An Wang’s success was marked by his invention of the Pulse Transfer Controlling Device in 1949, which provided a way to regulate flow of magnetic energy (Magnetic Core Memory). It was a device that allowed storage that enabled a write-after-read cycle. His invention contributed to the foundation of information technology and the computer that you are using right now.

Name: An Wang
Born: February 7, 1920, Shanghai, China
Died: March 24, 1990, Boston, USA
Occupation: Computer Engineer, Inventor

Success was not handed to him, he struggled for it. In 1945, Wang emigrated to America from China with a set goal in mind, attending Harvard University. In 1948 he fulfilled his dream and graduated from Harvard with a degree in Applied Physics.

With only 15 dollars he co-founded Wang Laboratories with Dr. G.Y. Chu. By 1980 he had an increased revenue of 3 billion dollars a year, and provided work for 40,000 people.

Struggles::

Wang Laboratories eventually fell to its competition. The development of the personal computer with the word processor software proved more useful than Wang’s computers that were made just for word processing. Wang’s main product, the mini computers lost popularity with the creation of micro-computers by Macintosh. Even IBM and Hewlett-Packard servers were favored more than Wang’s creations.

When he made his son Fred Wang, president of Wang Labs, it led to his company’s demise. Many workers resigned out of jealousy. While Fred was head of research and development, Wang Labs announced 14 new products with release dates. When the release dates came, many of the products were unfinished.

Fred Wang was eventually replaced by Richard W. Miller. Imagine how hard it must have been for him to demote his son. It’s almost every man’s dream to pass on their company to their children. An Wang even insisted that Fred Wang be President of his company. But he was wrong about his son. Fred’s installment as president was a contributor to the company’s failure.

Successes::

Wang had acquired several patents that garnered honor from the National Inventors Hall of Fame. Most of these patents provided the tools for modern computers such as document accessing and processing and a terminal with graphic and text data buffers.

In 1955 he sold the patent for core memory to IBM for $500,000. Wang Labs manufactured the first desktop computers with a CRT display, known as the Wang 2000. He attained a lot of success in such a short period of time. His creative mind allowed his company to attain much prosperity.

In Lowell Massachusetts, Dr. An Wang Middle School was named after him. Harvard University honors him in their An Wang’s Professorship of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering.

Why He Should Have Given Up::

Immigration law set limits and restrictions on those who were non-citizens. It took 9 years after his emigration to be considered a U.S. Citizen. Wang had to fight the prejudice of immigrants. Immigrants were not known for being highly educated, they weren’t wealthy, and they didn’t hold any political power or prestige. However, they were known for wanting to improve their current life and make it better. An Wang did just that. His company Wang Laboratories became a major manufacturer of desktop computers. Because of his focus, he showed us that anyone can make something of themselves and achieve “the American Dream.”

[sources]

Flickr from ttstam. “Magnetic core memory – 5x magnification.” [Online Image]

The History of Computing Project. “An Wang” [Online Image]

The History of Computing Project. “An Wang” [Online]

Inventor of the Week-Archive. “An Wang.” [Online]

Wikipedia. “An Wang.” [Online]

Wikipedia. “Wang Laboratories.” [Online]

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Jean-Francois Champollion was known as the father of Egyptology for his deciphering of Egyptian Hieroglyphics using the Rosetta Stone as a language key. It took him three years. His research helped explain that the language of the Egyptians were both phonetic and ideographic signs.

He showed a keen interest in linguistics while very young. At 16 years of age, he had mastery over twelve different languages – one of which was Coptic, which later helped him interpret the Rosetta stone.

Name: Jean-Francois Champollion
Born: December 23, 1790 – Figeac, France
Died: March 4, 1832 (age 41) – Paris, France
Occupation: Egyptologist

Struggles::Champollion was not the only person to attempt the decoding of the Egyptian language. There were others who laid the groundwork before him, Thomas Young, Johan David Akerbald and Silvestre de Sacy. Together these men produced a demotic alphabet made up of 29 letters that Young used in translating parts of the Rosetta Stone. However, Young’s attempts fell short and Champollion was able to complete the missing pieces, and even discovered some errors that Young had made. Because of this, [pqr]his discoveries were met with much hostility[/pqr]. Some believed Champollion would not have succeeded if it were not for Young’s work.

