DESCRIBE A HISTORICAL FIGURE
This is the fourth lesson in the ‘Vocabulary for Describing People’ series.
You are going to learn how to describe a historical figure using different language tools.
This will be done in 6 Steps. It is recommended that you do 1 Step at a time for stellar results.
If you are stuck on a new word, look for help in a unilingual or bilingual dictionary. Apart from the meaning, don’t forget to check how the word is pronounced too.
Write down necessary information. You never know when it will come in handy!
Are you ready? Let’s start!
a) Describe a Historical Figure (Step 1): Names of Historical Figures
History is laden with interesting and noteworthy people. We can spend hours talking about them and we will still find more characters to fill our conversations with.
Take William Shakespeare, for example. As you may already know, this 17th century man greatly shaped the English language that we use today. He was a great poet, dramatist and playwright and his delectable works are devoured with greed all over the world.
Do you recognise some of the people in the picture? What can you say about them?
Examples
- Napoleon Bonaparte, also known as Napoléon I, was a French general and emperor who greatly revolutionised military organisation and training in early nineteenth century.
- Around the same time, Shaka Zulu, King of the Zulu Kingdom and revered warrior in South Africa, was also making great strides in military warfare.
- Thomas Edison invented the light bulb and we are really grateful for his contribution to humanity.
- Eleanor Roosevelt, a notable activist and diplomat, was the longest-serving First Lady of the United States for America. She is equally best known for her quotes such as: ‘No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.’
- David Livingstone was a famous Scottish explorer who mainly travelled in central and southern Africa.
Your turn: Choose 5 historical figures from the picture and write something about them. Additionally, you can do a Google search to help you with the facts.
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Good job! I am sure that you learned quite a lot and that your time was not wasted.
How about going to Step 2 now? We’ll be looking at different types of historical figures.
b) Describe a Historical Figure (Step 2): Different Types of Historical Figures
Historical figures usually owe their prominence to what they used to do during their lifetime.
For example, Albert Einstein was an award-winning scientist and physicist.
Hence, what can we say about the other historical figures? Do you know anything about them?
Examples:
- Martin Luther King was a respected reverend and leader during the Civil Rights Movement in the USA.
- Karl Marx was an influential German philosopher, economist and historian, among other things.
- Ludwig van Beethoven was also from Germany and he was a celebrated composer and pianist.
- Isaac Newton was a great mathematician who lived in England from 1643 to 1727. He was also a physicist like Albert Einstein and made significant contributions to science.
- Kwame Nkrumah, a prominent African politician, became Ghana’s first president after independence from British rule in 1957. Moreover, he is also the founder of the Pan-African movement.
Your turn: What do you know about other historical figures? What did they do exactly when they were alive? Why are they very well known today? Write 5 sentences to talk about that.
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Fantastic! What about moving on to Step 3. What is it about it? Let’s discover it together!
c) Describe a Historical Figure (Step 3): Fields for Historical Figures
You can also talk about the fields in which these illustrious figures excelled or dabbled in.
Was it biology or engineering? What about arts and culture?
Let’s see what we have.
Examples:
- Female participation in politics was very low before the twentieth century. However, some women like British suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst fought bravely for their rights.
- We know Pope John Paul II for his Catholic beliefs and religion.
- Medicine is a field that relates to health and health care and Marie Curie helped to radically transform it with her discovery of radioactivity.
- Philosophy is another intellectual field which has seen many a historical figure such as Aristotle contribute it.
- Adam Smith and John Maynard Keynes were outstanding in economics.
Your Turn: What other fields can you think of? Consequently, can you think of 5 sentences to talk about them? What special fields helped to turn ordinary figures into historical ones?
You can use transitional words such as MOREOVER, ADDITIONALLY and HOWEVER.
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Well done! Let’s tackle the next step then. Ready? Here we go!
d) Describe a Historical Figure (Step 4): Qualities of Historical Figures
One cannot become a famous historical figure without certain qualities.
