Omar Hassan Ahmad Al Bashir
Birth:1944
Death:
Fourth military leader to overthrow the Sudanese government since independence in 1956.
The bloodless military coup, in 1989, that propelled Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir - a relatively unknown paratroop brigadier - into the presidency was reported to be instigated by Hassan al-Turabi, an ideologue and leader of ...
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Compiled by:M. Nauman Khan / Ghulam Mohiuddin
Omar Bongo
Birth:1935
Death:2009
Africa's longest-serving ruler
Gabon's president, Omar Bongo, ruled his small West African nation of 1.5 million people for 41 years - longest service in the history of Africa.
A disciple of the first generation of African leaders, Omar Bongo came to power and presided over an oil ...
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Compiled by:M. Nauman Khan / Ghulam Mohiuddin
Omar Ali Saifuddin III
Birth:1914
Death:1986
Sultan of Brunei 1950-1967. He abdicated in favour of his son Sultan al Bolkiah.
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Compiled by:M. Nauman Khan / Ghulam Mohiuddin
Obed Dlamini
Birth:1937
Death:
Prime Minister of Swaziland in 1989.
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Compiled by:M. Nauman Khan / Ghulam Mohiuddin
Obaid Zakani
Birth:
Death:1371
Persian poet noted for his satire and obscene verses. His Masnavi Mush-O-Gorbeh (Mouse and Cat) is a political satire. Obeyd used to ridicule the classic poets.
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Compiled by:M. Nauman Khan / Ghulam Mohiuddin
Orkhan I
Birth:1288
Death:1359
He was the son of Osman, and was the Sultan of the Turks in 1327. He added largely to the territories of his father, and formed a body of infantry called Jannissaries who later proved formidable to Europe.
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Compiled by:M. Nauman Khan / Ghulam Mohiuddin
Otakhon Latifi
Birth:1936
Death:1998
Journalist and politician.
Latifi was once a correspondent for the Soviet's Pravda and Izvestiya, and later deputy chairman of the Tajik Council of Ministers in 1989.
Latifi was instrumental participant in efforts to implement peace in the strife-ridden Tajikistan. He was exiled in 1992 and returned from ...
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Compiled by:M. Nauman Khan
Ousmane Sambene
Birth:1923
Death:2007
The 'father of African cinema'.
A crucial figure in Africa's post-colonial cultural awakening, Ousmane the Senegalese filmmaker and writer who gained international recognition was widely seen as the father of African cinema.
He took up filmmaking in the 1960s, in part because Ousmane believed that ...
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Compiled by:M. Nauman Khan / Ghulam Mohiuddin
Omar Seyfettin
Birth:1884
Death:1920
One of the greatest modern Turkish writers.
Seyfuddin entered the army after studying at the military schools of Edirne and Constantinople. He took part in the Balkan wars (1912-13) but after leaving army he concentrated on writing.
Seyfuddin's Bahar Ve Kelebekler in 1927 was about the ...
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Compiled by:M. Nauman Khan / Ghulam Mohiuddin
Omar Ibn Abi Rabia
Birth:644
Death:719
One of the greatest early Arab poets.
Umar belonged to the family of Makhzum. His poetry gave a vivid picture of the social life of the people of Makkah and Madinah. This prince of erotic poetry was known as the Ovid of Arabia.
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Compiled by:M. Nauman Khan / Ghulam Mohiuddin
Omar Khayyam
Birth:1044
Death:1123
Outstanding Iranian poet and mathematician.
Umar al-Khayyam was a man of great talent and scientific enquiry and is believed to have excelled in mathematics, sciences, astronomy and philosophy. As a Mathematician he invented the Jalali Era, which was so accurate that it had an error ...
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Compiled by:M. Nauman Khan / Ghulam Mohiuddin / Syed Sharfuddin
Omar Mukhtar
Birth:1862
Death:1931
Hollywood filmed a famous guerrilla Sanusi leader of Libya, whose life story.
Libya was invaded by Italy in 1911 but the prolonged resistance of the sanusiyah brotherhood denied the Italians control of Libya till 1931. When the Italians captured Umar Mukhtar the hero of the resistance movement, ...
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Compiled by:M. Nauman Khan / Ghulam Mohiuddin
Omar Pasha
Birth:1806
Death:1871
Ottoman General.
