Famous people from Egypt
Here is a list of famous people from Egypt. Curious if anybody from Egypt made it our most famous people in the world list? Read the aformentioned article in order to find out.
Cleopatra
Monarch
Cleopatra VII Philopator, known to history as Cleopatra, was the last pharaoh of Ancient Egypt. She was a member of the Ptolemaic dynasty, a family of Greek origin that ruled Ptolemaic Egypt after Alexander the Great's death during the Hellenistic period. The Ptolemies, throughout their dynasty, spoke Greek and refused to speak Egyptian, which is the reason that Greek as well as Egyptian languages were used on official court documents such as the Rosetta Stone. By contrast, Cleopatra did learn to speak Egyptian and represented herself as the reincarnation of an Egyptian goddess, Isis. Cleopatra originally ruled jointly with her father, Ptolemy XII Auletes, and later with her brothers, Ptolemy XIII and Ptolemy XIV, whom she married as per Egyptian custom, but eventually she became sole ruler. As pharaoh, she consummated a liaison with Julius Caesar that solidified her grip on the throne. She later elevated her son with Caesar, Caesarion, to co-ruler in name. After Caesar's assassination in 44 BC, she aligned with Mark Antony in opposition to Caesar's legal heir, Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus. With Antony, she bore the twins Cleopatra Selene II and Alexander Helios, and another son, Ptolemy Philadelphus. After losing the Battle of Actium to Octavian's forces, Antony committed suicide. Cleopatra followed suit, according to tradition killing herself by means of an asp bite on August 12, 30 BC. She was briefly outlived by Caesarion, who was declared pharaoh by his supporters but soon killed on Octavian's orders. Egypt became the Roman province of Aegyptus.
Mohamed Morsi
Politician
Mohamed Morsi is an Egyptian politician who served as the fifth president of Egypt, from 30 June 2012 to 3 July 2013, when he was removed by the military after mass protests. He is considered by most to be the first democratically elected head of state in Egyptian history. Although his predecessors also held elections, these were generally marred by irregularities and allegations of rigging. He was also the first president to have first assumed his duty after an election, as opposed to coming to power as revolutionaries or as appointed successors. Mohamed Morsi was educated in Egyptian public schools and universities; he was later granted a scholarship from the Egyptian government to prepare for a Ph.D. degree in the United States. Morsi was a Member of Parliament in the People's Assembly of Egypt from 2000 to 2005, and a leading member in the Muslim Brotherhood. He became Chairman of the Freedom and Justice Party when it was founded by the Muslim Brotherhood in the wake of the 2011 Egyptian revolution. He stood as the FJP's candidate for the May–June 2012 presidential election.
Ptolemy
Astronomer
Claudius Ptolemy was a Greco-Roman writer of Alexandria, known as a mathematician, astronomer, geographer, astrologer, and poet of a single epigram in the Greek Anthology. He lived in the city of Alexandria in the Roman province of Egypt, wrote in Greek, and held Roman citizenship. Beyond that, few reliable details of his life are known. His birthplace has been given as Ptolemais Hermiou in the Thebaid in an uncorroborated statement by the 14th century astronomer Theodore Meliteniotes. This is very late, however, and there is no other reason to suppose that he ever lived anywhere else than Alexandria, where he died around AD 168. Ptolemy was the author of several scientific treatises, at least three of which were of continuing importance to later Islamic and European science. The first is the astronomical treatise now known as the Almagest. The second is the Geography, which is a thorough discussion of the geographic knowledge of the Greco-Roman world. The third is the astrological treatise known sometimes in Greek as the Apotelesmatika, more commonly in Greek as the Tetrabiblos, and in Latin as the Quadripartitum in which he attempted to adapt horoscopic astrology to the Aristotelian natural philosophy of his day.
Gamal Abdel Nasser
Military Commander
Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein was the second President of Egypt, serving from 1956 until his death. He planned the 1952 overthrow of the monarchy, and was deputy prime minister in the new government. In 1953, Nasser introduced far-reaching land reforms. Following a 1954 Muslim Brotherhood-led attempt on his life, he ordered a crackdown on the organization, put President Muhammad Naguib under house arrest, and assumed executive office. A June 1956 public referendum approved both the new constitution and Nasser's nomination for presidency. Nasser's neutralist policies during the Cold War led to tense relations with Western powers, which withdrew funding for the planned Aswan Dam. Nasser's retaliatory move to nationalize the Suez Canal Company in 1956 was acclaimed within Egypt and the Arab world. Consequently, Britain, France, and Israel occupied the Sinai Peninsula, but withdrew amid international pressure, boosting Nasser's political standing significantly. From then on, Nasser's popularity in the region grew substantially and calls for pan-Arab unity under his leadership increased, culminating with the formation of the United Arab Republic with Syria.
Yasser Arafat
Military Commander
Mohammed Yasser Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf Arafat al-Qudwa, popularly known as Yasser Arafat or by his kunya Abu Ammar, was a Palestinian leader. He was Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization, President of the Palestinian National Authority, and leader of the Fatah political party and former paramilitary group, which he founded in 1959. Arafat spent much of his life fighting against Israel in the name of Palestinian self-determination. Originally opposed to Israel's existence, he modified his position in 1988 when he accepted UN Security Council Resolution 242. Arafat and his movement operated from several Arab countries. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Fatah faced off with Jordan in a brief civil war. Forced out of Jordan and into Lebanon, Arafat and Fatah were major targets of Israel's 1978 and 1982 invasions of that country. Arafat remains a highly controversial figure whose legacy has been widely disputed. The majority of the Palestinian people—regardless of political ideology or faction—viewed him as a heroic freedom fighter and martyr who symbolized the national aspirations of his people. However, many Israelis have described him as an unrepentant terrorist. Critics have accused Arafat of mass corruption, secretly amassing a personal wealth estimated to be USD $1.3 billion by 2002 despite the degrading economic conditions of the Palestinians.
Hosni Mubarak
Military Commander
Muhammad Hosni El Sayed Mubarak is a former Egyptian President, leader and military commander. He served as the fourth President of Egypt from 1981 to 2011. Mubarak was appointed Vice President of Egypt in 1975 and assumed the presidency on 14 October 1981, following the assassination of President Anwar Sadat. His almost thirty-year presidency made him Egypt's longest-serving ruler since Muhammad Ali Pasha. Before he entered politics, Mubarak was a career officer in the Egyptian Air Force, serving as its commander from 1972 to 1975 and rising to the rank of air chief marshal. Mubarak stepped down after 18 days of demonstrations during the 2011 Egyptian revolution when, on 11 February 2011, Vice President Omar Suleiman announced that Mubarak had resigned as president and transferred authority to the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces. On 13 April, a prosecutor ordered Mubarak and both of his sons to be detained for 15 days of questioning about allegations of corruption and abuse of power. He was then ordered to stand trial on charges of negligence for not giving orders to stop the killing of peaceful protestors during the revolution. These trials officially began on 3 August 2011. Egypt's military prosecutors then also proclaimed that they were investigating Mubarak's role in the assassination of his predecessor Anwar Sadat.
Georges Moustaki
Singer
Georges Moustaki, was a French singer-songwriter of Italo-Greek origin, best known for the poetic rhythm and simplicity of the romantic songs he composed and often sang. Moustaki gave France some of its best-loved music by writing about 300 songs for some of the most popular singers in that country, such as Édith Piaf, Dalida, Françoise Hardy, Yves Montand, Barbara, Brigitte Fontaine, Herbert Pagani, France Gall, Cindy Daniel, Juliette Greco, Pia Colombo, and Tino Rossi, as well as for himself.
