Steven Paul Jobs was born in San Francisco on February 24, 1955. He became interested in computers when he was a teenager and attended lectures after school at Hewlett Packard. In 1974, Jobs got a job as a technician at the video game maker Atari. He saved enough money to backpack around India and then returned to Atari, where he met Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak.
Jobs and Wozniak founded Apple in 1976. Jobs persuaded Wozniak to make a computer and sell it. Together, they developed the Mac. It was the first small computer with a user-friendly interface to be commercially successful. Jobs also built the computer on which the World Wide Web was created. He developed a passion for style and functional perfection, which became Apple trademarks.
Steve Jobs was the co-founder and CEO of Apple Inc. and former CEO of Pixar Animation Studios. He was the largest individual shareholder in Walt Disney. Jobs’ name is associated with innovative products like the iPod, iPhone, iTunes and iPad. He was a much-respected corporate leader whose management style is studied worldwide. His attention to design, function and style won him millions of fans.
Jobs guided Apple to be a major player in the digital revolution. The introduction of the iMac and other cutting-edge products made Apple a powerful brand with a loyal following. Jobs also enjoyed considerable success at Pixar. He created Oscar-winning movies such as ‘Toy Story’ and ‘Finding Nemo’.

Jobs’ advice for success is: “You’ve got to find what you love." He died in October 2011, aged 56.

David Beckham is an English footballer who was born in London on May 2, 1975. His parents were fanatical Manchester United supporters. His talent was obvious from an early age and he signed with Manchester United on his fourteenth birthday. He helped the youth team win several trophies and made his first team debut in 1995. He helped his team achieve considerable success in his eleven seasons with them.
He played for Manchester United and Real Madrid, as well as representing his country 100 times. He moved to the Los Angeles Galaxy in 2007 to increase the profile of football in America. He married Spice Girl Victoria Beckham and has become a worldwide celebrity, an advertising brand and a fashion icon.
Beckham has been runner-up twice as world football’s best player. He won many trophies with Manchester United, including the Champions League, and won a league title with Real Madrid. He also captained his club and country. He was famously sent off in a match against Argentina in the 1998 World Cup. In 2003, Beckham received an honour for services to football from Britain’s Queen.
Beckham has many interests off the soccer pitch and is rarely out of the headlines, especially concerning his marriage and children. He has established football academies in Los Angeles and London. In 2006 he was named a judge for the British Book Awards. He lives near Tom Cruise and the two are best buddies. Beckham is also a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador.

Aung San Suu Kyi was born on 19 June 1945 in Rangoon (now often called Yangon). She has been a figurehead for her country’s struggle for democracy since 1988. She was born to lead her nation; her father was Burma's independence hero. He was assassinated when she was just two years old. Suu Kyi had an international upbringing. She was educated in Burma, India, and the United Kingdom, where she got her PhD.
In 1988 she returned home to care for her dying mother. Burma was in political chaos after a new military junta took power. A nationwide uprising against the Generals started and Suu Kyi campaigned for freedom and democracy. The brutal regime clamped down on the people and slaughtered 10,000 demonstrators. This made Suu Kyi more determined to help her people.
Suu Kyi increased her efforts to fight the dictators who were leading her country. She was put under house arrest. Even though the government arrested her, the party she led won a staggering 82% of the seats in the 1990 election. The regime never recognized the results. The Generals offered her freedom if she left the country, but she refused.
Suu Kyi was under house arrest for the best part of two decades. Ms Suu Kyi won the Nobel Peace Prize while being detained. She was given her freedom by the military dictatorship on November 13th, 2010. She was greeted by thousands of adoring Burmese at the gates of her home. World leaders welcomed her release. Her new goal is to work with anyone and everyone in Burma to make a better country for her people.
General elections were held in Myanmar on 8 November 2015, with the National League for Democracy winning an absolute majority of seats in the combined national parliament. While NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi is constitutionally barred from the presidency (as both her husband and her children are foreign citizens), she has let it be known that she will hold the real power in any NLD-led government.

