LIVES THAT CHANGED OUR WORLD EXAMPLES OF INSPIRATIONAL PEOPLE

Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a United States Federal holiday marking the birthdate of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.. It is observed on the third Monday of January each year, which is around the time of King's birthday, January 15. King was the chief spokesman for nonviolent activism in the civil rights movement, which successfully protested racial discrimination in federal and state law. He was assassinated in 1968.

The campaign for a federal holiday in King's honor began soon after his assassination. Ronald Reagan signed the holiday into law in 1983, and it was first observed in 1986. At first, some states resisted observing the holiday as such, giving it alternative names or combining it with other holidays. It was officially observed in all 50 states for the first time in 2000.The idea of Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a holiday was promoted by labor unions in contract negotiations.^[1] After King's death, United States Representative John Conyers (a Democrat from Michigan) introduced a bill in Congress to make King's birthday a national holiday. The bill first came to a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1979. However, it fell five votes short of the number needed for passage.^[2] Two of the main arguments mentioned by opponents were that a paid holiday for federal employees would be too expensive, and that a holiday to honor a private citizen would be contrary to longstanding tradition (King had never held public office).^[2] Soon after, the King Center turned to support from the corporate community and the general public. The success of this strategy was cemented when musician Stevie Wonder released the single "Happy Birthday" to popularize the campaign in 1980 and hosted the Rally for Peace Press Conference in 1981. Six million signatures were collected for a petition to Congress to pass the law, termed by a 2006 article in The Nation as "the largest petition in favor of an issue in U.S. history

LIVES THAT CHANGED OUR WORLD EXAMPLES OF INSPIRATIONAL PEOPLE

Harold Joseph Hanson (9 August 1904 – 17 February 1973) was an eminent South African advocate (QC) and Senior Member of the Johannesburg Bar Council. He was born in Johannesburg to Ralph Hanson, a Rand pioneer and Clara Lewis. Harold Hanson first married May Koseff with whom he had a daughter. His second marriage was in 1945 to Anna Marie Berger (known as Anita). They had two daughters and a son. Anita predeceased Harold by 18 years, after which he married Cissie Pincus.

Harold Hanson was educated at Twist Street Government Primary School, Johannesburg and King Edward VII High School where he passed the Matriculation Exam at the age of fourteen. He studied law at the University of the Witwatersrand and was called to the Bar in 1926 at the age of 22. He subsequently built up a large practice in Johannesburg dealing with civil, criminal and political cases. He was appointed a KC (later known as QC) in 1946.

Harold Hanson was regarded as a very sound lawyer and a brilliant trial advocate. He appeared for the plaintiff, defendant or accused in a number of the most important and lengthy cases in South African legal history. These included action for damages for defamation brought by the founder of the Alexander Technique of psycho-physical education against Drs Jokl, Cleaver and Clark (1946-48); The Parity Insurance Company case (State vs. Heller) in which he defended the accused charged with fraud (1968–70) and the Gentrico A.G vs. Firestone SA (Pty) Ltd in what has been called the greatest lawsuit in the 500 year history of patents (1).

He believed strongly in civil liberty and was well known for his support of political defendants, often acting on their behalf without a fee (6). He is perhaps best known for his contribution to the last day of the Rivonia Trial (June 12, 1964) in which he readily accepted a request from his colleague and respected friend Bram Fischer to argue mitigation for the accused (8). Hanson made a brilliant political appeal in a trial of politically inspired offences which in effect pleaded for the lives of the accused (8, 9). He compared the African struggle for civil rights to the early Voortrekker Afrikaner struggle and cited precedents for clement sentencing even in treason cases. Alan Paton, novelist, national president of the Liberal Party, a devout Christian and opponent of violence was called as the only witness. Hanson subsequently acted as counsel for Bram Fischer when he was brought to trial.

E Khan (7) writes: “Hanson was big in every way: in intellect, in physique, in voice, in courage, in application, in determination. He was fearless, if ebullient and temperamental, in court. Ever eloquent — his colleagues would speak of “Hansonian eloquence” — he could develop an argument for his client on fact or law at the drop of a hat. In cross-examination he was penetrating and robust, and could be fierce; he had indeed a great reputation as a cross examiner. To counsel on the other side, he could prove an awkward opponent; but no one ever questioned his integrity”.

LIVES THAT CHANGED OUR WORLD EXAMPLES OF INSPIRATIONAL PEOPLE

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (Gujarati: મોહનદાસ કરમચંદ ગાંધી, pronounced [moːɦən̪d̪aːs kərəmʨən̪d̪ ɡaːn̪d̪ʱiː] ( listen); 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948) was the pre-eminent political and spiritual leader of India during the Indian independence movement. He pioneered satyagraha—resistance to tyranny through mass civil disobedience, a philosophy firmly founded upon ahimsa or total nonviolence—which helped India to independence and inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world. Gandhi is commonly known around the world as Mahatma Gandhi ([məɦaːt̪maː]; Sanskrit: महात्मा mahātmā or "Great Soul", an honorific first applied to him by Rabindranath Tagore),^[1] and in India also as Bapu (Gujarati: બાપુ, bāpu or "Father"). He is officially honoured in India as the Father of the Nation; his birthday, 2 October, is commemorated there as Gandhi Jayanti, a national holiday, and worldwide as the International Day of Non-Violence.

Gandhi first employed non-violent civil disobedience while an expatriate lawyer in South Africa, during the resident Indian community's struggle there for civil rights. After his return to India in 1915, he organized protests by peasants, farmers, and urban labourers concerning excessive land-tax and discrimination. After assuming leadership of the Indian National Congress in 1921, Gandhi led nationwide campaigns to ease poverty, expand women's rights, build religious and ethnic amity, end untouchability, and increase economic self-reliance. Above all, he aimed to achieve Swaraj or the independence of India from foreign domination. Gandhi famously led his followers in the Non-cooperation movement that protested the British-imposed salt tax with the 400 km (240 mi) Dandi Salt March in 1930. Later, in 1942, he launched the Quit India civil disobedience movement demanding immediate independence for India. Gandhi spent a number of years in jail in both South Africa and India.

As a practitioner of ahimsa, he swore to speak the truth and advocated that others do the same. Gandhi lived modestly in a self-sufficient residential community and wore the traditional Indian dhoti and shawl, woven with yarn he had hand spun himself. He ate simple vegetarian food, experimented for a time with a fruitarian diet, and undertook long fasts as a means of both self-purification and social protest.