Demis Roussos
Progressive rock Artist
Artemios Ventouris Roussos is a Greek singer and performer who had a string of international hit records as a solo performer in the 1970s after having been a member of Aphrodite's Child, a progressive rock group that also included the well renowned Vangelis. He has sold over 60 million albums worldwide. Roussos was born and raised in Alexandria, Egypt, in a family where both father George and mother Olga were of Greek origin. His parents lost their possessions during the Suez Crisis and consequently decided to move to Greece. After settling in Greece, Roussos participated in a series of musical groups beginning with The Idols when he was 17, where he met Evangelos Papathanassiou and Loukas Sideras, his future bandmates in Aphrodite's Child. After this he joined We Five, another cover band which had limited success in Greece. He came to a wider audience in 1967 when he joined progressive rock band Aphrodite's Child, with Vangelis and Sideras, initially as a singer but later also playing bass guitar, achieving big commercial success in France and other parts of Europe from 1968 to 1972. His distinctive operatic vocal style helped propel the band to international notoriety, notably on their final album 666, which became a progressive rock cult classic.
Anwar Sadat
Military Commander
Anwar El Sadat was the third President of Egypt, serving from 15 October 1970 until his assassination by fundamentalist army officers on 6 October 1981. Sadat was a senior member of the Free Officers who overthrew King Farouk in the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, and a close confidant of President Gamal Abdel Nasser, whom he succeeded as President in 1970. In his eleven years as President, he changed Egypt's trajectory, departing from many of the political, and economic tenets of Nasserism, re-instituting a multi-party system, and launching the Infitah economic policy. As President, he led Egypt in the October War of 1973 to liberate Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, which Israel had occupied since the Six-Day War of 1967, making him a hero in Egypt and, for a time, the wider Arab World. Afterwards, he engaged in negotiations with Israel, culminating in the Egypt–Israel Peace Treaty; this won him and Israel Prime Minister Menachem Begin the Nobel Peace Prize. Though reaction to the treaty—which resulted in the return of Sinai to Egypt—was generally favorable among Egyptians, it was rejected by the country's Muslim Brotherhood and leftists in particular, who felt Sadat had abandoned efforts to ensure a Palestine state. With the exception of Sudan, the Arab world and the PLO strongly opposed Sadat's efforts to make a separate peace with Israel without prior consultations with the Arab states. His refusal to reconcile with them over the Palestinian issue resulted in Egypt being suspended from the Arab League between 1979 to 1989. The peace treaty was also one of the primary factors that led to his assassination.
Claude François
Singer
Claude Antoine Marie François, also known by the nickname Cloclo, was a French pop singer, songwriter and dancer. François wrote and composed "Comme d'habitude", the original version of "My Way" and "Parce que je t'aime mon enfant", the original version of "My Boy". Some of his most famous songs are "Le lundi au soleil", "Magnolias for Ever" and "Alexandrie Alexandra". François sold some 70 million records during his career and was about to embark for the U.S. when he accidentally electrocuted himself in March 1978 at age 39. Former French President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing is quoted as saying Claude François was, to him, the equivalent of The Beatles.
Nefertiti
Noble person
Neferneferuaten Nefertiti was the Great Royal Wife of the Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaten. Nefertiti and her husband were known for a religious revolution, in which they worshiped one god only, Aten, or the sun disc. With her husband, they reigned at what was arguably the wealthiest period of Ancient Egyptian history Nefertiti had many titles including Hereditary Princess; Great of Praises; Lady of Grace, Sweet of Love; Lady of The Two Lands; Main King’s Wife, his beloved; Great King’s Wife, his beloved, Lady of all Women; and Mistress of Upper and Lower Egypt. She was made famous by her bust, now in Berlin's Neues Museum, shown to the right. The bust is one of the most copied works of ancient Egypt. It was attributed to the sculptor Thutmose, and it was found in his workshop. The bust is notable for exemplifying the understanding Ancient Egyptians had regarding realistic facial proportions. Some scholars believe that Nefertiti ruled briefly as Neferneferuaten after her husband's death and before the accession of Tutankhamun, although this identification is a matter of ongoing debate.
Rudolf Hess
Politician
Rudolf Walter Richard Heß, also spelled Hess, was a prominent politician in Nazi Germany. Appointed Deputy Führer to Adolf Hitler in 1933, he served in this position until 1941, when he flew solo to Scotland in an attempt to negotiate peace with the United Kingdom during World War II. He was taken prisoner and eventually was tried for war crimes, serving a life sentence. Hess enlisted in the 7th Bavarian Field Artillery Regiment as an infantryman at the outbreak of World War I. He was wounded several times over the course of the war, and won the Iron Cross, second class, in 1915. Shortly before the war ended, Hess enrolled to train as an aviator, but he saw no action in this role. He left the armed forces in December 1918 with the rank of Leutnant der Reserve. In autumn 1919 Hess enrolled in the University of Munich, where he studied geopolitics under Karl Haushofer, a proponent of the concept of Lebensraum, which later became one of the pillars of Nazi Party ideology. Hess joined the NSDAP on 1 July 1920, and was at Hitler's side on 8 November 1923 for the Beer Hall Putsch, a failed Nazi attempt to seize control of the government of Bavaria. Whilst serving time in jail for this attempted coup, Hess helped Hitler write his opus, Mein Kampf, which became a foundation of the political platform of the NSDAP.
Amr Diab
Arab Artist
Amr Abdul-Basset Abdul-Azeez Diab is an Egyptian singer and composer of geel music; he is the contemporary face of Egyptian el-geel pop music, according to World Music. Diab is the best-selling Middle Eastern recording artist of all time according to Amr Diab Official website but this remains controversial in the absence of well documented sales figures in the Arab world. He was awarded the World Music Award for Best Selling middle east Artist three times: 1998 for album "Nour El Ain", 2002 for album "Aktrr Wahed Byhbak 2001" and 2007 for album "El Lillady". Amr Diab also won The African Music Awards 2009, Big Apple Music Awards; Life Achievements Awards: Best Singer of The Year in 2009, and Best Male Act in African Music Awards 2010. Amr Diab is one of the top singers in the Arab world and considered a living legend by many of his fans in the Arab world. He is known as the Father of Mediterranean Music. He has created his own style which is often termed "Mediterranean Music" or "Mediterranean Sound", a blend of Western and Egyptian rhythms. In The Mediterranean in Music, David Cooper and Kevin Dawe referred to his music as "the new breed of Mediterranean music". According to author Michael Frishkopf, Amr Diab has produced a new concept of Mediterranean music, especially in his international hit, "Nour El Ain".
Mohamed ElBaradei
Diplomat
Mohamed Mustafa ElBaradei is an Egyptian law scholar and diplomat who was the acting Vice President of Egypt from 14 July 2013 to 14 August 2013. He was the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, an intergovernmental organization under the auspices of the United Nations, from 1997 to 2009. He and the IAEA were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005. ElBaradei was also an important figure in recent politics in Egypt, particularly the 2011 revolution which ousted President Hosni Mubarak, and in the 2013 protests and military coup that toppled President Mohamed Morsi.
Origen
Deceased Person
Origen, or Origen Adamantius, was a scholar, early Christian theologian and Church Father, who was born and spent the first half of his career in Alexandria. He was a prolific writer in multiple branches of theology, including textual criticism, biblical exegesis and hermeneutics, philosophical theology, preaching, and spirituality. Some of his reputed teachings, such as the pre-existence of souls, the final reconciliation of all creatures, including perhaps even the devil, and the subordination of the Son of God to God the Father, later became controversial among Christian theologians. Origen was declared anathema in 553 AD by the Second Ecumenical Council of Constantinople and by three subsequent ecumenical councils. For this reason Origen was and is not called a saint in either the Catholic or Orthodox churches.
