Rethink Society Series · People · Biography
Noble people in world history that help us rethink society
Lives that made society stop, look again and ask whether things could be different.
Some people changed history through science. Others through courage, ideas, activism, compassion or simply refusing to accept what everyone else considered normal.
The series
Read in sequence · 12 articles
01 / 12
01 / 12 · Claudette Colvin
Claudette Colvin
The teenager who refused her bus seat nine months before Rosa Parks.
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02 / 12 · Ignaz Semmelweis
The Doctor Who Asked His Colleagues to Wash Their Hands
The doctor who asked his colleagues to wash their hands.
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03 / 12 · Alan Turing
Alan Turing The Man Who Helped Build the Future
The codebreaker who helped build modern computing, then was convicted for being gay.
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04 / 12 · Rachel Carson
Rachel Carson The Woman Who Made the World Question Progress
The biologist who made the world question the cost of progress.
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05 / 12 · Princess Diana
The Handshake That Challenged Fear
The handshake that challenged the fear surrounding HIV and AIDS.
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06 / 12 · Harvey Milk
Harvey Milk The Power of Being Seen
The politician who built a movement around being visible.
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07 / 12 · Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali When an Athlete Refused to Stay Silent
The champion who risked his career rather than go to war.
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08 / 12 · Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela The Man Who Refused to Let Revenge Build the Future
The prisoner who chose reconciliation over revenge.
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09 / 12 · Malala Yousafzai
Malala The Girl They Tried to Silence
The schoolgirl whose voice became a global argument for education.
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10 / 12 · Rosa Parks
Rosa Parks The Woman Who Sat Down and Made a Nation Stand Up
The activist whose refusal set a city, and a movement, in motion.
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11 / 12 · Barack Obama
Barack Obama When America Rethought Who Could Lead
The president who changed what millions believed political leadership could look like.
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12 / 12 · Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa When Compassion Became a Global Language
The woman who made compassion a global language.
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