On his journey to Egypt, known as the Franco-Tuscan Expedition, he set out to prove that his own theories were correct. The journey proved very tedious due to numerous monuments having to be studied and reports of theft. Champollion even damaged the tomb which held the body of Seti I, considered to be the longest tomb in the Valley of the Kings. He damaged two large walls that were next to hieroglyphics by writing notes on them. The damage was irreparable. No amount of money could fix it.

Shortly after the Franco-Tuscan Expedition, Champollion died of a stroke. He was only 41. He died before his dictionary of Hieroglyphic writings ,”Dictionnaire Egyptien en Ecriture Hieroglyphique” was published. Unforunately, [pqr]he wasn’t able to fully bask in his success[/pqr]. He could have made countless more discoveries, but his life was cut short.

Successes::Jean-Francois Champollion displayed a great skill as a linguist. His list of spoken languages included: French, Coptic, Hebrew, Greek, Amharic, Sanskrit, Avestan, Arabic, Pahlavi, Syriac, Chaldean, Ethiopic, Persian, and Chinese.

Through his work on the Rosetta Stone, he gained victory over his competitors including Thomas Young supported by the British. At a very young age he was already considered as one of the brightest minds that France had to offer. He published “Precis du Systeme Hieroglyphique” which paved the way for the field of Egyptology. He later taught as an Egyptology Professor at the College de France, among the ranks of many elite French scholars.

A museum highlighting the history of his writing and discoveries, was dedicated to him in his home town of Figeac.

Why He Should Have Given Up::Think about it, during his day the scholarly contemporaries all believed that the hieroglyphs were nothing more then Egyptian pictures – designs that held no reason or meaning. They must of thought him a fool wanting to study such worthless pictures. He basically went against the popular idea and followed what burned inside of him – his earnest belief that the hieroglyphs were a written language that could be read and understood.

His journey however was far from easy. It was a race against the clock, France vs. England, himself vs. Thomas Young. He was constantly criticized for achieving his success on the back Young, which may have lead to his decision of refraining to give Young any credit. This snob of Young solidified the political contentions between France and England. Despite this, Champollion didn’t shrink back and went as far as to point out errors in Thomas Young’s research.

Another sore point was Franco-Tuscan Expedition. Due to the political tension between France and Egypt, their trip was postponed about a year. It no doubt must have been exasperating to wait for an entire year to go on the expedition, only to be plagued with problems while on it. Many fell sick and died because of the strenous journey. In fact, it was during this journey that Champollion caused irreparable damage to the tomb walls – the very history which he loved so dearly. Think of how sad he must’ve felt. Think of the criticism he must have received only intensified by political fisticuffs with Egypt.

Champollion could have easily concluded that decoding the hieroglyphics was not worth the trouble. After all, he did master a number of other languages. He could have given up because no one was forcing him to do it. He could have stopped and his life would probably be much easier. But all these negative factors did not stop him from trying. He silenced all there doubts and persevered , going on to be known as one of the founding fathers of Egyptology.

[sources]

Wikipedia. “Jean-Francois Champollion.” [Online Image]

Flickr from paysages. “Musee Champollion.” [Online Image]

Flickr from jbparker. “Rosetta Stone.” [Online Image]

Encyclopedia Britannica Online. “Jean-Francois Champollion.” [Online]

Traveller’s in Egypt. “Ippolito Rosselini.” [Online]

Wikipedia. “Jean-Francois Champollion.” [Online]

Wikipedia. “Rosetta Stone.” [Online]

[/sources]

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Helen Keller showed the world that despite being handicapped she was more than capable of living a life full of success. Born on June 27, 1880, Helen lived a privileged life. Her father, Arthur Keller, had previously been an officer in the Confederate army, and her mother, Kate Adams, was a relative of Robert E. Lee. Though deaf and blind, she became a great American author and lecturer. She was an inspiration to many, handicapped and able-bodied alike. She once said, “[pqr]Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved[/pqr].” Helen showed this kind of mentality throughout her life.

Name: Helen Adams Keller
Born: June 27, 1880 – Tuscumbia, Alabama, USA
Died: June 1, 1968 (age 87) – Arcan Ridge, Connecticut, USA
Occupation: Author, Humanitarian

Struggles::A debilitating illness left her deaf and blind when she was only 19 months old. At such an early age, she was all alone in a world of silence and darkness. In order to communicate she used signs. However, when her parents did not understand her she grew angry and gave in to despair by screaming and throwing tantrums. She was known for being destructive and violent. It was obvious that Helen was not an exact counterpart to her affluent parents. In fact, during the 1880s the law considered those who were deaf and blind as idiots.

