Born in Westmoreland County, Virginia, Washington grew up under the guardianship of his eldest brother. After a spotty education, he became a surveyor and eventually inherited his brother’s prosperous estate, Mount Vernon.

He joined the Virginia militia in 1752, advanced to major, fought during the French and Indian War (1754-60), and made it to the rank of honorary brigadier general. Washington didn’t return to the battlefield until July 1775, after being appointed general by the Continental Congress. At Cambridge, outside Boston, he took command of the disintegrating Continental Army.

The American Revolutionary War-Washington energetically and skillfully revitalized the militias at Cambridge and organized them into Continental Army regiments. Using cannons borrowed from the colonies, he occupied Dorchester Heights and brilliantly forced Sir William Howe’s British army to evacuate Boston and retire by sea to New York City. Washington tried to drive the British from Ney York but failed, partly due to his own inexperience and partly due to untrained troops and clumsy subordinates. His masterful withdrawal from Long Island and Harlem Heights into New Jersey and Pennsylvania during the autumn of 1776 saved the army from extinction.

General Howe captured most of New Jersey and made the mistake of believing Washington’s army was militarily impotent. On the night of December 25-26, 1776, Washington’s forces crossed the Delaware River in boats, drove Howe’s Hessians out of Trenton, and on January 3, 1777, Washington learned that General John Burgoyne planned to invade the Hudson Valley from Canada. Though soon hard-pressed defending Philadelphia, the national capital, he sent many of his best troops upriver and, in October, defeated the British at Saratoga. Having weakened his forces defending Philadelphia, Washington abandoned the defense of the city on September 26, forcing the Continental Congress to move west to York. Not everything went well for Washington, but he managed to contain one British force in the north while sending forces south to fight another British force under General Charles Cornwallis at Yorktown. The strategy worked, and on October 19, 1781, Cornwallis surrendered.

What Made Him Great?

Washington’s unorthodox military education kept him from becoming an orthodox 18th-century general, which led to his boldness. The Continental Army never numbered more than 35,000 men, and Washington never had more than a third of it under his personal command, yet he managed to subdue, with help from the French fleet, Great Britain’s professional army. Underrated by modern standards, Washington was a brilliant strategist and self-taught tactician. He also became a gifted statesman. He believed in civilian government and the rule of law, spurning attempts by his officers to make him a military dictator.

2. WINFIELD SCOTT (1786-1866)

Known as “Old Fuss and Feathers,” Scott was born outside Petersburg, Virginia, and studied law until 1807, when he enlisted in a cavalry troop. At 6′5″ and 250 pounds, Scott could cripple a horse-and did-so he transferred to the light artillery as a captain. Suspended briefly in 1810 for making inappropriate remarks to his superior, Scott rejoined the Army as a lieutenant colonel when the War of 1812 broke out, and led more troops into more battles in that war than any other officer. He suffered two wounds at Lundy’s Lane on June 25, 1814, but 10 days later won an important victory at Chippawa, Ontario. Raised to the rank of major general for distinguished service, Scott became a national hero.

For the next 30 years, except for two trips to Europe to study military developments, Scott fought Seminole Indians in the South and Plains Indians in the West. In 1845-46, when General Zachary Taylor’s battles with General Santa Anna’s army in northern Mexico were inconclusive, Scott recommended to President James K. Polk an amphibious landing at Veracruz as the fastest way to conquer Mexico City. Scott planned the massive operation, and on March 9, 1847, landed near Veracruz and 18 days later captured the city. On April 8 he began the march inland, routed Santa Anna’s larger army on April 18 at Cerro Gordo, and occupied Puebla on May 15. He paused to collect supplies, resumed his advance on Mexico City on August 7, and after fighting decisive battles at Contreras, Churubusco, Molino Del Rey, and Chapultepec, captured the Mexican capital on September 14. He served as military governor there until April 22, 1848, when he returned to Washington.

Promoted brevet lieutenant general in February 1855, Scott became the highest-ranking officer in the Army since George Washington. As general-in-chief of the Army, he tried to prevent the American Civil War by counseling presidents James Buchanan and Abraham Lincoln. He sadly became what his nickname implied, “Old Fuss and Feathers,” a man obsessed with strict adherence to Army red tape with the out-of-date habit of adorning his military headwear with feathers. Though physically infirm, his mind was still sharp, but he could no longer take the field and, on November 1, 1861, resigned.

What Made Him Great?

Scott left a remarkable record as a strategist, a diplomat, and a brave and skillful tactician. His Anaconda Plan for strangling the South by keeping it from its sources of supply during the Civil War was first sneered at by Union generals, but was later adopted by Lincoln, and turned out to be the overriding strategy that eventually won the war.

3. ROBERT E. LEE (1807-70)

The greatest Confederate general of the Civil War, Lee graduated from West Point in 1829, second in a class of 46, and joined the engineers. A Virginian by birth, Lee claimed that he fought for his home state more than for the Confederacy.

The Mexican War-During the Mexican War, Lee served with distinction as a member of General Scott’s staff at Veracruz in March 1847, and at Cerro Gordo the following month. His eye for reconnaissance and tactical improvisations led to Scott’s victories reconnaissance and tactical improvisations led to Scott’s victories at Churubusco, Chapultepec, and eventually to the surrender of Mexico City. Lee worked a desk job from 1852 to 1855 as superintendent at West Point, after which he became colonel of the 2nd U.S. Cavalry and served in the Southwest until shortly before the outbreak of the Civil War. Lee was offered but rejected a top command in the Union army and resigned when Virginia seceded. On June 1, 1862, he replaced wounded General Joseph E. Johnston and took command of the Army of Northern Virginia.