Hypatia
Mathematician
Hypatia was an Alexandrine Neoplatonist philosopher in Egypt who was the first well-documented woman in mathematics. As head of the Platonist school at Alexandria, she also taught philosophy and astronomy. As a Neoplatonist philosopher, she belonged to the mathematic tradition of the Academy of Athens, as represented by Eudoxus of Cnidus; she was of the intellectual school of the 3rd century thinker Plotinus, which encouraged logic and mathematical study in place of empirical enquiry and strongly encouraged law in place of nature. According to the only contemporary source, Hypatia was murdered by a Christian mob after being accused of exacerbating a conflict between two prominent figures in Alexandria: the governor Orestes and the Bishop of Alexandria. Kathleen Wider proposes that the murder of Hypatia marked the end of Classical antiquity, and Stephen Greenblatt observes that her murder "effectively marked the downfall of Alexandrian intellectual life". On the other hand, Maria Dzielska and Christian Wildberg note that Hellenistic philosophy continued to flourish in the 5th and 6th centuries, and perhaps until the age of Justinian.
Hatshepsut
Monarch
Hatshepsut was the fifth pharaoh of the Eighteenth dynasty of Ancient Egypt. She is generally regarded by Egyptologists as one of the most successful pharaohs, reigning longer than any other woman of an indigenous Egyptian dynasty. According to Egyptologist James Henry Breasted she is also known as "the first great woman in history of whom we are informed." Hatshepsut was the daughter of Thutmose I and his primary wife Ahmes. Her husband Thutmose II was the son of Thutmose I and a secondary wife named Mutneferet, who carried the title King's daughter and was likely a child of Ahmose I. Hatshepsut and Thutmose II had a daughter named Neferure. Thutmose II fathered Thutmose III with Iset a secondary wife.
Ayman al-Zawahiri
Organization leader
Ayman Mohammed Rabie al-Zawahiri is an Egyptian physician, Islamic theologian and current leader of the militant Islamist organization al-Qaeda. Ayman al-Zawahiri is a former member of Islamist organizations which have both orchestrated and carried out multiple attacks on the continents of North America, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Since the September 11 attacks, U.S. State Department has offered a US$25 million reward for information leading to al-Zawahiri's apprehension. He is under worldwide sanctions by the United Nations Security Council 1267 Committee as a member or affiliate of al-Qaeda.
Abdel Halim Hafez
Arab Artist
Abdel Halim Ali Shabana, commonly known as Abdel Halim Hafez, is among the most popular Egyptian and Arab singers and performers. In addition to singing, Halim was also an actor, conductor, business man, music teacher and movie producer. He is considered to be one of the Great Four of Arabic music. His name is sometimes written as 'Abd el-Halim Hafez. He is known as el-Andaleeb el-Asmar. He is also known as an icon in modern Arabic music. To this day, his music is still enjoyed throughout the Arab world. His songs influenced the 2011 Egyptian revolution.
Abdel Fattah el-Sisi
Politician
Abdel Fattah Saeed Hussein Khalil el-Sisi, is an Egyptian General who has been Commander-in-Chief of the Egyptian Armed Forces, as well as Minister of Defence, since 12 August 2012. As head of the armed forces, he played the leading role in the July 2013 military coup, which ousted President Mohamed Morsi, following protests against Morsi and his government. Al-Sisi was subsequently appointed as First Deputy Prime Minister, while remaining Minister of Defense.
Catherine of Alexandria
Deceased Person
Saint Catherine of Alexandria, also known as Saint Catherine of the Wheel and The Great Martyr Saint Catherine is, according to tradition, a Christian saint and virgin, who was martyred in the early 4th century at the hands of the pagan emperor Maxentius. According to her hagiography, she was both a princess and a noted scholar, who became a Christian around the age of fourteen, and herself converted hundreds of people to Christianity. Over 1,100 years following her martyrdom, St. Joan of Arc identified Catherine as one of the Saints who appeared to her and counselled her. The Orthodox Church venerates her as a Great Martyr, and celebrates her feast day on 24 or 25 November. In the Catholic Church she is traditionally revered as one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers. In 1969 the Catholic Church removed her feast day from the General Roman Calendar; however, she continued to be commemorated in the Roman Martyrology on November 25. In 2002, her feast was restored to the General Roman Calendar as an optional memorial.
Adly Mansour
Politician
Adly Mansour is an Egyptian Judge who is currently the head of the Supreme Constitutional Court and the acting President of Egypt.
Farouk of Egypt
Monarch
Farouk I of Egypt, was the tenth ruler from the Muhammad Ali Dynasty and the penultimate King of Egypt and the Sudan, succeeding his father, Fuad I of Egypt, in 1936. His full title was "His Majesty Farouk I, by the grace of God, King of Egypt and Sudan, Sovereign of Nubia, of Kordofan, and of Darfur". He was overthrown in the Egyptian Revolution of 1952 and forced to abdicate in favor of his infant son Ahmed Fuad, who succeeded him as Fuad II of Egypt. He died in exile in Italy. His sister Princess Fawzia Fuad was the first wife and Queen Consort of the Shah of Iran Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.
Mido
Soccer
Ahmed Hossam Hussein Abdelhamid, more commonly known as Mido, is an Egyptian T.V Presenter and former footballer who played as a striker. Mido started his career with Zamalek in Egypt in 1999. He left the club for Gent of Belgium in 2000, where he won the Belgian Ebony Shoe. This led to a move to Dutch side Ajax in 2001, from where he joined Celta Vigo on loan in 2003. His next destination was Marseille in France and he left them for Italian side Roma in 2004. He joined English side Tottenham Hotspur on an 18-month loan in 2005 and eventually joined the club permanently in 2006. He left the club in 2007 to join Middlesbrough, from whom he joined Wigan Athletic, Zamalek, West Ham United and Ajax on loan. In 2011, he rejoined Zamalek, before joining Barnsley in 2012. He also played for Egypt 51 times scoring 20 goals. Mido retired from football in June 2013.
Anthony the Great
Deceased Person
Anthony the Great or Antony the Great, also known as Saint Anthony, or 'Anthony of Egypt', Anthony the Abbot, Anthony of the Desert, Anthony the Anchorite, Anthony of Thebes, Abba Antonius, and Father of All Monks, was a Christian saint from Egypt, a prominent leader among the Desert Fathers. He is celebrated in many churches on his feast days: 30 January in the Old-Calendar Eastern Orthodox Church and the Coptic Orthodox Church; 17 January in the New-Calendar Eastern Orthodox Church, the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church and the Coptic Catholic Church. The biography of Anthony's life by Athanasius of Alexandria helped to spread the concept of monasticism, particularly in Western Europe through Latin translations. He is often erroneously considered the first monk, but as his biography and other sources make clear, there were many ascetics before him. Anthony was, however, the first known ascetic going into the wilderness, a geographical move that seems to have contributed to his renown. Accounts of Anthony enduring supernatural temptation during his sojourn in the Libyan Desert inspired the often-repeated subject of the temptation of St. Anthony in Western art and literature.
Athanasius of Alexandria
Religious Leader
Athanasius of Alexandria, also referred to as St. Athanasius the Great, St. Athanasius I of Alexandria, St Athanasius the Confessor and St Athanasius the Apostolic, was the 20th bishop of Alexandria. His episcopate lasted 45 years, of which over 17 were spent in five exiles ordered by four different Roman emperors. He is considered to be a renowned Christian theologian, a Church Father, the chief defender of Trinitarianism against Arianism, and a noted Egyptian leader of the fourth century. He is remembered for his role in the conflict with Arius and Arianism. In 325, at the age of 27, Athanasius had a leading role against the Arians in the First Council of Nicaea. At the time, he was a deacon and personal secretary of the 19th Bishop of Alexandria, Alexander. Nicaea was convoked by Constantine I in May–August 325 to address the Arian position that Jesus of Nazareth is of a distinct substance from the Father. In June 328, at the age of 30, three years after Nicæa and upon the repose of Bishop Alexander, he became archbishop of Alexandria. He continued to lead the conflict against the Arians for the rest of his life and was engaged in theological and political struggles against the Emperors Constantine the Great and Constantius II and powerful and influential Arian churchmen, led by Eusebius of Nicomedia and others. He was known as "Athanasius Contra Mundum". Within a few years of his departure, St. Gregory of Nazianzus called him the "Pillar of the Church". His writings were well regarded by all Church fathers who followed, in both the West and the East. His writings show a rich devotion to the Word-become-man, great pastoral concern, and profound interest in monasticism.