Though she displayed a stubborn disposition, she also displayed a capacity for learning. So much so that Alexander Graham Bell, advised her parents to get her a special teacher. The selected teacher was Anne Sullivan, who was also visually impaired. Though a difficult task, Anne overcame the communication barrier, and brought Helen into a new world of life. Anne used the finger alphabet, spelling out names of common items onto the palms of Helen’s hands.

Successes::Her first remarkable achievement was at a well. While Anne was pumping water onto Helen’s hand, and spelled water, it was then that Helen figured out that everything had its own name. After two years, she was fluent using the Braille system as a means to read and write. Anne taught her to speak by placing Helen’s fingers on her larynx. The vibrations enabled her to perceive how to speak words.

Helen continued her education at Radcliffe College. Her schooling was paid for by her friend Henry Huttleton Rogers, a Standard Oil magnate. Lectures were spelled out into the palms of her hands by Anne Sullivan, who attended each class with Helen. In 1904 Helen graduated and earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Arts. This marked her as being the [pqr]first blind and deaf person to graduate college[/pqr].

Helen later committed herself to helping blind and deaf people. She helped raise funds for the American Foundation for the Blind. She revealed the difficulties experienced by those who are deaf and blind, and showed that they were capable of great things. She also founded Helen Keller International, a non-profit organization helped to prevent blindness. She received plenty of recognition for the success of her life. She was listed in Gallup’s Most Widely Admired People of the 20th Century in 1999. Sheffield, Alabama dedicated The Helen Keller Hospital in honor of her. She later became a public speaker after much effort put forth by Anne. In 1914, Helen began speaking to audiences across the United States.

Famous quotes::

• “Never bend your head. Hold it high. Look the world straight in the eye.”
• “Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.”
• “Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.”
• “Be of good cheer. Do not think of today’s failures, but of the success that may come tomorrow. You have set yourself a difficult task, but you will succeed if you persevere; and you will find a joy in overcoming obstacles.”

Why She Should Have Given up::Because Helen Keller grew up blind and deaf, it would have been easy for her to give up. She should have. She could’ve used her disability as an excuse- and it would have been a great excuse – but she didn’t. We take our senses for granted. Try cupping your ears and closing your eyes. How does it feel? Not only is it dark, but it’s lonely. Imagine feeling that way all the time. That’s how Helen Keller lived her whole life. Despite this, she didn’t focus on what she couldn’t do, she focused on what she could do. During the time that she lived, she was classified as an “idiot”, and she was a woman. According to society, she should have been mediocre. Learning to speak and read would have been enough. Graduating from college was extraordinary, but she didn’t stop there, she wanted to accomplish more. [pq]She went way beyond what normal people would do – people who can see and who can hear[/pq].

When she gave lectures, often times those listening had difficulty understanding her. Anne Sullivan would have to repeat Helen’s words so that the audience could fully grasp what she was saying. She could have felt ashamed for not being able to speak well, she could have been angry that she could not see or hear, but she was not. Imagine the ridicule she went through, and how people stared at her. Imagine her in class and people wondering what she was doing there. And who expected all this success from Helen? Was it her parents, was it her friends, was it society? No, it was herself. Helen chose to be a success, and be more than ordinary. She believed in herself. She knew that despite her disabilities she could accomplish great things and enjoy life to the fullest.

[sources]

McKee, Barbara J – “Civil Rights: Helen enters Radcliffe College.” [Online Image]

National Gallery of Australia. “The Good, The Great, & The Gifted: Helen Keller with her companion Polly Thompson.” [Online Image]

About.com: Women’s History – “Helen Keller Quotes.” [Online]

MSN Encarta – “Helen Keller- MSN Encarta.” [Online]

National Women’s Hall of Fame. “Women of the Hall: Helen Keller.” [Online]

Wikipedia – “Helen Keller.” [Online]

Wikiquote – “Helen Keller Wikiquote.” [Online]

Quotations Page and Michael Moncur – “Helen Keller Quotes- The Quotations Page.” [Online]

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