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George Bernard Shaw (1856 – 1950), was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from the 1880s to his death and beyond. He wrote more than sixty plays, including major works such as Man and Superman (1902), Pygmalion (1913) and Saint Joan (1923). With a range incorporating both contemporary satire and historical allegory, Shaw became the leading dramatist of his generation, and in 1925 was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. Read more

Rabindranath Tagore (1861 – 1941) Indian poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer, and painter during the age of Bengal Renaissance. He is credited with reshaping Bengali literature and music as well as Indian art with Contextual Modernism. In 1933 he became the first non-European and the first lyricist to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. Tagore's poetic songs, elegant prose and magical poetry were widely popular in the Indian subcontinent. Tagore was also known as Gurudeb, Kobiguru, and Biswokobi. More

Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (1821 – 1881), sometimes transliterated as Dostoyevsky, was a Russian novelist, short story writer, essayist and journalist. He is regarded by many literary critics as one of the greatest novelists in all of world literature, as many of his works are considered highly influential masterpieces. His most acclaimed novels include Crime and Punishment, The Idiot, Demons (1872), and The Brothers Karamazov

Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (1749 – 1832) German polymath and writer. He is widely regarded as the greatest and most influential writer in the German language. His work as a poet, playwright , novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director and critic has had a profound and wide-ranging influence on Western literary, political, and philosophical thought from the late 18th century to the present day. More
Quote source: Faust, First Part

Epictetus - (c. 50 – c. 135 AD) was a Greek Stoic philosopher born into slavery at Hierapolis, Phrygia in present-day Pamukkale (Turkey). He lived in Rome until his banishment, when he went to Nicopolis, Greece, where he spent the rest of his life. 
Epictetus taught that philosophy is a way of life and not a theoretical discipline and that all external events are beyond our control. However, individuals are responsible for their own actions, which they can examine and control through rigorous self-discipline.

Ralph Waldo Emerson ~ (1803 –1882) American poet, philosopher, essayist and abolitionist.  His first two collections of "Essays" First Series (1841) and  Second Series (1844), represent the core of his thinking. They include  "Self-Reliance", "The Over-Soul", "Circles", "The Poet",  "Experience" and "Nature". His work has greatly influenced the thinkers, writers and poets that followed him. , He wrote: "In all my lectures, I have taught one doctrine, namely, the infinitude of the private man" More

Nelle Harper Lee (1926 – 2016) was an American author who is best known for her classic novel, "To Kill a Mockingbird", published in 1960. The book quickly became a best-seller and was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1961. It remains one of the most widely read and beloved novels of the 20th century, Despite the success of "To Kill a Mockingbird", Lee lived a relatively private life and shied away from the public eye. More

Ray Kroc  (1902 -1984), spent most of the first decades of his professional career selling paper cups and milkshake machines. In that process he came across a popular California hamburger restaurant owned by Dick and Mac McDonald, Curious as to why a small restaurant needed 40 Milkshake machines, he looked into it and was impressed by his process, simplicity and cleanliness. He went into business with the brothers and launched the McDonald's franchise in 1955. He went on to purchase the company in 1961 and to transform McDonald's into the world’s largest restaurant franchise. By the time of his death in 1984, the chain had 7,500 outlets across the world with gross sales of $8 billion.

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