Plotinus
Philosopher
Plotinus was a major philosopher of the ancient world. In his philosophy there are the three principles: the One, the Intellect, and the Soul. His teacher was Ammonius Saccas and he is of the Platonic tradition. Historians of the 19th century invented the term Neoplatonism and applied it to him and his philosophy which was influential in Late Antiquity. Much of the biographical information about Plotinus comes from Porphyry's preface to his edition of Plotinus' Enneads. His metaphysical writings have inspired centuries of Pagan, Christian, Jewish, Islamic and Gnostic metaphysicians and mystics.
Giuseppe Ungaretti
Poet
Giuseppe Ungaretti was an Italian modernist poet, journalist, essayist, critic, academic, and recipient of the inaugural 1970 Neustadt International Prize for Literature. A leading representative of the experimental trend known as Ermetismo, he was one of the most prominent contributors to 20th century Italian literature. Influenced by symbolism, he was briefly aligned with futurism. Like many futurists, he took an irredentist position during World War I. Ungaretti debuted as a poet while fighting in the trenches, publishing one of his best-known pieces, L'allegria. During the interwar period, Ungaretti was a collaborator of Benito Mussolini, as well as a foreign-based correspondent for Il Popolo d'Italia and Gazzetta del Popolo. While briefly associated with the Dadaists, he developed Hermeticism as a personal take on poetry. After spending several years in Brazil, he returned home during World War II, and was assigned a teaching post at the University of Rome, where he spent the final decades of his life and career. His Fascist past was the subject of controversy.
Eric Hobsbawm
Historian
Eric John Ernest Hobsbawm, CH, FBA, FRSL was a British Marxist historian of the rise of industrial capitalism, socialism, and nationalism. His best-known works include his trilogy about the long 19th century, The Age of Extremes on the short 20th century, and an edited volume which introduced the influential idea of "invented traditions". Hobsbawm's household, which was Jewish, was living in Egypt when Hobsbawm was born. They moved to Vienna, Austria, two years later, and from there to Berlin, Germany. Following the death of his parents and the rise to power of Hitler, Hobsbawm moved to London, England, with his adoptive family and obtained his PhD in History at the University of Cambridge, before serving in World War II. Hobsbawm was President of Birkbeck, University of London for ten years until his death. In 1998 he was appointed to the Order of the Companions of Honour, a UK national honour bestowed for outstanding achievement in the arts, literature, music, science, politics, industry or religion. In 2003 he was the recipient of the Balzan Prize for European History since 1900, "For his brilliant analysis of the troubled history of twentieth-century Europe and for his ability to combine in-depth historical research with great literary talent."
Imhotep
Deity
Imhotep, fl. 27th century BC, was an Egyptian polymath, who served under the Third Dynasty king Djoser as chancellor to the pharaoh and high priest of the sun god Ra at Heliopolis. He is considered to be the first architect and engineer and physician in early history, though two other physicians, Hesy-Ra and Merit-Ptah, lived around the same time. The full list of his titles is: He was one of only a few commoners ever to be accorded divine status after death. The center of his cult was Memphis. From the First Intermediate Period onward Imhotep was also revered as a poet and philosopher. His sayings were famously referenced in poems: "I have heard the words of Imhotep and Hordedef with whose discourses men speak so much." The location of Imhotep's self-constructed tomb was well hidden from the beginning and it remains unknown, despite efforts to find it. The consensus is that it is hidden somewhere at Saqqara. Imhotep's historicity is confirmed by two contemporary inscriptions made during his lifetime on the base or pedestal of one of Djoser's statues and also by a graffito on the enclosure wall surrounding Sekhemkhet's unfinished step-pyramid. The latter inscription suggests that Imhotep outlived Djoser by a few years and went on to serve in the construction of king Sekhemkhet's pyramid, which was abandoned due to this ruler's brief reign.
Mohamed Al-Fayed
Businessperson
Mohamed Abdel Moneim Al-Fayed is an Egyptian business magnate. Amongst Fayed's business interests include ownership of Hôtel Ritz Paris and formerly Harrods Department Store, Knightsbridge. Al-Fayed sold his ownership of Fulham F.C. to Shahid Khan in July 2013. Fayed has four siblings: Ali, Salah, Soaad and Safia. Fayed's eldest son, Dodi, from his first marriage to Samira Khashoggi, died in a car crash in Paris along with Diana, Princess of Wales and driver Henri Paul on 31 August 1997. Fayed married Finnish socialite and former model Heini Wathén in 1985, with whom he had four children: Jasmine, Karim, Camilla and Omar. Fayed's wealth is estimated at $1.4 billion, making him the 1031st-richest person in the world in 2013.
Adel Emam
Actor
Adel Imam, born May 17, 1940 in El Mansoura, is a popular Egyptian movie and stage actor. He is primarily a comedian, but he has starred in more serious works and, especially in his earlier films, has combined comedy with romance. Emam earned a Bachelor's Degree in Agriculture from Cairo University. Since then he has appeared in over 100 movies and 10 plays. He is one of the most famous actors in Egypt, and has received critical and popular praise throughout his career. Emam's roles have displayed a wide range of humour including slapstick, farce, and even the occasional double entendre. His character archetype is an individual down on his luck who rises above powerful outside pressures. This has proved an extremely resilient archetype in Egypt. In January 2000, the United Nations appointed Emam as a Goodwill Ambassador for UNHCR. Since then, he has worked tirelessly for the cause of refugees. He has been cast several times by the producer Emad Adeeb in movies like Morgan Ahmed Morgan and Hassan and Marcus. In 2005, he starred in El-sefara fi El-Omara, playing a Cairene everyman inconvenienced when the Embassy of Israel moves into his apartment building. In 2006, Emam appeared as one of the many stars of The Yacoubian Building, a film reputed to be the highest-budgeted in Egyptian cinema and adapted from the novel of the same name. The story is a sharp look at contemporary Egyptian life through the prism of a faded downtown Cairo apartment building. Emam portrays an aging roué whose misadventures form a central strand of the film's complex narrative. In 2011, he starred in an ad campaign for Vodafone Egypt titled 'Kowetna'.
Dodi Fayed
Film Producer
Emad El-Din Mohamed Abdel Moneim Fayed, better known as Dodi Fayed, was the son of Egyptian billionaire Mohamed Al-Fayed. He was the boyfriend of Diana, Princess of Wales, with whom he died in a car crash in Paris, on 31 August 1997. He was employed by his father and also worked as a film producer.
Julian Fellowes
Novelist
Julian Alexander Kitchener-Fellowes, Baron Fellowes of West Stafford DL, known professionally as Julian Fellowes, is an English actor, novelist, film director and screenwriter, as well as a Conservative member of the House of Lords.
Boutros Boutros-Ghali
Diplomat
Boutros Boutros-Ghali is an Egyptian politician and diplomat who was the sixth Secretary-General of the United Nations from January 1992 to December 1996. An academic and former Vice Foreign Minister of Egypt, Boutros Boutros-Ghali oversaw the UN at a time when it dealt with several world crises, including the breakup of Yugoslavia and the Rwandan Genocide.
