Kidder David S. - The intellectual devotional biographies: revive your mind, complete your education, and acquaint yourself with the worlds greatest personalities

This is the final volume of The Intellectual Devotional, a series we hope has made learning about a wide variety of subjects, from modern culture to American history to health, more accessible and entertaining for our thousands of readers. Weve chosen to conclude the series with a collection of short biographies, offering intimate portraits of some of the worlds most fascinating people, past and present.

Why end the series with biography? Throughout history, our world has been shaped by extraordinary personalities. The rise and fall of empires, the birth and evolution of religious communities, the expression of artistic genius, the advance of scientific discoveryits all been driven by exceptional individuals. What makes those individuals different from you and me? You hold the answers in your hands. In this volume, youll discover the fascinating stories of people who have made their mark on history, whether through high achievement, inspired thinking, or downright treachery.

The 365 entries are divided into the following categories:

L EADERS

Charismatic figures who mobilized the masses

P HILOSOPHERS

Deep thinkers who saw the world in new lights and helped others do the same

I NNOVATORS

The original thinkers behind mankinds greatest advances

V ILLAINS

Those who were vilified by their contemporaries or in historys judgment

A UTHORS AND A RTISTS

Creative spirits who expanded the boundaries of the human imagination

R EBELS AND R EFORMERS

Iconoclasts who overturned the existing social order, for better and worse

P REACHERS AND P ROPHETS

Spiritual visionaries who redefined our conception of a higher power

For a complete list of research sources, please visit www.theintellectualdevotional.com.

The ancient Egyptian pharaoh Khufu (c. 2609c. 2566 BC) envisioned his tomb as a towering limestone monument to his own greatness. The great pyramid in the desert, he hoped, would not only protect his soul during its journey to the afterlife, but also ensure that the world would never forget his twenty-three-year reign.

Sure enough, the world hasnt forgotten. Khufus name is forever linked with the enormous Great Pyramid of Giza, which it took an army of laborers nearly the pharaohs entire lifetime to complete. The pyramid, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, was the tallest man-made structure on Earth when it was completedand it would remain so for the next 3,000 years.

Aside from his enthusiasm for pyramids, however, little is known about Khufu. He was the son of King Sneferu and the second member of ancient Egypts Fourth Dynasty. He became pharaoh while still in his twenties, following Sneferus death. Khufu may have conducted some military expeditions to Nubia, south of Egypt, and Libya, to the west.

The religious significance of the pyramids is thought to stem from Egyptians beliefs about the afterlife. They considered pharaohs to be living gods whose entry into heaven after their deaths on Earth was eased by pyramids.

Khufus Great Pyramid was the first and largest such structure built at Giza. The pharaoh also built several smaller tombs for his wives and relatives, and two of his successors built their pyramids nearby. Most of the limestone used in the pyramids was quarried nearby, floated down the Nile on rafts, and then dragged up a massive ramp in enormous, three-ton blocks to the construction site. Other components were imported from as far away as Lebanon.

After his death at about age fifty, Khufu was mummified and buried in a tomb deep within the pyramid. Although the exterior layer of stonework casing was plundered over the millennia, the Great Pyramid remains largely intact, just as the pharaoh intended.

TUESDAY, DAY 2

PHILOSOPHERS

1. Thales believed that the world was made of water and that all forms of matter had started as water.
2. The site of ancient Miletus is now the city of Milet, Turkey.
3. According to one story, Thales once traveled to Egypt to study Egyptian geometry. He supposedly dazzled his hosts by correctly calculating the height of a pyramid based on the length of its shadow.