The Civil War-Lee became one of those rare generals who thought strategically, broadly designed his tactics, and took chances. He understood the generals of the North better than those generals understood themselves. He came up with the strategy for Major General Thomas J. “Stonewall: Jackson’s Shenandoah Valley Campaign during the spring of 1862, making Jackson the most celebrated officer in the Confederacy-until he was later eclipsed by Lee. In late June, Lee’s smaller force bluffed Major General George B. McClellan’s army into withdrawing, and two months later Lee outmaneuvered Major General John Pope and defeated the Army of Virginia at the Second Battle of Bull Run on August 29-30. On September 17, with a force half the size of McClellan’s Army of the Potomac, Lee repulsed the Federals in a drawn battle at Antietam. After President Lincoln replaced McClellan with Major General Ambrose Burnside, Lee bloodied the massive Union army on December 13 at Fredericksburg.

Lee’s aggressive instincts were never more evident than at Chancellorsville. He ignored the maxims of warfare, divided his much smaller force, and on May 2-4, 1863, decimated the right flank of the Army of the Potomac with a surprise attack. But his greatest mistake occurred on July 1-3 at Gettysburg, when he was overly aggressive at a time when he should have fought defensively. He admitted the error and withdrew into Virginia.

By 1864 many of Lee’s best officers had been killed and there were no more soldiers to replace those who’d been lost in battle. Forced to fight defensively, Lee held off Grant’s offensive in the Battle of the Wilderness on ay5-6, at Spotsylvania on May 8-12, and repulsed the Union assault at Cold Harbor on June 3. Those battles cost Grant a third of his men, but Lee couldn’t withstand the pressure and withdrew to Petersburg’s trenches. It took Grant eight months to flush Lee out of Petersburg and force his surrender on April 9, 1865, at Appomattox Court House.

What Made Him Great?

Lee’s men adored him. In victory and defeat, they witnessed his great strength of character, his high sense of duty, and his humility and selflessness. Even Northerners accepted Lee as the greatest general of the Civil War.

4. ULYSSES S. GRANT (1822-85)

Born Hiram Ulysses at Point Pleasant, Ohio, the future general grew up on his father’s farm. In 1839 he entered West Point and found himself listed by his middle name and his mother’s maiden name. On that day he became Ulysses Simpson Grant, which in later years became “U.S.” Grant and “unconditional Surrender” Grant. In 1843 he graduated 21st in a class of 39 and became a second lieutenant in the 4th Infantry.

The Mexican-American War-During the Mexican-American War, Grant distinguished himself while serving under General Zachary Taylor in Texas and later under General Winfield Scott in Mexico, where he received two brevets (commissions of higher rank) for gallantry. Grant enjoyed fighting, but he found n pleasure in the peacetime army. In July 1854, he resigned as captain from a dismal post in Oregon and returned to his family in Missouri, where for six years he tried without much success to scratch out a living on the family farm.

The Civil War-Grant Reemerged in June 1861 as colonel of the 21st Illinois Infantry. Promoted to brigadier general in August, Grant ran his own campaigns and on February 6, 1862, seized Fort Henry on the Tennessee River and 10 days later demanded the “unconditional surrender” of Fort Donelson. In April, after first being surprised by a Confederate attack at Shiloh, he repulsed the enemy. Privately, he feuded with Major General Henry W. Halleck and was accused of drunkenness, but redeemed himself on July 4, 1863, by capturing Vicksburg. When men like Halleck questioned Grant’s ability, Lincoln countered with a brisk rejoinder, replying, “I can’t lose him. He fights.”

After Vicksburg, Grant’s stature as a fighting general bloomed. When Major General William S. Rosecrans’s army was bottled up at Chattanooga, Grant took charge, broke the siege, and drove the Confederates into Georgia. Lincoln rewarded Grant with a promotion to lieutenant general and made him general-in-chief of the armies. Instead of establishing an office in Washington, Grant took the field with the struggling Army of the Potomac. With characteristic doggedness, he drove General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia to its final defeat at Appomattox on April 9, 1865.

What Made Him Great?

Though the point is still argued, Grant was an effective strategist. He made mistakes and learned from them. His drive and resolution made him a first-class general. Grant’s postwar popularity earned him the presidency in 1869, but he was a warrior, never a good businessman or a politician. In fact, his hapless presidency was marked by the corruption of unworthy appointees he trusted.

5. JOHN J. PERSHING (1860-1948)

Pershing grew up on a farm in Laclede, Missouri, and displayed a high level of intelligence as a child. He taught school for four years before getting an appointment to West Point in 1882.

The Indian Wars-Commissioned a second lieutenant in the 6th Cavalry Regiment in June 1886, he served in the West during the Indian wars. In 1895 he commanded the famous African American Buffalo Soldiers, which is where he got the nickname “Black Jack.”

The Spanish-and Philippine-American Wars-During the Spanish-American War, he served with the 10th Cavalry at San Juan Hill, and he also commanded troops in the Philippine-American War from 1899 to 1901. He went wherever he could find action and eventually returned to San Francisco in 1914 to take command of the 8th Infantry Brigade.

The Mexican War-When the Mexican civil war of 1914 spread across the border, Pershing led a 4,800-man brigade and for 10 months unsuccessfully pursued Pancho Villa’s forces into Mexico, and experience that prepared him for his next move-and a big one.

World War I-In 1917, after a short interview, President Woodrow Wilson decided that Pershing would command the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) in Europe. Pershing arrived in France on June 23 to begin a massive buildup of U.S. forces. When France demanded that American units fight under French field commanders, Pershing refused. He preserved the AEF as an independent fighting force and directed three major offensives in 1918: Aisne-Marne from July 25 to August 2, Saint-Mihiel from September 12 to 19, and the final Meuse-Argonne offensive on September 26 to November 11.

