Speech Differences And Stutter Series-Disabled Legend Bruce Willis

Walter Bruce Willis was born on 19 March, 1955 in Idar-Oberstein, West Germany. Bruce Willis is an American actor and singer-songwriter. Bruce Willis came to fame in the late 1980s and has since retained a career as both a Hollywood leading man and a supporting actor, in particular for his role as John McClane in the Die Hard series. Bruce Willis was married to actress Demi Moore and they had 3 daughters before their divorce in 2000 after 13 years of marriage. Bruce Willis has released several albums and has appeared in several television shows. Bruce Willis has also starred in over 60 films, including Pulp Fiction, Sin City, Die Hard, Unbreakable, Armageddon and The Sixth Sense

Motion pictures featuring Bruce Willis have grossed US$2.55 to US$3.04,000,000,000 at North American box offices, making him the 7th highest-grossing actor in a leading role, and 8th highest including supporting roles. Bruce Willis is a 2-time Emmy Award-winning, Golden Globe Award-winning, and 4-time Saturn Award-nominated actor and has publicly shown his support for the United States armed forces.

Bruce Willis is the son of a Kassel-born German mother, Marlene, who worked in a bank, and David Willis, an American soldier. Bruce Willis was the oldest of 4 children (his siblings are Florence, David, and Robert). After being discharged from the military in 1957, Bruce Willis' father took his family back to Penns Grove, New Jersey, USA where he worked as a welder and factory worker. Bruce Willis' parents separated in 1972 while Bruce Willis was in his teens. Bruce Willis was always an outgoing youngster, although he grew up with a stutter. Bruce Willis attended Penns Grove High School in his hometown. Finding it easy to express himself on stage and losing his stutter in the process, Bruce Willis began performing on stage and his high school activities were marked by such things as the drama club and school council president.

After high school, Bruce Willis took a job as a security guard and he also transported work crews at the DuPont Chambers Works factory in Deepwater, New Jersey, USA. Bruce Willis quit after a colleague was killed on the job,and became a regular at several bars. Bruce Willis learned to play the harmonica and joined an R&B band called Loose Goose. After a stint as a private investigator (a role he would play in the television series Moonlighting as well as in the 1991 film, The Last Boy Scout), Bruce Willis returned to acting. Bruce Willis enrolled in the drama programme at Montclair State University, where he was cast in the class production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Bruce Willis left school in his junior year and moved to New York City, USA.

Bruce Willis returned to the bar scene, only this time for a part-time job. After countless auditions, Bruce Willis made his theater debut in the off-Broadway production of Heaven and Earth. Bruce Willis gained more experience and exposure in Fool for Love, an appearance on television's Miami Vice, and in a Levi's commercial.

Bruce Willis left New York City and headed to California to audition for several television shows. Bruce Willis auditioned for the TV series Moonlighting (1985–89), while competing against 3,000 other actors for the position and was selected to play David Addison Jr. The starring role helped to establish him as a comedic actor, with the show lasting 5 seasons. During the height of the show's success, beverage maker Seagram hired Bruce Willis as the pitchman for their Golden Wine Cooler products. The memorable ad campaign paid the rising star between $5 and $7,000,000 over 2 years. In spite of that, Bruce Willis chose not to renew his contract with the company when he decided to stop drinking alcohol in 1988. One of his 1st major film roles was in the 1987 Blake Edwards film Blind Date alongside Kim Basinger and John Laroquette. However, it was his then-unexpected turn in the film Die Hard that catapulted him to fame. Bruce Willis performed most of his own stunts in the film, and the film grossed US$138,708,852 worldwide. Due to its box office success, the film would eventually tender 3 sequels, with the most recent entry, Live Free or Die Hard,released in June 2007. Following his success with Die Hard, he had a supporting role in the drama In Country as Vietnam veteran Emmett Smith, for which he received a Golden Globe Award nomination for "Best Performance by an Actor in Supporting Role in a Motion Picture". Bruce Willis also provided his voice for a talking baby in Look Who's Talking and its sequel.

In the late-1980s, Bruce Willis enjoyed moderate success as a recording artist, recording an album of pop-blues entitled The Return of Bruno, which included the hit single "Respect Yourself", promoted by a Spinal Tap-like rockumentary parody featuring scenes of him performing at famous events including Woodstock. Follow-up recordings were not as successful, though Bruce Willis has returned to the recording studio several times. In the early 1990s, Bruce Willis' career suffered a moderate slump starring in flops such as The Bonfire of the Vanities, Striking Distance and a film he co-wrote entitled Hudson Hawk, among others. Bruce Willis starred in a leading role in the highly sexualized thriller Colour of Night (1994), which was very poorly received by critics but has become popular on video. However, in 1994 he had a supporting role in Quentin Tarantino's acclaimed Pulp Fiction, which gave a new boost to his career. In 1996, he was the executive producer of the cartoon Bruno the Kid which featured a CGI representation of himself. Bruce Willis went on to play the lead roles in 12 Monkeys and The 5th Element. However, by the end of the 1990s, his career had fallen into another slump with critically panned films like The Jackal, Mercury Rising, and Breakfast of Champions, saved only by the success of the Michael Bay-directed Armageddon which was the highest grossing film of 1998 worldwide. The same year his voice and likeness were featured in the PlayStation video game Apocalypse.

In 1999, Bruce Willis then went on to the starring role in M. Night Shyamalan's film, The Sixth Sense. The film was both a commercial and critical success and helped to increase interest in his acting career. Bruce Willis once had to appear in the sitcom Friends without pay, because he lost a bet to Matthew Perry, his co-star in the comedy The Whole 9 Yards and its sequel The Whole 10 Yards. Bruce Willis won a 2000 Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his work on Friends (in which he played the father of Ross Geller's much-younger girlfriend). Bruce Willis was also nominated for a 2001 American Comedy Award (in the Funniest Male Guest Appearance in a TV Series category) for his work on Friends. Bruce Willis was originally cast as Terry Benedict in Ocean's Eleven (2001) but dropped out to work on recording an album. In Ocean's Twelve (2004), he makes a cameo appearance as himself. Bruce Willis recently appeared in the Planet Terror half of the double feature Grindhouse as the villain, a mutant soldier. This marks Bruce Willis' 2nd collaboration with director Robert Rodriguez, following Sin City.

Bruce Willis has appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman several times throughout his career. Bruce Willis filled in for an ill David Letterman on his show 26 February, 2003, when he was supposed to be a guest. Bruce Willis interviewed Dan Rather in what he would later call "the most serious conversation of my entire life". On many of his appearances on the show, Bruce Willis stages elaborate jokes, such as wearing a day-glo orange suit in honour of the Central Park gates, having one side of his face made up with simulated buckshot wounds after the Harry Whittington shooting, or trying to break a record (parody of David Blaine) of staying underwater for only 20 seconds. On 12 April, 2007, he appeared again, this time wearing a Sanjaya Malakar wig. Bruce Willis' most recent appearance was on 25 June, 2007 when he appeared wearing a mini-turbine strapped to his head to accompany a joke about his own fictional documentary entitled An Unappealing Hunch (a wordplay of An Inconvenient Truth). Bruce Willis also appeared on Japanese Subaru Legacy television commercials, optimizing the car for sale, with the backing music of Jade from Sweetbox, "Addicted" and "Hate Without Frontiers". Tying in with this, Subaru did a limited run of Legacys, badged "Subaru Legacy Touring Bruce", in honour of Bruce Willis. Bruce Willis has appeared in 4 movies with Samuel L. Jackson (National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon 1, Pulp Fiction, Die Hard with a Vengeance, and Unbreakable) and both actors were slated to work together in Black Water Transit before dropping out. Bruce Willis also worked alongside his eldest daughter, Rumer, in the 2005 film Hostage. In 2007, he appeared in the thriller Perfect Stranger, opposite Halle Berry, the crime/drama film Alpha Dog, opposite Sharon Stone, and marked his return to the role of John McClane in Live Free or Die Hard.

Bruce Willis appeared on the 2008 Blues Traveler album North Hollywood Shootout, giving a spoken word performance over an instrumental blues-rock jam on the track "Free Willis (Ruminations from Behind Uncle Bob's Machine Shop)".

Bruce Willis' future projects include 3 other films that will debut between 2008 and 2009. Bruce Willis will join the Assassination of a High School President, which is a 2008 comedy where he will be a Catholic school principal and his real-life eldest daughter, Rumer, will star as a student investigating missing SAT tests. Bruce Willis' 2 2009 films will include the drama Morgan's Summit, where he will depict a late night radio host who promotes kindness, but changes his demeanor after a brutal crime causes him to seek revenge and The Last Full Measure, a drama film based on a true story about a Vietnam War veteran. Bruce Willis has also signed on to play Kane in a film adaptation of the game Kane & Lynch: Dead Men.

