| A | B |
|---|
| Abraham | The first patriarch in the Bible. Abraham was asked by God to sacrifice his son, Isaac, and was rewarded for being prepared to do so. He is considered by Jewish people as the father of the Israelites through his son Isaac, and by Muslims as the father of Arab peoples through his son Ishmael. |
| Akbar the Great | (1542-1605) Emperor of the Mughal Empire in India. He is considered to be their greatest ruler. He is responsible for the expansion of his empire, the stability his administration gave to it, and the increasing of trade and cultural diffusion. |
| Alexander the Great | (356 BCE-323 BCE) He conquered most of the ancient world from Asia Minor to Egypt and India, which began the Hellenistic culture which was a blending of Greek, Persian, Indian, and Egyptian influences. |
| al-Khwarizimi | Islamic mathematician who pioneered the study of algebra. His textbook on the subject became a standard in European universities for centuries. |
| al-Sadat, Anwar | (1918-1981) President of Egypt between 1970 and 1981. He was assassinated by Islamic fundamentalists for making peace with Israel. |
| Amin, Idi | (1925?- ) President of Uganda from 1971 to 1979. His brutal regime resulted in the death of hundreds of thousands of people, as well as the near total ruin of Uganda. He was overthrown and exiled to Saudi Arabia in 1979. |
| Arafat , Yasir | (1929- ) President of the Palestine National Authority and Chairman of the Palestinian Liberation Organization. Considered by many to be a terrorist, he has in recent years been accepted as the legitimate authority to speak for the Palestinians. His goals is to create a homeland for the displaced Palestinians. |
| Archimedes | (287-212 BCE) Greek mathematician and inventor. He wrote works on plane and solid geometry, arithmetic, and mechanics. He is best known for the lever and pulley. |
| Aristarchus | (310?-250? BCE) Greek scientist who first stated that the Earth revolved around the Sun, and rotated on its axis. |
| Asoka | (?-232 BCE) King of the Maurya dynasty. He ruled nearly the entire subcontinent of India. He also was instrumental in the spread of Buddhism after his conversion. |
| Ataturk, Mustafa Kemal | (1881-1938) Nationalist leader of Turkey who is responsible for modernizing and westernizing his country after World War I. This enabled Turkey to resist imperialist attempts at takeover by various European powers. |
| Augustus | (63 BCE – 14 CE) First emperor of Rome (27 BCE – 14 CE) He restored order and prosperity to the Empire after nearly a century of turmoil. Grandnephew to Julius Caesar. |
| Ayatollah Khomeini | (1900?-1989) Islamic religious leader who led a fundamentalist revolution in Iran in 1979. Ruled until 1989. |
| Baron de Montesquieu | (1689-1755) Enlightenment thinker from France who wrote a book called, The Spirit of the Laws in 1748. In his book, Montesquieu describes what he considers to be the best government. He states that government should divide itself according to its powers, creating a Judicial, Legislative, and Executive branch. Montesquieu explained that under this system each branch would Check and Balance the others, which would help protect the people's liberty. |
| Batista, Fulgencio | (1901-1973) Cuban president from 1940 to 1944 and 1952 to 1959. He was responsible for some reforms in the country before leaving office for the first time. Later, he overthrew the legitimate government and ruled as a dictator until he was forced from office by Fidel Castro. |
| Bell, Alexander Graham | (1847-1922) American inventor of the telephone. |
| Ben-Gurion, David | (1886-1973) First Prime Minister of Israel. |
| Bessemer, Sir Henry | (1813-98) Inventor who developed a more cost efficient process for making steel. |
| Bolívar, Simón | (1783-1830) Latin American revolutionary responsible for the ousting of Spain from much of South America during the 19th century. He is considered to be the most important figure in the fight for Latin American independence. |
| Bonaparte, Napoleon | (1769-1821) Emperor of the French. Responsible for many French Revolution reforms as well as conquering most of Europe. He was defeated at Waterloo, and died several years later on the island of Saint Helena. |