Umar Pasha deserted the Austrian Army, and came to Bosnia and became a Muslim. King Abdul Majid of Turkey made him governor of Lebanon in 1842.
From 1843, Umar Pasha suppressed insurrections in Albania, Bosnia and Kurdistan, and defeated the Russians in two battles in 1853. ...
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Compiled by:M. Nauman Khan / Ghulam Mohiuddin
Osman Noori Pasha
Birth:1832
Death:1900
Turkish General
Osman Pasha became a national hero of the Turks when he defeated the Russians who crossed the Danube, at Pleven (Bulgaria) in 1877-78, and earned the title of 'Ghazi'.
Osman Pasha served in the Crimean War (1853-56) and in the suppression of insurrection ...
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Compiled by:M. Nauman Khan / Ghulam Mohiuddin
Omar Said Tjokroaminoto
Birth:1882
Death:1934
The founder of Sarekat Islam an Islamic political organisation in Indonesia, in 1911 to protect the Javanese from Chinese traders.
The Sarekat Degang Islam (Association of Islamic Traders) was established in 1911 to promote the interests of the Indonesian Muslim traders, who were facing competition from the ...
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Compiled by:M. Nauman Khan / Ghulam Mohiuddin
Omar Cassem
Birth:1915
Death:2004
South African Muslim scholar and anti-apartheid campaigner.
Omar Cassem was an Arabic scholar, anti-apartheid campaigner in South Africa, calligrapher, interior designer, poet and angler.
Omar acted as a spokesman against the hated Group Areas Act (passed soon after the National Party came to power in 1948) ...
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Compiled by:M. Nauman Khan
Omar Sharif
Birth:1932
Death:
Egyptian film-actor of international repute.
Omar Sharif acted in many hit-films - Lawrence of Arabia (1962), The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964), Genghis Khan (1965), Dr. Zivago (1965), Funny Girl (1968), Che! (1969), The Last Valley (1970), The Tamarind Seed (1974), Juggernaut (1974), The Mysterious Island of Captain Nemo (1974), Funny Lady (1975), The Pink ...
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Compiled by:M. Nauman Khan / Ghulam Mohiuddin
Orhan Pamuk
Birth:1953
Death:
Writer whose novels make a uniquely Turkish contribution to world literature
Orhan Pamuk is a celebrity, garlanded with prizes from Europe and the US, and a best-seller at home and abroad. He shines a light on the tensions between past and present.
Both My Name ...
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Compiled by:M. Nauman Khan
Osman Waqialla
Birth:1925
Death:2007
Sudanese calligrapher of international repute
He had his first solo exhibition in Khartoum in 1952, and in 1954, founded Studio Osman, which became a flourishing business specialising in graphic design and calligraphic commissions. He showed his works in a variety of exhibitions outside Sudan such as first ...
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Compiled by:M. Nauman Khan
Oussama Mellouli
Birth:1984
Death:
Tunisia's 2008 Olympian.
He won gold medal in 1500m freestyle swimming in 14:40.84 time in Beijing 2008 Olympic and beat Australian double Olympic champion and world record holder.
This is Tunisia's first Olympic gold in swimming. Mellouli returned after a 15-month ban for a doping offence.
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Compiled by:M. Nauman Khan
Omar Amiralay
Birth:1944
Death:2011
Syrian documentary filmmaker
One of the most lauded documentary filmmaker Omar Amiralay whose chief theme was, apart from the devastating impact of Baathist policies on the Syrian poor, civil war in Lebanon, the plight of the Palestinians there during the Israeli siege of Beirut in 1982 ...
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Compiled by:M. Nauman Khan
Omar Suleiman
Birth:1936
Death:2012
Egypt's long-time spy chief
The former long-term intelligence chief, better known as the Mukhabarat, Omar Suleiman stepped briefly into the limelight when he was appointed vice-president during the uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak. He left Egypt after a failed bid to run in the country's ...
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Compiled by:M. Nauman Khan
Obaid Siddiqi
Birth:1932
Death:2013
Scientist
The scientist who established molecular biology and pioneered into how genes produce proteins, Professor Obaid Siddiqi became a key figure in the field and has left his legacy of a flourishing research base in India.
Born in Basti district, Utter Pradesh, India, Obaid Siddiqi ...
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Compiled by:M. Nauman Khan