Philo
Philosopher
Philo of Alexandria, also called Philo Judaeus, was a Hellenistic Jewish philosopher who lived in Alexandria, Egypt, during the Roman Empire. Philo used philosophical allegory to attempt to fuse and harmonize Greek philosophy with Jewish philosophy. His method followed the practices of both Jewish exegesis and Stoic philosophy. His allegorical exegesis was important for several Christian Church Fathers, but he has barely any reception history within Judaism. He believed that literal interpretations of the Hebrew Bible would stifle humanity's view and perception of a God too complex and marvelous to be understood in literal human terms. Some scholars hold that his concept of the Logos as God's creative principle influenced early Christology. Other scholars, however, deny direct influence but say both Philo and Early Christianity borrow from a common source. The few biographical details known about Philo are found in his own works, especially in Legatio ad Gaium, and in Josephus. The only event in his life that can be decisively dated is his participation in the embassy to Rome in 40 CE. He represented the Alexandrian Jews before Roman Emperor Caligula because of civil strife between the Alexandrian Jewish and Greek communities.
Constantine P. Cavafy
Poet
Constantine P. Cavafy was a Greek poet who lived in Alexandria and worked as a journalist and civil servant. He published 154 poems; dozens more remained incomplete or in sketch form. His most important poetry was written after his fortieth birthday.
Mohamed Atta
Man
Mohamed Mohamed el-Amir Awad el-Sayed Atta was an Egyptian hijacker and one of the ringleaders of the September 11 attacks who served as the hijacker-pilot of American Airlines Flight 11, crashing the plane into the North Tower of the World Trade Center as part of the coordinated attacks. Born in 1968 in a small town in Egypt's Nile Delta, Atta moved with his family to the Abdeen section of Cairo at the age of 10. Atta studied architecture at Cairo University, graduating in 1990, and continued his studies in Hamburg, Germany at the Technical University of Hamburg. In Hamburg, Atta became involved with the al-Quds Mosque, where he met Marwan al-Shehhi, Ramzi bin al-Shibh, and Ziad Jarrah, together forming the Hamburg cell. Atta disappeared from Germany for periods of time, spending some time in Afghanistan, including several months in late 1999 and early 2000 when he met Osama bin Laden and other top al-Qaeda leaders. Atta and the other Hamburg cell members were recruited by bin Laden and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed for the "planes operation" in the United States. Atta returned to Hamburg in February 2000, and began inquiring about flight training in the United States.
Bassem Youssef
Presenter
Bassem Raafat Muhammad Youssef is an Egyptian cardiac surgeon, satirist and columnist, who hosts El Bernameg, a satirical news program broadcast by Egyptian television station Capital Broadcast Centre. The press has compared Youssef with American comedian Jon Stewart, whose satire program The Daily Show inspired Youssef to begin his career. In 2013, he was named one of the "100 most influential people in the world" by Time magazine.
Athenaeus
Author
Athenaeus of Naucratis was a Greek rhetorician and grammarian, flourishing about the end of the 2nd and beginning of the 3rd century AD. The Suda says only that he lived in the times of Marcus Aurelius, but the contempt with which he speaks of Commodus, who died in 192, shows that he survived that emperor. Several of his publications are lost, but the fifteen volume Deipnosophistae mostly survives.
Filippo Tommaso Marinetti
Poet
Filippo Tommaso Emilio Marinetti was an Italian poet and editor, the founder of the Futurist movement.
Mohamed Zidan
Soccer
Mohamed Abdullah Zidan is an Egyptian footballer who also has German citizenship. He plays as a striker for the Egyptian national team and is currently a free agent after leaving Baniyas SC. He has previously played in the Bundesliga for top sides like Mainz 05, Werder Bremen, Hamburger SV, and Borussia Dortmund. During his time with Mainz he became the only player in the history of the Bundesliga to score in each of his first six games with his new club.
Mohamed Aboutrika
Soccer Midfielder
Mohamed Aboutrika is an Egyptian footballer. Aboutrika plays as a second striker and as an attacking midfielder. He is currently a member of Al Ahly SC club in Egypt. He is also one of the most notable stars in the Egyptian national team. Aboutrika was nominated for the 2006 CAF African Footballer of the Year award, and he came second in the 2008 African Footballer of The Year award. He was chosen Africa Based Player of the Year 3 times in 2006, 2008 and 2012. Aboutrika won with the Egyptian national team the African Cup of Nations in 2006, and he scored the winning goal to help Egypt win the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations. He helped his team Al-Ahly to get the bronze medal in the FIFA Club World Cup in 2006, and he is also the joint all-time top scorer in the FIFA Club World Cup with 4 goals along with Lionel Messi and Denilson.
Nawal El Saadawi
Physician
Nawal El Saadawi is an Egyptian feminist writer, activist, physician and psychiatrist. She has written many books on the subject of women in Islam, paying particular attention to the practice of female genital cutting in her society. She is founder and president of the Arab Women's Solidarity Association and co-founder of the Arab Association for Human Rights. She has been awarded honorary degrees on three continents. In 2004, she won the North-South prize from the Council of Europe. In 2005, the Inana International Prize in Belgium. Nawal el Saadawi has held positions of Author for the Supreme Council for Arts and Social Sciences, Cairo; Director General of the Health Education Department, Ministry of Health, Cairo, Secretary General of Medical Association, Cairo, Egypt, and Medical Doctor, University Hospital and Ministry of Health. She is the founder of Health Education Association and the Egyptian Women Writer’s Association; she was Chief Editor of Health Magazine in Cairo, Egypt and Editor of Medical Association Magazine.
Ehab Tawfik
Arab Artist
Ehab Tawfik is an Egyptian singer.
Mohamed Abdelwahab Abdelfattah
University Professor
The magical and mysterious, Prof. Mohammed Abdelwahab Abdelfattah, has recently returned from America, specifically, from Boston, Massachusetts, where he was Visiting Professor of Music at Boston University and a lecturer at Salem State University. His magical mystery tour began in Cairo, of course, his hometown, in 1991, the year he left for Vienna, Austria, to pursue an advanced degree in music composition and theory. He stayed there for 6 years, learning both the culture and language, and earning the highest degree in composition. During this time, he composed several compositions such as the very wonderful and popular multimedia composition,. Die Wunderstahl. On returning to Cairo, he took up a position at the Cairo Conservatoire as associate professor and there produced a number of multimedia concerts at the Cairo Opera House. He also pioneered music for the deaf and wrote a book on his innovative notation entitled, Seeing The Sound, and conducted a deaf ensemble in concert using his visual notation. His tour continues to America in 2007 with a sabbatical leave to become a Visiting Scholar of Music at the Boston University. While in Boston, he also taught the deaf, gave lectures, and put on a number of multimedia performances. Ironically, Americans appeared more interested in Egyptian music than the electronic music he knew so well. But again, he also took the time to learn the language and culture, strengthening his cross-cultural view of the world. He returned to his home country in 2011, and took up the position of as a professor of the Composition Dept. in Cairo At University of Arts. He now approaches his composition from a truly global perspective, striving to achieve a synthesis that captures his fascinating journey.
Haim Saban
Organization leader
Haim Saban is an Egyptian-born Israeli-American television and media proprietor. With an estimated net worth of $3.4 billion, he is ranked by Forbes as the 144th richest person in America.
