February 10

Peter Heywood (1772-1831) was a British naval officer involved in the 1789 mutiny on the HMS Bounty. He was among the youngest midshipmen on board when Fletcher Christian led the rebellion. Captured and put on trial, Heywood narrowly escaped execution and was later pardoned. He returned to naval service and achieved the rank of captain, serving in the Napoleonic Wars. Heywood commanded several ships and was respected for his seamanship and leadership. His life story exemplifies themes of survival, redemption, and naval tradition in the Age of Sail.

Born in Xalapa in 1792, José Joaquín de Herrera rose through military ranks before entering politics. He first became president in 1844 and later led the nation during the aftermath of the Mexican-American War. As a military commander, he sought peace negotiations and helped stabilize a country scarred by conflict. Herrera’s administrations focused on financial reform and rebuilding national institutions. He retired to private life after his final term and passed away in 1854, leaving a legacy of leadership amid Mexico’s turbulent formative years.

Edvard Kardelj was born in 1910 in Ljubljana and emerged as a leading figure in the Yugoslav Partisan movement during World War II. He became a close collaborator of Josip Broz Tito and played a central role in shaping Yugoslavia's socialist self-management system. As Vice President and later Foreign Minister of Yugoslavia, he influenced both domestic reforms and international relations, including the Non-Aligned Movement. Kardelj authored key theoretical works on workers' self-management and party organization, earning him the reputation of the intellectual architect of Yugoslav socialism. Despite his political prominence, he maintained a reputation for pragmatism and dedication to collective governance until his death in 1979.

Alex Haley was born in 1921 in Ithaca, New York, and served in the U.S. Coast Guard for two decades. He began his writing career as a journalist before collaborating on The Autobiography of Malcolm X in 1965. His landmark work Roots: The Saga of an American Family was published in 1976 and earned him a Pulitzer Prize Special Award. Roots popularized oral history and traced his family's ancestry from Africa through slavery in America. Haley's storytelling brought African American heritage to a wide audience and influenced generations of writers and historians. He passed away in 1992, leaving a lasting legacy on American literature and cultural history.