William Faulkner — William Cuthbert Falkner was born in New Albany, Mississippi, he was the oldest son of Murry Cuthbert Falkner and Maud Butler. He later changed the spelling of his name to Faulkner. His brothers were Murry Charles “Jack” Falkner, author John Falkner (later Faulkner) and Dean Swift Falkner. Faulkner was raised in and heavily influenced by the state …

Will Smith was born and raised in the Wynnefield section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the second of four children. He often uses the line “West Philadelphia born and raised” to describe his roots. He is a graduate of Overbrook High School. Will Smith started his career as The Fresh Prince, the vocalist of the hip-hop duo DJ Jazzy Jeff & the …

Wen Jiabao — A native of Beichen, Tianjin City was born on 15 September 1942. He is the sixth and current Premier and Party secretary of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China, serving as China’s head of government and leading its cabinet. Wen Jiabao went to the Nankai High School from which his predecessor premier Zhou Enlai graduated.He …

Wayne Gould — (born 3 July 1945 in Hawera, New Zealand) is a retired Hong Kong judge, most recently known for helping to popularise sudoku puzzles in the United Kingdom, and thereafter in the United States. He pioneered the global success and popularity of the Sudoku puzzle outside Japan where it had been popular for many years. Gould spent 6 …

Walter Samuel — Walter Adrián Luján Samuel (born Walter Adrián Luján; 23 March 1978) is an Argentine footballer who plays for Basel in the Swiss Super League. Samuel has been regarded as one of football’s toughest defenders, with teammate and Inter captain Javier Zanetti referring to him as the “hardest player” he has played with. Gifted with natural power and …

Walter Gropius — Walter Adolph Georg Gropius (18 May 1883 – 5 July 1969) was a German architect and founder of the Bauhaus School, who, along with Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Le Corbusier and Frank Lloyd Wright, is widely regarded as one of the pioneering masters of modern architecture. Walter Gropius, born in Berlin, was the third child of …

Wafa Sultan was born on June 14, 1958, Baniyas, Syria. She is an American author and critic of Muslim society and Islam. She is trained as a psychiatrist in Syria. Life and Career Sultan was born into a large traditional Muslim family in Baniyas, Syria. She immigrated to the United States in 1989, and is a naturalized citizen and resides …

Vladimir Ilyich Lenin — Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, alias Lenin (22 April 1870 – 21 January 1924) was a Russian communist revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He served as head of government of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic from 1917, and of the Soviet Union from 1922 until his death. Under his administration, the Russian Empire was replaced by the Soviet Union; …

Vishwamitra — Rishi Vishwamitra is considered to be one of the most revered rishis (sages) of the ancient India. As per the holy Puranas, there have been only 24 Rishis in India who have the Gayatri Mantra. It is believed that Sage Vishwamitra is the first saint of the 24 saints, and Sage Yajnavalkya the last. He also claims the …

Vinod Khosla is an epitome of Indian success story at Silicon Valley. He is a venture capitalist and is better known as one of the co-founders of Sun Microsystems. Vinod Khosla came from an ordinary middle class background. His father was in army. At the age of 16, Vinod Khosla read about the founding of Intel. This motivated him to …