3. William Shakespeare
26.4. 1564 - 23.4. 1616
Was an English poet and playwright,
widely regarded as the greatest writer in
the English language and the world's pre-
eminent dramatist. He is often called
England's national poet and the "Bard of
Avon". His surviving works, including
some collaborations, consist of about 38
plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative
poems, and several other poems. His
plays have been translated into every
major living language and are performed
more often than those of any other
playwright.
5. Football in England
Association football is a national sport in England,
where the first modern set of rules for the code
were established in 1863, which were a major
influence on the development of the modern Laws
of the Game. With over 40,000 association
football clubs, England has more clubs involved in
the code than any other country.
England is home to, amongst others, the world's
oldest association football club (Sheffield F.C.),
the oldest national governing body (The Football
Association), the first national team, the oldest
national knockout competition (the FA Cup) and
the oldest national league (The Football League).
Today England's top domestic league,
the Premier League, is one of the most popular
and richest sports leagues in the world, and is
home to some of the world's most famous
football clubs.
7. The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band formed
in Liverpool in 1960 and one of the most
commercially successful and critically acclaimed
acts in the history of popular music. The group's
best-known lineup consisted of John
Lennon (rhythm guitar, vocals), Paul McCartney
(bass guitar, vocals), George Harrison (lead
guitar, vocals) and Ringo Starr (drums, vocals).
Rooted in skiffle and 1950s rock and roll, the
group later worked in many genres ranging from
pop ballads to psychedelic rock, often
incorporating classical and other elements in
innovative ways. Their enormous popularity first
emerged as “Beatlemania"; as their songwriting
grew in sophistication, by the late 1960s they
came to be perceived by many fans and cultural
observers as an embodiment of the ideals shared
by the era's The Beatles revolutions.
10. History of ice hockey in Slovakia
In 1908, the International Ice Hockey Federation, an
international organization that still runs most of the
international hockey tournaments today, was established.
In Slovakia (as a part of former Czechoslovakia), Canadian-
styled ice hockey was popularized[clarification
needed]during the European Championships in High
Tatras in 1925.
In 1929 the first official tournament took place in Slovakia.
The Tatra Cup is the second oldest tournament in Europe,
after the Spengler Cupin Switzerland. The first organization
of Slovak ice hockey was established under the name
of Slovenská župa kanadského ľadového hokeja as a
part of the Slovak Ice Hockey Federation in what was then
Czechoslovakia.
The first organized competition was held in 1930.
Throughout the course of ice hockey history in
Czechoslovakia, many Slovak players became eligible to
play for the Czechoslovakian national team. Among those
who were able achieve this was Ladislav Troják; A native
of Košice who left for Prague to play for the LTC Praha– at
those times considered to be the best[who?] ice hockey
team in the country—in 1934. From there he was only a
step away from playing for the national team.
12. Music of Slovakia
The music of Slovakia has been influenced both
by the county's native Slovak peoples and the
music of neighbouring regions. Whilst there are
traces of pre-historic musical instruments, the
country has a rich heritage of folk
music and mediaeval liturgical music, and from
the 18th century onwards, in particular, musical
life was influenced by that of Austria-Hungary. In
the 19th century composers such as Jan
Levoslav Bella began to write romantic music with
a Slovak character. In the twentieth century
there were a number of composers who identified
with Slovak culture. After the fall of
communism in 1989–90 the country also began
to develop its own popular music scene in
Western style.
14. TWiiNS
TWiiNS are a Slovak twin pop duo
consisting of sisters Daniela and Veronika
Nízlová who were born on 15 May 1986
in Hronský Beňadik. They
represented Slovakia at the Eurovision
Song Contest 2011 with their song, "I'm
Still Alive", which failed to qualify for the
final. Despite this, they still gave Slovakia
their best result since re-entering the
competition in 2009. The song was co-
written and produced by Bryan Todd.