Bruce Willis was slated to play U.S. Army general William R. Peers in director Oliver Stone's Pinkville, a drama about the investigation of the 1968 My Lai massacre. However, due to the 2007 Writers Guild of America strike, the film was cancelled and Bruce Willis instead joined the film, The Surrogates, which is based on the comic books of the same name.

At the premiere for the film Stakeout, Bruce Willis met actress Demi Moore who was dating actor Emilio Estevez at the time. Bruce Willis married Demi Moore on 21 November, 1987 and had 3 daughters (Rumer Glenn Willis (born 1988), Scout LaRue Willis (1991) and Tallulah Belle Willis (1994)) before the couple divorced on 18 October, 2000. The couple gave no public reason for their breakup. Bruce Willis reacting on his divorce stated "I felt I had failed as a father and a husband by not being able to make it work" and credited actor Will Smith for helping him get through the divorce. Bruce Willis and Demi Moore currently share custody of the 3 daughters they had during their 13 year union. Since their breakup, rumors persisted that the couple planned to re-marry, but Demi Moore has since married the younger actor Ashton Kutcher. Bruce Willis has maintained a close relationship with both Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher, even attending their wedding. Since his divorce he has dated models Maria Bravo Rosado and Emily Sandberg and also was engaged to Brooke Burns, until they broke up in 2004 after dating for 10 months. In 2007, he was spotted dating Playboy Playmates Tamara Witmer and Karen McDougal on different occasions. Bruce Willis is currently dating girlfriend Emma Heming. Bruce Willis has expressed interest in getting married again and having more children.

Bruce Willis was, at one point, Lutheran (specifically Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod); but no longer practices, based on a statement he made in the July 1998 issue of George magazine:

“Organized religions in general, in my opinion, are dying forms", he says. "They were all very important when we didn't know why the sun moved, why weather changed, why hurricanes occurred, or volcanoes happened", he continues. "Modern religion is the end trail of modern mythology. But there are people who interpret the Bible literally. Literally!" he says incredulously. "I choose not to believe that's the way. And that's what makes America cool, you know?”

In early 2006, Bruce Willis, who usually lives in Los Angeles, moved into an apartment located in the Trump Tower in New York City. Bruce Willis also has a home in Malibu, California, a ranch in Montana, a beach home on Parrot Cay in the Turks and Caicos, and multiple properties in Sun Valley, Idaho.

Bruce Willis owns his own motion picture production company called Cheyenne Enterprises which he started with his business parter Arnold Rifkin in 2000. Bruce Willis also owns several small businesses in Hailey, Idaho including The Mint Bar and The Liberty Theater and is a co-founder of Planet Hollywood along with actors Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone. Bruce Willis' dog, a Yorkshire Terrier is named Wolf Fishbein ("Wolfie") after a character in the Woody Allen movie Deconstructing Harry.

Bruce Willis, an avid New Jersey Nets fan, made controversial comments on 29 April, 2007 during a live broadcast of a Nets home playoff game vs. the Toronto Raptors on TSN by saying a catch phrase from his Die Hard films, "Yipee-ki-yay motherfucker", at the end of the interview. Reacting to the backlash, he later blamed his actions on jet lag, stating: "Sometimes I overestimate my ability to function under duress with less than enough sleep".

On 5 May, 2007, someone using the screen name "Walter_B" started posting detailed responses onto Ain't it Cool News, where people were discussing the fact that Live Free or Die Hard received a PG-13 rating, instead of an R rating like the earlier 3 Die hard films.The responses included detailed information on Live Free or Die Hard, which was yet to be released; the theme of the Die Hard film series, direct criticisms of other movie crews and casts, and many movie trivia answers. "Walter_B" was Bruce Willis himself, directly posting his opinions. Many people were skeptical that "Walter_B" was indeed Bruce Willis, but on 9 May, Bruce Willis revealed his identity on a video chat session.

Bruce Willis is an avid fight fan and often attends boxing matches. Bruce Willis has attended both the Floyd Mayweather, Jr. v Ricky Hatton and Joe Calzaghe v Bernard Hopkins fights, which have come to be known as the 'British Invasion' fights, after the popularity of the 'British Invasion' bands of the 1960s to the late 1970s in America.

Having begun to suffer from Male Pattern Baldness at a relatively young age (his receding hairline is visibly starting by Die Hard), Bruce Willis chose to shave his head once the loss was too severe to stylistically hide. However, he has worn a hairpiece or a toupee for several of his roles - but only when the character is known to have hair (such as in Sin City). Bruce Willis is one of the very few actors in Hollywood who has not pursued hair replacement in his personal life, and this has endeared him to the millions of men who themselves suffer from hair loss.

Bruce Willis is close friends with Matthew Perry.

In 2007, Bruce Willis stated he was not in favour of war in Iraq, but instead liked, “to support the young men and women who are over there participating in the war.” Bruce Willis has endorsed every Republican presidential candidate except Bob Dole in 1996, because Dole had criticized Demi Moore for her role in the movie Striptease. Bruce Willis was an invited speaker at the 2000 Republican National Convention,and continues to vocally support gun ownership. Bruce Willis has criticized the religious right and its influence on the Republican party. In February 2006, Bruce Willis appeared in Manhattan to talk about 16 Blocks with reporters. One reporter attempted to ask Bruce Willis about his opinion on current events but was interrupted by Bruce Willis in mid-sentence:

“ I'm sick of answering this fucking question. I'm a Republican only as far as I want a smaller government, I want less government intrusion. I want them to stop shitting on my money and your money and tax dollars that we give 50 percent of... every year. I want them to be fiscally responsible and I want these goddamn lobbyists out of Washington. Do that and I'll say I'm a Republican... I hate the government, OK? I'm apolitical. Write that down. I'm not a Republican.”

In several June 2007 interviews, he declared that he still maintains some Republican ideologies but is currently an independent. In an interview for the June 2007 issue of Vanity Fair, Bruce Willis said he was skeptical that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in the assassination of John F. Kennedy, and suggested that some people involved in the assassination are still in power today.

In 2006, he proposed that the United States should invade Colombia in order to end the drug trafficking. In several interviews with USA Weekend, Bruce Willis has said that he supports large salaries for teachers, and says that he is disappointed in the United States' foster care and treatment of Native Americans. Bruce Willis also stated that he is a big supporter of gun rights:

"Everyone has a right to bear arms. If you take guns away from legal gun owners, then the only people who have guns are the bad guys." Even a pacifist, he insists, would get violent if someone were trying to kill him. "You would fight for your life."

Throughout his film career, Bruce Willis has depicted several military characters in films such as The Siege, Hart's War, Tears of the Sun, and Grindhouse. Growing up in a military family, Bruce Willis has been publicly supportive of the United States armed forces. In 2002, Bruce Willis' youngest daughter, Tallulah, suggested that he purchase Girl Scout cookies to send to troops. Bruce Willis purchased 12,000 boxes of cookies, and they were distributed to sailors aboard USS John F. Kennedy and other troops stationed throughout the Middle East at the time. In 2003, Bruce Willis visited Iraq as part of the USO tour, singing to the troops with his band, The Accelerators. Some reports from military officials suggest that Bruce Willis tried to enlist in the military to help fight the 2nd Iraq war, but he was turned away because of his age. It was believed he offered $1,000,000 to any civilian who turns in terrorist leaders Osama bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri, or Abu Musab al-Zarqawi; in the June 2007 issue of Vanity Fair, however, he clarified that the statement was made hypothetically and not meant to be taken literally. Bruce Willis has also criticized the media for its coverage of the war, complaining that the press were more likely to focus on the negative aspects of the war:

“I went to Iraq because what I saw when I was over there was soldiers — young kids for the most part — helping people in Iraq; helping getting the power turned back on, helping get hospitals open, helping get the water turned back on and you don't hear any of that on the news. You hear, 'X number of people were killed today,' which I think does a huge disservice. It's like spitting on these young men and women who are over there fighting to help this country.”

Bruce Willis has said that he wants to "make a pro-war film in which American soldiers will be depicted as brave fighters for freedom and democracy." The film will follow members of Deuce 4,the 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry, who spent considerable time in Mosul and were decorated heavily for it. The film is to be based on the writings of blogger Michael Yon, a former United States Army Special Forces Green Beret who was embedded with Deuce 4 and sent regular dispatches about their activities. Bruce Willis described the plot of the film as "these guys who do what they are asked for very little money to defend and fight for what they consider to be freedom." Bruce Willis does not appear to have spoken publicly about his plans for this movie since 2005.

Since March 2008,Bruce Willis has been playing the role of the 'Child Catcher' in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at the London Palladium.

In 1996, Roger Director, a writer and producer from Moonlighting wrote a roman à clef on Willis titled A Place to Fall. Cybill Shepherd wrote in her 2000 autobiography, Cybill Disobedience, that Bruce Willis was angry at Director, because the character was written as a "neurotic, petulant actor."

