Stanley Martin Lieber (Stan Lee) was born in 1922 in New York. He's the creative mind behind characters like The Fantastic Four, Spiderman, Hulk, Iron Man, Daredevil, X-Men, and more. When he finished his studies, Stan Lee began to work in Marvel. He was cousin of Martin Goodman's wife, the publisher of Marvel Comics. After a year of working there, he did his first work as a writer of comic stories. It was a short story starring by Captain America. But Stan Lee dreamed of creating his own characters, and being an important fiction author. That first work was signed with the name "Stan Lee", the name with which he's known worldwide. During the following years, Stan Lee was editor, artistic director, writer-director, and made up to 5 comic books per week. Stan Lee was a big fan of Errol Flynn movies, giving that touch of arrogant and brave hero to his own characters. Other people that inspired Stan Lee were the historical figures of Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Winston Churchill, that were leaders in times of war. For Lee, Roosevelt was the perfect President, responsible and protective. He admired the tenacity and strength of Churchill. One of the most strongest support of Stan Lee was his mother, who always had a big faith in her son's projects. Between the writers that Stan Lee admired most there were Mark Twain, H.G. Wells, Charles Dickens, Edgar Allan Poe, Shakespeare... These writers were another source of inspiration for Lee. Stan Lee, with the drawers Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko took Marvel Comics to a golden age, being the most best-seller comics in USA during decades. But Stan Lee not only thought up great comic heroes, but also he did scripts for radio, TV and movies. One of Lee's great ideas was to bring Spiderman to the newspapers as a comic strip. Spiderman was published as a comic strip in thousands of newspapers all over the world. In the 80s, Stan Lee moved to Los Angeles, and became the creative director of the TV series of his characters. Years later, his super-heroes will appear on movies too. His charismatic personality made him do short appearances in the movies based on his characters, reminding us the legendary director Alfred Hitchcock. The success of Lee's heroes is based in that they have weaknesses, fears, some kind of vulnerability... but strength and thirst of justice. Without doubt, Stan Lee is the Midas King of Marvel Comics, that mixes talent and inventive with a strong commercial sense.

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (1892-1973) was born in Bloemfontein (South Africa). His parents were English. His mother decided to leave South Africa and move to England. Tolkien was 3 years old and his brother 2. They settled in Sarehole Mill, near Birminham. He won't never see his father again, because he died the year after his wife left South Africa. When Tolkien was twelve, his mother also died, and he and his brother became orphans, and went under the care of their aunt and the catholic priest Francis Xavier Morgan. Francis was of Spanish origin, and had always helped Tolkien's mother. She had converted to Catholicism. So Tolkien was educated in the Catholic faith. When Tolkien was 16 years old, he met Edith Mary Bratt. She was orphan too, and they fell in love. Father Francis didn't want that this relationship continued because he was afraid that Tolkien may not end his studies. So Tolkien awaited until he was 21 years old, and the evening of his birthday he wrote to Edith telling her about his love and that he wanted to marry with her. She answered that she was going to marry another man, but she had only accepted because she thought that Tolkien had forgot her. So they met together again, Edith converted to Catholicism, and they married in 1916. Their marriage lasted for 55 years and they had 4 children. One of his sons, Christopher, years later ordered and edited some of the works of his father. World War I started. Tolkien fell in various diseases in the war, and they sent him back home. When he was ill, he wrote some of the stories of the Silmarilion. When he was back home, in one of his walks through the country with his wife, Edith began to dance among the flowers. This inspired the story of Beren and Luthien. So Tolkien often called his wife "my Luthien". Tolkien became a teacher. He met other intellectuals in Oxford, and created the discussion group called "The Inklings", where Tolkien and his friends read their stories together, criticizing and analyzing them. During these years, he wrote "The Hobbit". C.S. Lewis (the author of The Chronicles Of Narnia) encouraged Tolkien to bring his book to an editor. "The Hobbit" was published in 1937, and was so successful that they asked him to write a sequel. So Tolkien wrote "The Lord Of The Rings". The 30 years after that, he was completely devoted to write. In the year 1945, the University of Oxford gave him the Merton Professor of English Language and Literature for his philology works (not for his novels). To talk about Tolkien is talking about one of the greatest writers of the fantasy genre. His sceneries are the result of his memories, of moments of his life. As a curiosity, one of his most charismatic characters (Gandalf), is based in a doctor that cured him from the bite of a spider when he was a little child. Tolkien was also an erudite of languages, and created his own ones. Creating sceneries, characters, and lineages that can only emerge from the mind of a genius, Tolkien became a timeless writer.

