There is a lot of discussion about employment these days. With governments overdoing unemployment benefits, many have chosen sitting at home as opposed to becoming a productive member of society. I do not understand this; it was not how I was raised.

Well, it has taken 15 weeks, and I have seldom devoted more than three or four sentences to each of the 43 people or topics, but I hope you can use this as an outline to better understand the modern world.

Henry Ford lived from 1863 to 1947. Famous for the assembly line, he didn’t really invent it. The assembly line concept had been in use for many years, and Ransom E. Olds patented it in 1901.

Chronologically, we jumped over Woodrow Wilson last week to get to a good guy – George Washington Carver. Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924) is, in my opinion, one of the most destructive presidents in the history of the United States, and by extension, as a world leader.

Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931) is a figure of almost mythological proportions. He was a person of immense inventive gifts who came along at just the right time to turn many scientific concepts discovered by people with much more education into practical appliances we still use every day.

In essence, Marx and Engels had the idle time to develop Marxism due to the wealth of the Engels family. Now, isn’t that special?

Abraham Lincoln (1809-65) was born in poverty in Kentucky. Largely self-educated, Lincoln had a tremendous drive and sense of right and wrong. When asked as an adult to fill out a form once, in response to the question “Education?,” he wrote “inadequate.”

I last left you with Thomas Jefferson in bucolic Virginia. We now need to go across the Atlantic Ocean and visit with a few French folks. First up is Marquis de Lafayette, born in 1757, 14 years after Thomas Jefferson. He was commissioned as an officer in the French military at the ripe old age of 13. A fan of the American Revolution, he was instrumental in France supporting the colonists and was a key figure in the colonists’ ability to win the war.

I last left you with Thomas Jefferson in bucolic Virginia. We now need to go across the Atlantic Ocean and visit with a few French folks. First up is Marquis de Lafayette, born in 1757, 14 years after Thomas Jefferson. He was commissioned as an officer in the French military at the ripe old age of 13. A fan of the American Revolution, he was instrumental in France supporting the colonists and was a key figure in the colonists’ ability to win the war.

We are approaching, but not quite at, the middle of my list of people who shaped our modern world. Up through John Harrison – our subject last week – you might have thought of these people as living in very olden times. I think the tone will begin to change now, as we start talking about people of what I would consider more modern times.

John Harrison needed the math of Newton and Leibenz, and Britain needed the work of Harrison to manage its colonies through the communications tool of the day – sailing ships. Unless you have studied certain navigational subjects, you have likely never heard of John Harrison, but he is key to modern commerce (at least up to the point where we threw satellites up in the sky to aid in navigation).

Newton was born in 1642 and died in 1726. He never married. His life spanned many other interesting lives of the time. Galileo died the year he was born. He had only been deceased for 10 years when George Washington was born. There are others in between we will discuss.

Pascal had a dramatic conversion experience in November 1654 and after that wrote a number of famous religious treatises. We will see this theme again shortly, a mixture of mathematics, physics and deep Christian religious faith.

Galileo was born in 1564 (along with Shakespeare) and died in 1642, outliving Shakespeare by 26 years. Galileo’s full name was Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei. He was from Pisa, Italy. Galileo invented the thermoscope (predecessor to the modern thermometer), various styles of military compasses and other scientific instruments. He is best known, however, for his work with the telescope.

So, where did Christopher Columbus get the idea that he could travel west to go east; that is, leave Europe going west and end up in India? Actually, it was already a very old understanding that the Earth was round when he embarked.