Nancy Wake (#55)

Background

Nancy Grace Augusta Wake was born on August 30th, 1912 in Roseneath, Wellington, New Zealand. She was the youngest of six children in her family. Her family moved to North Sydney, Australia soon after her birth, but her father returned to New Zealand soon after that, leaving Nancy's mother to raise the six children.

While in Sydney, Wake attended the North Sydney Household Arts School, but at the age of 16, Wake ran away from and went to work as a nurse. Using 200 she inherited from her aunt, Wake travelled to New York and then to London, where she trained herself to be a journalist. Wake moved to Paris where she worked as a European correspondent for Heart newspapers. She experienced and reported on the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party. In 1937, Wake met Henri Edmond Fiocca, whom she married in 1939.

World War Two

When Germany invaded France, Wake was living with her husband in Marseilles, and when France fell in 1940, Wake became a courier for the French Resistance and later joined the escape network of Captain Ian Garrow. Wake became so good at avoiding capture that the Gestapo referred to her as the White Mouse. The Resistance had to be careful when giving Wake missions because she was constantly in danger. The Gestapo had begun to tap her phone and intercept her male, and by 1943, Wake had become the Gestapo's most wanted person with a price of 5 million francs on her head. 

The escape network was betrayed by a spy in 1943 and Wake had to flee Marseille. Her husband remained behind and was captured, tortured, and executed. Wake was able to escape into Spain and return to Britain. Wake joined the Special Operations Executive in Britain and in 1944, she parachuted into the Auvergne, becominga liaison between London and a group of guerrilla fighters led by Henri Tardivat. She became instrumental in recruiting members to the guerrilla groups, and soon, Tardivat's army was 7,500 strong. Tardivat and Wake led missions throughout the war, taking on 22,000 soldiers with their 7,500. In the process, they caused 1,400 casualties while losing only 100 of their own men.

After the war, Wake recieved the George Medal, the United States Medal of Freedom, the Medaille de la Resistance, and the Croix de Guerre. It wasn't until after the war that she learned about her husbands capture and death. She worked at the British Air Ministry for several years before moving back to Australia to run for the 1949 federal election. She lost and moved back to London and resumed work for the Air Ministry. In 1957, she resigned and married RAF officer John Forward and the two moved to Australia.

The End

In 1997, Forward died and in 2001, Wake moved back to London. She stayed at several hotels where, although she did pay for her stay, much of her living costs were absorbed by the hotel. Wake died on August 7, 2011 of a chest infection at the age of 98. Nancy Wake is on our list because of her efforts in World War II and for making it to the top of the Gestapo's most wanted list.

Krakatoa (August 27th)

Krakatoa is an Indonesian island that is the result of three volcanoes: Rakata, Danan, and Perbowatan. These three volcanoes had been active for hundreds of years, but the eruption in 1883 would be what made these volcanoes the most famous in the world.

By 1883, the area surrounding Krakatoa had been having seismic activity around the volcanoes for several years, some were so strong, they were felt as far off as Australia. In May of that year, steam began regularly venting from Perbowatan, and small eruptions of ash reached altitudes of 20,000 ft.  By the end of May, all activity had died down, but the volcanoes began erupting again around June 16th, covering the island in a black cloud. The eruptions reached their highest level of intensity on August 25th, and by the 26th, it was evident that a greater eruption was yet to come.

On August 27th, 1883, four explosions occurred on the small island of Krakatoa. At 5:30am, Perboewatan volcano erupted, creating tsunamis going North. At 6:44am, Danan volcano exploded, sending tsunamis both East and West. At 10:02am, the largest explosion took place, and was heard 3,110 km south in Perth, Australia and 4,800km west in Mauritius, where the sound was mistaken for distant cannon fire. The energy released in this explosion alone was said to be equal to 200 megatons of TNT, or four times the energy created by the Tsar Bomba, the most powerful thermonuclear weapon ever detonated.

 At 10:41am, a landslide on Rakata volcano caused the fourth and final eruption. The pressure created by the last explosion radiated out from the volcano at 1,086 km/h (675mph). The blast was so powerful, it blew out the eardrums of sailors in ships nearby. The pressure also caused a 2 and a half inch spike of mercury in pressure gauges in Batavia, and records from barographs around the world continued to pick up the volcano's shock-wave for the next five days. From these records, it has been concluded that the last eruption's shock-wave reverberated around the world seven times in total.