Pershing didn’t use the same tactics employed by the French, which, after four years of war, had failed to dislodge the enemy. Trench warfare created enormous casualties. Taking a page from Robert E. Lee’s playbook, Pershing operated on the flanks of the enemy. He was also the first to use air power to soften up fortified positions by bombing instead of relying entirely on artillery. While the French and British thought the war could be won by 1919 or 1920, Pershing said the AEF would end the war in 1918-and they did.

His appointment as General of the Armies of the United States in July 1919 made him the first and only general to receive the rank in his own lifetime. He avoided politics and served for two years as chief of staff, retiring in 1924. He is seldom remembered because the AEF didn’t contribute to major European campaigns until 1918.

What Made Him Great?

Like Lee and Grant, Pershing took the field with his men and was recognized for his personal bravery. A strict disciplinarian, he was also cold, distant, and demanding, which many of his subordinates disliked-but he was also fair, just, and tenacious, virtues that his detractors overlooked. Had any other general been sent to France to command the AEF, American units would probably have been propelled into the French army to fight poorly conducted battles under generals using ineffective tactics.

6. DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER (1890-1969)

“Ike” was born in Denison, Texas, and grew up in Abilene, Kansas. He graduated from West Point in 1915, and played football there. Unlike most officers, Eisenhower rarely served in the field. After performing a variety of training duties during World War I, he graduated at the top of his class from the Command and General Staff School in 1926 and from the Army War College in 1928. He was on General Douglas MacArthur’s staff from 1933 to 1939, and in September 1941 he received a promotion to brigadier general while serving as chief of staff to the 3rd Army. Attached to the Army War Plans Division from December 1941 to June 1942, Eisenhower advanced to major general and was put in charge of U.S. forces in Europe.

World War II-Eisenhower assumed command of Operation Torch, the November 8 invasion of French North Africa, and the invasion of Tunisia one week later. It took Allied forces six months to drive the German and Italian armies out of Africa.

On July 9, 1943, Eisenhower commanded the invasion of Sicily. Once the Allies secured a strong holding position in Italy, President Franklin D. Roosevelt moved Eisenhower to England to plan the cross-channel invasion of France. Appointed Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force, Eisenhower directed Operation Overlord, the Allied amphibious assault on Normandy, France, on June 6, 1944.

It was at this point that Eisenhower’s role became extremely political: he had to placate Great Britain and the other Allies while making decisions regarding the war in Europe. He also had problems with some of his generals and made political concessions that produced poor results. Yet he made extremely sound decisions when reacting to setbacks, such as the German Ardennes offensive (Battle of the Bulge) from December 1944 to January 1945. When the Allied offensive resumed in February, he planned and implemented the crossing of the Rhine and the push into Germany. After Germany’s surrender on May 7-8, 1945, Eisenhower commanded the Allied occupation forces until November. He returned home and replaced General George C. Marshall as chief of staff, the highest-ranking officer in the U.S. Army.

What Made Him Great?

Eisenhower became a man of exceptional ability. He retired in February 1948 to become president of Columbia University, but in December 1950 President Harry S. Truman made him the first supreme commander of NATO. Eisenhower retired again in 1952, ran for president, and won. Part of his foreign policy was to protect Middle Eastern countries from Soviet aggression and to avoid getting the United States involved in countries like Vietnam.

7. DOUGLAS MacARTHUR (1880-1964)

MacArthur was the son of Medal of Honor recipient Lieutenant General Arthur MacArthur Jr., and followed in his father’s footsteps. He graduated from West Point in 1903, first in his class, and began his career serving under his father in the Philippines.

During World War I, he went to France and commanded a brigade at Saint-Mihiel and a division during the Meuse-Argonne campaign. After the war, he returned to the Philippines as a major general. He retired from the Army in August 1936 to become the Philippine government’s field marshal. As war with Japan became imminent, President Roosevelt reinstated MacArthur as a lieutenant general commanding U.S. forces in the Far East.

World War II-Though he was warned repeatedly that the Philippines could be struck by Japan, and was provided with B-17 bombers to defend against an attack, MacArthur believed the islands would not be invaded before the spring of 1942. This miscalculation led to faulty vigilance and would have resulted in the removal of any other commander but MacArthur. Instead, he was ordered to Australia to stem the Japanese advance, awarded the Medal of Honor for the defense of the Philippines, and became the supreme commander of Allied forces in the Southwest Pacific.

Always a superb strategist, MacArthur stopped the Japanese drive on New Guinea and recovered western New Britain. In November 1942 he began leap-frogging forces along the northern coast of New Guinea to Morotai in the Molucca Islands, which reopened the way to the Philippines. On October 20, 1944, he led the invasion of Leyte, fulfilling his promise to return to the Philippines. President Roosevelt raised MacArthur to general of the armies and put him in charge of planning the invasion of Japan, which was preempted by Japan’s surrender. MacArthur remained in Tokyo as supreme commander of the occupation forces and administered the defeated country with benevolence. He was still there when North Korea invaded South Korea in June 1950.

The Korean War-As supreme commander of United Nations forces in Korea, MacArthur conceived one of the greatest double envelopments in military history. Using a force strong enough to hold a perimeter in the southeastern corner of Korea, he sent a strong amphibious force to assault Inchon in the northwestern corner of the country. The resulting “pincers” movement virtually destroyed the North Korean army. He followed this brilliant move and stepped on the toes of Communist China. Neither President Truman nor the United Nations wanted China drawn into the Korean War, but MacArthur, mainly from arrogance, allowed it to happen. After he was recalled to the United States and replaced by Lieutenant General Matthew Ridgway, MacArthur retired.