17. Thomas Mann
6 June 1875 – 12 August 1955
was a German novelist, short story writer, social
critic, philanthropist, essayist, and 1929 Nobel Prize
laureate, known for his series of highly symbolic and
ironic epic novels and novellas, noted for their
insight into the psychology of the artist and the
intellectual. His analysis and critique of the European
and German soul used modernized German and
Biblical stories, as well as the ideas
of Goethe, Nietzsche, and Schopenhauer. His older
brother was the radical writer Heinrich Mann, and
three of his six children, Erika Mann, Klaus
Mann and Golo Mann, also became important
German writers. When Hitler came to power in 1933,
Mann fled to Switzerland. When World War II broke
out in 1939, he emigrated to the United States, from
where he returned to Switzerland in 1952. Thomas
Mann is one of the best-known exponents of the so-
called Exilliteratur.
19. Oktoberfest
Oktoberfest is a 16-day festival held
annually in Munich, Bavaria, Germany,
running from late September to the first
weekend in October. It is one of the most
famous events in Germany and is the
world's largest fair, with more than 5
million people attending every year. The
Oktoberfest is an important part
of Bavarian culture, having been held
since 1810. Other cities across the world
also hold Oktoberfest celebrations,
modeled after the Munich event.
21. Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach (31 March [O.S. 21
March] 1685 – 28 July 1750) was a German
composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and
violinist of the Baroque Period. He enriched many
established German styles through his skill
in counterpoint, harmonic
and motivic organisation, and the adaptation of
rhythms, forms, and textures from abroad,
particularly from Italy and France. Bach wrote
much music, which was revered for its intellectual
depth, technical command, and artistic beauty.
Many of his works are still known today, such as
the Brandenburg Concertos, theMass in B minor,
the Well-Tempered Clavier, and
his passions, cantatas, partitas, and organ works.
24. Vuk Stefanović Karadžić
Вук Стефановић Караџић; November 7, 1787 –
February 7, 1864) was a Serbian philologist and
linguist, the major reformer of the Serbian
language, and deserves, perhaps, for his
collections of songs, fairy tales, and riddles to be
called the father of the study of Serbian folklore.
He was the author of the first Serbian dictionary.
Among his colleagues in linguistics were Jernej
Kopitar and Đuro Daničić, while in folklore
studies, Vuk Vrčević (1811–82), a friend of
writer Stjepan Mitrov Ljubiša.
He was well known abroad and familiar to such
giants as Jacob Grimm, Goethe and
historianLeopold von Ranke. Vuk was
the primary source for Ranke's Serbische
Revoluzion ("Serbian Revolution"), written in
1829.
26. Ivo Andrić
Ivan "Ivo" Andrić (October 9, 1892 –
March 13, 1975) was
a Yugoslav novelist, short story writer, and
the 1961 winner of the Nobel Prize in
Literature. His writings dealt mainly with
life in his native Bosnia under the Ottoman
Empire. His native house in Travnik has
been transformed into a Museum, and his
Belgrade flat on Andrićev Venac hosts
the Museum of Ivo Andrić.
28. Novak Djokovic
born 22 May 1987) is a Serbian professional tennis
player who is ranked World No. 1 by the Association of
Tennis Professionals (ATP) since 4 July 2011. He has won
five Grand Slam singles titles: the 2008, 2011 and 2012
Australian Open, the 2011 Wimbledon Championships, and
the 2011 US Open. By winning three Majors in 2011,
Djokovic became the sixth male player in the open era to
win three Majors in a calendar year.
He is the first male player representing Serbia to win a
Major singles title and the youngest player in the open era
to have reached the semifinals of all four Grand Slam
events, separately and consecutively. Amongst other titles,
he won the Tennis Masters Cup in 2008 and was on the
team which won the 2010 Davis Cup. He also won the
bronze medal in singles at the Beijing Olympics in 2008. He
has won 11 Masters 1000 series titles placing him joint
fourth on the all time list. Djokovic is regarded as one of
the greatest tennis players of all time.