In 1998 Bruce Willis participated in Apocalypse, a Sony Playstation game. The game was originally announced to feature Bruce Willis but was soon discovered he appeared as a sidekick, not as the main character. The company reworked the game using Bruce Willis' likeness and voice and changed the game to use him as the main character.

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The End of Club Feet or Foot Series

I hope you have enjoyed reading about “What Is Club Foot or Feet Series” and of the Famous People that have or had suffered from Club Feet or Foot.

Sadly, we have come to the end of our “Club Feet or Foot Series”. We now begin our “Schizophrenia Series” so please enjoy reading.

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Club Feet or Foot Series-Disabled Legend George Gordon Byron

George Gordon Byron, later Noel, 6th Baron Byron FRS was born on 22 January 1788 and died on 19 April 1824. George Gordon Byron was an English poet and a leading figure in Romanticism.

Amongst George Gordon Byron's best-known works are the brief poems "She walks in beauty," and "So, we'll go no more a-roving," and the narrative poems Childe Harold's Pilgrimage and Don Juan. George Gordon Byron is regarded as one of the greatest European poets and remains widely read and influential, both in the English-speaking world and beyond.

George Gordon Byron's fame rests not only on his writings but also on his life, which featured extravagant living, numerous love affairs, debts, separation, and marital exploits. George Gordon Byron was famously described by Lady Caroline Lamb as "mad, bad, and dangerous to know."

George Gordon Byron served as a regional leader of Italy's revolutionary organisation the Carbonari in its struggle against Austria. George Gordon Byron later travelled to fight against the Ottoman Empire in the Greek War of Independence, for which Greeks revere him as a national hero. George Gordon Byron died from a fever in Messolonghi in Greece.

The mountain Lochnagar is the subject of one of George Gordon Byron's poems, in which he reminsces about his childhood. George Gordon Byron was born in a house on Hollis Street in London, the son of Captain John "Mad Jack" Byron and his 2nd wife, the former Catherine Gordon, heiress of Gight in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. George Gordon Byron's paternal grandparents were Vice-Admiral John "Foulweather Jack" Byron and Sophia Trevanion. Vice Admiral John Byron had circumnavigated the globe and was the younger brother of the 5th Baron Byron, known as "the Wicked Lord."

George Gordon Byron was christened George Gordon at St Marylebone Parish Church, after his maternal grandfather, George Gordon of Gight, a descendant of King James I. This grandfather committed suicide in 1779. George Gordon Byron's mother Catherine had to sell her land and title to pay her husband's debts. John Byron may have married Catherine for her money and, after squandering it, deserted her. Catherine regularly experienced mood swings and bouts of melancholy.

Catherine moved back to Scotland shortly afterward, where she raised her son in Aberdeen. On 21 May 1798, the death of George Gordon Byron's great-uncle, the "wicked" Lord Byron, made the 10-year-old the 6th Baron Byron, inheriting the title and estate, Newstead Abbey, in Nottinghamshire, England. George Gordon Byron's mother proudly took him to England. George Gordon Byron only lived at his estate infrequently as the Abbey was rented to Lord Grey de Ruthyn, among others, during George Gordon Byron's adolescence.

In August 1799, George Gordon Byron entered the school of William Glennie, an Aberdonian in Dulwich. George Gordon Byron would later say that around this time and beginning when he still lived in Scotland, his governess, May Gray, would come to bed with him at night and "play tricks with his person." According to George Gordon Byron, this "caused the anticipated melancholy of my thoughts--having anticipated life." Mary Gray was dismissed for allegedly beating George Gordon Byron when he was 11.

George Gordon Byron received his early formal education at Aberdeen Grammar School. In 1801 he was sent to Harrow, where he remained until July 1805. George Gordon Byron represented Harrow during the very 1st Eton v Harrow cricket match at Lord's in 1805. After school he went on to Trinity College, Cambridge.

George Gordon Byron's names changed throughout his life. George Gordon Byron was christened George Gordon Byron in London. "Gordon" was a baptismal name, not a surname, honouring his maternal grandfather. In order to claim his wife's estate in Scotland, George Gordon Byron's father took the additional surname Gordon, becoming John Byron Gordon, and he was occasionally styled John Byron Gordon of Gight. George Gordon Byron himself used this surname for a time and was registered at school in Aberdeen as George Byron Gordon. At the age of 10, he inherited the English Barony of Byron, becoming Lord Byron, and eventually dropped the double surname (though after this point his surname was hidden by his peerage in any event).

When George Gordon Byron's mother-in-law died, her will required that he change his surname to Noel in order to inherit half her estate, and so he obtained a Royal Warrant allowing him to "take and use the surname of Noel only". Very unusually, the Royal Warrant also allowed him to "subscribe the said surname of Noel before all titles of honour", and from that point he signed himself "Noel Byron" (the usual signature of a peer being merely the peerage, in this case simply "Byron"). George Gordon Byron was also sometimes referred to as Lord Noel Byron, as if "Noel" were part of his title, and likewise his wife was sometimes called Lady Noel Byron. Lady Byron eventually succeeded to the Barony of Wentworth, becoming Lady Wentworth; her surname before marriage had been "Milbanke".

While not at school or college, George Gordon Byron lived with his mother at Burgage Manor in Southwell, Nottinghamshire, in some antagonism. While there, he cultivated friendships with Elizabeth Pigot and her brother, John, with whom he staged 2 plays for the delight of the community.

During this time, with the help of Elizabeth Pigot, who copied many of his rough drafts, he was encouraged to write his 1st volumes of poetry. Fugitive Pieces was the 1st, printed by Ridge of Newark, which contained poems written when George Gordon Byron was only 14. However, it was promptly recalled and burned on the advice of his friend, the Reverend Thomas Becher, on account of its more amorous verses, particularly the poem "To Mary". Pieces on Various Occasions, a "miraculously chaste" revision according to George Gordon Byron, was published after this.

Hours of Idleness, which collected many of the previous poems, along with more recent compositions, was the culminating book. The savage criticism this received— anonymously, but now known to be the work of Henry Peter Brougham— in the Edinburgh Review prompted his 1st major satire, "English Bards and Scotch Reviewers". The work so upset some of these critics they challenged George Gordon Byron to a duel.

Some early verses which George Gordon Byron had published in 1806 were suppressed. George Gordon Byron followed those in 1807 with Hours of Idleness, which the Edinburgh Review, a Whig periodical, savagely attacked. In reply, George Gordon Byron sent 4th English Bards and Scotch Reviewers (1809), which created considerable stir and shortly went through 5 editions. While some authors resented being satirized in its 1st edition, over time in subsequent editions it became a mark of prestige to be the target of George Gordon Byron's pen.

After his return from his travels, the 1st 2 cantos of Childe Harold's Pilgrimage were published in 1812, and were received with acclaim, making George Gordon Byron famous overnight. In his own words, "I awoke one morning and found myself famous." George Gordon Byron followed up his success with the poem's last 2 cantos, as well as 4 equally celebrated Oriental Tales, The Giaour, The Bride of Abydos, The Corsair, and Lara, which established the Byronic hero. About the same time, he began his intimacy with his future biographer, Thomas Moore.

A more complete picture of George Gordon Byron's personal life has only been possible in recent years with the freeing up of the archive of John Murray, George Gordon Byron's original publishers, which had formerly withheld compromising letters and instructed at least 1 major biographer (Leslie A. Marchand, 1957) to censor details of his bisexuality.

George Gordon Byron's 1st loves included Mary Duff and Margaret Parker, his distant cousins, and Mary Chaworth, whom he met while at Harrow. George Gordon Byron later wrote that his passion for Mary Duff began when he was "not [yet] 8 years old" and was still unforgettable in 1813. George Gordon Byron refused to return to Harrow in September 1803 due to his love for Mary Chaworth; his mother wrote, "He has no indisposition that I know of but love, desperate love, the worst of all maladies in my opinion. In short, the boy is distractedly in love with Miss Chaworth." In George Gordon Byron’s later memoirs, "Mary Chaworth is portrayed as the 1st object of his adult sexual feelings"

George Gordon Byron returned to Harrow in January 1804 to a more settled period which saw the formation of a circle of emotional involvements with other Harrow boys recalled with great vividness: 'My School friendships were with me passions (for I was always violent).' The most enduring of those was with the young Earl of Clare - 4years George Gordon Byron's junior - whom he was to meet unexpectedly many years later in Italy (1821), to great intensity of feeling. George Gordon Byron's nostalgic poems about his Harrow friendships, ‘Childish Recollections’ (1806), express a sense of melancholy at the passing of youthful freedoms, even a prescient ‘consciousness of sexual differences that may in the end make England untenable to him.’

“Ah! Sure some stronger impulse vibrates here,
Which whispers friendship will be doubly dear
To one, who thus for kindred hearts must roam,
And seek abroad, the love denied at home."

