Marie Antoinette

Marie Antoinette

Born on 2 November 1755 at the Hofburg Palace in Vienna, Austria, Maria Antonia was the youngest daughter of Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor, and Maria Theresa, Queen of Hungary and Bohemia and ruler of the Habsburg dominions. She was described as "a small, but completely healthy Archduchess."^[1] She was known at the Austrian court as Madame Antoine.^[2]

Maria Antonia and her older sister, Maria Carolina, were the two youngest girls and were raised together. They shared the same governess until 1767. They became extremely close. She thoroughly enjoyed music and learned to play the harpsichord, which she played for many people at the court. She also excelled at dancing – an accomplishment often remarked by those who saw her, whether friendly or hostile, having been carefully trained in it since her early youth.^[3] She had an "exquisite" poise and a famously graceful deportment.^[3] She also loved dolls from when she was young, as captured by a family portrait in which seven-year-old "sweet Antonia" excitedly holds up a doll dressed as fancily as she is.^[3] Numerous dolls arrived at the Hofburg as soon as Marie Antoinette turned thirteen, wearing miniature versions of the ball gowns, afternoon dresses, and gold-trimmed gowns proposed for her.^[3]

The laxity of court life^{[citation needed]} was compounded by the private life which was developed by the Habsburgs, who resided mainly in the Schönbrunn Palace. In their private life, the family dressed in bourgeois attire, played games with "normal" (non-royal) children, had their schooling, and were treated to gardens and menageries. Maria Antonia later attempted to recreate this atmosphere through her renovation of the Petit Trianon in France.

By many accounts, her childhood was somewhat complex. On the one hand, her parents had instituted several innovations in court life which made Austria one of the most progressive courts in Europe. While certain court functions remained formal by necessity, the Emperor and Empress nevertheless presided over many basic changes in court life. This included allowing relaxations in who could come to court (a change which allowed people of merit as well as birth to rise rapidly in the imperial favour), relatively lax dress etiquette, and the abolition of certain court protocols, including a ritual in which dozens of courtiers could be in the Empress' bedchamber, watching when she gave birth – the Empress disliked the ritual, and would eject courtiers from her rooms when she went into labour.^[4]

While she had an idyllic "private" life, her initial role in the political arena – and in her mother's main aim of alliance through marriage – was relatively minuscule. As there were so many other children who could be married off, Maria Antonia was sometimes neglected by her mother; as a result, Maria Antonia later described her relationship with her mother as one of awe-inspired fear.^[5] She also developed a mistrust of intelligent older women as a result of her mother's close relationship with Maria Antonia's older sister, the Archduchess Maria Christina, who shared their mother's birthday and was her favourite child.^[6] The lack of supervision also resulted in a sub-par education in many regards, and she could barely read or write properly in her native German by the time she was twelve. This was due in large measure, however, to the fact that French, not German, was the language most commonly spoken at the Austrian court. It was for that reason that the young archduchess was usually referred to as "Madame Antoine" and signed herself as "Antoine Archiduchesse" in French.

blog for famous people

Tom Cruise

Tom Cruise

Cruise was born in Syracuse, New York,^[6] the son of Mary Lee (née Pfeiffer), a special education teacher, and Thomas Cruise Mapother III, an electrical engineer.^[7] Cruise's surname originates from his great-grandfather, Thomas Cruise O'Mara, who was adopted by a Welsh immigrant and renamed "Thomas Cruise Mapother".^[8][9][10] Cruise is of German, Irish, and English ancestry.^[11] His oldest sister, Lee Anne, was born in his parents' native Louisville, Kentucky, while his older sister Marian was born in Syracuse, as were Tom and his younger sister, Cass.^[12]
Cruise attended Robert Hopkins Public School for grades three, four, and five. The Mapother family then moved to the suburb of Beacon Hill, in Ottawa, Ontario, so Cruise's father could take a position as a defence consultant with the Canadian Armed Forces. There, Cruise completed grade six at Henry Munro Middle School, part of the Carleton Board of Education,^[13] where he was active in athletics, playing floor hockey almost every night, showing himself to be a ruthless player, and eventually chipping his front tooth. In the game British bulldogs, he then lost his newly capped tooth and hurt his knee.^[14] Henry Munro was also where Cruise became involved in drama, under the tutelage of George Steinburg.^[15] The first play he participated in was called IT, in which Cruise won the co-lead with Michael de Waal, one playing "Evil", the other playing "Good." The play met much acclaim, and toured with five other classmates to various schools around the Ottawa area, even being filmed at the local Ottawa TV station.^[16]
When Cruise was twelve, his mother left his father, taking Cruise and his sister Lee Anne with her.^[17]
In all, Cruise attended eight elementary schools and three high schools. He briefly attended a Franciscan seminary in Cincinnati (on a church scholarship) and aspired to become a Catholic priest. In his senior year, he played football for the varsity team as a linebacker, but he was cut from the squad after getting caught drinking beer before a game.^[18]

Cruise said that he was bullied in school, and by his father who he said was "a merchant of chaos", and that he learned early on that his father was – and, by extension, some people were – not to be trusted: "I knew from being around my father that not everyone means me well."

Sultan Qaboos ibn Sa‘id

Sultan Qaboos ibn Sa‘id



Sultan Qaboos ibn Sa‘id was born in Salalah in Dhofar on 18 November 1940. He is the only son of Sultan Said bin Taimur and princess Mazoon al-Mashani. He is one of the 8^th generation of the Al Bu Sa‘idi dynasty. He received his primary and secondary education in Salalah and at Pune, in India, and was sent to a private educational establishment in England at age sixteen. At 20 he entered the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. After graduating from Sandhurst, he joined a British Infantry regiment, The Cameronians, and served in the 1^st Battalion in Germany for one year. He also held a staff appointment with the British Army.
After his military service, Sultan Qaboos studied local government subjects in England and, after a world tour, returned home to Salalah where he studied Islam and the history of his country. Sultan Qaboos ibn Sa‘id is a Muslim of the Ibadi school of jurisprudence, which has traditionally ruled Oman.^[3] A religious liberal, he has financed the construction or maintenance of a number of mosques, notably the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, as well as the holy places of other religions.
In 1976 Qaboos ibn Sa‘id married his cousin, Kamila, née Sayyidah Nawwal bint Tariq (born 1951), daughter of HH Sayyid Tariq ibn Taymur,^[4] but the marriage soon ended in divorce. ^[5]
Qaboos ibn Sa‘id is an avid fan and promoter of classical music. His 120-member orchestra has a high reputation in the Middle East. The orchestra consists entirely of young Omanis who, since 1986, audition as children and grow up as members of the symphonic ensemble. They play locally and travel abroad with the sultan.^[6] Argentine composer Lalo Schifrin was commissioned to compose a work entitled Symphonic Impressions of Oman^[7] and is particularly enthusiastic about the pipe organ.^[8]
The Sultan's birthday, 18 November, is celebrated as Oman's national holiday. The first day of his reign, 23 July, is celebrated as Renaissance Day.