Hank Aaron

"Trying to throw a fastball by Henry Aaron is like trying to sneak a sunrise past a rooster", was quoted by Curt Simmons. On February 5, 1934 in Mobile, Alabama Hank Aaron, a major league Baseball Hall of Fame player was born. Starting from a young age Hank had a love for baseball. He was the 3rd of 8 children, member of is high school baseball team playing outfield and 3rd base. Aaron lead Negro Ball for the Indianapolis Clowns (1952). He was so good that he was able to play on the Prichard Athletics, a semi-pro team, as their shortstop and third baseman. He was noticed by a scout and signed over to the Mobile Black Bears for $3 per game. His mom would not allow him to travel so he was only allowed to participate in city games.

On June 14, 1952, the Boston Braves acquired Aaron's contract for $10,000, begining a Minor League Baseball career. He then played for the Jacksonville Braves where he was MVP and had a very dominate year.

From 1954-1965 Hank played for the Milwaukee Braves showing his gifted talent, later he then played for the Atlanta Braves (1966-1974) , and ending his career with the Milwaukee Brewers where he played for 2 years. Throughout his career Hank Arron won many awards and had many accomplishments. In 1957 World Series, 1958 World Series, 1969 NLCS Awards: All-Star (25): 1955-1975; National League Most Valuable Player 1957; Gold Glove (3): 1958-1960

His unique style became well known. Hank Aaron became the all-time home run champion, one of the most consistent offensive careers in baseball history. In addition to his 755 home runs, he also holds the major league record for total bases, extra-base hits and RBI(runs batted in). Aaron was named the 1957 National League MVP, won three Gold Gloves for his play in right field and was named to a record 24 All-Star squads.

With Hank Aarons amazing talents and accomplishments he is a role model to many people today. His skill will never be forgotten.

After learning of Hank Aarons career I feel that he deserves all the recognition in the world for his amazing talent.

WWII

A truly world war which lasted from 1939 to 1945. The countries of the world aligned with either the Axis powers or the Allies and battled in a total war. In 1939 Germany invaded Poland which lead to Britain giving Germany the ultimatum for Germany to withdraw from Poland or they will become involved. Germany did not withdraw and Britain got involved, along with the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. Shortly after France, South Africa, Canada and Nepal joined in. Later in the war the United States became involved and used air raids which had a huge impact on defeating the Germans. The Holocaust was disturbing racial attack on 6million Jews and minorities during the war conducted by the Axis. This world war was a lot worse then the first world war. It had advanced technology, air craft, bombs and weapons that destroyed 60million lives making it the deadliest conflict in human history. They say that if the 3rd world war were to come our plant will be demolished.

The two super powers, the Americans and the Soviet Union emerged and set the stage for the cold war for the next 40 years. This war changed countries, societies, governments and lives dramatically. Everything was completely involved in the war there was no place for sanity.

This war happened for obvious reasons, I'm happy the Germans were over powered and their government was defeated. Its horrible that so many lives were lost.

WW I

The First World War, originally called the Great War, was "the War to End all Wars". It ranged from 1914-1918. It was a war between the Allied Powers, led by France, Russia, and the United Kingdom from 1917, the United States, defeated the Central Powers, led by Austria-Hungary, Germany and the Ottoman Empire. Italy joined the Allies in 1915. The war took place in Europe's trenches. The war caused changes within the British Empire and the German Empire. The causes of WWI are complicated and are still debated by historians today. WWI caused a lot of damage in many lives, over 9 million soldiers and civilians died. It was supposed to be a peacemaker, that would not be long and were told it would be over by Christmas but ended up lasting 4 years. WWI was a pointless war and it seems that the only reason it ever began was because the population seemed to want a war. It was not worth the deaths of so many innocent people.

Watergate Scandal

U.S.President Richard Nixon resigned due to the huge scandal caused by the break in at the Watergate building. "Watergate" is a term used to describe the scandals of 1972 and 1974. A number of Richard Nixon's administration were involved in "the plumbers unit" which was originally set up to "plug in leaks". The court release of August 1974 of the " smoking gun tape" lead to Nixon's resign of Presidency. A letter, one of the convicted burglars wrote to Sirica discussing the cover up of the Nixon government resulted in a huge scandal which is now referred to as the Watergate Scandal. On June 17, 1972 the police stopped seven men attempting to break in a wiretap Democratic Party office and were later convicted. All seven men were employees of President Nixon's Campaign to Re-elect the President. After the break, many things began to unwind, the existence of a White House dirty tricks squad, an enemies list, a plumbers unit to plug leaks and a secret campaign slush fund related with the CPR (Committee to Re-elect the President) , the people involved were all convicted and served time for their actions. President Richard Nixon was the first and only president to have ever been forced out of Presidency for bad actions. His actions made people aware and more cautious on the line of government. Voters paid close attention to the issues and candidates after this huge scandal.

