Famous Thinkers

Famous Thinkers

Two famous thinkers are Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and William "Bill" Gates. I admire these two famous thinkers for the impact and influence that both have had in their lifetimes. These two famous thinkers have contributed and positively affected many lives past and present. Both famous thinkers had to overcome hardships and use their creative minds to deal with challenges, obstacles, and issues. These two have changed and created their own history and legacy, which will be written in history books for ever.

Contributions to Society

Born Michael King Jr. in 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was the most recognized civil rights leader in history. His father was Baptist minister and raised him to follow in his footsteps as a minister as well. During the civil rights movement Dr. King headed a crusade to help Americans to gain the same human rights, despite their origin or skin color. Dr. King had numerous contributions to society and is remembered for his non-violent movement. According a Newsday article Dr. King was "Honored most for his heroic civil rights activism in the United States" as well as "a prophet of peace and justice in a world torn by war in Vietnam" (1992). He led the fight in 1956 to desegregate the bus lines in Montgomery, Alabama. The Southern Christian Leadership Conference appointed him the head position, which was to create racial equality throughout the country using non-violence. Dr. King was most famous when he led the march on Washington in 1963, where he gave his famous "I Have a Dream" speech. In 1964 Dr. King was the youngest to win the Nobel Peach prize at the age of 35. (1964) Dr. King was shot and killed in Memphis, Tennessee in 1968.

Born William Gates in Seattle, Washington in 1955 he is known to households as Bill. Bill is known around the world as a self-made multi-billionaire as well as a well known philanthropist. Bill Gates has given 65% of his billions to his organization Bill and Melinda Gates created by him and his wife Melinda The main focus of the Gates' foundation and their public awareness work includes global health and population control programs, increased library technology, minority scholarships, and education reform (Crowley, 2000). He plans to give away up to 95% of his riches by the time he dies. He is well known mainly for his creation of the Microsoft organization. Microsoft is the leader of all computer software and used by almost everyone.

Personal/Social/Political Environments

Dr. King attended received a degree in sociology from Morehouse College at the age of 19. He attended Crozer Theological Seminary and later completed is doctorate at Boston University. Dr King helps the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 authorizing the federal government to enforce desegregation in publicly owned facilities. He also helped the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. His "I Have a Dream" speech at the March on Washington changed the lives and captured the hearts of many people. Dr. King fought for equality for Whites and Blacks. Dr. King promoted non-violence and even when he lost support of some of his following because he refused to retaliate against violent acts, Dr. King would still continue to lead peaceful marches. Dr. King was a very powerful man and I believe because he was powerful he was also feared. His actions and creative thought process is why a Black man such as myself can sit in a classroom with a white classmate. His strength, courage and drive are the reason we are able to have our first black president.

At the early age of 13 Bill Gates found interest in computers. He created his first program in prep school when he designed a tic tac toe game for his peers. Bill would later be co-founder of Microsoft which is the largest software company in the world. Bill is one of the greatest philanthropists in the world. He followed in the footsteps of his mom as being a community activist. Bill is involves himself with issues that deal with health, education and information technology. He gives millions of dollars to create scholarships and research projects every year. Without Bill's innovative approach, technology would not be at the level that it is. He is a giving noble individual who prides on helping and giving back to what he believes in. His scholarship programs have helped numerous low income families.

Problems and or Issues

Dr. King devoted most of his life to solving problems. His main problem was fighting for racial equality. The struggle for racial equality had been an issue Dr. King faced as a child and as a grown up. He believed that he could desegregate the nation. Life as we know it would not exist if Dr. King did not take the initiative to fight for racial inequality.

Bill Gates had a different but similar issue. He wanted to change the community for everyone just like Dr. King but his way would be financially giving to the community to help aid the less fortunate. He also develops software used to solve problems for everyday people and everyday businesses. His Microsoft programs are designed to be guidelines for helping individuals create and stay organized.

Solutions

Dr. King's approach