Ahmed Shafik
Politician
Ahmed Mohamed Shafik Zaki is an Egyptian politician and a former candidate for the presidency of Egypt. He was a senior commander in the Egyptian Air Force and later served as Prime Minister of Egypt from 31 January 2011 to 3 March 2011. After a career as a fighter pilot, and squadron, wing and base commander, Shafik was the Commander of the Egyptian Air Force from 1996 to 2002, reaching the rank of air marshal. Thereafter he served in the government as Minister of Civil Aviation from 2002 to 2011. He was appointed as prime minister by President Hosni Mubarak on 31 January 2011 in response to the 2011 Egyptian Revolution, making him the last prime minister to serve as part of Mubarak's administration. He remained in office for only one month, resigning on 3 March 2011, one day after a contentious talk show confrontation in which Alaa Al Aswany, a prominent Egyptian novelist, accused him of being a Mubarak regime holdover. He narrowly lost out in the 2012 Egyptian presidential elections to Mohamed Morsi, the candidate of the Freedom and Justice Party, gaining 48.27% of the vote, compared to Morsi's 51.73%. In September 2012, Morsi's government issued an arrest warrant for Shafik.
Mohammed Abdel Wahab
Arab Artist
Mohammed Abdel Wahab, also transliterated Mohammed Abd el-Wahaab was a prominent 20th-century Arab Egyptian singer and composer. He composed the "Ya Beladi" the National anthem of Libya used by the Kingdom of Libya from 1951 to 1969 and again by the post-Gaddafi transitional government in 2011. He also composed the national anthem of Tunisia, "Humat al-Hima" as well as the United Arab Emirates national anthem "Ishy Bilady"
Sherine
Arab Artist
Sherine is an Egyptian singer and actress from Egypt, Cairo. Sherine began her career with the single Ah Ya Leil in 2000, and has since released several albums that include two EPs and three LPs.
Muhammad Abduh
Philosopher
Muḥammad 'Abduh was an Egyptian Islamic jurist, religious scholar and liberal reformer, regarded as one of the key founding figures of Islamic Modernism sometimes called Neo-Mu'tazilism after the Medieval Islamic Mu'tazilites. He broke the rigidity of the Muslim ritual, dogma, and family ties. He also wrote among other things, "Treatise on the Oneness of God", and a commentary on the Qur'an. According to some sources, Abduh was a freemason and had a close relationship with the Baha'i faith.
Hossam Hassan
Soccer
Hossam Hassan Hussein is an Egyptian retired footballer who played as a striker, and the current manager of the Jordanian National Team, he replaced Adnan Hamad. A prolific goalscorer, he is Egypt's all-time to scorer with 68 goals in 176 appearances. His twin brother Ibrahim also played professional football, and they shared teams for most of their extensive careers.
Mohamed Salah
Soccer
Mohamed Salah Ghaly is an Egyptian footballer who plays as a Winger for FC Basel in the Swiss Super League. He won CAF Most Promising African Talent of the Year in 2012 CAF Awards. Besides early competing for his senior national team he also participated in 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup and the 2012 Summer Olympics.
Amr Khaled
Preacher
Amr Mohamed Helmi Khaled is an Egyptian Muslim activist and television preacher. The New York Times Magazine, in reference to Khaled's popularity in Arab countries, described him in its April 30, 2006 issue as "the world's most famous and influential Muslim television preacher." Amr Khaled has recently been chosen as one of the world's 100 most influential people by Time Magazine. He has inspired the Arabic Youth to contribute to the social economic development of its countries by launching "Lifemakers" Concept.
Omar Suleiman
Politician
Omar Suleiman was an Egyptian army general, politician, diplomat, and intelligence officer. A leading figure in Egypt's intelligence system beginning in 1986, Suleiman was appointed to the long-vacant Vice Presidency by President Hosni Mubarak on 29 January 2011. On 11 February 2011, Suleiman announced Mubarak's resignation and ceased being Vice President; governing power was transferred to the Armed Forces Supreme Council, of which Suleiman was not a member. A new head of intelligence services was appointed by the ruling Supreme Council. Suleiman withdrew from the political scene and did not appear in public after announcing Mubarak's resignation. Millions of Egyptian citizens involved in the Egyptian Revolution of 2011 opposed Suleiman or Mubarak remaining in power without elections taking place. Human rights groups tied Suleiman’s career to a regime marked by widespread human rights abuses, and asserted that many Egyptians "see Suleiman as Mubarak II." Torture victims and human rights groups charged that Suleiman oversaw the systematic use of torture on detainees and that in at least one instance he personally tortured a detainee during his career in intelligence. In response to the 2011 protests, Suleiman blamed foreign influence and appealed to protestors to go home.
Fawzia Fuad of Egypt
Noble person
Fawzia Fuad of Egypt was an Egyptian princess who became Queen of Iran as the first wife of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. She is also known as Fawzia Chirine, having remarried in 1949. Although her royal titles were no longer recognized by the Egyptian government after the Egyptian Revolution of 1952 international protocol dictates that former monarchs and members of former ruling royal families still retain titles obtained whilst a member of a reigning monarchy. She was the oldest member of the deposed Muhammad Ali Dynasty of Albanian decent residing in Egypt. Her nephew, Fuad, who was proclaimed King Fuad II of Egypt and Sudan after the Revolution, resides in Switzerland.
Caesarion
Monarch
Ptolemy XV Philopator Philometor Caesar, better known by the nicknames Caesarion and Ptolemy Caesar, was the last king of the Ptolemaic dynasty of Egypt, who reigned jointly with his mother Cleopatra VII of Egypt, from September 2, 47 BC. Between the death of Cleopatra, on August 12, 30 BC, up to his own death on August 23, 30 BC, he was nominally the sole pharaoh. He was killed on the orders of Octavian, who would become the Roman emperor Augustus. He was the eldest son of Cleopatra VII, and possibly the only son of Julius Caesar, after whom he was named.
Abdul Basit Abdus Samad
Man
Qari ‘Abdul-Basit ‘Abdus-Samad, was a renowned Qari. As such, many modern reciters try to imitate his style. Qari to have won three world Qira'at competitions in the early 1970s. ‘Abdus-Samad was one of the first huffaz to make commercial recordings of his recitations, and the first president of the newly formed Reciters' Union in Egypt. He is best known for his recitation of sura al-Fatiha, the first chapter of the Qur'an, and a key sura in the five daily Islamic canonical prayers.
C. S. Forester
Novelist
Cecil Scott "C. S." Forester was the pen name of Cecil Louis Troughton Smith, an English novelist who rose to fame with tales of naval warfare. His most notable works were the 12-book Horatio Hornblower series, depicting a Royal Navy officer during the Napoleonic era, and The African Queen. His novels A Ship of the Line and Flying Colours were jointly awarded the 1938 James Tait Black Memorial Prize for fiction.
Mohamed Hussein Tantawi
Politician
{{Infobox officeholder |name = Mohamed Hussein Tantawi محمد حسين طنطاوي |image = Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi 2002.jpg |office = Chairman of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces of Egypt |primeminister = ⁕Ahmed Shafik ⁕Essam Sharaf ⁕Kamal Ganzouri |deputy = Sami Anan |term_start = 11 February 2011 |term_end = 30 June 2012 |predecessor = Hosni Mubarak |successor = Abdul Fatah al-Sisi |office1 = Secretary General of the Non-Aligned Movement |term_start1 = acting 11 February 2011 |term_end1 = 30 June 2012 |predecessor1 = Hosni Mubarak |successor1 = Mohamed Morsi |office2 = Minister of Defence and Military Production |primeminister2 = ⁕Atef Sedki ⁕Kamal Ganzouri ⁕Atef Ebeid ⁕Ahmed Nazif ⁕Ahmed Shafik ⁕Essam Sharaf ⁕Kamal Ganzouri ⁕Hesham Qandil |term_start2 = 20 May 1991 |term_end2 = 12 August 2012 |predecessor2 = Sabri Abu Taleb |successor2 = Abdul Fatah al-Sisi |office3 = Senior Advisor to the President |president3 = [[Mohamed Morsi] ] Mohamed Morsi |term_start3 = 12 August 2012 |term_end3 = |predecessor3 = Office Established |successor3 = |birth_date = 31 October 1935 |birth_place = Cairo, Egypt |death_date = |death_place = |party = Independent |religion = Islam |allegiance = Egypt |branch = Egyptian Army |serviceyears = 1956–2012 |rank = Field Marshal |commands = Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces
Hassan Shehata
Soccer
Hassan Shehata is an Egyptian football coach and former player, He played In Zamalek FC and awarded as Best player in Asia 1970. as a Coach, He was the head coach Egyptian national team from 2004 to 2011 to become "the longest-serving coach in the Egyptian national team history". He led Egypt to three successive titles at the African Cup of Nations in the years 2006, 2008 and 2010 to become the first African nation to achieve this streak/record. And the Egyptian Team become 9th in FIFA World Rankings in 2008 He was awarded as CAF Coach of the Year. and in 2010 become best African Coach ranking in IFFHS, He selected in Top five African coaches.