When your in the government you have a responsibility to protect and do whats right for your people and your country. Nixon's actions were both immature and selfish in the sense of not thinking of this country and his people but only for himself.

Vietnam War

The Vietnam war was a battle between the coalition forces which includes the U.S, the Republic of Vietnam, Australia, New Zealand, and South Korea vs. the coalition forces including the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam) and the National Liberation Front. The war took place between 1964-1975 in the southern Vietnam, bordering areas of Cambodia and Laos, and in bombing runs over North Vietnam. The Republic of Vietnam, U.S and their forces were battling against communism and the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and their forces were battling for communism. Even with the Americans, a huge superpower on the South side, the North still managed to pull through and win the war for communism. To this day Vietnam still remains communist. It is a good country, but many still feel would hope for a democratic government. This was a sad battle for the south who tried so hard to fight against communism but in the end thousands and thousands of soldiers died fighting in this war.

Joseph Stalin

Joseph Stalin was the dictator of the Soviet Union for nearly a quarter of a century. His rule is infamous for his use of police terror and the frequent mass murders of his own people. His great leadership for the Soviet Union defeated Germany's Nazi party, during the Great Patriotic War. By burning the Nazis agricultural crops and eliminating a main source of food the Soviet army forced the Nazis to withdraw from WWII. After this attack Joseph Stalin claimed the Soviet Union to be the 2nd super power in the world. In 1953 Joseph Stalin died, but the Soviet Unions power continued for four decades after his death. The leadership of Joseph Stalin during the second world war to force the Nazis to withdraw, had a huge impact on ending the war. It was him who changed the Soviet Union and making it a powerful nation.

Pearl Harbour

On December 7, 1941, Japan attacked Pearl Harbour in Hawaii, bringing the United States into WWII. In a very short time the Japanese destroyed the U.S. fleet Pearl Harbour base. Eighteen months earlier, President Roosevelt had moved the U.S army to Pearl Harbour as a approach to stop the Japanese aggression. During the mid-1937's the Japanese had started a war against China, causing Japan to have little oil and raw materials. In July 1942, Japan and the Western Powers stopped trading, making Japan in desperate need of oil and minerals. 2400 Americans were dead and much of the American air force base around the world was eliminated.

With Japan's attack on the American Pearl Harbour base it caused a great alliance among the American people. I believe that the Japanese had to make a strong attack on the Americans because they were stuck with nothing and had to fight for their country.

John F. Kennedy- JFK

John Fitzgerald Kennedy was more than just the 35th president of the United States- he was a charismatic and a popular leader. John Kennedy was the youngest President to be elected. Just as 1000 days of working as president passed John Kenndey was assassined as his motercade moved through Dallas, Texas. Major events as president were, the Bay of Pigs Invasion, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the building of the Berlin Wall, the Space Race, the American Civil Rights Movement and early events of the Vietnam War. Although he only lasted just over 1000 days as president he managed to be a great leader and manage to create significant changes in the world to that date. Even though he had such a short time as president the impact he had on Americans and the world can still be felt today.

Saddam Hussein

Saddam Hussein was president and dictator of Iraq from 1979-2003. He lead Iraq through a decade long war with Iran. In August 1990 he forced his country to invade Kuwait. George Bush led the U.S alliance in 1991 and forced Saddam Hussein and his forces out of Kuwait during the Gulf War. George W Bush( George Bush's son) lead an invasion with the U.S army and the British in 2002. Hussein disappeared in March 2003 but by December the U.S army found and captured him. Hussein was found hiding in a small pit on a farm near the town of Tikrit. With Hussein's actions in killing over 140 men in the town of Dujail, Saddam Hussein was put on trial in Iran. On November 5, 2006 he was convicted and given the death penalty. On December 30, 2006 Saddam Hussein was pronounced dead after being hung in Baghdad. Saddam Hussein had brought terrorism to a whole new level. He was probably one of the most hated leaders of our time. He caused a lot of unrest in society.
I think that the U.S army and British did a good thing by catching Saddam Hussein and putting him to execution. I use to believe that the U.S should not get involved in wars they don't need to be in. But after learning of Saddam Hussiens actions I support George W Bush for sending his forces and catching Saddam Hussein and stopping him from his bad actions.

