Ataturk
Mustafa Kemal Ataturk (1881-1938) ably led the sultan's troops to victory at the battle of Gallipoli and later led his own troops in dethroning the sultan and transforming the smashed Ottoman Empire into the Republic of Turkey. With countless reforms, some good (free education, women's suffrage), some bad (abolition of the fez), Ataturk more than deserves to be commemorated during the cruelest month. But he deserves special mention for throwing off Time Warner's plans to name a man of the (20th) century. At the risk of alienating Kurds around the world, we declare Ataturk's position on the new calendar to be nobody's business but the Turks'.