Ramy Ashour
Athlete
Ramy Mohamed Ashour is a professional squash player from Egypt. He reached world No. 1 in January, 2010, after beating Nick Matthew in the final of the 2009 Saudi International Squash Tournament. At 22 he became the youngest player to achieve world No. 1 since the Khan era, having previously been the first two-time World Junior Squash champion. In addition, he has also won numerous titles including the World Open, and is the currently the reigning World Champion.
Faten Hamama
Actor
Faten Hamama is an Egyptian producer and an acclaimed actress of film, and television She is regarded for her performances in a range of film genres, from melodramas to historical films and occasional comedies, though her chief successes were romantic dramas. Noted for her willingness to play serious characters, she has also acted in some controversial films in the history of Egyptian cinema. Hamama made her screen debut in 1939, when she was only seven years old. Her earliest roles were minor, but her activity and gradual success helped to establish her as a distinguished Egyptian actress. Eventually, and after many successful performances, she was able to achieve stardom. Revered as an icon in Egyptian and Middle Eastern cinema, Hamama has substantially helped in improving the cinema industry in Egypt and emphasizing the importance of women in cinema and Egyptian society. After a seven-year hiatus from acting, Hamama returned in 2000 in what was a much anticipated television miniseries, Wajh al-Qamar. She has not acted since then. In 2000, Hamama was chosen as Star of the Century by the Egyptian Writers and Critics organization. In 2007, eight of the films she starred in were included in the top 100 films in the history of Egyptian cinema by the cinema committee of the Supreme Council of Culture in Cairo.
Alan Whicker
Presenter
Alan Donald Whicker CBE was a British journalist and broadcaster. His career spanned almost 60 years, during which he presented the documentary television programme Whicker's World for over 30 years. He was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2005 for services to broadcasting.
Dorothy Hodgkin
Chemist
Dorothy Mary Hodgkin, OM, FRS, née Crowfoot, was a British chemist, credited with the development of protein crystallography. She advanced the technique of X-ray crystallography, a method used to determine the three dimensional structures of biomolecules. Among her most influential discoveries are the confirmation of the structure of penicillin that Ernst Boris Chain and Edward Abraham had previously surmised, and then the structure of vitamin B12, for which she was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. In 1969, after 35 years of work and five years after winning the Nobel Prize, Hodgkin was able to decipher the structure of insulin. X-ray crystallography became a widely used tool and was critical in later determining the structures of many biological molecules where knowledge of structure is critical to an understanding of function. She is regarded as one of the pioneer scientists in the field of X-ray crystallography studies of biomolecules.
Ahmed Hassan
Soccer Winger
Ahmed Hassan is an Egyptian footballer. He currently plays as an attacking midfielder or on the right wing for the Egyptian Premier League club Zamalek SC and the Egyptian national team. He is the most capped international male footballer in history with 184 appearances for Egypt.
Hesham Qandil
Politician
Hesham Kandil is the current Prime Minister of Egypt.
Richard Anthony
Singer
Richard Anthony is a French singer. Richard's father, Edgar Btesh is from the province of Aleppo in Syria, it is in the textile industry in Egypt, his mother Margaret is the daughter of the ambassador of the United Kingdom in Iraq. The young Richard spends affluent childhood in Egypt, Argentina and the United Kingdom, where he joined the famous Brighton College, then returned to France where he joined the Lycee Janson de Sailly in Paris in 1951. He has a little sister named Valerie who will be part of "Tangerine", French folk group of the 70s. After graduation and the beginning of his law studies, he refuses to follow his parents in Milan, preferring to stay with Michelle, met on the benches of the school, who would become his first wife with whom he had three children, Nathalie, Jerome and Johanne. He became a sales representative in refrigerators, while practicing the saxophone in clubs jazz. In 1958, influenced by English pop he knows well and is polyglot Richard Anthony decided to adapt it to French texts. Taking as artist name the meeting of the two names of the registry office, then he recorded You Are My Destiny by Paul Anka and Peggy Sue Buddy Holly. The label Columbia Records gives him a chance but these two titles revert unnoticed. The first to be signed in a record is Jacques Plait, who became the producer and artistic director of Joe Dassin.
Demetrio Stratos
Progressive rock Artist
Efstratios Dimitriou better known as Demetrio Stratos was a Greek-born Italian lyricist, multi-instrumentalist, music researcher, and co-founder, frontman and lead singer of the Italian progressive rock, jazz fusion band Area – International POPular Group. Born and raised in Alexandria, Egypt, of Greek parents, he studied piano and accordion at the "National Conservatoire". In 1957 he was sent to Nicosia, Cyprus, and, at the age of 17, moved to Milan, Italy, to attend the Politecnico di Milano University at the Architecture Faculty, where he formed his first musical group. In 1967, Demetrio Stratos joined the Italian beat band I Ribelli, and in 1972, founded Area. Stratos recorded many records, and toured festivals in Italy, France, Portugal, Switzerland, Netherlands, Cuba, U.S. with Area, as well as a solo artist and in collaboration with other artists. He worked together with musicians, singers, writers, poets, directors, men of learning such as Mogol, Lucio Battisti, Gianni Sassi, Gianni Emilio Simonetti, Juan Hidalgo, Walter Marchetti, John Cage, Tran Quang Hai, Merce Cunningham, Jasper Johns, Andy Warhol, Grete Sultan, Paul Zukofsky, Nanni Balestrini, Claude Royet-Journoud, and Antonio Porta.
Ahmose I
Monarch
Ahmose I was a pharaoh of ancient Egypt and the founder of the Eighteenth dynasty. He was a member of the Theban royal house, the son of pharaoh Seqenenre Tao and brother of the last pharaoh of the Seventeenth dynasty, King Kamose. During the reign of his father or grandfather, Thebes rebelled against the Hyksos, the rulers of Lower Egypt. When he was seven his father was killed, and he was about ten when his brother died of unknown causes, after reigning only three years. Ahmose I assumed the throne after the death of his brother, and upon coronation became known as Neb-Pehty-Re. The name Ahmose is a combination of the theophoric syllable 'Ah' and the combining form '-moses'. The theophoric syllable 'Ah' refers to the deity Iah. During his reign, he completed the conquest and expulsion of the Hyksos from the delta region, restored Theban rule over the whole of Egypt and successfully reasserted Egyptian power in its formerly subject territories of Nubia and Canaan. He then reorganized the administration of the country, reopened quarries, mines and trade routes and began massive construction projects of a type that had not been undertaken since the time of the Middle Kingdom. This building program culminated in the construction of the last pyramid built by native Egyptian rulers. Ahmose's reign laid the foundations for the New Kingdom, under which Egyptian power reached its peak. His reign is usually dated to the mid-16th century BC.
