Peace is something the whole world has been craving for, since time immemorial, be it between nations or individuals belonging to a family. The world has witnessed several man-made catastrophes over the past two centuries, in the form of wars, shootouts, mass suicides, terrorist attacks and many other unfortunate incidents. In these turbulent times, when the growing tensions between many countries are giving rise to speculations such as the possibility of World War III, a few individuals are trying hard to promote peace. The Nobel Peace Prize is an initiative aimed at appreciating their efforts. Activist Martin Luther King Jr, writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Mother Teresa and Rudyard Kipling are a few Nobel Peace Prize winners. Mother Teresa founded the ‘Missionaries of Charity’ several decades ago. Based in India, this NGO has been responsible for the rescue and rehabilitation of hundreds of orphaned children. Martin Luther King Jr has fought tooth and nail against the oppression of the blacks and he still continues to be a hero.
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1
Martin Luther King Jr.(African-American Civil Rights Movement Leader Who Used Civil Disobedience to Combat Racism)
Birthdate: January 15, 1929
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Died: April 4, 1968
A leader in the civil rights movement in the mid-twentieth century, Martin Luther King Jr. is best remembered for advancing civil rights through nonviolence and civil disobedience. A man of Christian faith who was inspired by Indian freedom fighter Mahatma Gandhi’s nonviolent activism, he was honored with the Nobel Peace Prize for fighting racial inequality.
Birthdate: October 27, 1858
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: New York, United States
Died: January 6, 1919
The 26th president of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt is generally ranked as one of the five best presidents of the country. A man of many talents, he was a politician, conservationist, naturalist, and writer. He supported Progressive Era policies in the early 20th century and championed his "Square Deal" domestic policies.
3
Mikhail Gorbachev(Former General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union)
Birthdate: March 2, 1931
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Privol'noe, Russia
Born into a poor peasant family, Mikhail Gorbachev went on to become one of the most influential figures of the Soviet Union. He served in various positions, most notably as the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. He is regarded as one of the most prominent personalities of the 20th century.
Recommended Lists:Birthdate: December 28, 1856
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Staunton, Virginia, United States
Died: February 3, 1924
From presidential cabin of Princeton University to presidential office of the White House, Woodrow Wilson ushered a series of progressive reforms that changed the American politics forever. The 28th President of USA, Woodrow Wilson introduced several ground-breaking policies including the Federal Reserve Act. He played a key role in founding the first intergovernmental organisation—the League of Nations—for which he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
Recommended Lists:5
Malala Yousafzai(Women's Rights Activist, World's Youngest Nobel Prize Laureate)
Birthdate: July 12, 1997
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Mingora, Pakistan
Named to Time 100 thrice, Pakistani education activist Malala Yousafzai exhibits phenomenal grit and inspires young girls everywhere. An assassination attempt by Islamic fundamentalists could not dampen her spirit, and she fought back with a bestselling memoir and won the Nobel Peace Prize as its youngest recipient, at 17.
6
Desmond Tutu(First Black African Archbishop of Cape Town & Nobel Peace Prize Winner)
Birthdate: October 7, 1931
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Klerksdorp, South Africa
Died: December 26, 2021
Desmond Tutu is known for his anti-Apartheid activism in South Africa. The first black Archbishop of Cape Town, he has also been the Bishop of Johannesburg. His efforts to eradicate AIDS, poverty, anti-LGBT sentiments, and human rights violations earned him the Nobel Peace Prize and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Recommended Lists:7
Mother Teresa(Roman Catholic Nun, Founder and Active Member of the ‘Missionaries of Charity’)
Birthdate: August 26, 1910
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Skopje, North Macedonia
Died: September 5, 1997
An Albanian-Indian Roman Catholic nun and a missionary, Mother Teresa was the founder of Missionaries of Charity, a Roman Catholic religious congregation. She was both an admired and controversial figure and was the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. While she was admired by many for her charitable work, she also earned criticism for her stance against abortion and contraception.
