Key Facts About Historical Figures: Einstein, Curie, King, Pankhurst, Gates, and Berners-Lee

Posted on Jan 27, 2025 in English

Key Facts About Historical Figures

Why was the teacher angry with Einstein? He fell asleep.
Why did Einstein find school boring? He wasn’t stimulated.
What did Einstein do to pass the time at the patent office? He wrote a number of scientific papers.
Why did Einstein move to Berlin in 1914? He was offered a prestigious position as a Professor at the University of Berlin and Director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute.
Why couldn’t Einstein return to Germany? Because he was declared an enemy of the state.

What sad events happened when Marie was a child? Her eldest sister died of typhus when she was 9, and two years later, her mother died of tuberculosis.
Why was it difficult for Marie to study in Warsaw? Because women were not allowed to study there.
What subjects did Marie study in Paris? Physics and Mathematics.
How could X-rays help surgeons? They could go straight to the problem area instead of digging around inside the body trying to locate it.
What happened to Pierre in 1906? He crossed a street in Paris and was knocked down by a horse and carriage. He fell to the ground, hit his head on a stone, and died.
What new elements did Marie and Pierre discover before Pierre died? Radium.

Why do you think he was inspired by Gandhi? Because he saw what Gandhi achieved.
What was he fighting for? To change the racist laws and for American civil rights.
What means did he use to fight for his objective? He participated in peaceful protests.
Why did he hold a boycott of the buses in Montgomery? Because black people had to give up their seats if a white person didn’t have a seat.
What did he do with his Nobel Prize money? He donated all the money to the Civil Rights Movement.
What are some of the ways that Martin Luther King is remembered? A visionary leader deeply committed to achieving social justice.

What was Emmeline Pankhurst fighting for? That women could vote.
Why did Emmeline come up with the slogan, “Deeds, not words”? Because she wanted less talk, fewer meetings, and more actions.
What did Emmeline do to achieve her objective? She founded the Women’s Social and Political Union.
Do you think that Emmeline was right to use hunger strikes to achieve her objective? Yes, because she wanted her demands to be heard.
Why did Emmeline change the nature of her struggle when the IWW began? Because fighting for the country was more important than fighting for the vote.

Why did Bill Gates’ parents send him to a private school? Because they understood that their bright, ambitious son was bored at school.
Who did Bill Gates meet at school? Another bright student, Paul Allen.
What was the first thing Bill asked the girls he dated? What was the score she had on the entrance exams to college.
What is the purpose of The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation? This Foundation tries to help people in developing countries lead more healthy lives and to reduce poverty in the world. In the USA, it tries to give people the opportunities they need to succeed in school and life.
What did Gates start to work on after he withdrew from Microsoft management? On new software.

What were the first computers like? They produced a lot of heat, and insects and bugs would often fly into the system, causing electrical short-circuits.
What was Tim’s biggest dream? Did it come true? He hoped that his discoveries would help the world. Yes.
What does the abbreviation WWW stand for? World Wide Web.
Why did Tim decide that the world needed the WWW? Because he saw all kinds of computers using all kinds of software, but there wasn’t coordination or communication among them.
Why do people admire Tim Berners-Lee so much? Because his invention has helped the world and he hasn’t tried to make money from it.