What Made Him Great?

Though egotistical and controversial, MacArthur was nevertheless one of the greatest generals of World War II and of history. His amphibious campaigns were masterpieces of strategy and boldness, and were noted for their efficiency and low casualty rates. Despite his flamboyance, MacArthur cared for his men and believed thorough planning would save lives -and it did.

8. GEORGE S. PATTON (1885-1945)

Patton was descended from an old Virginia military family but was born in San Gabriel, california. He attended the Virginia Military Institute and went on to West Point, graduating in 1909. After placing fifth in the modern pentathlon at the 1912 Olympics, Patton joined the cavalry when men still rode horses, and he never left the branch after it became mechanized. He learned a great deal about fighting while serving under General John J. Pershing, and during World War I he organized and led the 1st Tank Brigade during the Saint-Mihiel and Meuse-Argonna campaigns late in 1918. During the postwar years, Patton spread his time between studying and advancing tank technology (a series of tanks were named for him), serving on the general staff, and attending the Army War College. By April 1941 he had risen in the ranks to major general and was in command of the 2nd Armored Division. By then, Patton had earned the reputation of having a uniquely gifted military mind, immense energy, and a penchant for being blunt.

World War II-Patton participated in the planning of Operation Torch and in November 1942 commanded the landings in French Morocco. He replaced Major General Lloyd Fredendall following the defeat at Kasserine Pass on march 3, 1943, and assumed command of the 2nd Army Corps. Temporarily relieved of duty after a minor quarrel with the British, Patton subsequently took command of the 1st Armored Corps, which later became the 7th Army. His brilliant campaign in Sicily during July and August of 1943 was overshadowed by a highly-publicized face-slapping incident in a hospital on August 3rd. Patton despised cowardice, and when he found a soldier skulking in a hospital bed with no evidence of an injury, he called him a “damned coward” and slapped his face in the presence of reporters. After the incident made national news, General Eisenhower brought Patton to England and tried to keep him out of trouble until the Normandy campaign.

Patton sulked for five months before Eisenhower gave him command of the newly formed 3rd Army. He landed in France on July 6, 1944, broke out of Normandy with his tanks, advanced east across France, wheeled suddenly north, and struck the flank of the German army. When the German Ardennes offensive in December 1944 threatened to swallow up a surrounded American division at Bastogne, Patton pushed the 3rd Army through mud and snow and relieved Bastogne on december 26, 1944. He pressed on to the Rhine under stiff resistance, crossded it on March 22nd, and pushed through central Germany into Bavaria. By May 8, when Germany surrendered, his spearheads had reached into Czechoslovakia.

Now without a war to fight, Patton’s inappropriate political comments once again put him at odds with Eisenhower. Removed from command of the 3rd Army, Patton moved to the 15th Army, which had few troops and existed mainly on paper. With one day to go before his return to the United States, a car he was riding in was hit by a truck. Patton was paralyzed from the neck down and died less than two weeks later.

What made him great?

Like many field commanders, Patton was a warrior and not a politician. His tactics were brilliant. By any measure, he became America’s greatest leader of heavy-armor forces, as well of one of America’s outstanding field commanders.

9. MATTHEW B. RIDGWAY (1895-1993)

Best known for saving the UN effort in the Korean War, Ridgway was also a celebrated leader in World War II. He was born at Fort Monroe, Virginia, and graduated from West Point in 1917. During World War I, Ridgway served with the 3rd Infantry Regiment but did not go overseas. During the postwar years, the army sent Ridgway to China and the Philippines. He periodically returned stateside to attend high-level military training. In December 1941 he joined the 82nd Infantry Division, which he later commanded as the 82nd Airborne, one of the army’s new airborne divisions.

In early 1943 Major General Ridgway brought the division to the Mediterranean and on July 9-10 made the first American airborne assault on Sicily. He led elements of the division during the September 9 amphibious assault on Salerno. On D-day, June 6, 1944, he parachuted into France with his troops. In August he moved up to command the 18th Airborne Corps, which consisted of the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions, and led his men in the airborne assault at Arnhem on September 17. He played a major role in stemming the German Ardennes offensive in December 1944 and later participated in the Rhineland and the Ruhr campaigns, during which he received his third star.

The Korean War-Ridgway’s greatest hour came during the Korean War, when the Joint Chiefs of Staff sent him to Korea to clean up MacArthur’s mess. The Chinese had led MacArthur’s UN forces reeling back from the Manchurian border in December 1950, recaptured the South Korean capital of Seoul, and threatened to drive US forces completely out of Korea. Ridgway stopped the counteroffensive 75 miles south of Seoul and gradually reestablished control of the area, fighting his way back to the original border between the two Koreas. For the next several months, he fought a battle of containment, forcing the enemy to throw hundreds of thousands of men into his stubborn mincing machine before agreeing to truce talks. Ridgway’s strategy of containment became the adopted policy of the United States throughout the Cold War.

After serving briefly as Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, Ridgway returned to the United States in October 1953 to become the Army’s chief of staff during the Eisenhower administration. Because of his personal policy of Communist containment, he probably kept the Unites States from becoming involved in the Vietnam War for ten years.

What Made Him Great?

Ridgway did not believe in massive retaliation to Communist threats, but he did sanction “flexible response”, which is the strategy he followed that ended the Korean War. With the exception of Vietnam, it is the same policy American presidents followed until the Iraq War in 2003.

10. H. NORMAN SCHWARZKOPF (1934- )

Born in Trenton, New Jersey, Schwarzkopf was an army brat whose father served on both World Wars. Like his father, he graduated from West Point, and in June 1956 he became a second lieutenant in the infantry.

Vietnam War-The man who became known as “Stormin’ Norman” served two tours in Vietnam, first as an advisor to the South Vietnamese in 1965 and later as commander of the 23rd Infantry Division, where he earned the first of three Silver Stars and Two Purple Hearts Promoted to colonel, he returned to the United States in a body cast due to war injuries. After reaching home, Schwarzkopf was shocked by the public’s hostility to the war and considered resigning. He privately blamed the government for becoming involved in a war with unclear objectives and a misconceived strategy.

Between the Wars-Schwarzkopf remained in the army and for the next twenty years worked his way up the ladder by commanding the 172nd Brigade in Alaska and the 1st Brigade, 9th Infantry Division at Fort Lewis, Washington. After serving as deputy director of plans for the Pacific command in 1978-80, he eventually became a major general and commanded the 24th Mechanized Infantry Division at Fort Stewart, Georgia. He returned to Fort Lewis in 1986 as a lieutenant general and took command of the 1st Corps. With his elevation the U.S. Central Command in 1988, he was responsible for planning Desert Shield, which became Desert Storm in January 1991, the ousting of Iraqi forces from Kuwait.

Desert Storm-In this capacity Schwarzkopf planned, organized, and executed the largest U.S. mechanized combat operation since 1945. Between August 1990 and and January 1991, he assembled 765,000 troops-of which 541,000 were American-from 28 countries, hundreds of ships, and thousands of tanks and aircraft. When a six-week aerial bombardment failed to bring Saddam, Hussein to the negotiating table, Schwarzkopf drew Iraqi forces out of position with a fake amphibious landing and performed what he termed an “end run” around Iraq’s vaunted Republican Guard. He cut the enemy’s communications, destroyed their supply lines, and in 1090 days forced Saddam to adopt a cease-fire. Total U.S. casualties were 293 killed and 467 wounded.

Schwarzkopf could have marched into Baghdad with little resistance, and he expressed a willingness to do so. But UN resolutions did not include the capture of Iraq, so Schwarzkopf stood down. Somewhat annoyed by not finishing the job, he retired from the Army in 1992.

What Made Him Great?

Schwarzkopf executed a classic campaign and left no messes within the scope of his task. He understood his orders and performed them with few casualties and received much praise from the world community.(Source Neatorama)

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Jun. 11: Uniondale, N.Y. (Nassau Coliseum)

Jun. 12: Atlantic City, N.J. (Boardwalk Hall Arena)

Jun. 13: Washington, D.C. (Patriot Center)

Jun. 18: Chicago, Ill. (Sears Centre Arena)

Jun. 19: Detroit, Mich. (Pontiac Silverdome)

Jun. 20: Toronto, Ontario (Air Canada Centre)

Jun. 26: San Francisco, Calif. (Oracle Arena)

Jun. 27: Los Angeles, Calif. (The Forum)

Jul. 2: Dallas, Texas (American Airlines Center)

Jul. 3: Houston, Texas (Houston Toyota Center)

Jul. 9: Amsterdam, Netherlands (Ohio Arena)

Jul. 10: Paris, France (Bercy)

Jul. 18: Oslo, Norway (Oslo Spektrum)

Jul. 23: Glasgow, Scotland (SECC)

Jul. 24: Manchester, England (M.E.N. Arena)

Jul. 25: London, England (O2 Arena)

Jul. 26: London, England (Wembley Stadium)

For this world tour A R Rahman will be collaborating with choreographer-director Amy Tinkham, who has created stage shows for the likes of Paul McCartney, Madonna, Britney Spears, Dixie Chicks, Motley Crue, etc.

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$110 million

Thanks to her "Sticky & Sweet Tour," the top-grossing international and domestic tour of 2008 according to Pollstar, Madonna out earned the rest of her peers. She also released her 11th studio album, Hard Candy, which debuted at No.1 in over 30 countries. In the U.S., the album sold 100,000 copies on the first day of release. The Material Girl also endorses Louis Vuitton.

2. Celine Dion

$100 million

Returning to the touring stage after three years on the Las Vegas circuit was a boon to Dion’s bottom line. The Canadian singer was promoting the 2007 release ofTaking Chances, her first studio album in English since 2003. The tour sold out in the U.S. and Canada, becoming the second top-grossing tour of 2008 with gross earnings of $237 million. Dion also released an English greatest-hits collection, My Love: Essential Collection, and a sixth perfume to her fragrance collection.

3. Beyonce Knowles

$87 million

In the last year, Queen B dropped a double album, starred in two films, performed at both the Oscars and a presidential Inaugural Ball and embarked on what is expected to be, at minimum, a 110-date international tour. She also expanded a fashion collection that includes casual and formal lines, as well as jewelry and eyeglasses, and added sponsors Nintendo, Crystal Geyser and General Mills to a roster of endorsers already including L’Oréal, Giorgio Armani and Samantha Thavasa handbags

4. Bruce Springsteen

$70 million

Along with the E Street Band, Springsteen’s tour grossed $166 million in 2008 to rank fourth among the top-grossing international tours of the year. The New Jersey crooner enjoyed a year in the spotlight, as his support of President Barack Obama, his Golden Globe win for his song on The Wrestlersoundtrack and his NFL Super Bowl halftime performance kept him in the news.

