1. Charles Dickens lived for a time in a workhouse as a child. Later he glued labels on shoe polish bottles in a factory. He went on to author 34 books including classics like Oliver Twist and A Christmas Carol.
2. Hank Williams was born with spina bifida. As a child he sold peanuts and held other small jobs to pay the bills. In adulthood, he had numerous hit records and had a record six encores at the Country Music Hall of Fame.
3. J.K. Rowling was divorced and living on social assistance in a mouse-infested apartment in Edinburgh, Scotland when she started writing. Now she has sold 350 million copies of the Harry Potter series in 55 languages. She is the 13th richest person in Great Britain.
4. Lucille Ball's father died of typhoid fever when she was only four years old. Her mother remarried and she spent much of her time living with her grandmother. At a New York City drama school, her coaches told her that she "had no future at all as a performer" and so she dropped out. She went on to star in many movies and had three hugely successful TV shows, "I Love Lucy", "The Lucy Show" and "Here's Lucy".
5. Nelson Mandela was jailed for 27 years, largely for his political beliefs. Upon his release, he pledged to end Apartheid and was elected President of South Africa.
Image courtesy http://1.bp.blogspot.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment