Mikhail Gorbachev (Михаи́л Серге́евич Горбачёв; b1931) was the last leader of the Soviet Union (USSR; Chairman of the Presidium of the Soviet Supreme) from 1988 to its fall in 1991. He is famous for having implemented policies to end the cold-war: glasnost (“openness”) perestroika (“restructuring”) To this end, he was awarded to Nobel Peace Prize…
DetailsMao Zedong (1893-1976, 毛泽东) also commonly known as Chairman Mao was the leader of the People’s Republic of China from 1949 until his death. When wondering in Beijing, one cannot ignore the portrait of Mao Zedong at the entrance of the Forbidden City and the conspicuous lump he proudly displays which are visible in many…
DetailsGeorge Herbert Walker Bush (b.1924), a Republican, served two terms under President of the United States. Once playing a round of golf in Summer 2002, he has caught on photograph with the following lesions. In fact, the lesions are precancerous growths called actinic keratoses. 5-fluorouracil (known as Efudex in the United States) is one treatment…
DetailsJoseph Stalin (1878-1953; Ioseb Besarionis Dze Jugashvili; Ио́сиф Виссарио́нович Ста́лин) was the leader of the Soviet Union from the mid 1920s to his death in 1953. He had smallpox in childhood and at the age of 7 which left him badly scarred. The marks are meticulously hidden by the censorship. However they are visible in…
DetailsRichard Nixon (1913-1994) served as the President of the United States from 1969 to 1974, when he resigned because of the Watergate scandal. It is interesting to see that most people see him as a tense figure in debates, especially the one he had against Kennedy in 1960 (which he lost): in the video above…
DetailsIndira Gandhi (ইন্দিৰা গান্ধী; 1917-1984) was the prime minister of India from in 1966 to 1977 (2 terms). She is the daughter of J.Nehru. She held a third term from 1980 to 1984, when she was assassinated. She has the characteristic white forelock of piebaldism: Piebaldism is inherited in an autosomal dominant way and is…
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