A few famous individuals who once have applied for asylum abroad include...
Mikhail Baryshnikov, Dancer, Choreographer, and Actor
"Mikhail Nikolayevich Baryshnikov" (born Jan. 28, 1948, Riga, Latvia U.S.S.R.) was 12 when he began formal dance training. He was admitted to the Vagnova ballet school in 1963 and joined the Kirov Ballet in 1966. He experienced great success in the company, and was often given specially-choreographed solos and eventually leading roles. Baryshnikov defected while on tour in Canada and went on to dance with the American Ballet Theater and the New York City Ballet. (Image)
Hans Bethe, Nuclear Physicist
"Hans Albrecht Bethe (July 2, 1906-March 6, 2005) was a theoretical physicist who shaped the field of quantum physics and greatly increased scientists' understanding of atomic processes relating to properties of matter and the structure of atomic nuclei. He worked on the Manhattan Project and was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1967 for his research on energy production within stars. He was also influential in campaigns for socially responsible science including the use of nuclear energy in peaceful, safe, environmentally friendly ways. (Image)
Nadia Comâneci, Olympic Gymnast
Born in Romania on November 12, 1961, Nadia Comaneci was the first gymnast to receive a perfect 10 in an Olympic gymnastics competition. Comaneci first competed in 1969 and quickly began dominating the romanian gymnastics scene. In 1973 and 1974 she was the all-around champion for the pre-Olympic junior tournament for communist-bloc nations. She won the American Cup in 1976, and went on to receive seven perfect scores three gold, one silver, and a bronze medal at the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games. She retired in 1984 and fled Romania for the United States in 1989 before the revolution erupted. (Image)
Born in Romania on November 12, 1961, Nadia Comaneci was the first gymnast to receive a perfect 10 in an Olympic gymnastics competition. Comaneci first competed in 1969 and quickly began dominating the romanian gymnastics scene. In 1973 and 1974 she was the all-around champion for the pre-Olympic junior tournament for communist-bloc nations. She won the American Cup in 1976, and went on to receive seven perfect scores three gold, one silver, and a bronze medal at the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games. She retired in 1984 and fled Romania for the United States in 1989 before the revolution erupted. (Image)
Philip Emeagwali, Computer Scientist
Often called the "father of the internet" Philip Emeagwali was born in 1954 in Onitsha, Nigeria and showed mathematical promise from a young age. In 1966, fighting broke out in Nigeria that would lead to the Biafran civil war during which time Emeagwali lived in a refugee camp. He traveled to the U.S. in 1974 on a scholarship and eventually earned degrees in mathematics, civil, coastal and marine engineering, and computer science.
In 1989 he was awarded the Gordon Bell prize for solving what the U.S. government had categorized as one of the worlds' twenty most challenging mathematical problems. By using 65,000 processors, Emeagwali could preform the world's quickest calculation at 3.1 billion computations per second. (Image)
In 1989 he was awarded the Gordon Bell prize for solving what the U.S. government had categorized as one of the worlds' twenty most challenging mathematical problems. By using 65,000 processors, Emeagwali could preform the world's quickest calculation at 3.1 billion computations per second. (Image)
The Dalai Lama, Leader-in-Exile
Born Lhamo Döndrub on July 6, 1935, in Tibet, Tenzin Gyatso is the 14th Dalai Lama. He fled Tibet in 1959 when the Tibetan uprising was crushed by the Chinese military. He settled in the Punjab region of India in Dharamsala where he organized a new "shadow" Tibetan government. Suppression 19 of Tibetan Buddhism became more intense as China's Cultural Revolution grew. Religion was banned, monasteries destroyed, and the Dalai Lama accused the Chinese government of genocide.
The ban on religion was lifted in 1976, but protests continued as the Tibetan Independence Movement grew. The Dalai Lama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 for his nonviolent campaign against the Chinese. (Image)
Albert Einstein, Theoretical Physicist
Born in Ulm, Württemburg, Germany, on March 14, 1879, Albert Einstein won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1921 for his work with the photoelectric effect. He left his home in Germany in December of 1932 after a price was put on his head and a Nazi group published his picture in a magazine with the caption "Not Yet Hanged" on the cover. He settled in Princeton, New Jersey.
After immigrating to the United States, Einstein acted as a catalyst to the creation of the Manhattan Project. There had been reports that the Germans were researching nuclear energy for the development of weapons, but those claims were considered only rumors, and it was Einstein's efforts to reach out to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, as well as his own earlier research, that contributed to the United States developing the atomic bomb.
By the end of his life, Einstein had published over 300 scientific papers and over 150 non-scientific works. 'Einstein' is now a synonym for 'genius.'
(Image)
After immigrating to the United States, Einstein acted as a catalyst to the creation of the Manhattan Project. There had been reports that the Germans were researching nuclear energy for the development of weapons, but those claims were considered only rumors, and it was Einstein's efforts to reach out to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, as well as his own earlier research, that contributed to the United States developing the atomic bomb.
By the end of his life, Einstein had published over 300 scientific papers and over 150 non-scientific works. 'Einstein' is now a synonym for 'genius.'
(Image)
Marie Jana Korbelova was born in Czechoslovakia in 1937. She was forced to flee from her twice, the first time from the Nazis in World War II. Sadly, records in Europe show that many of her relatives who remained in their homeland died in concentration camps. The family was forced to flee again during the Communist coup in 1948, and immigrated to the United States when she was 11 years old.
She attended Wellesley College and went into politics and served in many capacities including President of the Center of National Policy and advisor to multiple presidential candidates. President Bill Clinton appointed her as his permanent Representative to the U.N. and later as his Secretary of State where she was unanimously confirmed by the US Senate. She was sworn in on January 23, 1997 and became the first female U.S. Secretary of State. (Image)
She attended Wellesley College and went into politics and served in many capacities including President of the Center of National Policy and advisor to multiple presidential candidates. President Bill Clinton appointed her as his permanent Representative to the U.N. and later as his Secretary of State where she was unanimously confirmed by the US Senate. She was sworn in on January 23, 1997 and became the first female U.S. Secretary of State. (Image)
….and many more!
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