Idi Amin Dada was the third President of Uganda, ruling from 1971 to 1979. In 1946, Amin joined the British colonial regiment, the King’s African Rifles, serving in Kenya and Uganda. Eventually, Amin held the rank of major general in the post-colonial Ugandan Army and became its commander before seizing power in the military coup of January 1971. Amin’s rule was characterized by human rights abuses, political repression, ethnic persecution, extrajudicial killings, nepotism, corruption and gross economic mismanagement. The number of people killed as a result of his regime is estimated by international observers and human rights groups to range from 100,000 to 500,000. During his years in power, Amin shifted in allegiance from being a pro-Western ruler enjoying considerable Israeli support to being backed by Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi, the Soviet Union and East Germany. Dissent within Uganda and Amin’s attempt to annex the Kagera province of Tanzania in 1978 led to the Uganda-Tanzania War and the demise of his eight-year regime, leading Amin to flee into exile to Libya and Saudi Arabia, where he lived until his death on August 16, 2003.
General Twobabies is a recurring character in the webcomic Left-Handed Toons by Drew Mokris and Justin Boyd, who are right-handed people. General Twobabies, created by Drew, is my favorite character (with Whale! being a close second). Twobabies is actually two babies in an Army general’s uniform. He may be guilty of war crimes, and adorable teething. He has also appeared as Private Twobabies and Senator Threebabies.
Note: Drew also makes Spinnerdisc cartoons and Justin also makes the Invisible Bread webcomic, which I enjoy. Go check them out!
Kublai Khan was the fifth Khagan (Great Khan) of the Mongol Empire, reigning from 1260 to 1294. He was the grandson of Genghis Khan. If one counts the Mongol Empire at that time as a whole, Kublai’s realm reached from the Pacific Ocean to the Black Sea, from Siberia to modern-day Afghanistan – one-fifth of the world’s inhabited land area. However, Kublai’s real power was limited to China and Mongolia. In 1271, he founded the Yuan Dynasty, which ruled over present-day Mongolia, China and Korea, and assumed the role of Emperor of China. Kublai was born on this day in 1215.
Note: Due to incredibly unlucky timing, Kublai failed to gain power over Japan, despite two Mongol invasion attempts. In 1268, Kublai demanded tribute from Japan, but Kyoto refused. The Mongols invaded Japan in 1274 with 700-800 ships, but a typhoon destroyed their armada. An even larger invasion was attempted in 1281, with a fleet of more than 4,000 ships and 140,000 troops. Stunningly, they met the same disastrous fate, losing up to 75% of their troops and supplies both times. The failed invasions marked the first use of the Japanese word kamikaze (“divine wind”). The massive typhoons also helped perpetuate the Japanese belief that they could not be defeated, which persisted until the end of World War II.
Italian explorer and colonizer Christopher Columbus is today’s pixel art character, in honor of his demise on May 20, 1506. If we were to apply ethical standards to his life’s work, Columbus should be wanted for grand theft of the lands populated by the indigenous peoples; for initiating the systematic genocide of 98% of the original Americans; and for crimes against humanity, including the rape, torture, mutilation and enslavement of American Indians.
I previously wrote about the great lie of Columbus when I posted my Sitting Bull pixel art on Columbus Day in 2011. Even though Columbus was a wretched human being and wrong about everything, he was lucky enough to survive his catastrophic miscalculations and find uncharted land before his crews starved to death. No portrait of Columbus drawn or painted from life is known to exist, but I prefer to imagine him with a stupid hat.
Ismail Enver Pasha was an Ottoman military officer and a leader of the Young Turk Revolution. He was the main leader of the Ottoman Empire in both Balkan Wars and World War I. Enver was considered the most powerful figure of the government of Ottoman Turkey or “the number one man in Istanbul.” He played a major role in the Armenian Genocide, in which over two million were killed during 1915-20. Enver was born on this day in 1881.
Note: Happy Thanksgiving! Be thankful you didn’t know this guy.
Augusto Pinochet was a Chilean dictator whose government killed up to 3,200 people and tortured up to 30,000 during his repressive 17-year rule. Pinochet assumed power on September 11, 1973, in a bloody coup supported by the U.S. that toppled the democratically elected government of Salvador Allende, a Marxist who had pledged to lead his country “down the democratic road to socialism.” Pinochet returned Chile to democracy in 1990.
Some Chileans view Pinochet as their savior and others view him as an evil dictator. Pinochet’s CIA-backed military coup in 1973 is why some Chileans actually celebrated in response to the 9/11 attacks in 2001. They thought it was symbolic retaliation on the U.S., exactly 28 years later, for the devastating legacy of Pinochet. For more information, see Chile: The Other September 11.
Lyndon B. Johnson was the 36th President of the United States. John F. Kennedy asked him to be his running mate for the 1960 presidential election. Johnson succeeded to the presidency following the assassination of JFK in 1963 and was elected President in 1964. He was responsible for Great Society social reforms designed to eliminate poverty and racial injustice. Johnson also escalated U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, which stimulated a large antiwar movement.
Slobodan Milošević was the President of Serbia from 1989-1997 and President of Yugoslavia from 1997-2000. His presidency was marked by the breakup of Yugoslavia and the subsequent Yugoslav Wars. In the midst of the 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, Milošević was charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity in connection with the wars in Bosnia, Croatia and Kosovo. He was born on this day in 1941 and died in prison in 2006.