Hot ash from the volcano fell in Ketimbang in Sumatra later on the 27th, and approximately 1,000 people died. On the nearby island of Sebesi, only 13km off from the volcano, 3,000 were killed. Many settlements in the area were destroyed by the 30m tall tsunami. Smaller waves caused by the volcano were recorded as far away as the English Channel.

The volcanic ashed forced into the atmosphere by the eruption lowered the earth's temperature by 1.2 degrees Celsius, and it took five years for the temperature to return to normal. This ash also caused the sky to redden around the world. In New York, it was said that the sky was so red, many believed that there was a fire. In other areas, a Bishop's ring, or halo, formed around the sun.

Steve Irwin (#98)

Background

Stephen Robert Irwin was born on February 22, 1962 in Australia. In 1970, Irwin moved to Queensland with his parents. His father was a herpetologist and wildlife expert, and his mother was a wildlife rehabilitator. Both of Irwin's parents worked in the Queensland Reptile and Fauna Park. Steve would help to do feeding and maintenance jobs around the park. He began handling crocodiles at the age of 9, and he wrestled his first crocodile that year. Irwin volunteered for Queensland's East coast Crocodile Management program, and captured over 100 crocodiles. In 1991, Irwin took over as the manager of the Reptile and Fauna Park and renamed it Australia Zoo the following year.

The Crocodile Hunter

In 1991, Terri Raines, a naturalist from Eugene, Oregon, was visiting wildlife rehabilitation facilitis in Australia, and met Irwin while visiting the zoo. Four months later, the couple was engaged, getting married in June on 1992. The Irwins' honeymoon consisted of trapping crocodiles together. Film footage of their honeymoon was taken by John Stainton. This footage became the first episode of the Crocodile Hunter, which came out in Australia in 1996, and into North American television by 1997. The Crocodile Hunter was a massive success, reaching 130 countries and 500 million people. As the show progressed, the cast included Steve, Terri, their dog Sui, and their children: Bindi Sue and Bob Irwin. The show continued until 2006, though Irwin continued to appear in other shows, including Croc Files and The Crocodile Hunter Diaries. 

Later Roles

Irwin continued to appear on television. He was in several episodes of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. He also had cameos in Dr. Dolittle 2, Happy Feet, and The Wiggles. In 2002, he starred in the movie The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course. He also was part of the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service's media campaign to promote Australian customs requirements. Irwin also remained active in conservation, founding the Steve Irwin Conservation Foundation, an independent charity that was renamed Wildlife Warriors Worldwide. He also helped to found the International Crocodile Rescue, the Lyn Irwin Memorial fund, and the Iron Bark Station Wildlife Rehabilitation Facility. In November of 2003, Irwin was in Baja California filming a documentary when two scuba divers were reported missing. Irwin suspended the filming and helped in the search for the missing people, saving one person and finding the body of the other.  

The End

While filming a documentary on ocean creatures, Irwin was snorkeling at the Great Barrier Reef when a ray turned and attacked Steve, stabbing Steve with the spine of its tail. Irwin died shortly afterwards. Steve Irwin makes our list because of his personality. He was able to capture the attention of the entire world with his show and was able to put that attention to good use. Irwin is also probably one of the most important conservationists in the history of the world. Also, Irwin had two species of animals and a gorilla named after him. Steve Irwin changed the world we live in and is remembered for his contributions to it.

#16- Abel Tasman

16 Abel Tasman

Abel Tasman (1603-1659) was a Dutch explorer who made trading and exploratory voyages in East and Southeast Asia. in 1642, he went south from Batavia (Jakarta) to find the hypothetical southern continent and a possible route to Chile. Instead pf finding the southern continent, Tasman found an island which he named Van Diemen's Land after the man who sent him on this voyage. The land was later renamed Tasmania. Tasman then kept going east and found New Zealand, which Tasman thought was the Southern Continent. Tasman also found the Tonga and Fiji islands. He also had a 2nd voyage in 1644 during which he sailed to the Gulf of Carpentaria and along the northern and western coasts of Australia. Abel Tasman has made his name great for having an island named after him and for discovering what would become the country of New Zealand.

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