A Boy Who Wanted a Middle Name

Alexander Graham Bell was born on March 3rd, 1847, in Edinburgh, Scotland. His father, Alexander Melville Bell, was an expert on the mechanics of the voice and on elocution (the art of public speaking). He dedicated his life to teaching deaf people to speak by using his “Visible speech” method (showing illustrations of speaking positions of the tongue and lips when making a sound). Bell’s mother Eliza was an accomplished pianist and painter, who passed on to her son a passion for music and art.

When Alexander was 10 years old he decided that he wanted to have a middle name like his two brothers, Melville James and Edward Charles. For his 11th birthday, after some negotiating, Bell’s father finally gave in and allowed him to adopt the middle name “Graham”. However, to his family members the newly-fledged Alexander Graham still remained “Aleck”.

When Bell was only 12 his mother’s hearing started to deteriorate rapidly and to include her in family conversations, Bell not only learned a manual finger language, but also developed a technique of speaking in clear, modulated tones directly onto his mother’s forehead. Later his experience and interest for acoustics would prove to be very valuable not only in his career, but also his personal life.

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A Boy Destined for Greatness.

Pablo Ruiz Picasso was born on the 25th October, 1881 in Malaga, Spain. Picasso was the firstborn and the only son of Jose Ruiz and Maria Picasso. Even when he was little Picasso’s mother kept telling him that he was destined for glory, “If you are a solder you will be a general. If you are a priest, you will be a Pope”. Instead, at the age of 8 Pablo picked up a pencil and started drawing.

He learnt the basics of art from his father, who was a painter and a professor of art at the School of Crafts in Malaga. Picasso’s gift, determination and expressive means, quickly allowed him to surpass his father’s abilities, and he even held his first exhibition at the age of 13!

Early Successes and Father’s Shattered Dreams.

Many people associate Picasso’s painting to the abstract art that a five year old can do, but few are actually aware that Picasso started his painting career drawing realistic oil portraits that mesmerize spectators with their intensity and magnetism.

When in 1895 Picasso’s father got a job at La Llotja art academy as professor of drawing, the whole family moved to Barcelona. Picasso was accepted at the academy for the advanced class, where he was the shortest, the youngest and the most talented of his class.

The family hoped that their son would achieve success as an academic painter, and in 1897 he was sent to study in the Academy of Arts in Madrid. But to the great disappointment of his dad, Picasso dropped out within a year of joining it.

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The brand Chanel has long had  its reputation in the world of fashion, but few people know that it was Coco Chanel, who gave women bathing suits, pants, slacks, costume jewelry, and of course, Chanel No.5.

An orphan girl

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