Hồ Chí Minh was a Vietnamese Marxist-Leninist revolutionary leader who was prime minister (1945-1955) and president (1945-1969) of the communist-governed Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam). He was a key figure in the People’s Army of Vietnam and the Viet Cong during the Vietnam War. He was born on this day in 1890.
“Ho Chi Minh” is a phrase my dad and his brothers use as an exclamation of fatigue or surprise (or after a particularly violent sneeze). The phrase “L.A.” (which is derived from “Lord Almighty,” I believe) has a similar connotation in their vernacular.
Trugernanner, often referred to as Truganini, is widely considered the last “full blood” Palawa (Aboriginal Tasmanian). Between 1803 and 1876, the black aborigines of the Australian island of Tasmania were completely destroyed by invading European settlers. The Black War, a period of conflict between British colonists and Aboriginal Tasmanians, is one of the earliest recorded modern genocides. All indigenous Tasmanian languages have been lost. Truganini died on this day in 1876.
The 37th President of the United States and the only president to resign the office, due to the Watergate scandal. Although Nixon initially escalated the war in Vietnam in 1969 and 1970, he subsequently ended U.S. involvement in 1973. He was responsible for the deaths of 70,000 Vietnamese and Cambodian civilians during the Vietnam War. He died on April 22, 1994.
Leopold II was the king of the Belgians. Born in Brussels, Leopold is remembered as the founder and sole owner of the Congo Free State, a large, privately controlled colonial region in Central Africa. He extracted a fortune from the Congo during the late 1800s, through the collection of ivory, and by forcing the population to collect sap from rubber plants. His harsh regime was responsible for the deaths of 10 million people. He was born on this day in 1835.
Joseph Kony is the head of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), a Ugandan guerrilla group operating in several African nations. While initially enjoying strong public support, the LRA turned on its own supporters, supposedly to “purify” the Acholi people and turn Uganda into a theocracy. Kony proclaims himself the spokesperson of God and a spirit medium. He has ordered the abduction of over 66,000 children to become soldiers and sex slaves.
Kony was recently popularized by the manipulative Kony 2012 viral campaign from the controversial group Invisible Children. See the Visible Children blog for a critical view of Kony 2012.
Hideki Tōjō was the 40th Prime Minister of Japan during most of World War II, from 1941 to 1944. He was also a general of the Imperial Japanese Army and leader of the para-fascist Taisei Yokusankai. As Prime Minister, he was directly responsible for the attack on Pearl Harbor, which led to the war between Japan and the United States. After the end of the war, Tōjō was arrested, sentenced to death for Japanese war crimes and hanged in 1948.
An Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited as a key figure in the creation of Fascism. Mussolini became the 40th Prime Minister of Italy in 1922 and remained in power until he was replaced in 1943 during World War II. In 1945, Mussolini attempted to escape to Switzerland, but was captured, executed and taken to Milan for public viewing.
A Romanian Communist politician who ruled Romania from 1965 to 1989. Born on this day in 1918, Ceausescu was the country’s second and last Communist leader. His rule became increasingly brutal and his repressive regime was among the most rigid in the Soviet bloc. His government was overthrown in the December 1989 revolution, and he and his wife were executed on Christmas Day.
A Cambodian Maoist revolutionary, who led the Khmer Rouge from 1963 until his death in 1998. Pol Pot became leader of Cambodia in 1975. During his time in power he imposed a version of agrarian socialism, forcing urban dwellers to relocate to the countryside to work in collective farms. The combined effects of slave labor, malnutrition, poor medical care, and executions resulted in the genocide of around two million Cambodians.
The founder and Great Khan of the Mongol Empire. He conquered and massacred most of Eurasia, but also promoted religious tolerance. He unified the nomadic tribes of northeast Asia. He died on this day in 1227. Through his sons and grandsons, the Mongol Empire became the largest contiguous empire in history (and included 26% of the world population).
A French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution. As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815. His legal reform, the Napoleonic Code, influenced civil law jurisdictions worldwide. He is considered one of the greatest military commanders (see the Napoleonic Wars). He was born on this day in 1769.
P.S. Napoleon had problems, but being short wasn’t really one of them. He was 5′ 6″ or 5′ 7″ tall, which is average for an 18th-century Frenchman (but shorter than most Imperial Guards). Still, he gets the Napoleon complex named after him.
A Cuban revolutionary and politician born on this day in 1926. He played a key role in the Cuban Revolution, leading a successful guerrilla war against Batista’s forces with the aid of his brother Raúl Castro and friend Che Guevara. Castro became prime minister and president and converted Cuba to a one-party socialist state. In 2006, he delegated his presidential duties to Raúl Castro due to illness. On April 19, 2011, Fidel Castro resigned from the Communist Party central committee, thus stepping down as party leader.
Christopher Columbus – No. 621
Italian explorer and colonizer Christopher Columbus is today’s pixel art character, in honor of his demise on May 20, 1506. If we were to apply ethical standards to his life’s work, Columbus should be wanted for grand theft of the lands populated by the indigenous peoples; for initiating the systematic genocide of 98% of the original Americans; and for crimes against humanity, including the rape, torture, mutilation and enslavement of American Indians.
I previously wrote about the great lie of Columbus when I posted my Sitting Bull pixel art on Columbus Day in 2011. Even though Columbus was a wretched human being and wrong about everything, he was lucky enough to survive his catastrophic miscalculations and find uncharted land before his crews starved to death. No portrait of Columbus drawn or painted from life is known to exist, but I prefer to imagine him with a stupid hat.