6 Wat Tyler was an ordinary man who led a peasant revolt in England, the first of all the peasant revolt against harsh taxation on the poorer classes in 1381. He marched a group of peasants from Canterbury to London against the institution of a poll tax. Tyler died during the revolt, but his revolt prevented further levying of poll taxes on the poor.

Wat Tyler was an ordinary person who was the leader of the peasant revolt which was the first of all peasant revolts in history. The revolt was led in 1381 against the harsh taxation of the poorer classes. Tyles was chosen as the leader by Kentish rebels on June 7.

He marched a large group of rebels from Canterbury to London. They opposed the poll tax institution and demanded economic and social reforms. On June 14, King Richard II promised concessions, but the rebels did not disband.

On June 15, Tyler met with Richard and presented more demands that included confiscation of all church lands. During the negotiations, a fight broke out in which Tyler was badly wounded.

His followers took him to St. Bartholomew’s Hospital, but he was dragged and beheaded by order of William (later Sir William) Walworth, the Lord Mayor of London. The rebellion continued for two more months and succeeded in preventing further levying of poll taxes on the poor. (1, 2)

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7 Henrietta Lacks, an African-American woman, died in 1951 of cervical cancer. She was diagnosed with a cervical tumor a few months after the birth of her child. Cells were taken from her body, which were used to form the HeLa cell line, the most important in medical research. Her cancer cells were the source of the HeLa cell line, the first immortal human cell line.

Henrietta Lacks, an African-American woman, was diagnosed with cervical cancer in 1951. She was a young mother of five children who was diagnosed with a large tumor on her cervix a few months after she gave birth to her last child. She started taking radium treatments which were the best treatment at that time.

However, while performing the treatments, the surgeon extracted two small tissue samples from her body. One was from Henrietta’s tumor, and another one was from healthy cervical tissue close by. Her retrieved cancer cells were sent to Dr. George Gey’s nearby tissue lab who was doing research to establish an immortal cell line to use in cancer research.

For years, many cervical cancer cells came into his lab, but all of them quickly died. However, Mrs. Lack’s cells were unique; they wouldn’t die. Instead, they would double in every 20 to 24 hours.

These unique cells were named “HeLa” cells which were used to study the effects of toxins, drugs, and viruses on the growth of cancer cells. These cells also played a crucial role in the invention of the polio vaccine. Henrietta Lacks died in 1951 but left a legacy, and her cells continue to impact the world today. (1, 2)

8 Irena Sendler was a normal social worker in Warsaw, Poland. When the Nazis invaded in 1939, she created an underground organization to save Jews. In 1940, 450,000 Jews were forced by the Nazis into a small sealed-off area. Sendler, along with 30 volunteers, saved 2,500 Jewish children. In 1943, she waa captured but did not reveal the names of the children.

Irena Sendler was a social worker in Warsaw, Poland. She used to oversee the city’s canteen that assisted people in need. In 1939, when the Nazis invaded Poland, Sendler formed an underground organization, the Children’s Bureau of Zegota, to save Jews. She and her colleagues provided necessities to Jews. In 1940, over 450,000 Jews were forced into a small locked ghetto area. 

As a member of Zegota, Sendler, along with her 30 volunteers, saved over 2,500 Jewish children by bringing them out of the Ghetto. She used different techniques to bring out children, like hiding them n coffins and using ambulances to bring them to safety.

The children were kept safe in Christian orphanages and convents They were placed there with fake birth certificates. On October 20, 1943, Sendler was arrested by the Nazis. They tortured her and tried to get the names of rescued Jews, but she didn’t reveal any names. She was sentenced to death but was rescued by Å»egota members. She did her social work until the end of the war. (1, 2)

9 In 1962, when a Soviet submarine containing a nuclear torpedo was spotted by American forces, it went into hiding in the depths of the ocean. The submarine captain decided to launch a nuclear weapon when he thought the submarine was under attack, but a naval officer, Vasili Arkhipov, saved America from this tragedy by preventing this nuclear weapon from being launched.

In 1962, U.S President John F. Kennedy blocked all sea traffic from Cuba due to the Cuban Missile Crisis. It was believed that Soviet powers underwater were supplying nuclear missiles to Cuba. A Soviet submarine was spotted which had a nuclear torpedo on board. It went deep, hiding in the ocean. The Americans dropped depth charges, but they didn’t know this submarine contained a nuclear torpedo.

The submarine commander, because of the fear of being attacked, decided to launch a nuclear weapon, and the second in command also approved. No one knows how, but a soft-spoken naval officer, Vasili Arkhipov, convinced the captain to not fire even after being constantly attacked by American forces. He kept his calm. He had the same power as the captain, and he succeeded in preventing a nuclear disaster that would have been as powerful as Hiroshima nuclear bombing. (1, 2)

10 Ivan Susanin, an ordinary peasant, saved the life of Russian Tsar Mikhail Romanov. When Polish troops were seeking to kill the Tsar, Susanin promised to guide them down a secret path through the Russian forests. After this, no one heard of either Susanin or the Polish troops. He was a Russian national hero of the early-17th-century.

Ivan Susanin, who was an ordinary peasant, saved the life of Russian Tsar Mikhail Romanov and became a national hero in Russia in the early 17th-century. On July 22, 1613, the 17-year-old Mikhail Romanov was crowned as Tsar by Russian nobility when Poles promised to put an end to the years of devastation and instability. However, Poles still wanted the throne, so they decided to assassinate the newly crowned Tsar.

When Mikhail escaped to a safe location, Polish troops were searching for him and looking for directions when they met Ivan Susanin. He promised the Polish troops to guide them through a secret path in the Russian forests.

Susanin sent a secret message to the Tsar and warned him about Poles, then took the Polish troops so deeply astray into the forest that they couldn’t find their way back and froze to death. Due to Susanin’s self-sacrifice, Mikhail’s life was saved. Susanin became a martyr and a Russian national hero of the 17th century. (1, 2)