Albert Einstein was a German-born physicist. He was born in Ulm, in the Kingdom of Württemberg in the German Empire on 14 March 1879. Most people probably know him as the most intelligent person who ever lived. His name has become part of many languages when we want to say someone is a genius, as in the phrase, “She’s a real Einstein”. He must have been pretty brainy to discover the Theory of Relativity and the equation E=mc2.
In 1999, ‘Time’ magazine named Einstein as the Person of the Century. No one could have guessed this would happen when he was at school. He was extremely interested in science but hated the system of learning by heart. He said it destroyed learning and creativity. He had already done many experiments, but failed the entrance exams to a technical college.
He didn’t let this setback stop him. When he was 16, he performed his famous experiment of imagining traveling alongside a beam of light. He eventually graduated from university, in 1900, with a degree in physics. Twelve years later he was a university professor and in 1921, he won the Nobel Prize for Physics. He went on to publish over 300 scientific papers.
Einstein is the only scientist to become a cult figure, a household name, and part of everyday culture. He once joked that when people stopped him in the street, he always replied: "Pardon me, sorry! Always I am mistaken for Professor Einstein.” Today, he is seen as the typical mad, absent-minded professor, who just happened to change our world.

William Henry Gates III was born on October 28, 1955. He is one of the world's richest people and perhaps the most successful businessman ever. He co-founded the software giant Microsoft and turned it into the world’s largest software company. He is the best-known entrepreneur of the PC revolution. He has also written two best-selling books and started his own charity with his wife.
Gates was fascinated with electronics from a young age. In 1975 he read about a small technology company. He contacted them to see if they were interested in a computer programme he had written. This led to the creation of Microsoft. Gates later struck a deal with IBM that put Microsoft's Windows on IBM computers. This deal made Microsoft a major player in the IT industry.
Gates was in charge at Microsoft from 1975 until 2006. He was an active software developer at the beginning. He had a vision that computers could change everyone’s life. He helped make this vision come true and developed many products that are now part of modern life. His management style has been studied and copied around the world.
Gates stepped down as Microsoft CEO in June 2008. He now spends his time with his wife, Melinda, focusing on their charitable foundation. They provide funds for global problems that are ignored by governments and other organizations. ‘Time’ magazine voted Gates as one of the biggest influences of the 20th Century. Scientists named the Bill Gates flower fly after him.

Mark Elliot Zuckerberg was born on May 14, 1984. He is the creator of the social media site Facebook. He was a star student at school, winning prizes in astronomy, maths and physics. He also excelled in Classical studies. He studied Psychology and Computer Science at Harvard University, which is where he created Facebook. His invention led to his becoming Time magazine’s Person Of The Year for 2010.
Zuckerberg excelled in everything he did in his youth. He was captain of the school fencing team, spoke many languages and was a highly skilled computer programmer. While other kids played computer games, he designed them. He created his first network while in high school to connect all of the computers in his father’s dental surgery. He also built a media player which attracted the interest of Microsoft and AOL.
Zuckerberg started at Harvard in September 2002. In his first year, he created Facemash, a Facebook predecessor, that let students select the college’s best looking people from a selection of photos. He launched Facebook from his Harvard room in February 2004. It was the start of a rollercoaster ride that would connect half a billion people worldwide and make him the world’s youngest billionaire.
Mark Zuckerberg is now one of the most influential people on the planet. He has dined with the president of the USA and regularly attends global economic summits and technology forums. He stated: "The thing I really care about is the mission, making the world open." In 2010, Zuckerberg signed a promise called the "Giving Pledge", in which he promised to donate at least half of his life wealth to charity.

Walt Disney was born in 1901 in Chicago. He has touched the lives of millions of children and adults. He holds the record for winning the most Academy Awards (26) and was an innovative film producer and animator. He created some of the most successful characters, movies and theme parks of the 20th Century.
He developed a great love of drawing as a youngster. When he was ten, he discovered the world of theatre and cinema and fell in love with it. He became the cartoonist for his high school newspaper. In 1920, he set up his own animation company and his “Laugh-O-Gram” cartoons became very popular.
Disney wanted more and so he moved to Hollywood. He developed a character based on a pet mouse he once had. He gave the mouse his own voice and personality. Disney’s wife named him Mickey. Disney put Mickey in his first movie with sound, ‘Steamboat Willie’. By 1930, Mickey Mouse was the world’s most popular cartoon character and Walt Disney was a household name.
Following on from Mickey’s success, Disney created characters such as Donald Duck, Goofy, and Pluto. He then produced an animated feature-length version of Snow White, which was the most successful movie of 1938. Dozens more movies followed, including Fantasia and Bambi. Disney built up a global entertainment empire, including his Disneyland theme park. He died of cancer in 1966.

Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods was born on December 30, 1975. He is an American professional golfer who is among the most successful golfers of all time. He has been one of the highest-paid athletes in the world for several years.
Tiger shot to fame as a two-year-old. He showed off his skills on television in 1978 with comedian Bob Hope. In 1990, aged 15, he became the youngest ever U.S. Junior Amateur Champion. There were dozens of records and victories in between. In 1994, Woods became the youngest ever winner of the U.S. Amateur Championship. He turned professional two years later.
Sports experts predict he will become sports first billionaire. He cannot stop winning. He has the second highest number of major golf championships of any male player, and he’s still young. His career is full of impressive records. He’s the youngest player to win the US Open and the youngest and fastest to win 50 tournaments. It seems likely he’ll break more records.
Woods is a Buddhist. He got his faith from his Thai mother. He said it helps control his stubbornness and impatience. It perhaps also explains his charity work. He has set up many projects to help disadvantaged youngsters. He believes being a good role model is much more important than golf and has helped thousands of teenagers around the world.

Tata Young was born as Amita Marie Young on December 14, 1980 in Thailand. She is a Thai singer, model, actress and dancer. She is popular all over Asia. She became an international success after she released her first English-language album, ‘I Believe’ in 2004. This followed four albums sung in her native Thai. She has won a string of awards and regularly tops the “best this”, “sexiest that” lists.
Tata has an American father and Thai mother. Success for her began at the age of 11, when she beat over 5,000 children in a Thai TV talent contest. She won a contract with Yamaha Music, which set about preparing her for stardom. In 1994, aged 14, she caught the eye of Thailand's biggest record label, which offered her a recording contract.
Tata’s debut album sold more than 1 million copies and she became Thailand’s biggest pop sensation. Still just 15, she won Thailand’s Entertainer of the Year award, as well as Best Recording Artist for 1995. A year later she gave a concert in Hollywood. She was signed by the music agency that also manages acts such as Bon Jovi.
Tata has also developed a modeling and acting career. Her 1997 acting debut helped the movie 'The Red Bike Story’ break all Thai box office records. She represented Thailand at the handover of Hong Kong to China in 1997. Her single "Zoom" was used in the top-selling PC game The Sims 2. Tata released her second English album in 2008.

Lady Gaga was born Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta on March 28, 1986. Lady Gaga is her stage name. She is an American singer-songwriter who has become one of the biggest names in music – for her songs, performances, fashion and politics. She became famous in 2008 and just two years later was included in Time magazine's list of the 100 most influential people in the world.
Lady Gaga had a musical upbringing. She learned to play piano from the age of four and was singing in public by the time she was 14. She also loved acting in musicals at school. She went to a New York art college at the age of 17 where she wrote a research paper that focused on "music, art, sex and celebrity”. She concentrated on songwriting and singing in New York clubs. She got her name from the Queen song “Radio Gaga”.
Gaga was inspired by David Bowie, Blondie and Madonna. She hit the big time following the release of her debut album The Fame in 2008. The singles "Just Dance" and "Poker Face" became international hits. The album reached number one on the record charts in six countries. Her second album Born This Way (2011) also enjoyed spectacular success. The single "Born This Way" was the fastest-selling single in iTunes history.
Gaga is also outspoken when it comes to politics. She has spoken at military meetings in support of gays and lesbians in the US Army and shocked the world by wearing a dress made from meat, to draw attention to human rights. She is also a philanthropist and raised $500,000 for the Haiti earthquake from a concert performance. Gaga also designed a Japan Prayer Bracelet which raised $1.5 million for Japan’s tsunami relief fund.

Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44 President of the United States of America. He is also the winner of the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize. He made history in 2008 when he won the U.S. presidential election. He is the first African American to be President. Obama's charisma, intelligence, and powerful speeches have made him extremely popular with many Americans. He has been very successful with his message for change.
Obama was born in Hawaii on August 4, 1961 to a black Kenyan father and white American mother. His parents divorced and his mother married an Indonesian man. Barack's family moved to Indonesia in 1967. He attended schools in Jakarta until he was ten years old, when he returned to Hawaii. Obama majored in political science and international relations at Columbia University in New York.
After four years in New York, Obama moved to Chicago. There, he worked as the director of a community project from 1985 to 1988. He entered Harvard Law School and became the first black president of the Harvard Law Review. Obama taught law at the University of Chicago Law School for twelve years. He became an Illinois Senator in 1996.
In 2004, Obama was elected as a U.S. Senator. He supported legislation on conservation, energy, immigration and honest leadership. Obama is currently battling with serious issues such as the economy. He beat Mitt Romney to win a second term in office, despite a poor economy and high unemployment. He thanked voters by promising to spend his second term honoring their support, saying: "There's a lot more work to do."

