2,425 articles
Avril Haines
Avril Danica Haines (born 1969), American national security official; seventh Director of National Intelligence 2021-2025, first woman to lead the U.S. intelligence community, earlier CIA deputy director and principal deputy national security advisor; named eleventh president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in 2026.
Awadhesh Kumar Bharti
Air Marshal Awadhesh Kumar Bharti (Awadesh Kumar Bharti), Indian Air Force fighter pilot (18781 F(P)), commissioned 1987; DG Air Operations during Operation Sindoor 2025, then Deputy Chief of Air Staff; retired 31 July 2026; Purnia, Bihar native; Vayu Sena Medal, AVSM, Uttam Yudh Seva Medal.
Ayesha Gaddafi (عائشة القذافي)
Ayesha Gaddafi (عائشة القذافي), Aisha Muammar Muhammed Abu Minyar Qadhafi, Libyan lawyer and only biological daughter of Muammar Gaddafi; UNDP Goodwill Ambassador 2009-2011, Saddam Hussein defense team member, UN-sanctioned in 2011, travel ban lifted 2023, EU delisted 2023, resident in Oman.
Ayman al-Zawahiri (أيمن الظواهري)
Ayman al-Zawahiri (أيمن الظواهري), Egyptian eye surgeon, Egyptian Islamic Jihad co-founder, and al-Qaeda deputy then emir from 2011; killed in a US drone strike in Kabul on 31 July 2022.
Azahari Husin
Azahari Husin (Azahari bin Husin), known as Dr. Azahari, was a Malaysian engineer who served as Jemaah Islamiyah's chief bomb maker and masterminded the 2002 Bali bombings.
Azem Galica
Azem Galica, born Azem Bejta, was an Albanian resistance leader from Drenica in Kosovo who led the Kaçak uprisings from 1918 until his death in 1924.
Azhar Waqas
Azhar Waqas, PA-30624, is a Pakistan Army general officer, Hilal-e-Imtiaz (Military) recipient, who served as Director General Military Intelligence from January 2020 and as Director-General of Pakistan Rangers Sindh from September 2022.
B. Srinivasan
B. Srinivasan (Brighu Srinivasan, born 1967), 1992-batch Bihar-cadre IPS officer, Director General of the National Security Guard since August 2024, formerly ADG-cum-Director Bihar Police Academy and J&K Police intelligence chief.
Baba Harbhajan Singh
Baba Harbhajan Singh, Hero of Nathula, was a 23rd Punjab Regiment sepoy born in 1946 who drowned near Nathu La, Sikkim, in 1968; his memorial temple, built near Tsomgo Lake and inaugurated 1983, anchors a ghost-soldier tradition including posthumous salary, promotion, and 2006 official retirement.
Babur (بابر)
Babur (Zahir al-Din Muhammad Babur, بابر), Timurid prince of Fergana (1483-1530), lost Samarqand to the Uzbeks, took Kabul in 1504, defeated Ibrahim Lodi at Panipat in 1526 and founded the Mughal Empire in India; author of the Chaghatay Baburnama.
Bachir Gemayel
Bashir Gemayel (بشير الجميّل, 1947-1982), Lebanese Forces militia founder and Kataeb leader, son of Pierre Gemayel; elected Lebanese president 23 August 1982 with Israeli backing, assassinated 14 September 1982 before taking office.
Bahadur Shah I (بہادر شاہ اول)
Bahadur Shah I (بہادر شاہ اول), born Muhammad Mu'azzam, also Shah Alam I, seventh Mughal emperor (r. 1707–1712). Eldest son of Aurangzeb, took the throne at 63 by defeating Azam Shah at Jajau; settled with Rajputs and Marathas, fought Banda Bahadur, died at Lahore 1712.
Baiju Noyan
Baiju Noyan, also known as Baichu, was a Mongol general and military governor who commanded the Mongol forces in northwestern Iran and Anatolia from 1242 to 1259.
Bairam Khan (محمد بیرم خان)
Bairam Khan (محمد بیرم خان), Baharlu Turkmen noble of Qara Qoyunlu origin, regent and wakil al-saltana for Akbar, victor of Panipat 1556, assassinated 1561 in Gujarat.