Pope Shenouda III of Alexandria
Religious Leader
Pope Shenouda III was the 117th Pope of Alexandria & Patriarch of the See of St. Mark. His episcopate lasted 40 years, four months, and 4 days from 14 November 1971 until his death on 17 March 2012. His official title was Pope of Alexandria and the Patriarch of All Africa on the Holy Apostolic See of Saint Mark the Evangelist of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. He was also the head of the Holy Synod of the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria. He was a conservative figure within the Church; and was also respected within the Muslim community. Born Nazeer Gayed Roufail on 3 August 1923, he became a monk in 1954 under the name Father Antonios the Syrian after joining the Syrian Monastery of the Ever-Virgin Mary the Theotokos. In 1958, he was elevated to the priesthood. In 1962, Pope Cyril VI summoned Fr. Antonios and consecrated him General Bishop for Christian Education and as Dean of the Coptic Orthodox Theological Seminary, whereupon he assumed the name Shenouda, which was the name of the Coptic saint, Shenoute the Archimandrite, as well as two previous popes: Shenouda I and Shenouda II. Saint Shenoute the Archimandrite was instrumental in flourishing the Monastic Movement, active in Ecumenical issues, a noted Church teacher and writer, and an Egyptian Leader. Pope Shenouda III maintained the legacy of the name he carried.
Apollonius of Rhodes
Poet
Apollonius of Rhodes, floruit first half of 3rd century BCE, is best known as the author of the Argonautica, an epic poem about Jason and the Argonauts and their quest for the Golden Fleece. The poem is one of the few extant examples of the epic genre and it was both innovative and influential, providing Ptolemaic Egypt with a "cultural mnemonic" or national "archive of images", and offering the Latin poets Virgil and Gaius Valerius Flaccus a model for their own epics. His other poems, which survive only in small fragments, concerned the beginnings or foundations of cities, such as Alexandria and Cnidus – places of interest to the Ptolemies, whom he served as a scholar and librarian at the Library of Alexandria. A literary dispute with Callimachus, another Alexandrian librarian/poet, is a topic much discussed by modern scholars since it is thought to give some insight into their poetry, although there is very little evidence that there ever was such a dispute between the two men. In fact almost nothing at all is known about Apollonius and even his connection with Rhodes is a matter for speculation. Once considered a mere imitator of Homer, and therefore a failure as a poet, his reputation has been enhanced by recent studies, with an emphasis on the special characteristics of Hellenistic poets as scholarly heirs of a long literary tradition writing at a unique time in history.
Abu Hamza al-Masri
Preacher
Mustafa Kamel Mustafa, also known as Abu Hamza al-Masri, or simply Abu Hamza, is an Egyptian-born convict and former imam, who has preached Islamic fundamentalism and militant Islamism, or jihadism. He was imprisoned in the United Kingdom in 2004 and was extradited to the United States on 5 October 2012 where he will face charges of supporting al-Qaeda, aiding a kidnapping in Yemen and plotting to open a training camp for militants in the United States.
Ptolemy II Philadelphus
Monarch
Ptolemy II Philadelphus was the king of Ptolemaic Egypt from 283 BC to 246 BC. He was the son of the founder of the Ptolemaic kingdom Ptolemy I Soter and Berenice, and was educated by Philitas of Cos. He had two half-brothers, Ptolemy Keraunos and Meleager, who both became kings of Macedonia, and who both died in the Gallic invasion of 280–279 BC. Ptolemy was first married to Arsinoë I, daughter of Lysimachus, who was the mother of his legitimate children; after her repudiation he married his full sister Arsinoë II, the widow of Lysimachus. During Ptolemy's reign, the material and literary splendour of the Alexandrian court was at its height. He promoted the Museum and Library of Alexandria, and he erected a commemorative stele, the Great Mendes Stela.
Youssef Chahine
Film Director
Youssef Chahine was an Egyptian film director active in the Egyptian film industry since 1950. He was credited with launching the career of actor Omar Sharif. A critically acclaimed director frequently seen in film festivals during decades, Chahine also had his reach to wider international filmgoers' audiences as one of the co-directors of 11'9"01 September 11.
Soad Hosny
Actor
Soad Mohamed Hosny was an Egyptian actress and singer born in the Bulaq district of Cairo. Hosny was known as the "Cinderella of Egyptian cinema" and one of the most influential actresses in the Middle East. Her father Muhammed Kamal Al Baba is Syrian Kurd . She is the sister of the legend Syrian/Egyptian singer Najat El-Saghira . She ascended to stardom in the end of the 1950s, performing in more than 83 films between 1959 and 1991. A majority of her films were shot in the 1960s and 1970s. Her final screen appearance was in the 1991 film The Shepherd and the Women, directed by her ex-husband Ali Badrakhan.
Youssra
Actor
Yousra is an Egyptian actress and singer. Her birth name is Civene Nassim. She is the sister-in-law of actor Hesham Selim, son of famous Egyptian football player, actor and former president of Al Ahly, Saleh Selim. Yousra is considered as a glamorous icon for the Middle East. Recently many people have acknowledged that Yousra has reached a point of stardom where anything she has to say will be heard by more people and to greater effect than even those in authority.
Nabila Ebeid
Actor
Nabila Ebeid, also spelled Nabila Obeid, is an Egyptian actress. In 1965, she starred with Omar Sharif in The Mamluks, a role which was described as her "first steps to fame". She has also starred in the television dramas Al-Ammah Nour and Al-Bawaba Al-Thaniya.
Guy Béart
Singer
Guy Béart is a French singer and songwriter.
Margaret Hodge
Politician
Margaret Eve Hodge, MBE, PC, MP is a British Labour politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Barking since 1994. She was the first Minister for Children in 2003 and was Minister of State for Culture and Tourism at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. On 9 June 2010 she was elected Chair of the Public Accounts Committee.
Saint Maurice
Deceased Person
Saint Maurice was the leader of the legendary Roman Theban Legion in the 3rd century, and one of the favorite and most widely venerated saints of that group. He was the patron saint of several professions, locales, and kingdoms. He is also a highly revered saint in the Oriental Orthodox churches.
Emad Moteab
Soccer
Emad Moteab is an Egyptian football striker. He plays for Al-Ahly Egyptian club as well as the Egyptian national team. At his current club Al-Ahly, some have commented that his combination with Mohamed Aboutrika and Mohamed Barakat formed the most formidable triangle in African Football, and they were given the moniker of "The Bermuda Triangle." The Angolan striker Flávio Amado replaces Barakat sometimes, playing a great role in forming this dangerous triangle. Moteab is considered one of the best strikers of his age in Africa. On 14 November 2009, he scored a game changing goal in the very last minute of the match, this gave Egypt a 2–0 lead defeating the Algerian team, forcing an extra game in the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification, which Algeria won 1–0. Like wise, he has displayed the uncanny ability to miss an open goal such as in the 2012 London Olympics Group stage match against New Zealand.
Saint Apollonia
Deceased Person
Saint Apollonia was one of a group of virgin martyrs who suffered in Alexandria during a local uprising against the Christians prior to the persecution of Decius. According to legend, her torture included having all of her teeth violently pulled out or shattered. For this reason, she is popularly regarded as the patroness of dentistry and those suffering from toothache or other dental problems. French court painter Jehan Fouquet painted the scene of St. Apollonia's torture in The Martyrdom of St. Apollonia.
Saadia Gaon
Rabbi
Saʻadiah ben Yosef Gaon was a prominent rabbi, Jewish philosopher, and exegete of the Geonic period. The first important rabbinic figure to write extensively in Arabic, he is considered the founder of Judeo-Arabic literature. Known for his works on Hebrew linguistics, Halakha, and Jewish philosophy, he was one of the more sophisticated practitioners of the philosophical school known as the "Jewish Kalam". In this capacity, his philosophical work Emunoth ve-Deoth represents the first systematic attempt to integrate Jewish theology with components of Greek philosophy. Saadia was also very active in opposition to Karaism, in defense of rabbinic Judaism.