5. Kenny Chesney

$65 million

Chesney, the continued top-grossing country act on tour, was the genre’s only star to make the top-10 international concert roster in 2008, grossing $72 million and selling over 1 million tickets. He also released Lucky Old Sun last October. Chesney was featured along with Jon Bon Jovi and Eric Clapton in Mastercard’s Roots of Rock sweepstakes and has endorsement deals with Cruzan Rum and Corona.

6. Rascal Flatts

$60 million

The boys from Ohio have found a cozy niche for themselves with crossover pop/country hits and a young fan base. The group grossed $56 million on the road last year, but buoyed their earnings with lucrative endorsement deals with JCPenney and Hershey’s. Their latest album,Unstoppable, released in April, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.

7. Coldplay $60 million

The British band Coldplay grossed $72 million from international touring in 2008. Their June 2008 release Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends became the most-downloaded album of all time, selling 354,000 digital copies in the first two weeks of its release. The group won three Grammys in February, including Best Rock Album.

8. AC/DC $60 million

The Aussie rock band fronted by aging schoolboy Angus Young tied for No. 5 on this year’s list of top earners thanks to their seemingly relentless popularity. Their fall 2008 effort, Black Ice, was the band’s first album in eight years. Sales of Ice combined with international catalog sales made AC/DC the No. 1 catalog artist of 2008. As well, their domestic tour grossed $38 million in 2008

9. Eagles

$55 million

It was a bittersweet year for fans of the Eagles. The group released their first studio album since 1979, though according to Don Henley it will likely be their last collective effort. Long Road Out of Eden was sold exclusively through the band’s Web site, Sam’s Club and Wal-mart for the first year of its release, though it still managed to sell 700,000 copies in the first week. Their accompanying tour began last March at London’s O2 Arena, eventually grossing $87 million in 2008.

10. Toby Keith

$52 million

A consistent name among musical top earners, Toby Keith has continued to expand his brand. He grossed $31 million on tour in 2008, and That Don’t Make Me a Bad Guy, which has since sold over 500,000 copies. He also sees income from an endorsement deal with Ford, an eponymous chain of restaurants and as a prolific songwriter.source

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Today Google Celebrate Mother’s Day with Beautiful Flowers on their logo 

Mother’s Day SMS

Make for me a place within your heart
On which I can depend. For only you
Touch the ancient wellsprings of my tears,
Home through all the wanderings of my years,
Eden that no other can renew,
Root I cannot rend through rage or art.

M – For the MILLION things she gave me,
O – For she’s growing OLD,
T – For the TEARS she shed to save me,
H – For her HEART of purest gold,
E – For her EYES, with love-light shining,
R – For she is always RIGHT and always be.

I luv u mom
having u makes me feel safe & calm
I miss u mom
Missing touches 2 my face with ur chapped palm
u r the greatest
because u r my mom

Many hugs
Only luv never anger
Teaching me
Helping me
Every smile when I was sad
Raising me to be strong
It spells Mother. Thanks for being u.

You’ve seen me laugh
You’ve seen me cry
And always you were there with me
I may not have always said it
But thanks and I love you
Happy Mother’s Day

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Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore, mystic, painter and Nobel laureate for literature is among the leading personalities of Modern India. He was awarded the Nobel prize in Literature for his collection of well known poems Gitanjali.

• 7 May 1861 Born in Calcutta, India
• 1868 Wrote his first poem when he was just 7 years
• 1878 Tagore’s first book of poetries appeared
• 1878 Went to England for higher studies
• 1879 Came back to India
• 1883 Got married to Mrinalini Devi
• 1890 Manasi, a collection of Tagore’s poems were published
• 1890 Settled at Shilaidaha in Kushthia (now in Bangladesh)
• 22 Dec 1901 Founded school at Shanti Niketan
• 1902-1907 Rabindranath’s wife, father, daughter Renuka and son Samindra died
• 1905 Bengal was partitioned, Rabindranath was gripped by fever of Nationalism
• 1910 He got married his son to a young widow Pratima Devi. He was a staunch supporter of widow remarriage
• 1910 Wrote Gitanjali in Bengali

• 1911 Wrote Jana Gana Mana which later became our National Anthem
• 1912 Gitanjali was published in English
• 1913 Awarded Nobel prize in literature
• 1915 Knighted by the British king George
• 1919 Renounced his knighthood following Jallianwala massacre incident
• 1924 Tagore opened Vishva Bharati University at Shanti Niketan
• 1929 Tagore began painting
• 1939 Tagore asked Gandhiji to lift the ban on Subhash Chandra Bose and have his cooperation cordially invited in the "supreme interest of national unity"
• 7 Aug 1941 Rabindranath Tagore died in Calcutta, India

Google celebrate the legends Rabindranath Tagore Birthday

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Sachin Tendulkar with his wax figure

  Sachin Tendulkar poses next to his wax replica

Sachin Tendulkar, son Arjun, daughter Sara and wife Anjali pose next to Tendulkar’s wax Statue

