximately 6,400 km (4,000 miles) from Shanhaiguan in the east to Lop Nur in the west, along an arc that roughly delineates the southern edge of Inner Mongolia, but stretches to over 6,700 km (4,160 miles) in total. It is also the largest human-made structure ever built in terms of surface area and mass. At its peak the Ming Wall was guarded by more than one million men. It has been estimated that somewhere in the range of 2 to 3 million Chinese died as part of the centuries-long project of building the wall.

Pyramids

The ancient Egyptians built pyramids as tombs for the pharaos and their queens. The pharaohs were buried in pyramids of many different shapes and sizes from before the beginning of the old kingdom to end of the middle kingdom.

There are about eighty pyramids known today from ancient Egypt. The three largest and best-preserved of these were built at Giza the beginning of the Old Kingdom. The most well-known of these pyramids was built for the pharaoh Khufu. It is known as the 'Great Pyramid'. The pharaoh Khufu, like the pharaohs before him, began planning his 'house of eternity' soon as he took the throne. A spot was chosen for building on the west bank of the Nile. Cementry were built on the west bank because the sun 'died' on the western horizon every night. How pyramids were built is a matter of some controversy. Traditional views, regarding the length of time and the labor force of workers required has changed in recent years. Most egyptologist no longer believe that many slaves were used, and it is probable that much of the most difficult work of hauling the large blocks up ramps was probably performed using beasts of labor such as oxen. Experiments have also demonstrated that it probably took less time to build them then we originally thought. One reason is that there were probably not as many solid blocks used as we once believed. Rubble and sand were instead used to fill pockets surrounded by solid stone, in many instances.