Baji Prabhu Deshpande
Baji Prabhu Deshpande (बाजीप्रभू देशपांडे, c. 1615–13 July 1660), Maratha commander and deshkulkarni of Hirdas Maval under Shivaji, died holding Pavan Khind pass so Shivaji could escape the siege of Panhala to Vishalgad.
Bajirao I
Bajirao I, Peshwa of the Maratha state 1720–1740 under Shahu, appointed at age 20; drove Maratha expansion into Malwa, Gujarat, and Bundelkhand, fought the Nizam and won at Bhopal in 1737.
Bajram Curri
Bajram Curri (1862–1925) was an Albanian chieftain and leader of uprisings against Ottoman rule, and after 1912 for the defense of Kosovo against Serbian rule.
Balcha Safo
Balcha Safo, also rendered Balcha Aba Nefso, was an Ethiopian military commander and governor known for his role in the victory over Italy at Adwa in 1896.
Balearic slinger
Balearic slingers (foners) were sling-armed mercenaries from the Balearic Islands, trained from childhood, carrying three slings of different lengths, serving Carthage under Hannibal and later Rome, famed for accuracy and lead glandes.
Balian of Ibelin
Balian of Ibelin (c. 1143–1193), also Balian Ibn Barzan, lord of Ibelin and Nablus, baron of the Kingdom of Jerusalem; married Maria Comnena, defended Jerusalem in 1187, and negotiated its surrender to Saladin on 2 October 1187.
Banastre Tarleton
Banastre Tarleton (1754-1833), British cavalry commander of the Loyalist British Legion in the American Revolution's southern campaign; nicknamed "Bloody Ban" after the Waxhaws, defeated at Cowpens, later MP and author.
Barbarossa brothers
The Barbarossa brothers, Oruç Reis and Hayreddin, were Ottoman corsairs from Lesbos who seized Algiers in 1516 and brought the central Maghreb under Ottoman rule.
Barry Mannakee
Barry Mannakee (Barry Albert Mannakee) was a Metropolitan Police personal protection officer and bodyguard to Diana, Princess of Wales, transferred to the Diplomatic Protection Group; he died in a 1987 motorcycle crash ruled accidental, though Diana claimed he was killed.
Barry McCaffrey
Barry Richard McCaffrey, retired four-star U.S. Army general, commanded the 24th Infantry Division's left hook in Desert Storm, led U.S. Southern Command, and was Bill Clinton's drug czar (ONDCP director, 1996-2001), later an NBC News military analyst and consultant.
Bartholomew Roberts
Bartholomew Roberts, born John Roberts (c. 1682–1722), Welsh pirate known as Black Bart or Barti Ddu; most successful Golden Age pirate with over 400 ships taken, captain of the Royal Fortune, killed by HMS Swallow off Cape Lopez on 10 February 1722.
Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti
Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti (برزان إبراهيم حسن التكريتي, 1951-2007), Saddam Hussein's half-brother, headed Iraq's Mukhabarat intelligence service 1979-1983, served as UN ambassador in Geneva managing Saddam's hidden finances, and was hanged in 2007 for the Dujail killings.
Bashir Zaib
Bashir Zaib (Bashir Zeb, بشیر زیب), Baloch militant from Nushki, Muhammad Hasni tribe; former BSO-Azad chairman who leads the Balochistan Liberation Army since 2018, behind the Majeed Brigade and the 2025 Jaffar Express hijacking.
Basil al-Assad (باسل الأسد)
Basil al-Assad, the eldest son of Hafez al-Assad, was the expected heir apparent who died in 1994. He was also a medal-winning horseman and Syrian army major.
Basil L. Plumley
Basil L. Plumley (1920–2012), US Army command sergeant major of three wars, sergeant major of the 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry at Ia Drang, portrayed by Sam Elliott in We Were Soldiers.
Bass Reeves
Bass Reeves (1838-1910), a formerly enslaved man from Texas or Arkansas, became one of the first Black deputy U.S. marshals west of the Mississippi, serving 32 years in Indian Territory under Judge Parker and reporting over 3,000 arrests.