Margaret Thatcher

Introduction

Great Britain is very rich with outstanding people and always was. There are lots of famous British musicians, sportsmen, scientists, writers, explorers and so on. One of the most important people of the mankind was Charles Darwin, who was a great explorer, scientist and a writer. He has travelled around the world carefully studying the origin of people and some animals and then he produced his famous "On the origin of species" book, where he stated that all human creatures originated from some simpler creatures through evolution and natural selection. Another outstanding Englishman, who has changed the course of literature and theater development, was a great writer William Shakespeare. Thanks to him everybody in the world knows the story of "Romeo and Juliet". One of the most influential changes in music world was brought by the famous English rock band "Beetles". Some of the band leaders are already gone, but their music is still as popular as it used to be decades ago. Isaac Newton was another great man in the world of science. This prominent Englishmen is considered to be a founder of physics. Many of the famous English men are buried in Westminster Abbey, in London. Speaking about contemporary celebrities of Great Britain, it's important to mention some well-known country leaders, such as Queen Elizabeth II, who has been a monarch of the country for almost 60 years by now. Another famous politician is the former leader of Labour Party and the 73rd Prime Minister of Great Britain, Tony Blair. Among well-known Britons some sportsmen are worth mentioning, such as David Beckham - a famous footballer, Paula Radcliffe - a famous athlete, Steve Redgrave - a famous rower and many others. Great Britain can be also proud by some of her prominent artists, such as Thomas Gainsborough, William Hogarth, Sir Joshua Reynolds, John Constable and several others.

Outstanding women in Great Britian

Margaret Thatcher

Margaret Hilda Roberts was born on 13 October 1925 in Grantham, Lincolnshire, the daughter of a grocer. She went to Oxford University and then became a research chemist, retraining to become a barrister in 1954. In 1951, she married Denis Thatcher, a wealthy businessman, with whom she had two children.

Early political career

Thatcher became a Conservative member of parliament for Finchley in North London in 1959, serving as its MP until 1992. Her first parliamentary post was junior minister for pensions in Harold Macmillan's government. From 1964 to 1970, when Labour were in power, she served in a number of positions in Edward Heath's shadow cabinet. Heath became prime minister in 1970 and Thatcher was appointed secretary for education.

Leadership

After the Conservatives were defeated in 1974, Thatcher challenged Heath for the leadership of the party and, to the surprise of many, won. In the 1979 general election, the Conservatives came to power and Thatcher became prime minister.

She was an advocate of privatising state-owned industries and utilities, reforming trade unions, lowering taxes and reducing social expenditure across the board. Thatcher's policies succeeded in reducing inflation, but unemployment dramatically increased during her years in power.

The Eighties

Victory in the Falklands War in 1982 and a divided opposition helped Thatcher win a landslide victory in the 1983 general election. In 1984, she narrowly escaped death when the IRA planted a bomb at the Conservative party conference in Brighton.

In foreign affairs, Thatcher cultivated a close political and personal relationship with US president Ronald Reagan, based on a common mistrust of communism, combined with free-market economic ideology. Thatcher was nicknamed the 'Iron Lady' by the Soviets. She warmly welcomed the rise of reformist Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.

In the 1987 general election, Thatcher won an unprecedented third term in office. But controversial policies, including the poll tax and her opposition to any closer integration with Europe, produced divisions within the Conservative Party which led to a leadership challenge. In November 1990, she agreed to resign and was succeeded as party leader and prime minister by John Major.

The end of an era

In 1992, Thatcher left the House of Commons. She was appointed a peeress in the House of Lords with the title of Baroness Thatcher of Kesteven and continued giving speeches and lectures across the world. She also founded the Thatcher Foundation, which aimed to advance the cause of political and economic freedom, particularly in the newly liberated countries of central and eastern Europe. In 1995 she became a member of the Order of the Garter, the highest order of knighthood in England.

In 2002, after a series of minor strokes, Baroness Thatcher retired from public speaking. She died of a stroke on April 8, 2013, at the age of 87.

Emma Watson

Emma Charlotte Duerre Watson (born 15 April 1990) is an English actress and model. She rose to prominence playing Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter film series; she was cast as Hermione at the age of nine, having previously acted only in school plays. She starred in all eight Harry Potter films, alongside Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint. Watson's work on the Harry Potter series has earned her several awards and more than £10 million. She made her modelling debut for Burberry's autumn/winter campaign in 2009. In October 2013, she was voted Sexiest Female Movie Star in a worldwide poll conducted by Empire magazine.

In 2007, Watson announced her involvement in The Tale of Despereaux and the television adaptation of the novel Ballet Shoes, which was broadcast on 26 December 2007 to an audience of 5.2 million. The Tale of Despereaux, based on the novel by Kate DiCamillo, was released in 2008 and grossed more than US $86 million in worldwide sales. In 2012, she starred in Stephen Chbosky's film adaptation of The Perks of Being a Wallflower, and was cast in the role of Ila in Darren Aronofsky's biblical epic Noah.

Early life and education

Emma Watson was born in Paris, France, the daughter of English lawyers Jacqueline Luesby and Chris Watson. Watson lived in Paris until the age of five. Her parents separated when she was young; following their divorce, she moved with her mother and younger brother to Oxfordshire, spending weekends at her father's house in London. Watson has stated that she speaks some French, though "not as well" as she used to.

After moving to Oxford with her mother and brother, Watson attended the Dragon School in Oxford, remaining there until 2003. From the age of six, she wanted to become an actress, and trained at the Oxford branch of Stagecoach Theatre Arts, a part-time theatre school where she studied singing, dancing, and acting. By the age of ten, she had performed in various Stagecoach productions and school plays, including Arthur: The Young Years and The Happy Prince, but she had never acted professionally before the Harry Potter series. Following the Dragon School, Watson moved on to Headington School. While on film sets, she and her peers were tutored for up to five hours a day. In June 2006, she took GCSE school examinations in ten subjects, achieving eight A* and two A grades.

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