Leadership

Cyrus the Great

590 BCE

Cyrus II, was born of royalty. He triumphed not just through conquest, but also by showing singular tolerance and mercy to those he defeated.
A brilliant military strategist, Cyrus vanquished the king of the Medes, then integrated all the Iranian tribes, whose skill at fighting on horseback gave his army great mobility. His triumph over Lydia, in Asia Minor near the Aegean Sea, filled his treasury with that country’s tremendous wealth.

Marcus Aeurelius

121

Marcus Aurelius was born on April 26, 121, in Italy
chosen by Emperor Hadrian to be his eventual successor.
In 161, Aurelius took control of the Roman Empire along with his brother Verus.
Aurelius was a dedicated student, learning Latin and Greek
is greatest intellectual interest was Stoicism, a philosophy that emphasized fate, reason and self-restraint.
In 175, he faced another challenge—this time for his very position. After hearing a rumor about Aurelius being deathly ill,

Gengis Kan

1206

While “Khan” is a traditional title meaning “leader” or “ruler,” historians are still unsure of the origins of “Genghis.” but in context it is usually translated as “supreme ruler” or “universal ruler.”
Humble beginnings to establish the largest land empire in history. After uniting the nomadic tribes of the Mongolian plateau, he conquered huge chunks of central Asia and China.
the Mongols controlled between 11 and 12 million contiguous square miles, an area about the size of Africa.

Ernest Shackleton

Sep 11, 1914

He, along with 27 other men, did not reach their goal of traversing the Antarctic continent when they set sail for it in September of 1914.
The expedition started out of a Norwegian whaling village named Grytvikan. He ordered the men to abandon it, pull the boats, and what supplies they could carry across the ice floes. Paulet Island was 350 miles away to the Northeast. They went only two miles in two days in search of open water

Bill Gates

Oct 28, 1955

Bill Gates is a technologist, business leader, and philanthropist. He grew up in Seattle, Washington,
He dropped out of college to start Microsoft with his childhood friend Paul Allen. He married Melinda French in 1994 and they have three children.
Bill grew up in Seattle with his two sisters. His dad, William H. Gates II.
Bill and Paul Allen started Microsoft, their vision of “a computer on every desktop and in every home” seemed farfetched to most people.

Elon Musk

Jul 28, 1971

(born June 28, 1971, Pretoria, South Africa), South African-born American entrepreneur who cofounded the electronic-payment firm PayPal and formed SpaceX, maker of launch vehicles and spacecraft. He was also one of the first significant investors in, as well as chief executive officer of, the electric car manufacturer Tesla.