Paulo Coelho was born in Rio de Janeiro in Agust 1947. His family was rather strict y disciplined. And he was quite rebel, so they interned him up to three times in a mental institution before he was 17 for trying to "moderate" his personality. But his free spirit prevented him from following the same path that others had decided for him. He started to study law, but he abandoned in the 60s, influenced by the hippie culture. He went to travel all over the world, through America, Europe, and Africa. He was traveling for two years, and when he returned, he started to write song lyrics. He also worked as journalist, scriptwriter, theater director, executive in the music company Polygram, and directed the Express Underground newspaper. In 1974 he was sent to jail, accused of subversive activities against the Brazilian government. He got married with the painter Christina Oiticica. With her, he traveled to Holland and met a man called Jean that introduced Coelho to the RAM (Regnus Agnus Mundi) fraternity. It is a religious catholic group that has its origins in the Medieval Spain. Jean became Coelho's spiritual guide. Coelho was appointed knight of the RAM order. He wrote "The Pilgrimage", inspired in his religious experiences with the RAM, after his pilgrimage through the Road of Santiago. After this book, he wrote "The Alchemist" (1988), "Brida" (1990), "The Valkyries"... and so many books that made him be recognized universally as a well-known writer. "The Alchemist" was named book of the year by the Library Association of USA. In Paris he was given the Legion d'Honneur decoration, one of the highest of France. He serves as Special Counsellor for Intercultural Dialogues and Spiritual Convergences for the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). And is also member of the Brazilian Academy of Letters. In addition, he has an endless list of awards and decorations, but without a doubt, his best award are his readers and his thousands of followers all over the world. He got all this due to his unforgettable, poetic, emotional, deep and philosophic style of writing. One of the keys of the success of Paulo Coelho are his famous and full of wisdom quotes, with which Coelho makes you think about the different facets of life.

Thanks to J. K. Rowling, many children and not so children, have become interested in fantasy genre books, and with that, to reading. Many children from all over the globe translate her books from English to their own languages, because they can't wait for the translated editions. It's not easy that children, so used to this audio-visual society, have welcomed so well Rowling's books. Joanne Rowling was born on 31 July of 1965 in England. Joanne's mother was very keen on reading, and Joanne inherited that hobby. Joanne not only liked reading since she was a child, she even liked to write her own stories. The first story that Joanne wrote was when she was 6 years old. It was about a rabbit and its friends. The Rowling family moved several times. In one of them, they went to Winterbourne, where Joanne started a friendship with a neighbor called Ian Potter. She used this surname for his character Harry Potter. One of the hardest blows in Joanne's life was the death of her mother. After a long illness that lasted for 10 years, Joanne's mother died of multiple sclerosis, without knowing the success that her daughter will have. When her mother died, Joanne moved to Portugal. It was the year 1990. She had already graduated in Exeter University, and went to Portugal to work as an English language teacher. She had wrote two novels, but never thought in publishing them. During a travel by train from Manchester to London, she had the idea of Harry Potter. It took her 6 years to structure the wizard's story. And this story will go in 7 books. In Portugal she met her first husband, with whom she will have a daughter. When her daughter was born, she already had written several chapters of "Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone". They divorced and Rowling moved to Scotland, to work as teacher again. "Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone" was rejected by many editorials, until one of them accepted. They advised her to sign the novel with initials. She used J. for her name (Joanne), K for Kathleen (the name of her grandmother) and Rowling. A North American editor offered her the chance to publish her books in the U.S.A. He would give her some money in advance, something that was really good for Joanne, who had some economic problems. Her book received positive critics very soon. The following books of Harry Potter ensured her success. When Harry Potter reached the cinemas, it turned into an absolute success. Everybody read her books and the merchandising of the young wizard started to be sold. Joanne has become one of the most rich women in the world. She married again and had more children. A part of Joanne's earnings goes to investigation of multiple sclerosis, the illness that killed her mother. The seventh book of Harry Potter is the last of his saga. With this book, she ends an important phase of her life. Harry Potter was decisive not only for Joanne's life, but also for many of her readers, that enjoyed through the eyes of a young wizard and his friends.