The Versailles Treaty 1919

The Treaty of Versailles was first signed on November 11, 1918 after WWI. It was a peace treaty, ending the war of the Allies, Associated Powers and Germany. It took 6 months for the Treaty of Versailles to be signed. Within the Treaty there were many different provisions, the most important one was that Germany must admit that they were the ones who caused the war and except full responsibility for there actions. Germans had to pay for the war and all the damage caused. This caused the Germans to lose a lot of land and have a little army with no air force or submarines. Germans believed it was unfair, but were to weak to fight again. The Weimar government signed. The Germans never forgave the Weimar leaders for this, a lot of them joined new political parties for revenge. Now all the countries involved could live in peace. I believe that whenever war is resolved it is better for all man kind.

Russian Civil War - Reds vs Whites

The Russian Civil war lasted about two years. It was a battle between the Red vs the Whites. Tovosky, the leader of the Red team (The Bolsheviks) and Kolchak, was the general of the whites. The whites represented the anti-Bolshevik supporters of the former Tsarist government, landowners and generals. Whites were getting help from other countries, an International Intervention. France, Britain, USA, and Japan, were sending volunteers to help beat out the Bolsheviks. Tovoskys army was much more organized and prepared. They formed a secret police called Checha. The Checha would go into the country side and kill anyone who they believed were supporting the whites. Many Russians were killed. A Communism war began as Red army took control of supplies. They banned private trade, took all the food for the soldiers - government run factories, industry and food distribution. This caused Russia's population to decrease even more. With 2 years of bad crops a huge famine broke out. The war ended and the Reds had won. In 1922 Russia signed the Treaty Rapallo, secret Russian German agreement that allowed Germany to rearm against the Treaty of Versailles. In 1941, Russia was re-named, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). The government was communist with elected Soviets.
Today USSR represents Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. This civil war Red vs Whites as created these countries to be what they are today. It changed the lives of many people and will never be forgotten.

Lenin

Lenin was a strong leader who mastermind the Bolsheviks, took over the Russian power in 1917, and was also first head of the Soviet State. Lenin completed his law degree and then moved to Pittsburgh where he became a professional revolutionist. He then was exhaled to Siberia. Later in western Europe, he became leader of the Bolsheviks. Russia was in need for change. Lenin returned to Russia and started working against the provisional government. The October Revolution began and the Bolsheviks were in control, leading the country. He introduced the New Ecomomic Policy, where a measure of provate enterprise was still permitted. In 1918 Lenin was assessinated for the first time, but managed to survive. A few years later he had a stroke. He began to worry about the increasing power of Joseph Stalin and tried to warn people. Lenin died in 1924. It was him who helped creat the Russian Civil war, changed Russia. He plays a big part in todays history and we will never forget the mark he made.

The Machine Gun

In 1914, the machine gun was first used in WWI for the battle fields. The guns were large and heavy, weighing up to 30kg-60kg. Usually the gun was positioned on a flat tripod. One problem with the machine guns was they would easily over heat and they were consistently fire in short bursts. There were two ways to cool down the guns, one with cooled water and another with cooled air. But when there's hot air or when used by inexperienced operators the guns would still over heat. These heavy heavy guns were normally used on grounds, or on tanks. In 1915 the lighter guns were used in air craft. The invention of the machine gun changed the world, as it brought it to a new level. It is a deadly device that causes a great deal of violence, but also can be used to protect ourselfs. It was a huge step in advancing the world of war and society, leading us to the advanced weapons we now have today.

Women working for the war effort

On August 4, 1914 England declared war on Germany; all political activity would be suspended until the war was over. On August 10th it was announced that all suffragettes would be released, and in return the WSPU would end militant activities and help war effort. The Women’s Freedom League did not give up; they kept campaigning for the vote. Emmeline Pankhurst and Christabel Pankhurst from the WSPU played a big part in the war. They were speakers at meetings and recruited young men for the army.
The women played big roles in this war as they would replace the men roles. As the men went overseas they would take on roles and help out. Octavia Wilberforce and Lousia Martindale worked as doctors and would treat the wounded soldiers. Margery Ashby would run a school for the local children to learn. Others, Clementina Black and Hilda Martindale worked to protect all of London's women workers. This was a change in society, women were respected. The number of working women continually increased. By January 1918 there were 4,814,600 working women, and almost 200,000 worked within the government. This changed our society dramatically. With having working women it changed the way of the typical house wife, women were now no longer expected to work at home and do the laundry and make dinner, they had a chance to work hard in what they dreamed to do. It was a step to todays society where women are treated as equals and can do as the please.

