A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Z

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