President DONALD TRUMP Real estate developer Donald John Trump was born in 1946, in New York. In 1971, he became involved in large, profitable building projects in Manhattan. In 1980, he opened the Grand Hyatt, which made him the city's best-known developer. In 2004, Trump began starring in the hit NBC reality series The Apprentice, which also resulted in the offshoot The Celebrity Apprentice. Trump turned his attention to politics, and in 2015 he announced his candidacy for president of the United States on the Republican ticket. After winning a majority of the primaries and caucuses, Trump became the official Republican candidate for president on July 19, 2016. In November, Trump was elected the 45th President of the United States when he defeated Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.
Fidel Castro - Fidel Castro was a revolutionary leader who became Cuban prime Minster from 1959 to 1976 and President from 1976 to 2008. Many consider him a controversial and ruthless dictator who fought hard to save the people of Cuba and bring them independence. Through his leadership, Cuba has become a one-party communist state which has changed and shaped the future of the island. Fidel Castro died on November 25, 2016 at the age of 90. His brother and successor Raúl Castro made the announcement of this death on Cuban state television. Following Castro’s death, Cuba declared nine days of mourning. Thousands of Cubans lined up to pay tribute to their leader at a memorial at the Plaza de la Revolución in Havana where he had delivered many speeches throughout his rule. Tens of thousands of Cubans attending the rally chanted “Yo Soy Fidel” (I Am Fidel) and “Viva Fidel!” (Long Live Fidel). While there was mourning in Havana, Cuban exiles around the world, including the United States, celebrated the death of the man they believed was a tyrant, who was responsible for killing and imprisoning thousands of Cubans, and separating generations of families.
The Faces above the WEST ENTRANCE of Westminster Abbey
Life-size statues of ten 20th-century figures who died for their beliefs now fill the 10 niches above Westminster Abbey’s west entrance. Today and tomorrow we will learn about who some of these people are and why they were chosen.
The monuments, carved in French limestone, stand in a row along a stone archway towering some 20 feet above visitors. Nearly five years in the making, they are a somewhat recent addition to the Abbey.
Maximilion Kolbe - Father Maximilian Kolbe was arrested in Poland in February of 1941, and in May sent to the Auschwitz death camp. When a prisoner escaped late in July of that year, ten men from his barracks were picked to suffer death by starvation as both punishment and deterrent. Fr. Maximilian offered to take the place of one of the men who had let out a cry of pain for his family. That man survived the Holocaust thanks to Father Kolbe's sacrifice.
Manche Masemola is a South African girl, who died for her faith at the hands of her non-Christian parents. Born around 1913 in the Transvaal, Manche grew up in a barren and unproductive land. In 1919 an Anglican monk established a mission in her part of the Transvaal, and Manche and her cousin Lucia attended services there. Soon they began to attend Christian instructional classes twice a week, and their enthusiasm for their new religion grew.
This was a source of stress within the family, however, for her parents feared she would leave them and not marry the person they would select as her husband. On February 4, 1928, her parents led the teenager to a lonely place, where she lost her life because of her faith.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. - was an American Baptist minister and activist who was a leader in the Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for his role in the advancement of civil rights using nonviolent civil disobedience based on his Christian beliefs. Dr. King was assassinated in Memphis, Tennesee.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a German pastor, a member the German military intelligence organization against Nazis and Hitler, and the founding member of the Confessing Church. Bonhoeffer was strongly against the idea of execution of Jews or oppression of any sort and worked to overthrow Hitler. He was arrested by the Nazis and lost his life in a Nazi prison.
Wang Zhiming was a preacher in China who became a Christian after Western missionaries came to his area. The missionaries were forced to leave after Mao Zedong and the Communists took over power. During this time Mao's regime did not allow people the freedom of religion or even the right to pray. Despite this Wang Zhiming continued to hold services in a mountainous area of China. He was arrested and lost his life.
Esther John was a Christian nurse in Pakistan. She worked in a mission orphanage against the wishes of her family. Esther shared her faith in the villages, travelling from one to the other by bicycle, teaching women to read and working with them in the cotton fields. Many in the area did not like the work that Esther was doing. One night a group of those people took her life.