Most of the times, the people whom we have been discussing demonstrate high doses of courage, intelligence and perseverance.
Do you agree with me? What other qualities can we attribute to these people?
Examples:
- Authenticity is necessary for politicians like Franklin D. Roosevelt to thrive because people want to believe in their leaders in times of crisis.
- Before becoming a historical figure and, therefore, get the keys to virtual immortality, you have to contribute greatly to mankind through determination.
- We often overlook grit as a necessary quality in one’s quest for greatness. Actually, historical figures knew how to push their agendas persistently and consistently like Nicolaus Copernicus in the fifteenth century.
- Nevertheless, other qualities such as optimism and humour also play a key role in one’s pursuits and Albert Einstein demonstrated them perfectly.
- Creativity is a quality that is often found in arts and culture. Artists such as Leonardo da Vinci were very creative, so much that they produced a considerable amount of work that is still highly regarded even today. Remember the Mona Lisa painting which hangs in the Louvre?
- Many African cultures consider wisdom as wealth. Thus, chiefs or kings are often wise people who resolve disputes and find solutions to people’s problems.
Your turn: What are the qualities that you admire the most in historical figures? Next, make 5 sentences that illustrate your point of view.
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Great job! Let’s move on to Step 5. It is about how you can describe historical characters using Adjectives instead of Nouns.
e) Describe a Historical Figure (Step 5): Adjectives for Some Historical Figures (Part 1)
Some historical figures are easy to characterise because they lived a high profile life. For instance, Michael Jackson was a talented musician who revolutionised pop music.
Yet, it is not that easy to describe some historical characters because we know more about their works than who they were as human beings.
How can we go about describing them then?
Examples:
- Shaka Zulu was a fearless warrior who conquered many tribes.
- Cleopatra must have been very intelligent and powerful to have such influence on Julius Caesar.
- Abraham Lincoln was a very reliable and trustworthy man to such an extent that many Americans call him ‘Honest Abe‘.
- Nelson Mandela was a brave lawyer, political activist and South Africa’s first black president. He spent 27 years in prison because of his political beliefs.
- Mahatma Gandhi was a humble and optimistic Indian lawyer who led his country to independence and full self-governance through nonviolence.
Your turn: Can you choose 5 historical characters and describe them? You can do an online search to help you. You can even watch interviews on YouTube to see the person so that you can come up with an authentic description.
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This was interesting, wasn’t it? Let’s go to the last step of our lesson and discover the dark side of some historical figures. Are you ready?
f) Describe a Historical Figure (Step 6): Adjectives for Some Historical Figures (Part 2)
Human beings are not perfect individuals. Hence, our historical figures are often ambiguous and controversial characters.
However, some of them have really done awful things despite their popularity. Consequently, history remembers them that way.
Can you think of someone who was prominent in the past but who is certainly not an example to follow today?
Examples:
- Adolf Hitler was a cruel leader who brought a lot of chaos and destruction in the world.
- Napoleon Bonaparte was a belligerent emperor who wanted to conquer a lot of lands in Europe.
- Idi Amini was a bloodthirsty Ugandan president who unleashed terror on his own people.
- Alexander the Great, Hannibal, Julius Caesar and Shaka Zulu are considered as great military tacticians, yet they brought a lot of misery in the world with their warmongering. It is therefore safe to say that they were thoughtless and inconsiderate in their quest for greatness.
- Historical figures who fought to have power and wealth were often two-faced and untrustworthy.
Your turn: Do you know any historical figures who can fit the descriptions above? Make 5 sentences in which you describe them.
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Congratulations for coming so far!
This was the last step in our ‘Describe a Historical Figure Lesson.’ Good job for having a persevering spirit!
What was your favourite step?
Before you start another lesson, remember to go back to the lessons you have previously done to reactivate old words.
Besides, make sure that you always have a unilingual or bilingual dictionary in order to check the meaning and pronunciation of new words.
‘Practice makes perfect!’
As usual, it was fantastic to have you around!
Have a great day wherever you are!
Until next time!
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