Pollock was bitter, and had serious drinking problems with alcohol. His paintings are in museums all over the world, and his work is rated very high. Pollock has been the subject of many movies because of his interesting life. The most famous was a short documentary movie directed by Hans Namuth in 1951, and the 2000 movie about his life called "Pollock", made by and starring actor Ed Harris. Pollock was born in Cody, Wyoming. In 1956, he was killed in a car crash in Springs, New York at the age of 44 years old.
Pollock was introduced to the use of liquid paint in 1936 at an experimental workshop operated in New York City by the Mexican muralist David Alfaro Siqueiros. He later used paint pouring as one of several techniques on canvases of the early 1940s, such as "Male and Female" and "Composition with Pouring I." After his move to Springs, New York, he began painting with his canvases laid out on the studio floor, and he developed what was later called his drip technique.
Pollock described this use of household paints, instead of artist’s paints, as "a natural growth out of a need". He used hardened brushes, sticks, and even basting syringes as paint applicators. With this technique, Pollock was able to achieve a more immediate means of creating art, the paint now literally flowing from his chosen tool onto the canvas. By defying the convention of painting on an upright surface, he added a new dimension, literally, by being able to view and apply paint to his canvases from all directions.
Later, Pollock turned to synthetic resin-based paints called alkyd enamels, which, at that time, was a novel medium. In 1956, "Time" magazine called Pollock "Jack the Dripper" as a result of his unique painting style.
Influences on his dripping technique include the Mexican muralists and Surrealist automatism. Pollock denied "the accident"; he usually had an idea of how he wanted a particular piece to appear. His technique combined the movement of his body, over which he had control, the viscous flow of paint, the force of gravity, and the absorption of paint into the canvas. It was a mixture of controllable and uncontrollable factors. Flinging, dripping, pouring, and spattering, he would move energetically around the canvas, almost as if in a dance, and would not stop until he saw what he wanted to see.
Pollock's "No. 5, 1948" stands at the fifth highest price ever for a work of art. It was privately sold by Sotheby's for (price adjusted) US$163.8 million dollars. it was the most famous painting in whole entire world - which is phenomenal well done Paul (Jackson Pollock).
Otto Struve
Otto Struve (August 12 1897 – April 6 1963) was a Russian astronomer. He was the grandson of Otto Wilhelm von Struve and the great-grandson of Friedrich Wilhelm von Struve.
Struve's education at the University of Kharkov was interrupted by World War I and the Russian Civil War, which left him a refugee in Turkey. He went to the United States in 1921, obtained a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago and eventually became head of the astronomy department there. In 1932, he was made joint director of the University's Yerkes Observatory and McDonald Observatory (which he founded and where a telescope is named after him). Struve may be regarded as the father of modern SETI. He was one of the few eminent astronomers in the pre-Space Age era to publicly express a belief that extraterrestrial intelligence was abundant.
Tamerlane
Timur or Tamerlane (9 April 1336 – 17 February 1405) was a Turkic conqueror in the 14th century who is regarded as one of history's greatest military leaders and strategists. He founded the Timurid Empire in 1370. The empire was large and included Transoxiana, parts of Turkestan, Afghanistan, Persia, Syria, Qurdistan, Baghdad, Georgia and Asia Minor. He successfully conquered southern Russia and parts of India. He invaded Delhi in 1398. He called himself "Sword of Islam". He is also known to have invented the Tamerlane Chess.
Not related to Genghis Khan but claiming to be his successor, he caused the death of thousands of people. Timur is considered the last of the great nomadic conquerors of the Eurasian Steppe. His empire led to the Gunpowder Empires in the 1500s and 1600s, most notably the Mughal Empire of India.
His real name is "Tīmūr bin Taraghay Barlas". He is also known by these names: Temur, Taimur, Timur Lenk, Timur-i Leng, Temur-e Lang, Amir Timur, Aqsaq Timur, and Tamburlaine.
He began his military career after conquering Movarounnahr (now Uzbekistan) through various political betrayals and military campaigns. In allegiance with other rulers in the area, he spent the next ten years fighting to gain territory, supporting the Khan empire against the Russians and defeating many large, imposing armies.
But this was only the beginning. In 1383, Tamerlane began conquering Persia, challenging several rival dynasties in an effort to preserve his empire and expand his territory.
After securing the majority of eastern Persia and defeating a major Mongol king, Tokhtamysh, Tamerlane and his army occupied Moscow for a year. During his time of absence from Persia, major revolts broke out. So he repressed them. Knowing his home territory of Samarkand was being handled by his military forces, Tamerlane then attacked India. He crossed the Indus River in 1398 and marched his army into Delhi where he reduced much of the city, an event that would cause a great setback for the region. As a result of this conquest, he left the territory with an immense quantity of spoil, using 90 captured elephants to carry treasure and stones from quarries to erect a mosque in his homeland.
In 1399, Tamerlane organized a new military expedition to attack the sultan of Egypt for territory infringement and marching on Syria, he stormed and sacked the city of Aleppo. In 1401, his army occupied the city of Damascus. He then moved on to storm Baghdad that same year and massacred 20,000 of its citizens, destroying all of its buildings and significant monuments in the process.
Timur and his army of 200,000 soldiers traveled through deep snow and frozen rivers toward China, eventually stopping in what is now Kazakhstan for a rest. Timur caught a cold and died on the journey. The trip to China stopped, and his body was taken home to Samarkand where it was buried beneath the dome of the Gur Amir mausoleum in a steel coffin under a slab of black jade six feet long. On the stone was inscribed, "“This is the resting place of the illustrious and merciful monarch, the most great sultan, the most mighty warrior, Lord Timur, Conqueror of the World.”"
Augustus
Augustus (Latin: "Imperator Caesar Dīvī Fīlius Augustus"; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August 14 AD) was the first Roman Emperor, ruling from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He led Rome in its transition from the Roman Republic to the Roman Empire.
Octavian, as he was originally called, was the adopted son of the dictator of the Roman Republic, Julius Caesar. Octavian came into power in the Second Triumvirate. This was three men ruling over the Roman Republic: Mark Antony, Lepidus and Octavian.
All three were loyal to Julius Caesar, the assassinated dictator, killed in 44 BC. Following his death a civil war broke out across Rome, between those loyal to Caesar, and the conspirators, led by two of Caesar's assassins, Brutus and Cassius.
At first, Octavian was the junior partner in the triumvirate. Lepidus was more experienced in government, and Mark Antony was a fine military leader. The triumvirate defeated Brutus and Cassius at the Battle of Philippi, 42 BC, largely due to Antony's leadership. Then they split the leadership of the Republic three ways. Antony took the east, Lepidus took Spain and part of North Africa, and Octavian took Italy.
Antony followed in Caesar's footsteps by going to Egypt and becoming Cleopatra's lover. They had three children together. His absence from Rome allowed the intelligent Octavian to build up support.