Jack Tramiel was born in Poland in 1928. After the Nazi invasion of 1939 he and his family were sent to a Jewish ghetto. Later, they were sent to one of the worst concentration camps of the Nazi Germany: Auschwitz. In Auschwitz, Jack Tramiel was selected by Dr. Mengele (more known as "The Angel of Death", one of the most cruel and wicked minds of Nazism) to go with his father to the work camp of Ahlem (Hanover). His mother stayed in Auschwitz. Jack Tramiel's father was assassinated by the Nazis (they injected him gasoline). He was rescued from the concentration camp in 1945 by the US Army. Two years later Jack Tramiel went to the USA, the country that gave him freedom, and joined their army. While he was in the army, he learned to repair typewriters. Some time later, he worked as a taxi driver. He saved some money, and bought a shop in the Bronx, where he worked repairing typewriters. He called it "Commodore Portable Typewriter". He had a remarkable success, and decided to move to Ontario (Canada) the following year. There, he focused on manufacturing office material at low cost. But in 1976 he had economical problems and he's about to go bankrupt. Tramiel, used to adversity, bets really hard: he gets a loan of 3 million dollar, and with this money, buys an American electronics company. It was called "Mos Technologies", but he changed its name to "Commodore International". Tramiel has a revolutionary idea: why not to make computing accessible to the general public? "Computers for the masses, not for the social classes". That were times in which computers were just a mere tool for the big companies, and privileged people that could pay a big amount of money. Tramiel starts a chain reaction, maybe a social revolution: no business will lack of a computer (a revolution in all offices), a new toy for the children, and a new way for entertainment that nowadays keeps a strong fight against the leader of communication: TV. Computers became the best vehicle for information, due to Internet. He releases a series of brilliant products, really revolutionary for those times, both for their technological improvements as for their progressively lowered price. For example, PET (designed by Chuck Peddle in 1977) and VIC-20 (in 1981, was one of the first computers able to work with colors, and were produced 9000 units per day). And in 1982, they launch the Commodore 64. It had all kinds of peripherals that were just high technology until then, and never seen before by the home users: optical pen and graphics tablet (that allowed to draw directly on the screen, or in an electronic blackboard), game devices (joystick, mouse, roller), modem to browse the Internet, video digitalizer (the precursor of web cams), MIDI sequencer, monitor filters... Commodore 64 brings the absolute success for his company. It is the best seller home computer in History, with more than 30 million units sold all over the world. This is why it appears in the Guinness World Records. Commodore International reached the 32% of the home computing market. In 1984 Jack Tramiel left Commodore and sold his shares. With the abandonment of this man, blessed with the Midas Touch, starts the decadence of the company. When they launched the notorious computer Amiga, they went bankrupt. The company abandoned Jack Tramiel's guidelines of low price computers. In the same year, he bought Atari. Years later, his sons managed the company. He retired to live a peaceful life with his wife, Helen. They are together for more than 60 years. So when you turn off your computer today, remember Jack Tramiel. Maybe if Jack Tramiel never existed, you may not have a computer to turn off.

Hatshepsut was daughter of Thutmose I. He ruled for 13 years during which he expanded the frontiers of Egypt as far as the most western part of the Euphrates river. This way, he increased the wealth of his Empire, as those lands where very productive. He was also a great builder. He started the Valley of the Kings, where he and other pharaohs were buried. Thutmose wished than when he died, Hatshepsut succeeded him. But after his death, there was a big fight for the power. The architect and vizier Ineni (architect of the Valley of the Kings) was very influential, and hated the idea of a woman ruling the Empire. So he promoted Thutmose II to the throne. Thutmose II was son of Thutmose I and a secondary wife. So he was half-brother of Hatshesput. They married Hatshepsut with his half-brother Thutmose II. This was a hard blow to her. She wished to rule, and not to be in the shadows. She was brought up to be a pharaoh, and her biggest wish was to exceed his father's successes. Thutmose II was a very weak man with a bad health. He died 3 years after. But he had a son with a concubine that he called Thutmose III. As Thutmose III was a child and can't rule, Hatshepsut came to power. For some time, she concentrated her efforts in getting allies, as she had strong enemies. She get the support of the priests, who spread that she was Daughter of Amun. This way she was made pharaoh. She got the powers that were granted both to men and women. She dressed like a pharaoh, including the false beard that they used. During her reign she restored cities and temples devastated by wars. In Thebes (her city) she built temples and obelisks decorated with gold and silver. There was an ancient country called Punt. No one could never locate it with precision. Who managed to be there had brought with them gold, ivory, silver, incense... It was called the Golden Punt. The most important expedition to Punt was sent by Hatshepsut, commanded by her official Nehsi. Nehsi was Nubian descent. His name means "He of Nubia". A friendship with the Kings of Punt was established. From time to time, they brought presents to the Egyptian court. They brought 5 ships full of treasures from that land. So many, that the palaces of Egypt were decorated with them for generations. They brought exotic animals and incense trees too, and myrrh (which was the favorite fragance of Hatshepsut). This expedition also was the first recorded attempt to transplant a tree of a foreign country. They took many trees from Punt, and planted them in Hatshepsut's mortuary temple of Deir-el-Bahari. For the 22 years that she ruled, peace prevailed, the commercial activities raised, and increased the splendour of Egypt to its maximum. When Thutmose III grew up, he started a conspiracy against Hatshepsut. It is said that he poisoned her, and tried to deface and destroy both the monuments and memories of Hatshepsut pretending that she never existed. And that never a woman could bring so much magnificence to an Empire.

