Yasunari Kawabata (1899–1972)

Japanese novelist. His first major work was The Izu Dancer, (1925). He came to be a leader of the school of Japanese writers that propounded a lyrical and impressionistic style, in opposition to the proletarian literature of the 1920s. Kawabata's melancholy novels often treat, in a delicate, oblique fashion, sexual relationships between men and women. For example, Snow Country (tr. 1956), probably his best-known work in the West, depicts the affair of an aging geisha and an insensitive Tokyo businessman. All Kawabata's works are distinguished by a masterful, and frequently arresting, use of imagery. Among his works in English translation are the novels Thousand Cranes (tr. 1959), The Sound of the Mountain (tr. 1970), and The Lake (tr. 1974), and volumes of short stories, The House of the Sleeping Beauties and Other Stories (tr. 1969) and First Snow on Fuji (tr. 1999). In 1968, Kawabata became the first Japanese author to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature. Four years later, in declining health and probably depressed by the suicide of his friend Yukio Mishima, he committed suicide.

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Mohandas Gandhi ( 1869 - 1948 )

Born: 2 October 1869

Birthplace: Porbandar, India

Died: 30 January 1948 (assassination)

Best Known As: Non-violent leader of Indian independence - Also Known as Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi


Revered in India as the "Father of the Nation," Mohandas K. Gandhi is also a worldwide icon of non-violent political resistance. Gandhi was born in India and studied law in England, then spent 20 years defending the rights of immigrants in South Africa. He returned to India in 1914, eventually becoming the leader of the Indian National Congress. At the time, India was part of the British Empire, and Gandhi urged non-violence and civil disobedience as a means to independence.

In India, he is officially accorded the honour of Father of the Nation and October 2nd, his birthday, is commemorated each year as Gandhi Jayanti, a national holiday

His public acts of defiance landed him in jail many times as the struggle continued through World War II. In 1947 he participated in the postwar negotiations with Britain that led to Indian independence. He was shot to death by a Hindu fanatic the next year. An advocate of simple living, Gandhi ate a vegetarian diet and made his own clothes; the spinning wheel became a symbol of his uncluttered lifestyle. His autobiography, The Story of My Experiments With Truth, was published in 1927.

Gandhi is often called Mahatma -- the Hindu term for "great soul"... His middle name was Karamchand... Gandhi wed Kasturba Makhanji in 1883, in an arranged marriage; he was 13 at the time. They had five children and remained married for nearly 61 years, until her death in 1944... Among his many famous quotes is the saying, "An eye for an eye will make the whole world blind"... Gandhi was played by Ben Kingsley in the 1982 film Gandhi. The film won eight Academy Awards, including best film and best actor for Kingsley.

Famous Quotes: By Mahatma Gandhi

"The only tyrant I accept in this world is the still voice within."

"When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love has always won. There have been tyrants and murderers and for a time they seem invincible but in the end, they always fall -- think of it, ALWAYS."

"Must I do all the evil I can before I learn to shun it? Is it not enough to know the evil to shun it? If not, we should be sincere enough to admit that we love evil too well to give it up."

"Faith must be enforced by reason. When faith becomes blind it dies."

"Non-violence is the article of faith."

"Faith is not something to grasp, it is a state to grow into."


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Samuel Johnson (1709-1784)

Born: 18 September 1709

Birthplace: Lichfield, England

Died: 13 December 1784

Best Known As: Author of 1755's A Dictionary of the English Language

A towering figure of 18th century English literature, Samuel Johnson (also known as Dr. Johnson) gained fame from his conversation and wit as much as from his writings. The son of a bookseller, Johnson moved to London in the 1730s and tried to make a living as a writer. He had modest success writing poems, political essays and plays during the 1740s, but after his publication of A Dictionary of the English Language (1755) he was a national sensation. His social life for many years revolved around Henry and Hester Thrale, who hosted parties where Johnson and others -- including James Boswell -- could engage in intellectual discussions. Boswell's Life of Samuel Johnson (1791) ensured Johnson's place in history. Other works by Johnson include his essays for The Rambler (1750-52) and The Idler (1758-60), an eight-volume edition of the works of William Shakespeare (1765), and The Lives of the Poets (1779-81)
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