While at Trinity, he met and formed a close friendship with a 15 year old choirboy by the name of John Edleston. About his "protégé" he wrote, "He has been my almost constant associate since October, 1805, when I entered Trinity College. George Gordon Byron's voice 1st attracted my attention, his countenance fixed it, and his manners attached me to him for ever." In his memory George Gordon Byron composed Thyrza, a series of elegies. George Gordon Byron wore a ring of Edleston's for the 13years until he died. In later years he described the affair as ‘a violent, though pure love and passion’. This however has to be read in the context of hardening public attitudes to homosexuality in England and the severe sanctions (including public hanging) against convicted or suspected offenders. The liaison on the other hand may well have been ‘pure’ out of respect for Edleston’s innocence, in contrast to the (probably) more sexually overt relations experienced at Harrow School.

In an early scandal, George Gordon Byron embarked in 1812 on a well-publicised affair with the married Lady Caroline Lamb that shocked the British public. George Gordon Byron eventually broke off the relationship, but Lady Caroline Lamb never entirely recovered, pursuing him even after he tired of her. Lady Caroline Lamb was emotionally disturbed and lost so much weight that George Gordon Byron cruelly commented to her mother-in-law, his friend Lady Melbourne, that he was "haunted by a skeleton." Lady Caroline Lamb began to call on him at home, sometimes dressed in disguise as a page boy, at a time when such an act could ruin both of them socially. One day, during such a visit, she wrote on a book at his desk, "Remember me!" As a retort, George Gordon Byron wrote a poem beginning: "Remember thee!" and ending "Thou false to him, thou fiend to me." Lady Caroline Lamb famously said George Gordon Byron was "mad, bad, and dangerous to know."

As a child, George Gordon Byron had seen little of his half-sister Augusta Leigh; in adulthood, he formed a close relationship with her that has been interpreted by some as incestuous and by others as innocent. Augusta Leigh gave birth on 15 April 1814 to a daughter, Elizabeth Medora Leigh.

Eventually George Gordon Byron began to court Lady Caroline's cousin Anne Isabella Milbanke ("Annabella"), who refused his 1st proposal of marriage but later accepted. They married at Seaham Hall, County Durham, on 2 January 1815. The marriage proved unhappy. George Gordon Byron treated her poorly and showed disappointment at the birth of daughter (Augusta Ada), rather than a son. On 16 January 1816, Lady Byron left him, taking Ada with her. On 21 April, George Gordon Byron signed the Deed of Separation. Rumours of marital violence, adultery with actresses, incest with Augusta Leigh, and sodomy were circulated, assisted by a jealous Lady Caroline. In a letter, Augusta quoted him as saying: "Even to have such a thing said is utter destruction & ruin to a man from which he can never recover."

George Gordon Byron racked up numerous debts as a young adult due to what his mother termed a reckless disregard for money. George Gordon Byron's mother Catherine lived at Newstead during this time, in fear of her son's creditors.

From 1809 to 1811, George Gordon Byron went on the Grand Tour then customary for a young nobleman. The Napoleonic Wars forced him to avoid most of Europe, and he instead turned to the Mediterranean. Correspondence among his circle of Cambridge friends also suggests that a key motive was the hope of homosexual experience, and other theories saying that he was worried about a possible dalliance with the married Mary Chatsworth, his former love (the subject of his poem from this time, "To a Lady: On Being Asked My Reason for Quitting England in the Spring.")George Gordon Byron travelled from England over Spain to Albania and spent time at the court of Ali Pasha of Ioannina, and in Athens. For most of the trip, he had a traveling companion in his friend John Cam Hobhouse.

While in Athens, George Gordon Byron had a torrid love affair with Nicolò Giraud, a boy of 15 or 16 who was teaching him Italian. George Gordon Byron sent Giraud to school at a monastery in Malta and bequeathed him £7,000 sterling – almost double what he was later to spend refitting the Greek fleet. The will, however, was later cancelled.

After this break-up of his domestic life George Gordon Byron again left England, forever as it turned out. George Gordon Byron passed through Belgium and continued up the Rhine River. In the summer of 1816 he settled at the Villa Diodati by Lake Geneva, Switzerland with his personal physician, John William Polidori. There George Gordon Byron befriended the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, and Percy Bysshe Shelley's future wife Mary Godwin. George Gordon Byron was also joined by Mary's stepsister, Claire Clairmont, with whom he had had an affair in London. George Gordon Byron initially refused to have anything to do with Claire Clairmont, and would only agree to remain in her presence with the Shelleys, who eventually persuaded George Gordon Byron to accept and provide for Allegra, the child she bore him in January 1817.

Kept indoors at the Villa Diodati by the "incessant rain" of "that wet, ungenial summer" over 3 days in June, the 5 turned to reading fantastical stories, including "Fantasmagoriana", and then devising their own tales. Mary Shelley produced what would become Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus and Polidori was inspired by a fragmentary story of George Gordon Byron's to produce The Vampyre, the progenitor of the romantic vampire genre. George Gordon Byron's story fragment was published as a postscript to Mazeppa; he also wrote the 3rd canto of Childe Harold. George Gordon Byron wintered in Venice, pausing his travels when he fell in love with Marianna Segati, in whose Venice house he was lodging, and who was soon replaced by 22-year-old Margarita Cogni; both women were married. Margarita Cogni could not read or write, and she left her husband to move into George Gordon Byron's Venice house. Their fighting often caused George Gordon Byron to spend the night in his gondola; when he asked her to leave the house, she threw herself into the Venetian canal.

In 1817, he journeyed to Rome. On returning to Venice, he wrote the 4th canto of Childe Harold. About the same time, he sold Newstead and published Manfred, Cain, and The Deformed Transformed. The 1st 5 cantos of Don Juan were written between 1818 and 1820, during which period he made the acquaintance of the young Countess Guiccioli, who found her first love in George Gordon Byron, who in turn asked her to elope with him. It was about this time that he received a visit from Thomas Moore, to whom he confided his autobiography or "life and adventures," which Thomas Moore, Hobhouse and George Gordon Byron's publisher, John Murray, burned in 1824, a month after George Gordon Byron's death.

George Gordon Byron had a child with Anne Isabella Milbanke ("Annabella"), who was Augusta Ada Byron, Lady Byron, later Lady Wentworth:

The Hon. Ada Augusta Byron (10 December 1815-29 November 1852), later Countess of Lovelace

Ada Lovelace, notable in her own right, collaborated with Charles Babbage on the analytical engine, a predecessor to modern computers.

George Gordon Byron also had 1 illegitimate child with Claire Clairmont, stepsister of Mary Shelley and stepdaughter of Political Justice and Caleb Williams writer, William Godwin:

Clara Allegra Noel-Byron (12 January 1817-20 April 1822).
Allegra is not entitled to the style "The Hon." as is usually given to the daughter of barons since she was illegitimate. Born in Switzerland in 1817, Allegra lived with George Gordon Byron for a few months in Venice; he refused to allow an Englishwoman caring for the girl to adopt her, nor for her to be raised in the Shelleys' household. George Gordon Byron wished for her to be brought up Catholic and not marry an Englishman. George Gordon Byron made arrangements for her to inherit 5,000 lira upon marriage or reaching age 21, provided she did not marry a native of Britain. However, the girl died at 5 years old of a fever in Bagna Cavallo, Italy while George Gordon Byron was in Pisa; he was deeply upset by the news. George Gordon Byron had Allegra's body sent back to England to be buried at his old school, Harrow, because Protestants could not be buried in consecrated ground in Catholic countries. At one time he himself had wanted to be buried at Harrow. George Gordon Byron was indifferent towards Allegra's mother, Claire Clairmont.

George Gordon Byron eventually took his seat in the House of Lords in 1811, shortly after his return from the Levant, and made his 1st speech there on 27 February 1812. A strong advocate of social reform, he received particular praise as one of the few Parliamentary defenders of the Luddites: specifically, he was against a death penalty for Luddite "frame breakers" in Nottinghamshire, who destroyed textile machines that were putting them out of work. George Gordon Byron's 1st speech before the Lords was loaded with sarcastic references to the "benefits" of automation, which he saw as producing inferior material as well as putting people out of work. George Gordon Byron said later that he "spoke very violent sentences with a sort of modest impudence" and thought he came across as "a bit theatrical". In another Parliamentary speech he expressed opposition to the established religion because it was unfair to people of other faiths. These experiences inspired George Gordon Byron to write political poems such as "Song for the Luddites" (1816) and "The Landlords' Interest" (1823). Examples of poems in which he attacked his political opponents include "Wellington: The Best of the Cut-Throats" (1819) and "The Intellectual Eunuch Castlereagh" (1818).

Ultimately, George Gordon Byron resolved to escape the censure of British society (due to his perceived sodomy and allegations of incest) by living abroad, thereby freeing himself of the need to conceal his sexual interests. George Gordon Byron left England in 1816 and did not return for the last 8 years of his life, even to bury his daughter.