Birthdate: April 8, 1938
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Kumasi, Ghana
Died: August 18, 2018
Ghanaian diplomat Kofi Annan served as the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006. He was the founder and chairman of the Kofi Annan Foundation and a co-recipient of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize. During his stint with the UN, he launched the UN Global Compact and worked to combat HIV/AIDS.
Recommended Lists:9
Linus Pauling(One of the Greatest Scientists of All Time & Winner of Two Nobel Prizes)
Birthdate: February 28, 1901
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Portland, Oregon, United States
Died: August 19, 1994
Only person to win two unshared Nobel Prizes, Linus Carl Pauling was an American theoretical physical chemist, who received the 1954 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on nature of chemical bond and 1962 Nobel Prize for Peace for his efforts to stop nuclear weapon testing. Also a prolific writer and educator, he has published 1,200 books and papers.
10
Elie Wiesel( Author, Holocaust Survivor, Political Activist and Winner of 1986 Nobel Peace Prize)
Birthdate: September 30, 1928
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Sighetu Marmației, Romania
Died: July 2, 2016
Nobel Peace Prize-winning activist Elie Wiesel is best remembered for his book Night, which relates his traumatic experience as a Jewish prisoner in the Nazi concentration camps. After surviving the Holocaust, he became a journalist and a human rights activist, and also helped in establishing the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.
Recommended Lists:Birthdate: May 27, 1923
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Fürth, Germany
Died: November 29, 2023
Henry Kissinger's heart-warming story of a Jewish who fled Nazi Germany in 1938 to become an influential politician in the USA is truly inspirational. As a National Security Advisor and US Secretary of State, Kissinger played a key role in the US foreign policy from 1969 to 1977.
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Albert Schweitzer(Physician and Founder of the “Albert Schweitzer Hospital” in Lambaréné,)
Birthdate: January 14, 1875
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Kaysersberg-Vignoble, France
Died: September 4, 1965
Albert Schweitzer was an Alsatian polymath who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1952 for his philosophical work, Reverence for Life. He is credited with founding the Albert Schweitzer Hospital, which was a direct result of his philosophical expression. Schweitzer is also credited with influencing the Organ reform movement, which began in the mid-20th-century.
Recommended Lists:Birthdate: December 31, 1880
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Uniontown, Pennsylvania, United States
Died: October 16, 1959
George Marshall was an American statesman and soldier who played a key role in the Allied victory during the Second World War. Marshall served as the third US Secretary of Defense from 1950 to 1951. As Secretary of State, George Marshall advocated economic recovery programs to aid post-war European countries, for which he was honored with the Nobel Peace Prize.
Birthdate: August 15, 1976
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Beshasha, Ethiopia
Abiy Ahmed is an Ethiopian politician and the current prime minister of Ethiopia. Since becoming the prime minister, Abiy Ahmed has been lauded for launching a wide program of economic and political reforms in Ethiopia. He also played a major role in ending the 20-year Eritrean–Ethiopian War for which he was honored with the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize.
Recommended Lists:15
Norman Borlaug(American Agronomist and Winner of the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1970)
Birthdate: March 25, 1914
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Cresco, Iowa, United States
Died: September 12, 2009
Norman Borlaug was an American agronomist who played a key role in the Green Revolution, a set of research technology transfer initiatives that increased agricultural production, for which he won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970. Nicknamed the Father of the Green Revolution, Borlaug was also honored with the Congressional Gold Medal and Presidential Medal of Freedom for his work.
Birthdate: August 2, 1923
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Wiszniew, Poland
Died: September 28, 2016
Shimon Peres had been both the president and prime minister of Israel (twice). He was also part of five political parties in his 70-year career and had held important cabinet posts such as the minister of finance. He won the Nobel Peace Prize along with Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat.
Recommended Lists:Birthdate: September 29, 1943
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Popowo, Gmina Tłuchowo, Poland
Lech Walesa is a Polish dissident and statesman. From 1990 to 1995, Walesa served as the first elected president of Poland. A Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Walesa was adjudged Time Person of the Year in 1981. In 1999, he was named in the magazine's most important people of the 20th century list.