The Boer War

In 1899 the British empire broke out to win over the Boers. Under the leadership of Paul Kruger, the Boers choose to fight back against the British, leading to a second Boer war. Although the British had more power against the Boers, the Boers received military equipment from the Germans and with only 88,000 soldiers it was a tough battle but they won. In 1900 the British received reinforcements and they were able to take over the Boer capital, Pretoria. Over the next two years the Boers raided the British areas and in return the British burnt down Boer settlements and took the victims into concentration camps. Many of the liberal British were strongly opposed to this type of imperialism. The Boers and the British finally signed a treaty in 1902, the Treaty Of Vereeniging, and the struggle for a peace settlement was brought to a end.
The Boers and the British were finally trying to live peacefully together after much hardship and difficult times during the war. All through history you see conflicts between different types of people trying to gain power. I believe that the Peace Treaty is a good thing and more countries should follow in their footsteps.

Charlie Chaplin

Charlie Chaplin is a very interesting character. In this movie, Modern Times, Charlies character saterizes life and the turn of the century in many different ways. He was very hard working and never wanted to slow down or miss one object. He would work so hard all day and never receive one break. His job remained the same through the whole day and whenever he would try to sneak away he would be told to go back. Showing its a mindless industry and would get twitches from being so concentrated. He began to go crazy, he wanted to tighten everything and anything he saw. He went through the machine just to catch a screw and then when he was pulled out he began to attempt screwing peoples noses and buttons.

Taylorism

Taylorism comes from a man named Frederick Taylor. Frederick Taylor wrote The Principals Of Scientific Management in 1911. "The principal object of management should be to secure maximum prosperity for the employer, coupled with maximum prosperity for the employee", was what Frederick Taylor said. He organized a way to develop a science for every job. This would include proper rules and working conditions. He would pick workers with the right abilities for the job and train them properly. Jobs would be simplified enough so that workers could be trained well enough to create a routine motion in the best way. He would watch the workers and make sure everything is run smoothly.

Although it was criticized because it was thought that it dehumanized work and eliminated craftsmanship, this system we still use today. It has lead us to a fast efficiency in production.

I think that taylorism is a good idea because workers don't have to focus on many things. All they need to focus on is one thing and so they don't need to worry about other things. It increases production to be faster.

Albert Einstein

Albert Einstein also known as "the man of the century" was an amazing scientist within the 20th century. With his amazing mind he accomplished many things. He was the leading physicist of the 20th century, it was him who provided the theoretical basis to create the atomic bomb. He is best known for theory of relativity and the creator of E=mc², mass energy equivalence. Albert Einstein is know as one of the smartest people who ever lived. He set out many accomplishments in his life, and was rewarded with 7 Nobel Prizes. He was a professor at Princeton University, wrote several different works such as; Special Theory of Relativity (1905), Relativity (English translations, 1920 and 1950), General Theory of Relativity (1916), Investigations on Theory of Brownian Movement (1926), and The Evolution of Physics (1938). Among his non-scientific works, About Zionism (1930), Why War? (1933), My Philosophy (1934), and Out of My Later Years (1950).
Albert Einstein has changed are lives today. He has brought our society to a new level and proved many inventions are possible. With his unique mind he is well known from everyone around the word. I believe that Albert Einstein is one of the most amazing people who ever lived. He has a very unique mind which taught us many things.

The Invention of Flight

On December 17, 1903 the Wright brothers made flight possible. Just when everyone believed flight wasn't possible the Wright brothers made it so by creating the "Flyer". The different parts to the airplane were perfected by 3 years of flight testing unpowered aircrafts as kites and gliders, and from wind tunnel testing. This flyer had 40ft span, 505 sq ft area 750 pounds with a pilot, and 12hp power motor. This was the first powered aircraft to fly under the pilots control. On December 17, 1903 one of the Wright brothers were strapped inside the Flyer and began to soar through the air like a bird.
This invention proved that flight is possible. It brought the world to a whole new level. It lead to more advanced airplanes, people could now travel to anywhere in the world. Army's and wars were changed, wars became a higher level. Jobs for pilots became available.
I think that the "Flyer" is one of the best invention ever created. This makes people have the ability to do things that you would never think about doing before. It creates excitement within our lives and the ability to explore the world.

The importance of the 20th century

A new era began in the turn of the 20th century. All through the 20th century were different stages to becoming who we are today. Within 1900-1999 amazing people have invented ways to make living easier and adaptable. From the the clothing we wear, to spaceships in space, the 20th century is where the change had begun. It proved that we can make things whenever we put are mind to it, anything is possible. More change was made in this decade then ever before. It created a better scientific understanding, better communications, faster transportation and medical treatments. Wars turned more deadly with the advancement in weapons. There were attempts in world peace, human rights were made, fashions were changed- women's outfits were slowly adapted to wear whatever they want and show more skin.
The 20th century is the reason we live the way we live today. Without it we would not have televisions, telephones, amazing medical treatment, or a free lifestyle in Canada. Even though it lead us too all these amazing things we now how to deal with enviormental issues, animal extinction and over population. But overal it has pretared us for the better.