Luciano Pavarotti was born in Modena on Octover 12th /1935. The doctor told her mother: "With this powerful voice, he will be tenor", and was true, one of the best tenors of all times. He had humble origins, his father was a baker and his mother a factory worker. Always heard bel canto in his home, because his father was a real fan of opera. Pavarotti sometimes commented that his father could have been a good singer. But his father said that to be a good singer it was necessary not only to have a good voice, but to control one's nerves. Pavarotti always said that his childhood was happy, but with economical shortages. During the second world war, he and his family went to live to the country. All his family were living in a rented room. By this time Pavarotti was interested in agriculture. He was fan of Beniaminogigly and Enrico Caruso. His father always encouraged him to take music lessons. When 9 years old, he was singing in the church chorus with his father. Another interest of Pavarotti was the football, and for some time he thought to devote himself to it. But his mother advised him to study teaching. And he did. Luciano worked as a teacher during two years. But his real vocation was to be a tenor, and made an agreement with his father. He would receive accommodation and meal until age 30; after this, if he couldn't dedicate to be a tenor, he would have to find a work and win his own money. In 1961 made an interpretation as Rodolpho in the opera "La Boheme" of Puccini, in a local competition in the Italian city Reggio Emilia. And this year he marries Adua Veroni, with whom he will be married for 34 years and with whom he will have 3 daughters. In 2003 he will marry his personal assistant Nicoleta, who was 30 years old less than him, and he will have his fourth daughter: Alice. Some time after wining that prize, he met the orchestra director Richard Bonynge, who was married with the famous soprano Joan Sutherland. They invited to Pavarotti to make an international tour. Luciano performed Donizetti's "La fille du regiment", a difficult piece. He reached 9 high Cs in the same aria. With this work, he got a cover in the New York Times and a worldwide fame. He used his fame to take part in many charity works. He made a popular trio (the Three Tenors) with Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras. He also performed with many singers of popular music: Frank Sinatra, Michael Jackson, Brian Adams, Bono from U2... That helped to give a new dimension to opera, to make it more familiar to all kinds of people. He won many Grammy awards, and platinum and gold discs. He was going to do a tour to say goodbye to performing, but he was detected a pancreatic cancer in July 2006. In 6 September 2007 he left us in his home near Modena, surrounded by his wife, his sister, and all his daughters. Luciano Pavarotti was a really charismatic man. His robust look, his wide smile, his eternal handkerchief in his hand... His voice will never have a rival. When we may think in a tenor, we will always imagine his figure, and that's what Luciano has left for us all. What you have seen is "Vesti la Giubba", a famous aria of the opera "Pagliacci" by Ruggiero Leoncavallo. This is the end of the 1st act, where the clown (Pagliaccio) discovers the infidelity of his wife. But the show must start, and he has to appear dressed like a clown and make them laugh, although he is crying deep inside. Even though "Caruso" or "Nessus Dorma" are more famous, this piece is the one that I like most of Luciano Pavarotti. I wanted to share it with you.

I begin this section "the life of" with a surprising woman: Mary Kingsley, born in the claustrophobic Victorian society. She changed the direction of her life, and decided to make her dreams come true. Mary Kingsley (1862-1900) was born in Islington (London). Her father was a doctor, and fell in love with his maid. Four days before Mary was born, they married. Mary Kingsley's uncle was the famous novelist Charles Kingsley. Mary's mother was disabled. So Mary spent a long part of her life looking after her. Her only entertainment was reading the many books her father had in his library. She was a great self-taught woman. And without academic studies, she became one of the XIX century biggest authorities about Occidental Africa. She did what was expected from her until the death of her parents. But when she was 30 years old, she started a new life. Her destination: Africa. She travels to Africa with the excuse of finishing one of his father's book about rituals and fetishes. She lives with tribes of Congo, Zaire... to get information about their religious beliefs. And she travels. Travels so much... And writes abouts her travels showing a great sense of humor, so her stories became very famous in the London society. In her travels she collects insects and plants that were sent to the British Museum and were very appreciated. With an umbrella in her hand and wearing heavy Victorian robes, she went through swamps full of crocodiles. Trying to get away from a tornado, she climbed a 4085 meters high mountain. She also encountered cannibal tribes. When an hippopotamus was trying to sink her boat, Mary stroked its ear with the umbrella. The hippopotamus turned away. Mary said in one of her writings that at last, that stupid umbrella had an use. When she was 37 years old, she died of fever when she was working as volunteer nurse. Her remains were thrown to the sea. Both her life and her writings were the incentive for many woman to try the same things. Mary was an enterprising and fearless woman. Thank you Mary Kingsley for being this way. If you wonder what made Mary Kingsley exchange the comfortable London society for Africa, this video gives you some clues.