Birthdate: March 1, 1922
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Jerusalem, Mandatory Palestine
Died: November 4, 1995
Israeli politician, statesman, and general, Yitzhak Rabin, served two stints as the prime minister of Israel. As a young man, he joined the military and served for nearly three decades. He had an extensive political career as well and played a key role in embracing the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. He was assassinated in November 1995.
Recommended Lists:Birthdate: October 29, 1938
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Monrovia, Liberia
Liberian politician, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, served as the 24th President of Liberia from 2006 to 2018. She was the first elected female head of state in Africa. An alumnus of the Harvard University, she began her political career in the 1970s and rose through the ranks with time. She is the recipient of the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize.
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Fridtjof Nansen(Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and the First High Commissioner for Refugees Appointed by the League of Nations)
Birthdate: October 10, 1861
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Oslo, Norway
Died: May 13, 1930
Fridtjof Nansen was a Norwegian polymath who won the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize in 1922 for his post-war efforts after the First World War. A well-known explorer, humanitarian, and diplomat, Nansen achieved international fame for his attempt to reach the geographical North Pole during his Fram expedition. His techniques and innovations influenced a generation of succeeding Antarctic and Arctic expeditions.
Recommended Lists:21
Jane Addams(Reformer and Social Activist Who Became the First American Woman to be Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize)
Birthdate: September 6, 1860
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Cedarville, Illinois, U.S.
Died: May 21, 1935
Jane Addams was an American social worker, reformer, settlement activist, public administrator, sociologist, and author. Addams was a prominent leader in the history of women's suffrage and social work in the USA. She is credited with co-founding one of America's most popular settlement houses, the Hull House in Chicago. Addams is also credited with co-founding the American Civil Liberties Union.
Birthdate: April 1, 1940
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Ihithe, Kenya
Died: September 25, 2011
Wangari Maathai was a Kenyan environmental, social, and political activist. She achieved popularity after becoming the first African woman to be honored with the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize. She is credited with founding a non-governmental organization called The Green Belt Movement (GBM), which focuses on women's rights and environmental conservation.
Recommended Lists:23
Yasser Arafat(1st President of the Palestinian National Authority)
Birthdate: August 24, 1929
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Cairo
Died: November 11, 2004
Yasser Arafat was a Palestinian political leader. One of the most important figures of the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which began in the mid-20th century, Yasser Arafat remains a controversial figure as he is regarded as a hero by the Palestinian people while the Israelis view him as a terrorist.
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Liu Xiaobo(Chinese Human Rights Activist and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate)
Birthdate: December 28, 1955
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Changchun, China
Died: July 13, 2017
Liu Xiaobo was a Chinese activist, literary critic, and philosopher. He is best remembered for organizing campaigns that aimed at ending the one-party rule in China. He was honored with the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize for his struggle for human rights in China. Liu is the first Chinese citizen to be honored with a Nobel Prize while residing in China.
Recommended Lists:25
Rigoberta Menchú(Guatemalan Human Rights Activist and Winner of the 1992 Nobel Peace Prize )
Birthdate: January 9, 1959
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Laj Chimel, Guatemala
Nobel Peace Prize-winning Guatemalan activist is known for her fight for the rights of indigenous people and women. Her entire family was accused of participating in guerrilla activities, brutalized, and killed by the Guatemalan army. She has been a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador and founded the first Guatemalan indigenous political party.
Birthdate: August 16, 1913
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Brest
Died: March 9, 1992
Menachem Begin was an Israeli politician who served as the sixth Prime Minister of Israel. In this position, he signed a peace treaty with Egypt in 1979, for which he and Egyptian politician Anwar Sadat shared the Nobel Prize for Peace. He implemented several reforms to improve the socio-economic condition of Israeli citizens and improve the general quality of life.