1. Highest Run scorer in the ODI
2. Most number of hundreds in the ODI 41
3. Most number of nineties in the ODI
4. Most number of man of the matches(56) in the ODI’s
5. Most number of man of the series(14) in ODI’s
6. Best average for man of the matches in ODI’s
7. First Cricketer to pass 10000 run in the ODI
8. First Cricketer to pass 15000 run in the ODI
9. He is the highest run scorer in the world cup (1,796 at an avg of 59.87 as on 2007)
10. Most number of the man of the matches in the world cup
11. Most number of runs 1996 world cup 523 runs in the 1996 Cricket World Cup at an average of 87.16
12. Most number of runs in the 2003 world cup 673 runs in 2003 Cricket World Cup, highest by any player in a single Cricket World Cup
13. He was Player of the World Cup Tournament in the 2003 Cricket World Cup.
14. Most number of Fifties in ODI’s 90
15. Appeared in Most Number of ODI’s 407
16. He is the only player to be in top 10 ICC ranking for 10 years.
17. Most number of 100’s in test’s 41
18. He is one of the three batsmen to surpass 11,000 runs in Test cricket, and the first Indian to do so
19. He is thus far the only cricketer to receive the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, India’s highest sporting honor
20. In 2003, Wisden rated Tendulkar as d No. 1 and Richards at No. 2 in all time Greatest ODI player
21. In 2002, Wisden rated him as the second greatest Test batsman after Sir Donald Bradman.
22. he was involved in unbroken 664-run partnership in a Harris Shield game in 1988 with friend and team mate Vinod Kambli,
23. Tendulkar is the only player to score a century in all three of his Ranji Trophy, Duleep Trophy and Irani Trophy debuts
24. In 1992, at the age of 19, Tendulkar became the first overseas born player to represent Yorkshire
25. Tendulkar has been granted the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, Arjuna Award and Padma Shri by Indian government. He is the only Indian cricketer to get all of them.
26. Tendulkar has scored over 1000 runs in a calendar year in ODI’s 7 times
27. Tendulkar has scored 1894 runs in calendar year in ODI’s most by any batsman
28. He is the highest earning cricketer in the world
29. He has the least percentage of the man of the matches awards won when team looses a match.. Out of his 56 man of the match awards only 5 times India has lost.
30. Tendulkar most number man of match awards(10) against Australia
31. In August of 2003, Sachin Tendulkar was voted as the "Greatest Sportsman" of the country in the sport personalities category in the Best of India poll conducted by Zee News.
32. In November 2006, Time magazine named Tendulkar as one of the Asian Heroes.
33. In December 2006, he was named "Sports person of the Year
34. The current India Poised campaign run by The Times of India has nominated him as the Face of New India next to the likes of Amartya Sen and Mahatma Gandhi among others.
35. Tendulkar was the first batsman in history to score over 50 centuries in international cricket
36. Tendulkar was the first batsman in history to score over 75 centuries in international cricket:79 centuries
37. Has the most overall runs in cricket, (ODIs+Tests+ Twenty20s) , as of 30 June 2007 he had accumulated almost 26,000 runs overall.
38. Is second on the most number of runs in test cricket just after Brian Lara
39. Sachin Tendulkar with Sourav Ganguly hold the world record for the maximum number of runs scored by the opening partnership. They have put together 6,271 runs in 128 matches
40. The 20 century partnerships for opening pair with Sourav Ganguly is a world record
41. Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid hold the world record for the highest partnership in ODI matches when they scored 331 runs against New Zealand in 1999
42. Sachin Tendulkar has been involved in six 200 run partnerships in ODI matches – a record that he shares with Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid
43. Most Centuries in a calendar year: 9 ODI centuries in 1998
44. Only player to have over 100 innings of 50+ runs (41 Centuries and 87 Fifties)(as of 18th Nov, 2007)
45. the only player ever to cross the 13,000-14,000 and 15,000 run marks IN ODI.
46. Highest individual score among Indian batsmen (186* against New Zealand at Hyderabad in 1999).
47. The score of 186* is listed the fifth highest score recorded in ODI matches
48. Tendulkar has scored over 1000 ODI runs against all major Cricketing nations.
49. Sachin was the fastest to reach 10,000 runs taking 259 innings and has the highest batting average among batsmen with over 10,000 ODI runs
50. Most number of Stadium Appearances: 90 different Grounds
51. Consecutive ODI Appearances: 185
52. On his debut, Sachin Tendulkar was the second youngest debutant in the world
53. When Tendulkar scored his maiden century in 1990, he was the second youngest to score a century
54. Tendulkar’s record of five test centuries before he turned 20 is a current world record
55. Tendulkar holds the current record (217 against NZ in 1999/00 Season) for the highest score in Test cricket by an Indian when captaining the side
56. Tendulkar has scored centuries against all test playing nations.[7] He was the third batman to achieve the distinction after Steve Waugh and Gary Kirsten
57. Tendulkar has 4 seasons in test cricket with 1000 or more runs – 2002 (1392 runs), 1999 (1088 runs), 2001 (1003 runs) and 1997 (1000 runs).[6] Gavaskar is the only other Indian with four seasons of 1000+ runs
58. He is second most number of seasons with over 1000 runs in world.
59. On 3 January 2007 Sachin Tendulkar (5751) edged past Brian Lara’s (5736) world record of runs scored in Tests away from home
60. Tendulkar and Brian Lara are the fastest to score 10,000 runs in Test cricket history. Both of them ac
hieved this in 195 innings
61. Second Indian after Sunil Gavaskar to make over 10,000 runs in Test matches
62. Became the first Indian to surpass the 11,000 Test run mark and the third International player behind Allan Border and Brian Lara.
63. Tendulkar is fourth on the list of players with most Test caps. Steve Waugh (168 Tests), Allan Border (158 Tests), Shane Warne (145 Tests) have appeared in more games than Tendulkar
64. Tendulkar has played the most number of Test Matches(144) for India (Kapil Dev is second with 131 Test appearances) .
65. First to 25,000 international runs
66. Tendulkar’s 25,016 runs in international cricket include 14,537 runs in ODI’s, 10,469 Tests runs and 10 runs in the lone Twenty20 that India has played.
67. On December 10, 2005, Tendulkar made his 35th century in Tests at Delhi against Sri Lanka. He surpassed Sunil Gavaskar’s record of 34 centuries to become the man with the most number of hundreds in Test cricket.
68. Tendulkar is the only player who has 150 wkts and more than 15000 runs in ODI
69. Tendulkar is the only player who has 40 wkts and more than 11000 runs in Tests
70. Only batsman to have 100 hundreds in the first class cricket.