In 1816, George Gordon Byron visited Saint Lazarus Island in Venice where he acquainted himself with Armenian culture through the Mekhitarist Order. George Gordon Byron learned the Armenian language from Fr. H. Avgerian and attended many seminars about language and history. George Gordon Byron wrote "English grammar and the Armenian" in 1817, and "Armenian grammar and the English" (1819) in which he quoted samples from classical and modern Armenian. George Gordon Byron participated in the compilation of "English Armenian dictionary" (1821) and wrote the preface where he explained the relationship of the Armenians with and the oppression of the Turkish "pashas" and the Persian satraps, and their struggle of liberation. George Gordon Byron's 2 main translations are the "Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians", several chapters of Khorenatsi's "Armenian History" and sections of Lambronatsi's "Orations". When in Polis he discovered discrepancies in the Armenian vs. the English version of the Bible and translated some passages that were either missing or deficient in the English version. George Gordon Byron's fascination was so great that he even considered a replacement of Cain story of the Bible with that of the legend of Armenian patriarch Haik. George Gordon Byron may be credited with the birth of Armenology and its propagation. George Gordon Byron's profound lyricism and ideological courage has inspired many Armenian poets, the likes of Fr. Ghevond Alishan, Smbat Shahaziz, Hovhannes Tumanyan, Ruben Vorberian and others.

George Gordon Byron had a bust sculpted of him by Bertel Thorvaldsen at this time.

In 1821 to 1822, he finished Cantos 6–12 of Don Juan at Pisa, and in the same year he joined with Leigh Hunt and Percy Bysshe Shelley in starting a short-lived newspaper, The Liberal, in the first number of which appeared "The Vision of Judgment." George Gordon Byron's last Italian home was Genoa, where he was still accompanied by the Countess Guiccioli, and where he met Charles John Gardiner, 1st Earl of Blessington and Marguerite, Countess of Blessington and provided the material for her work Conversations with Lord Byron, an important text in the reception of George Gordon Byron in the period immediately after his death.

George Gordon Byron lived in Genoa until 1823 when— growing bored with his life there and with the Countess — he accepted overtures for his support from representatives of the movement for Greek independence from the Ottoman Empire. On 16July, George Gordon Byron left Genoa on the Hercules, arriving at Kefalonia in the Ionian Islands on 4 August. George Gordon Byron spent £4000 of his own money to refit the Greek fleet, then sailed for Messolonghi in western Greece, arriving on 29December to join Alexandros Mavrokordatos, a Greek politician with military power. During this time, George Gordon Byron pursued his Greek page, Lukas Chalandritsanos, but the affections went unrequited. When the famous Danish sculptor Thorvaldsen heard about George Gordon Byron's heroics in Greece, he voluntarily resculpted his earlier bust of George Gordon Byron in Greek marble.

Alexandros Mavrokordatos and George Gordon Byron planned to attack the Turkish-held fortress of Lepanto, at the mouth of the Gulf of Corinth. George Gordon Byron employed a fire-master to prepare artillery and took part of the rebel army under his own command and pay, despite his lack of military experience, but before the expedition could sail, on 15 February 1824, he fell ill, and the usual remedy of bleeding weakened him further. George Gordon Byron made a partial recovery, but in early April he caught a violent cold which the bleeding — insisted on by his doctors — aggravated. The cold became a violent fever, and he died on 19 April. It has been said that had George Gordon Byron lived, he might have been declared King of Greece.

Lord Byron on his deathbed as depicted by Joseph-Denis Odevaere c.1826 Oil on canvas, 166 × 234.5 cm Groeninge Museum, Bruges. Note the sheet covering his misshapen right foot.Alfred, Lord Tennyson would later recall the shocked reaction in Britain when word was received of Lord Byron's death. The Greeks mourned Lord Byron deeply, and he became a hero. The national poet of Greece, Dionysios Solomos, wrote a poem about his unexpected loss, named "To the Death of Lord Byron." Βύρων (Vyron), the Greek form of "Byron", continues in popularity as a masculine name in Greece, and a suburb of Athens is called Vyronas in his honour.

Lord Byron's body was embalmed, but the Greeks wanted some part of their hero to stay with them. According to some sources, his heart remained at Messolonghi. According to others, it was his lungs, which were placed in an urn that was later lost when the city was sacked. Lord Byron's other remains were sent to England for burial in Westminster Abbey, but the Abbey refused for reason of "questionable morality." Huge crowds viewed his body as he lay in state for 2 days in London. Lord Byron is buried at the Church of St. Mary Magdalene in Hucknall, Nottingham.

At her request, Ada Lovelace, the child he never knew, was buried next to him. In later years, the Abbey allowed a duplicate of a marble slab given by the King of Greece, which is laid directly above Lord Byron's grave. Lord Byron's friends raised the sum of £1,000 to commission a statue of the writer; Thorvaldsen offered to sculpt it for that amount. However, when the statue was completed in 1834, most British institutions it was offered to turned it down for more than 10 years as it remained in storage-- the British Museum, St. Paul's Cathedral, Westminster Abbey and the National Gallery in turn. Trinity College, Cambridge finally placed the statue of Lord Byron in its library.

In 1969, 145 years after Lord Byron's death, a memorial to him was finally placed in Westminster Abbey. The memorial had been lobbied for since 1907; The New York Times wrote, "People are beginning to ask whether this ignoring of Lord Byron is not a thing of which England should be ashamed... a bust or a tablet might put in the Poets' Corner and England be relieved of ingratitude toward one of her really great sons."

Upon his death, the barony passed to a cousin, George Anson Byron, a career military officer and George Gordon Byron's polar opposite in temperament and lifestyle.

In 1833 his publisher, John Murray, released the complete works in 17 duodecimo volumes, including a life by Thomas Moore.

Although George Gordon Byron falls chronologically into the period most commonly associated with Romantic poetry, much of his work looks back to the satiric tradition of Alexander Pope and John Dryden. The most striking thing about George Gordon Byron’s poetry is its strength and masculinity. Trenchantly witty, he used unflowery and colloquial language in many poems, such as "Written after Swimming from Sestos to Abydos." George Gordon Byron's talent for drama was expressed in the vibrantly galloping rhythms of "The Destruction of Sennacherib." However, poems such as "When We Two Parted" and "So We’ll Go No More A-Roving" express strong feelings in simple and touching language. George Gordon Byron made little use of imagery and did not aspire to write of things beyond this world; the Victorian critic John Ruskin wrote of him that he "spoke only of what he had seen and known; and spoke without exaggeration, without mystery, without enmity, and without mercy."

George Gordon Byron's attitude towards writing poetry is summed up well in a letter to Thomas Moore on 5th July 1821:

I can never get people to understand that poetry is the expression of excited passion, and that there is no such thing as a life of passion any more than a continuous earthquake, or an eternal fever. Besides, who would ever shave themselves in such a state?

George Gordon Byron's magnum opus, Don Juan, a poem spanning 17 cantos, ranks as one of the most important long poems published in England since Milton's Paradise Lost. The masterpiece, often called the epic of its time, has roots deep in literary tradition and, although regarded by early Victorians as somewhat shocking, equally involves itself with its own contemporary world at all levels—social, political, literary and ideological.

George Gordon Byron published the 1st 2 cantos anonymously in 1819 after disputes with his regular publisher over the shocking nature of the poetry; by this time, he had been a famous poet for 7 years and when he self-published the beginning cantos, they were well-received in some quarters. It was then released volume by volume through his regular publishing house. By 1822, cautious acceptance by the public had turned to outrage, and George Gordon Byron's publisher refused to continue to publish the works. In Canto III of "Don Juan," Byron expresses his detestation for poets such as William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge.

The figure of the Byronic hero pervades much of his work, and George Gordon Byron himself is considered to epitomize many of the characterestics of this literary figure. Scholars have traced the literary history of the Byronic hero from John Milton, and many authors and artists of the Romantic movement show George Gordon Byron's influence during the 19th century and beyond, including Charlotte and Emily Bronte. The Byronic hero presents an idealised but flawed character whose attributes include: having great talent, exhibiting great passion, having a distaste for society and social institutions, expressing a lack of respect for rank and privilege, thwarted in love by social constraint or death, rebelling, suffering exile, hiding an unsavoury past, arrogance, overconfidence or lack of foresight, and ultimately, acting in a self-destructive manner.

George Gordon Byron was a bitter opponent of Lord Elgin's removal of the Parthenon marbles from Greece, and "reacted with fury" when Elgin's agent gave him a tour of the Parthenon in which he saw the missing friezes and metopes. George Gordon Byron penned a poem, "The Curse of Minerva," to denounce Elgin's actions.

Lord Byron, by all accounts, had a magnetic personality. Lord Byron obtained a reputation as being extravagant, melancholy, courageous, unconventional, eccentric, flamboyant and controversial. Lord Byron was independent and given to extremes of temper; on at least 1 trip, his traveling companions were so puzzled by his mood swings they thought he was mentally ill. Lord Byron enjoyed adventure, especially relating to the sea.