Recommended Lists:27
Henry Dunant(Swiss Humanitarian, Businessman and Co-Founder of the 'Red Cross')
Birthdate: May 8, 1828
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Geneva, Switzerland
Died: October 30, 1910
Henry Dunant was a Swiss businessman, social activist, and humanitarian. He is credited with co-founding and promoting the Red Cross. In 1901, he became the first Swiss Nobel laureate when he was honored with the Nobel Peace Prize. Dunant is also credited with founding the Swiss branch of YMCA. His life inspired the 1948 historical drama film, Man to Men.
Birthdate: August 10, 1951
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Bogotá
Juan Manuel Santos is a Colombian politician who served as the 32nd president of Colombia. He is credited with co-founding the Social Party of National Unity, which he led to prominence. For his efforts to put an end to Colombia's more than 50-year-long civil war, Santos was honored with the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize.
Recommended Lists:29
Andrei Sakharov(Soviet Nuclear Physicist, Dissident and Winner of the 1975 Nobel Prize for Peace)
Birthdate: May 21, 1921
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Moscow, Russia
Died: December 14, 1989
Andrei Sakharov was a Russian dissident and nuclear physicist best remembered for designing RDS-37, Soviet Union's first two-stage hydrogen bomb. Also an activist for peace and human rights, Andrei Sakharov was honored with the Nobel Peace Prize in 1975. The Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, which is awarded by the European Parliament, is named in his honor.
Birthdate: January 6, 1924
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Hauido, Sinan-gun
Died: August 18, 2009
Son of a farmer, Kim Dae Jung later took over a company that he had initially joined as a clerk. He escaped from the clutches of death during the Korean War. The Nobel Peace Prize-winning politician also became the first opposition leader to be elected as the South Korean president.
Recommended Lists:Birthdate: February 12, 1877
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Paris
Died: October 24, 1944
Louis Renault was a French industrialist. A pioneer of the automobile industry, Renault is remembered for co-founding the popular automobile manufacturer, Renault Group. Renault is credited with building factories that contributed immensely to the war effort during the First World War; the Renault FT tank, the first tank of modern configuration, was created and manufactured by his company.
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Muhammad Yunus(Bangladeshi Econimist Who Won Nobel Peace Prize for Founding the 'Grameen Bank' & Pioneering the Concepts of Microfinance)
Birthdate: June 28, 1940
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Chittagong
More like a messiah to the poor, Muhammad Yunus initially helped poverty-stricken weavers of Bangladesh with small loans and eventually set up the Grameen Bank. The Nobel Peace Prize-winning social entrepreneur serves several charities, too. He was eventually removed from Grameen Bank by the government, due to old age.
Recommended Lists:Birthdate: May 10, 1878
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Berlin
Died: October 3, 1929
Gustav Stresemann was the only one of his siblings to complete university education. He grew up to serve as the chancellor of the Weimar Republic briefly, before becoming the foreign minister. He shared the Nobel Peace Prize with the French foreign minister Aristide Briand for an agreement of reconciliation.
Birthdate: August 7, 1904
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Detroit, Michigan, United States
Died: December 9, 1971
Recommended Lists:Birthdate: October 2, 1871
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Olympus, Tennessee, United States
Died: July 23, 1955
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Bertha von Suttner(Austrian-Bohemian Pacifist, Novelist and the First Woman to be Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize)
Birthdate: June 9, 1843
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: The Golz-Kinsky Palace, Prague, Czechia
Died: June 21, 1914
Once a governess of the four daughters of the affluent Suttner family, Bertha von Suttner later married the sisters’ elder brother, Baron Arthur Gundaccar von Suttner. The Austrian novelist was known for her peace activism, which made her the first female to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.
Recommended Lists:Birthdate: June 21, 1947
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Hamadan
Nobel Peace Prize-winning human rights activist and lawyer Shirin Ebadi is known for her significant work with refugees, women, and children, and her countless books, such as Iran Awakening. In spite of being Iran’s first female judge, she found it difficult to establish herself in the male-dominated profession.