Britney Jean Spears was born in Mississippi, USA on December 2, 1981. She is one of the world’s best-selling singers, having sold over 80 million records worldwide. She also writes songs and acts. She led a revival of teen pop in the late 1990s, which helped her become a star. She is also famous for her problems with drugs and alcohol.
Spears was a budding gymnast when she was a child and competed in many tournaments. She also sang and danced in her local church shows. She spent several summers developing her talent at a performing arts school in New York. When she was 11, she appeared in the Disney Channel’s New Mickey Mouse Club. She signed a recording contract at the age of 16.
Spears released her debut single "Baby One More Time” in 1998. It was an instant international success and ranks as the 38th best song of all time. The album of the same name sold 28 million copies and is the bestselling album for a teenager. Spears broke many records and won many awards. She had established herself as a pop phenomenon.
Spears was ranked the world's most powerful celebrity in 2002 by ‘Forbes’ magazine. She released four more albums, which cemented her status as a superstar. Her personal life has been less successful. Her four-year relationship with Justin Timberlake ended in 2002. She married dancer Kevin Federline in 2004 and divorced him in 2007. She is currently fighting for custody of their two sons.

Joanne "Jo" Rowling was born on July 31, 1965. J.K. Rowling is the pen name she uses as a writer. The J is for Joanne, her real first name, but she prefers to be called Jo. Apparently, people only call her Joanne when they’re angry with her. The K is made up. Her publisher asked her to write using a name with two initials, but she didn’t have a middle name.
Jo did a few different things before she struck upon the idea of writing children’s books. She worked as a researcher and bilingual secretary for Amnesty International and as an English teacher in Portugal. The idea for the Harry Potter novels came from nowhere while she was on a train to London. She said, “The characters and situations came flooding into my head”.
Seven Potter novels later and Rowling is one of the richest women in the world. In fact, she is the first novelist ever to become a billionaire from writing. Her rags to riches story is a fantasy story in itself. She was on government handouts while writing her first novel. Her last four books broke records for the fastest sellers in literary history.
Today she devotes much of her time to many charitable causes. She famously demanded that Coca-Cola donate $18 million to the Reading is Fundamental charity if it wanted a tie-up with the Potter movies. The future? In March 2008, she said: "I will continue writing for children because that's what I enjoy".

Queen Elizabeth II was born on April 21, 1926. Her real name is Elizabeth Alexandra Mary. She is well known throughout the world. She is the Queen of sixteen countries but lives in the United Kingdom. Her ancestors have ruled over the UK for over a thousand years. She holds enormous power over her 129 million subjects, but rarely gets involved with politics. She is a hard-working Queen who has adapted to world changes over six decades.
Elizabeth has many other positions besides being a monarch. She is Head of the Commonwealth (the collection of 16 nations), Supreme Governor of the Church of England, Chief of Fiji and head of many parts of the UK armed forces. She married a Greek prince in 1947. Her husband is known as the Duke of Edinburgh.
Elizabeth was born in London in 1926. She was third in line to the throne and never expected to become queen. She was on safari in Kenya when she received news that her father had died and she was the new Queen. She was crowned in 1953 and soon after the ceremony she went on a six-month world tour to visit her people.
Elizabeth has always taken her position as Queen extremely seriously. She has never given a press interview, and no one knows her political views. She has been the ultimate professional throughout her working life. Even her dress has stayed conservative. She is famous for her plain-coloured coats. She continues to attend many cultural events as part of her public role.

Mother Teresa was born in Albania on August 26, 1910, and died on September 5,1997. Her real name is Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu. She became famous all over the world for starting the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta, India. She began this work in 1950 and for over forty years, she looked after the poor, sick, orphaned, and dying. She won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 for her humanitarian work.
Agnes developed an interest in helping the less fortunate at a very young age. She was fascinated by stories of people who dedicated their life to help others. She decided to become a nun when she was 12. She joined the Sisters of Loreto as a missionary when she was 18. She initially went to Ireland, to learn English.
She arrived in India in 1929 and became a nun two years later. The poverty and suffering she saw around her in Calcutta deeply disturbed her. A famine in 1943 killed thousands and worsened the situation. In 1946 she received a call from God. "I was to leave the convent and help the poor while living among them. It was an order,” she said.
She was an international symbol of charity, visiting many countries to help poor children. At the time of her death, her organization was operating in 123 countries. After she died, the Pope started the process that might one day make her a saint. An international survey ranked her as the "most admired person of the 20th Century."