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Harald zur Hausen

half 1/2 of the prize

German Cancer Research Centre
Heidelberg,Germany

b. 1936

Françoise Barré-Sinoussi

quarter 1/4 of the prize

Regulation of Retroviral Infections Unit, Virology Department, Institut Pasteur Paris, France

b. 1947

Luc Montagnier

quarter 1/4 of the prize

World Foundation for AIDS Research and Prevention
Paris, France

b. 1932

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his father and mother…

The doctor didn’t even remove the face mask and head cover and coming running right from the operation theatre

The thing is…. there is a family. Parents are doctors…and they had a son named jithenthran.

On 09/24/2008, he took his father’s bike for seeing his friend and while return he met with an accident.

The people who are there know him and admitted him at chengelpattu hospital. Then they informed his parents and they took him to Teynampet in chennai Apollo hospital.

There the doctors examined him and said that his brain has lost all his senses and there is no way to give him life. Without controlling the sadness the parents understood the fact and they decided to donate his organs to the people.

First, his eyes were given to Sankara nethralaya, then his kidney was given to Apollo hospital for transplantation and atlast here comes the final everheard miracle. They decided to give his heart to a 6 year old boy who needs it. So they verified and at last found that the boy is struggling for life at Cherians heart foundation, Chennai.

But within 30mins that heart should be transplanted; They need to go 20kms and in Chennai traffic and doubted whether it will happen. Then the doctors called traffic police and asked their help and they prepared the ambulance with A/C. So fastly they removed the heart from their son and kept in an ice box and runned towards the ambulance.

When they came out the boy’s father saw that ice box and cried like anything. The doctor who carried tht box ran like anything that he didn’t even see the ambulance which is waiting outside and he entered the police car which was waiting.

He said to the person to just go to Cherian hospital soon. The person who was standing near the car was the Assistant Commissioner and he without seeing his status and jumped to drivers seat and drove the car with full speed.

Every signal traffic got alert and left way for this car and at last within 15mins the heart was given to the doctors in Cherian hospital and it was transplanted to the small boy. Really heart touching….

Do u know the meaning of the name of the boy who died….

His name is Jithenthran – a person who will steal other’s heart……. …….Yes , now he has stole everyone’s heart…..

Really … hats off to the parents …

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Announcement of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine will be announced on Monday, October 6, 11:30 a.m. CET

Announcement of the Nobel Prize in Physics

The Nobel Prize in Physics will be announced on Tuesday, October 7, 11:45 a.m. CET

Announcement of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry

The 2008 Nobel Prize in Chemistry will be announced on Wednesday, October 8, 11:45 a.m. CET (at the earliest).

Announcement of the Nobel Prize in Literature

The Nobel Prize in Literature will be announced on Thursday, October 9, 1:00 p.m. CET.

Announcement of the Nobel Peace Prize

The 2008 Nobel Peace Prize will be announced on Friday, October 10, 11:00 a.m. CET.

Announcement of the Prize in Economics

The Prize in Economics will be announced on Monday, October 15, 1:00 p.m. CET

The Nobel Prize

Every year since 1901 the Nobel Prize has been awarded for achievements in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature and for peace. The Nobel Prize is an international award administered by the Nobel Foundation in Stockholm, Sweden. In 1968, Sveriges Riksbank established The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, founder of the Nobel Prize. Each prize consists of a medal, personal diploma, and a cash award.

Sir Martin J. Evans, 2007 Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine

Peter Grünberg, 2007 Nobel Laureate in Physics

Gerhard Ertl Nobel Prize in Chemistry (2007)

Born 10 October 1936 (1936-10-10) (age 71)
Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Residence Germany
Nationality Germany
Fields Surface chemistry
Institutions Technical University of Hannover
Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich
Technical University of Munich
Free University of Berlin
Technical University of Berlin
Fritz Haber Institute of the MPG
Humboldt University of Berlin
Alma mater University of Stuttgart
Technical University of Munich
Doctoral advisor Heinz Gerischer
Known for Surface chemistry
Notable awards Wolf Prize in Chemistry (1998)
Religious stance Christian [1]

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One of the most famous photograph of Abraham Lincoln in 1860. But only his head was real in the picture as the body belongs to someone called John Calhoun.

See the difference between these 2 photos? The guy sitting on the right was General Francis Blair, who was apparently added only later (1865).

The guy on the left quarreled with Mao Ze Dong and his picture was removed (1936).

The guy missing seems to be called Goebbels in this photograph taken with Hitler. Reason is unknown (1937).

Sitting on a horse by yourself – Cool! Sitting on a horse held by a handler – Not so Cool. This guy is Benito Mussolini by the way (1942).

The guy in the center is Carlos Franco, who apparently quarreled with Fidel Castro after Fidel supported the entry of Soviet troops in Czech Republic (1968). Thus he disappeared from the photo.

This photographer, John Filo, won the Pulitzer Prize but was manipulated for the cover of the Life magazine to remove the rear fence. Don¢t ask me why.

This is a photograph of the negotiations between Chancellor Willy Brandt of Germany and Leonid Brezhnev. Rumored has it that all of them were rather drunk during the meeting. You can see the disappearing wine bottles in the German press compared to the Soviet press on the top.

The ¡gang of four¢, a group of Chinese Communist Party leaders were sacked and arrested in 1976 after the death of Mao Zedong. Thus explains their disappearance from the photo.

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