Lord Byron believed his depression was inherited, and he wrote in 1821, "I am not sure that long life is desirable for one of my temper & constitutional depression of Spirits."

Lord Byron was noted even during his time for the extreme loyalty he inspired in his friends. Cam Hobhouse said, "No man lived who had such devoted friends."

George Gordon Byron's adult height was about 5'10", his weight fluctuating between 9 1/2 to 14 stone (133–196 pounds). George Gordon Byron was renowned for his personal beauty, which he enhanced by wearing curl-papers in his hair at night. George Gordon Byron was athletic, being competent at boxing and an excellent swimmer. At Harrow, he played cricket despite his lameness.

From birth, George Gordon Byron suffered from an unknown deformity of his right foot, causing a limp that resulted in lifelong misery for him, aggravated by the suspicion that with proper care it might have been cured. However, he refused to wear any type of mechanical device that could improve the limp, although he often wore specially made shoes that would hide the deformed foot.

Lord Byron and other writers such as his friend John Cam Hobhouse left detailed descriptions of his eating habits. From the time that he entered Cambridge he went on a strict diet to control his weight. Lord Byron also exercised a great deal and at that time wore a great number of clothes to cause himself to perspire. For most of his life he was a vegetarian and often lived for days on dry biscuits and white wine. Occasionally he would eat large helpings of meat and desserts, after which he would purge himself. George Gordon Byron's friend Cam Hobhouse claimed that when he became overweight, the pain of his deformed foot made it difficult for him to exercise.

George Gordon Byron is considered to be the 1st modern-style celebrity. George Gordon Byron's image as his own Byronic hero personified fascinated the public, and his wife Annabella coined the term "Byromania" to refer to the mania surrounding him. George Gordon Byron's self-awareness and personal promotion are seen as a beginning to what would become the modern rock star; he would instruct artists painting portraits of him not to paint him with pen or book in hand, but as a "man of action."

While George Gordon Byron first welcomed fame, he later turned away from it by going into voluntary exile from Britain.

George Gordon Byron had a great fondness for animals, most famously for a Newfoundland dog named Boatswain; when Boatswain contracted rabies, George Gordon Byron reportedly nursed him without any fear of becoming bitten and infected. Boatswain lies buried at Newstead Abbey and has a monument larger than his master's. George Gordon Byron at one point expressed interest in being buried next to Boatswain. The inscription, Byron's "Epitaph to a Dog," has become one of his best-known works, reading in part:

Near this Spot
are deposited the Remains of one
who possessed Beauty without Vanity,
Strength without Insolence,
Courage without Ferosity,
and all the Virtues of Man without his Vices.
This praise, which would be unmeaning Flattery
if inscribed over human Ashes,
is but a just tribute to the Memory of
BOATSWAIN, a DOG,
who was born in Newfoundland May 1803,
and died at Newstead Nov.r 18th, 1808.
George Gordon Byron also kept a bear while he was a student at Trinity College, Cambridge (reputedly out of resentment of Trinity rules forbidding pet dogs—he later suggested that the bear apply for a college fellowship). At other times in his life, George Gordon Byron kept a fox, monkeys, a parrot, cats, an eagle, a crow, a crocodile, a falcon, peacocks, guinea hens, an Egyptian crane, a badger, geese, and a heron.

The re-founding of the Byron Society in 1971 reflects the fascination that many people have for George Gordon Byron and his work. This society has become very active, publishing a learned annual journal. Today some 36 International Byron Societies function throughout the world, and an International Conference takes place annually. Hardly a year passes without a new book about the poet appearing. In the last 20 years, two new feature films about him have screened, and a television play has been broadcast.

George Gordon Byron exercised a marked influence on Continental literature and art, and his reputation as a poet is higher in many European countries than in Britain or America, although not as high as in his time, when he was widely thought to be the greatest poet in the world. George Gordon Byron has inspired the works of Franz Liszt and Giuseppe Verdi.

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Club Feet or Foot Series-Disabled Legend Miguel Riffo

Miguel Augusto Riffo Garay was born on 21 June, 1981. Miguel Riffo is a Chilean footballer, who plays defender currently for Colo-Colo. Miguel Riffo started his career in the youth system of Colo-Colo and has stayed with them throughout his career. Miguel Riffo captains Colo-Colo at times. Miguel Riffo also has represented the Chilean national team on several occasions. Miguel Riffo played in 1 game in the Copa América 2007 versus Brazil in which he caused a penalty kick. Later in the match Miguel Riffo was injured for the tournament.

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Club Feet or Foot Series-Disabled Legend Mia Hamm

Mia Hamm was born Mariel Margaret Hamm on 17 March, 1972 in Selma, Alabama, USA. Mia Hamm is a former American soccer player. Playing for many years as a forward for the United States women's national soccer team, she scored more international goals in her career than any other player, male or female, in the history of the sport (158).

Mia Hamm eventually became one of the most famous women athletes in the world, an iconic symbol of women's sports, and an inspiration and role model to a generation of sports-minded girls. Mia Hamm was named the women's FIFA World Player of the Year the 1st 2 times that award was given (in 2001 and 2002), and is listed as one of FIFA's 100 best living players (as chosen by Pelé). Washington Post columnist Michael Wilbon called Mia Hamm, "Perhaps the most important athlete of the last 15 years."

Mia Hamm retired from the sport in 2004, when she played her last game in the 2004 Fan Celebration Tour to commemorate the US's Women's National team's victory in the 2004 Olympics. In 2007, her 1st year of eligibility, she was selected for induction into the National Soccer Hall of Fame by having 137 votes of the 141 ballots cast. Women's Professional Soccer, a professional soccer league that plans to launch in 2009, features Mia Hamm's silhouette in its logo.

Mia Hamm was inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame on 11 March, 2008.

Mia Hamm is the author of Go For the Goal: A Champion's Guide to Winning in Soccer and Life (Harper Collins, 1999). Mia Hamm appeared in the HBO documentary Dare to Dream: The Story of the U.S. Women's Soccer Team.

Mia Hamm spent her childhood on Air Force bases with her parents Bill and Stephanie Hamm and her 5 siblings. Mia Hamm played organised sports from a very young age, and at the age of 15 she joined the U.S. National Team, becoming the youngest ever to play for them.

Mia Hamm attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she helped the Tar Heels to 4 NCAA women's championships in 5 years (she sat out the season of 1991 to concentrate on the 1991 FIFA Women's World Cup in China). North Carolina only lost 1 game in 95 she played. Mia Hamm was an All-American and Atlantic Coast Conference player of the year for her last 3 years. Mia Hamm also won ACC Female Athlete of the Year in 1993 and 1994.

In 1991, when the women's national team won the FIFA Women's World Cup for the first time, Mia Hamm became the youngest American woman to win a World Cup championship at the age of 19.

In 1993, she was a member of the U.S. women's national college team that played in the 1993 Summer Universiade and lost to China, obtaining the silver medal. Mia Hamm was the leading scorer with 6 goals. Mia Hamm graduated from college with the all-time records for her conference in goals with 103, assists with 72, and total points with 278.

On 22 May, 1999 Mia Hamm broke the all-time international goal record with her 108th goal in a game against Brazil in Orlando, Florida.

In 1999, Nike named the largest building on their corporate campus after Mia Hamm, and that same year she, and the rest of the women on the national team became world champions again by winning the FIFA Women's World Cup. The final match surpassed the Atlanta Olympic final as the most-attended women's sports event, with over 90,000 filling the Rose Bowl.

Also in 1999, Mia Hamm began the Mia Hamm Foundation, dedicated to help with bone marrow research and to help women's sports programmes progress. Mia Hamm was inspired to create her foundation by her adoptive brother and original athletic inspiration, Garrett, an Amerasian who died of a bone marrow disease shortly after the 1996 Olympics. Mia Hamm had a friendly game the next day and all the members of her team wore a black armband in memory of her brother.

On 14 May, 2004, she announced her retirement effective after the 2004 Summer Olympics, expressing an interest in starting a family with her husband, Nomar Garciaparra.

In March 2004, Mia Hamm and former U.S.A. teammate Michelle Akers were the only 2 women, and the only 2 Americans, named to the FIFA 100, a list of the 125 greatest living soccer players selected by Pelé and commissioned by FIFA for that organisation's 100th anniversary.

In a friendly game against Australia on 21 July, 2004 Mia Hamm scored her 151st international goal; she has long held the record in that category for any player, male or female. This match also marked her 259th international appearance; only her teammate Kristine Lilly has played in more internationals.

Mia Hamm helped lead Team USA to a gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics and was also chosen by her fellow U.S. Olympians to carry the American flag at the Athens Closing Ceremonies. After the Olympics, Mia Hamm and her teammates went on a "farewell tour" of the United States, which finished on 8 December, 2004 against Mexico at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California. In the game, which the U.S. won 5-0, Mia Hamm assisted on 2 of the goals. Mia Hamm is 1 of 3 longtime national team members who announced their retirement from international play at the end of the tour; the others are longtime captain Julie Foudy and Joy Fawcett (Fawcett did not play due to back surgery after the Olympics). Mia Hamm retired with 158 international goals at the age of 32.

