People who are born in the year of the Dragon are brave, innovative individuals who succeed through determination and decisiveness. Some of the inspiring and influential dragon people born in the United States include:
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (1929–1968)
Born Jan. 15, 1929, Martin Luther King was a Baptist minister and leader in the civil rights movement in the 1950s and ‘60s. Beginning with the Montgomery bus protest, King used nonviolent civil disobedience to bring about social change. The bus protest led to a suit against the city of Montgomery where the court ruled in favor of equality, and the mandate on segregated buses was lifted.
Dr. King used his charismatic speaking style to galvanize masses of support, including leading a march with over 200,000 people in Washington, D.C., where he gave his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. Dr. King proved the merits of nonviolent civil disobedience with the successes he produced and the respect he earned from opponents and rivals in the civil rights movement.
Along with Mahatma Ghandi, Dr. King brought nonviolent social change to the mainstream and firmly established it as morally and ethically superior to any violent or terrorist method of protest. Despite his persistence in maintaining nonviolence, Dr. King faced constant threats against his life and was eventually assassinated in1968 after firmly solidifying a legacy of peace, nonviolence, and tolerance.
Susan B. Anthony (1820–1906)
Susan Brownell Anthony was born Feb. 15, 1820 in Adams, Mass. One of the most influential people in the women’s suffrage movement, Anthony worked as an advocate, editor, publisher, and journalist for women’s rights. She also worked in the antislavery and temperance movements with her family, before fighting for gender equality.
Anthony was very determined in her cause, and gave speeches all across the United States and in Europe in support of a woman’s right to vote. In a daring protest in 1872, she voted in the presidential election illegally, and was subsequently arrested and fined $100—a fine she would never pay.
In honor of her work in gender equality, the U.S. Treasury Department put Anthony’s portrait on the one dollar coin in 1979.
Helen Keller (1880–1967)
Although visually and hearing impaired, Helen Keller became a great writer, political activist, and lecturer. Born on June 27, 1880 in Alabama, Keller suffered an illness when she was 19 months old that left her deaf and blind.
When Keller was 7, a teacher named Anne Sullivan became her instructor. Sullivan helped Keller learn to communicate with others and to overcome the psychological disadvantages that had developed due to her handicaps. With Sullivan’s help, Keller developed a positive and cheerful personality.
Keller’s successful life story is like a torch that can help show the way for anyone in difficult circumstances. In her life, she spared no effort to help people, especially working as an advocate for the disabled.
Dr. Seuss (1904–1991)
Beloved children’s writer Dr. Seuss was born Theodor Seuss Geisel, in 1904 in Springfield, Mass. Theodor attended college to become a professor, but his heart was in the arts. He began his art career with cartoons published in the Saturday Evening Post, and then spent 15 years creating advertisements.
Dr. Seuss’s first children’s book, And To Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, was rejected by all 27 of the publishers he submitted it to. Not to be defeated by these significant blows against his creativity, luck turned in his favor and an old friend from college published the book for him. His next book, The Cat in the Hat, officially began Dr. Seuss’s voyage into the hearts and imaginations of millions of parents and children around the world.
At the time of his death on Sept. 24, 1991, Dr. Seuss had written and illustrated 44 children’s books, inspired 11 children’s television specials, a Broadway musical, and a feature-length motion picture. For his lifetime of work, he collected two Academy awards, two Emmy awards, a Peabody award, and the Pulitzer Prize.
Other famous dragon personalities include Bruce Lee, Pele, Joan of Arc, and Florence Nightingale, and others. See: Some Great Individuals Born in the Year of the Dragon.