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Leymah Gbowee(Liberian Peace Activist and Winner of 2011 Nobel Peace Prize)
Birthdate: February 1, 1972
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Monrovia, Liberia
Leymah Gbowee is a Liberian peace activist who played an important role in leading the Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace, a nonviolent peace movement. The movement played a significant role in ending the Second Liberian Civil War. In 2011, Gbowee shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Tawakkul Karman and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf for her work concerning women's rights.
Recommended Lists:39
José Ramos-Horta(4th President of East Timor)
Birthdate: December 26, 1949
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Dili, Timor-Leste
Birthdate: June 23, 1937
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Viipuri, Finland (now Vyborg, Russia)
Martti Ahtisaari is a Finnish politician who served as the tenth president of Finland; he was in office from 1994 to 2000. In 2008, he was honored with the prestigious Nobel Peace Prizefor playing an important role in resolving long-lasting and serious conflicts, such as the ones in Namibia and Iraq. In 2008, he was also awarded the Delta Prize for Global Understanding.
Recommended Lists:41
David Trimble(Former Northern Irish First Minister Who Won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1998)
Birthdate: October 15, 1944
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Bangor
Died: July 25, 2011
Height: 5'8" (173 cm)
Birthdate: March 28, 1862
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Nantes
Died: April 7, 1932
Nobel Peace Prize-winning French stateman Aristide Briand had been the prime minister of his country for 11 terms, apart from holding 26 ministerial posts throughout his career. He played major roles in the drafting of the Pact of Locarno and Kellogg-Briand Pact, and had founded journals such as l’Humanité.
Recommended Lists:Birthdate: September 13, 1940
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Heredia, Costa Rica
Nobel Prize-winning Costa Rican politician Oscar Arias Sanchez has been the president of his country twice and is known for his effective Central American peace plan. Born into an affluent coffee-farming family, Sanchez completed his PhD from the University of Essex and has more than 50 honorary doctorates.
Birthdate: May 22, 1943
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Belfast
Died: March 17, 2020
Betty Williams was a peace activist from Northern Ireland. She was the president of the World Centre of Compassion for Children International and headed the Global Children's Foundation. She and Mairead Corrigan were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1976. She traveled the world and lectured on topics of peace, education, anti-extremism, inter-cultural and inter-faith understanding, and children's rights.
Recommended Lists:Birthdate: October 3, 1889
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Hamburg, Germany
Died: May 4, 1938
German journalist Carl von Ossietzky was part of the army during World War I. Later, through a series of articles in his magazine Weltbühne, he exposed the Reichswehr leaders’ secret rearmament plans. He was later tortured in a camp and forbidden to leave Germany to collect his Nobel Peace Prize.
Birthdate: December 22, 1856
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Potsdam
Died: December 21, 1937
Recommended Lists:Birthdate: June 17, 1942
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Cairo, Egypt
Mohamed ElBaradei is an Egyptian diplomat and law scholar. From 14 July 2013 to 14 August 2013, he served as the vice president of Egypt on an interlude basis. In 2005, he was honored with the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize for his work as the director general of an intergovernmental organization called the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
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Joseph Rotblat(Polish Physicist Known for His Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament Which Won Him the 1995 Nobel Peace Prize)
Birthdate: November 4, 1908
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Warsaw, Poland
Died: August 31, 2005
Joseph Rotblat was a physicist remembered for his work on the Manhattan Project at the Los Alamos Laboratory during World War II. He left the laboratory on grounds of conscience and his work on nuclear fallout played a key role in the events preceding the 1963 Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. In 1995, Joseph Rotblat won the Nobel Peace Prize.
Birthdate: October 9, 1950
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Rutland, Vermont, United States
Nobel Peace Prize-winning activist Jody Williams is known for his contribution to the formation of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines. She has received 15 honorary degrees and was also named the Glamour magazine’s Woman of the Year. She has also penned books such as After the Guns Fall Silent.
Birthdate: September 13, 1863
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Glasgow
Died: October 20, 1935