Mia Hamm was first married on 17 December, 1994 to her college sweetheart Christian Corry, a U.S. Marine Corps pilot, but their marriage was strained by long absences (his as a military aviator and hers in international soccer), and they divorced in 2001.

Mia Hamm married then-Boston Red Sox Shortstop, current Los Angeles Dodger Shortstop Nomar Garciaparra on 22 November, 2003 in Goleta, California in a private ceremony. A few hundred guests attended. On 27 March, 2007 she gave birth to twin girls, Grace Isabella and Ava Caroline. Though born 5 weeks early, each girl weighed over 5 pounds at birth. Twins run in both Mia Hamm and Nomar Garciaparra's families.

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Club Feet or Foot Series-Disabled Legend Charles Woodson

Charles Woodson was born on 7 October, 1976 in Fremont, Ohio, USA. Charles Woodson is an American football cornerback for the Green Bay Packers. Charles Woodson played college football at the University of Michigan for the Michigan Wolverines. In 1997, Charles Woodson led the Wolverines to a split national championship. Charles Woodson is the only primarily defensive player to have won the Heisman Trophy.

Charles Woodson was selected by the Oakland Raiders with the fourth pick in the 1st round of the 1998 NFL Draft. In his first season with Oakland, Woodson was selected as the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year by the Associated Press. Charles Woodson was named to the Pro Bowl and earned All-Pro recognition 3 times (1999-2001). Charles Woodson later battled several nagging injuries in consecutive seasons in Oakland leading to his departure and becoming a free agent after the 2005 NFL season.

On 26 April, 2006, Charles Woodson signed a 7 year, $52,000,000 contract with the Green Bay Packers. In his first season in Green Bay Charles Woodson was able to avoid injury and showcased the talent that made him the #4 overall pick from the 1998NFL draft. Not only did Charles Woodson have the opportunity to return punts with the Packers, but he also led the National Football Conference with 8 interceptions, surpassing his previous career high of 5 interceptions set as a rookie. In his second season in Green Bay, the injury problems returned and Charles Woodson was forced to sit out 2 games.

As a senior at Fremont Ross High School Charles Woodson was named Ohio's "Mr. Football." Charles Woodson finished his high school career with the school's records for rushing yards (3,861) and scoring (466 points). In his senior season he was a USA Today All-America selection and recorded 2,028 yards and 230 points. In addition to playing football, Charles Woodson also played basketball and ran track.

Charles Woodson played college football at the University of Michigan. Charles Woodson became the starter after the 2nd game of his freshman season and played in 34straight games. In addition to playing cornerback, he returned punts and occasionally played as a wide receiver. Charles Woodson was selected as the Big 10 Freshman of the Year in 1995. Charles Woodson was also named to the All-Big 10 1st Team by conference coaches, and 2nd Team All-Big 10 by the media. Charles Woodson led the team with 5 interceptions and 8 takeaways.

In 1996, Charles Woodson set a Wolverine record for pass breakups with 15. For his efforts, he was named the Chevrolet Defensive Player of the Year and an AP First Team All-American. Charles Woodson was also a finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award and named to All-Big 10 First Team by conference coaches and the media.

In his junior season in 1997, Charles Woodson became the 3rd Michigan player to win the Heisman Trophy, joining Tom Harmon (1941) and Desmond Howard (1991). Charles Woodson received 282 more voting points than runner-up Peyton Manning. Charles Woodson was the 1st and is still the only primarily defensive player to win the prestigious award. Charles Woodson led the Michigan Wolverines to an undefeated season and a share of the national championship in the same year. Charles Woodson also won the Bronko Nagurski Trophy as the best defensive college player. Charles Woodson was named to the All-Big 10 1st-Team for the 3rd year and 1st-Team All-American for the 2nd year. It was also his 2nd year winning the Chevrolet Defensive Player of the Year award and Big 10 Defensive Player of the Year. Charles Woodson won the Jim Thorpe Award, an award which he was nominated for the previous year.

Throughout college, Charles Woodson was known for big plays in big moments of a game. As a freshman he had 2 interceptions in a victory against the #2-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes. During his Heisman-winning junior year, he made an acrobatic one-handed sideline interception against the Michigan State Spartans. Charles Woodson had 2 interceptions in the game. In a game against Ohio State, he returned a punt for a touchdown, made an interception in the end-zone, and had a 37-yard reception that led to Michigan's only offensive touchdown of the game. The win lifted Michigan to the Rose Bowl. Michigan played the Washington State Cougars in the Rose Bowl. Charles Woodson recorded an interception in the game, helping Michigan defeat the Cougars and win a share of the 1997 NCAA Division I-A championship. In 2007, Charles Woodson was ranked #11 on ESPN's Top 25 Players In College Football History list.

Charles Woodson declared his eligibility for the NFL Draft following his junior season at Michigan and was selected 4th overall in the 1st round of the 1998 Draft by the Oakland Raiders. After Woodson's 1st season in the NFL he was named The NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year by the Associated Press. Charles Woodson started all 16 games, becoming the 1st rookie Raider since 1971 to do so. Charles Woodson had 64 tackles that season, leading the NFL for defensive backs. Charles Woodson was 3rd in the league in interceptions with 5 and also recorded 1 interception return for a touchdown as well as 1 forced fumble. Charles Woodson was named to his 1st Pro Bowl. In his 2nd season in 1999, Charles Woodson was selected to his 2nd Pro Bowl and was named All-Pro by the Associated Press.

In the 2000 NFL season, Charles Woodson started all 16 games of the season but suffered a turf toe injury which prevented him from practicing. Charles Woodson finished the year with a career high 79 tackles, intercepted 4 passes, forced 3 fumbles and recovered 1 fumble. Charles Woodson was named to the All-Pro team by Sports Illustrated, and 2nd team honours from the Associated Press. In his 4th year in the NFL, Charles Woodson started 16 games. This was the 4th consecutive year Charles Woodson played in every game of the season. Charles Woodson finished with 2sacks, 1 interception, 1 forced fumble and 1 blocked field goal. Charles Woodson also returned punts for the first time in the NFL, returning 4 punts for 47 yards. Charles Woodson was named to his 4th consecutive Pro Bowl. Charles Woodson also made All-Pro teams of The Sporting News and College and Pro Football Newsweekly and the All-AFC squad of Football News.

In 2002, Charles Woodson suffered his first major injury since his freshman college years, suffering from a shoulder injury which set him inactive in 8 games. The shoulder injury came in the 2nd game of the season in the 1st half. Despite the injury Charles Woodson played the remainder of the game and was able to force a fumble. After his shoulder injury Charles Woodson missed the last 3 games of the regular season, suffering from a cracked fibula bone in his right leg. Charles Woodson started every Raider game in the 2003 NFL Playoffs, finishing with a start in Super Bowl XXXVII. In the Super Bowl, Charles Woodson showed signs of his injury, but still recorded an interception in a losing effort against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.


After losing the Super Bowl in the year prior, the Raiders finished the 2003 NFL season with a record of 4-12. Charles Woodson became unhappy with new head coach Bill Callahan, and criticized him during the season. Charles Woodson remained healthy for the entire season, starting in his 1st 15 games. Charles Woodson's contract was set to expire after the season. Charles Woodson reached an agreement with Oakland and was labelled as a franchise player. The franchise tag set Charles Woodson's contract with a minimum of the average salary for the top 5 cornerbacks in the NFL. Although being labelled as a franchise player, Charles Woodson's contract was only for 1 year. In the 2004 NFL season Charles Woodson played the 1st 13 games of the season before suffering a leg injury which put him inactive in the last 3 weeks. After the season Charles Woodson again agreed to a 1 year franchise tag deal. In the 2005 NFL season, he started the 1st 6 games but broke his leg in the 6th week, which sidelined him for the rest of the year.

On 26 April, 2006, Charles Woodson and the Green Bay Packers reached a 7-year contract agreement that could be worth as much as $52.7,000,000 with bonuses and incentives. Charles Woodson will make $10.5,000,000 in the 1st year of the deal and $18,000,000 over the 1st 3 years. Charles Woodson will also receive a $3,000,000 bonus if he is selected to the Pro Bowl in 2 of the 1st 3 years of the contract. Free of any major injuries during the 2006 season, Charles Woodson (tied with Walt Harris of the San Francisco 49ers) led the National Football Conference with 8 interceptions. Those are the most interceptions Charles Woodson has recorded in a single season. Overall, he was tied for 3rd in that statistic in the entire NFL. Charles Woodson was also used as his team's starting punt returner for the first time in his NFL career, returning 41 punts for 363 yards.

On 14 October, 2007 Charles Woodson picked up a Santana Moss fumble and returned it 57 yards for a go ahead touchdown in a 17-14 victory over the Washington Redskins. Charles Woodson also recorded an interception in the game, his 1st of the season. Charles Woodson was named the NFC's Defensive Player of the Week for his performance versus the Redskins. It was the first time he has received this award. On 4 November, 2007 Charles Woodson had a 46-yard interception return for a touchdown with 59 seconds remaining in the 4th quarter to seal a win over the Kansas City Chiefs.

Charles Woodson is an oenophile and developed his interest in wine while playing football in Oakland, near the Napa Valley. Charles Woodson partnered with former Robert Mondavi winemaker Rick Ruiz to develop a signature wine label, "24 by Charles Woodson". The company is based in Napa, California and is a small boutique winery, producing fewer than 1,000 cases per year of its 2 varieties, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. Although the wine bears his name and signature, Charles Woodson was warned by the NFL to not be seen endorsing the wine himself because of the league's alcohol policy.

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The End Of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Series

I hope you have enjoyed reading about “What Is Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis? (ALS) Series” and of the Famous People that have or had suffered from (ALS)Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.

Sadly, we have come to the end of our “Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Series”. We now begin our “Club Feet or Foot Series” so please enjoy reading.

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The End Of Hearing Impairment Series

I hope you have enjoyed reading about “What Is A Hearing Impairment? Series” and of the Famous People that have or had suffered from A Hearing Impairment. Sadly, we have come to the end of our “Hearing Impairment Series”. We now begin our “ALS Series” so please enjoy reading.

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Dementia Series-Disabled Legend Harry Ritz

Harry Ritz was born on 22 May 1907 and died on 29 March 1986. Harry was 1 of The Ritz Brothers that were a comedy team who appeared in 1930s films, and as live performers from 1925 to the late 1960s. Although there were 4 brothers, only 3 of them performed together. The 4th brother, George, acted as their manager. The influence of the Ritz Brothers was greater than their film career, in part because of their long career as nightclub entertainers. They influenced actors including Danny Kaye, Jerry Lewis, and Sid Caesar. In his 1976 film Silent Movie, Mel Brooks paid tribute to the Ritz Brothers by casting Harry in a cameo (he's the nutty fellow leaving a tailor's shop). It was the actor's last role.

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The End of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Series

I hope you have enjoyed reading about "What is Obsessive Compulsive Disorder?" and of the Famous People that have or had suffered from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

Sadly, we have come to the end of our "Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Series". We now begin our "Dementia Series" so please enjoy reading.

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Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Series-Disabled Legend Martin Scorsese

Martin Scorsese was born on 17 November, 1942. Martin Scorsese is an American Academy Award-winning film director, writer, producer and film historian. Martin is widely considered to be one of the most significant and influential American filmmakers of his era, directing landmark films such as Taxi Driver, Raging Bull and Goodfellas; all of which he colloborated on with legendary actor Robert De Niro.

Martin Scorses often makes movies based on intelligent people with flaws or diseases. Martin himself suffers from OCD maybe aiding him to better understand the characters in his movies.

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Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Series-Disabled Legend Charles Darwin

Charles Darwin was born in 1809 and died in 1882. Charles Darwin was a Naturalist and Author. Charles had Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and stutter. Charles' many lifelong and serious illnesses have been the subject of much speculation and study for over a century. Charles stated that his health problems began as early as 1825 when he was only 16 years old, and became incapacitating around the age of 28. The exact nature of Charles' illness or illnesses remain mysterious at this time. Unless sophisticated molecular probing of his biological remains is allowed, no definitive diagnosis can be reached. It has been speculated that one of Charles's conditions may have been Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

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What is Obsessive Compulsive Disorder?

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a psychiatric disorder, specifically, an anxiety disorder. OCD is manifested in a variety of forms, but is most commonly characterized by a subject's obsessive drive to perform a particular task or set of tasks, compulsions commonly termed rituals.

The phrase "obsessive-compulsive" has worked its way into the wider English lexicon, and is often used in an offhand manner to describe someone who is meticulous or absorbed in a cause.

People who suffer from the separate and unrelated condition obsessive compulsive personality disorder are not aware of anything abnormal with them; they will readily explain why their actions are rational, and it is usually impossible to convince them otherwise.

Although obsessive-compulsive disorder commonly occurs in many patients with Gilles de la Tourette's syndrome, little is known about the obsessions and compulsions of Tourette's syndrome and whether they differ from those seen in pure obsessive-compulsive disorder.

It is for this reason there is some overlap between this category and our Famous People with Tourettes Syndrome list.

The tic disorder Tourette's Syndrome (T S) and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) are genetic and/or autoimmune neurological syndromes1,2,3 which are comorbid (In medicine, comorbidity describes the effect of all other diseases an individual patient might have other than the primary disease of interest) in 40-75% of patients initially diagnosed with either disorder, with comorbidity (In medicine, comorbidity describes the effect of all other diseases an individual patient might have other than the primary disease of interest) likeliest to occur in their childhood-onset forms.

Dyslexia Series-Disabled Legend Richard Strauss

Richard Strauss was born on 11 June, 1864 and died on 8 September, 1949. Richard Strauss was a German composer of the late Romantic era and early modern era, particularly noted for his tone poems and operas. Richard was also a noted conductor. In 1882 he entered Munich University, where he studied philosophy and art history, but not music. Nevertheless, Richard left a year later to go to Berlin, where he studied briefly before securing a post as assistant conductor to Hans von Bülow, taking over from him at Munich when von Bülow resigned in 1885. Richard's compositions around this time were quite conservative, in the style of Robert Schumann or Felix Mendelssohn, true to his father's teachings. Richard's Horn Concerto No. 1 (1882–1883) is representative of this period and is still regularly played.

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Dyslexia Series-Disabled Legend John Horner

John "Jack" R. Horner was born on 15 June, 1946. John is an American paleontologist who discovered and named the Maiasaura, providing the first clear evidence that some dinosaurs cared for their young. John is one of the most well known paleontologists in the United States. In addition to his many paleontological discoveries, John served as the technical advisor for all of the Jurassic Park films. John discovered the first dinosaur eggs in the Western Hemisphere, the first evidence of dinosaur colonial nesting, the first evidence of parental care among dinosaurs, and the first dinosaur embryos. John Horner is the Montana State University Regents' Professor of Paleontology, but his dyslexia precluded a college degree, which was not diagnosed until he was an adult and had not graduated from college. While working at Princeton he found a diagnostic center, and his dyslexia was formally diagnosed. "I wasn't diagnosed until well after I had reached adulthood, had struggled through school being considered lazy, dumb, and perhaps even retarded, and had flunked out of college seven times."

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Dyslexia Series-Disabled Legend Harry Anderson

Harry Anderson was born on 14 October, 1952. Harry is an Emmy Award-nominated American actor and magician. Harry was a street magician before becoming an actor. Harry is famous for the role of Judge Harry Stone on the 1984-1992 television series Night Court. In addition to 8 appearances on Saturday Night Live.

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Dyslexia Series-Disabled Legend Paul Orfalea

Paul Orfalea nicknamed "Kinko" because of his curly red hair, was born in Los Angeles, founded the copy-chain Kinko's. Paul Orfalea founded Kinko's in 1970 near the University of California at Santa Barbara with a simple idea: provide college students with products and services they need at a competitive price. Co-workers helped him with written correspondence. Paul says there isn’t a machine at Kinko’s he can operate. Paul has dyslexia and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). From its modest beginnings, Kinko's is now the world's leading business services chain. Today, there are over 1,500 Kinko's worldwide.

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Dyslexia Series-Disabled Legend Stephen Joseph Cannell

Stephen Joseph Cannell was born on 5 February, 1941. Stephen is an American television producer, writer, novelist, and occasional actor. Stephen struggled with dyslexia in school, but did graduate from the University of Oregon in 1964 with a Bachelor of Science in journalism. At UO, he joined the Sigma Chi fraternity. Stephen has also acted occasionally, including a regular supporting role as "Dutch" Dixon on his series, Renegade. Stephen also took a turn in an episode of Silk Stalkings.

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Dyslexia Series-Disabled Legend Robert Rauschenberg

Robert Milton Ernest Rauschenberg was born on 22 October,1925 in Port Arthur, Texas. Robert is an American artist. Though Rauschenberg had difficulty reading he likes to put words into his artwork. Robert often misspells them. Robert also likes to play word games, for example, creating palindromes (words that can be read forward and backward.) On May 9, 2006 at Christie's in New York City, a work of art by Robert Rauschenberg titled "Cage," dedicated to John Cage, sold for $1,360,000, a record for a Rauschenberg piece on paper. Though his work is recognized worldwide, when he was in school his success would not have been predicted. Rauschenberg has dyslexia, a reading disability that made school very difficult for him. "I was considered slow. While my classmates were reading their textbooks, I drew in the margins," Rauschenberg told an interviewer.

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