Inspirational People on Postage Stamps - Famous Postage Stamps

There are many inspirational people in the world and one of the ways they get recognized is in being commemorated on postage stamps. They do not always get commemorated in their own country, or even when they are still living, but other countries recognize their influence and issue postage stamps in honor of them.

People of influence

I have selected three people of influence from days gone by because it is more difficult to judge a person’s merit if they still have influence in the present day. I have omitted the obvious ones (JFK, Washington and so on) and instead opted for these three inspirational people. I have chosen a boxer, an actor and an icon.

Joe Louis

A famous boxer from the 1930s and 40’s who was nicknamed the ‘Brown Bomber’ because he won a lot of his fights by knockouts (KO).

Joe Louis was born in Alabama in 1914 to a very poor family who were cotton pickers Joe moved to Detroit when he was 10 years old and got involved in boxing as a means of protecting himself from racial discrimination. Louis became a professional boxer after he won the Golden Gloves. Joe won the world heavyweight boxing championship in 1937 by a KO of James J. Braddock. Joe Louis retired in 1949 as the undefeated heavyweight champion of the world.

Joe is fondly remembered as the first African American to become a national hero and his record shows that he held the heavyweight title for nearly 12 years. This record still stands as does his record of 25 successful defenses of his title.

Just prior to the outbreak of World War II, the well celebrated Louis had a rematch with the German opponent Max Schmeling (a favorite of Hitler) who had once beaten him. To the delight of countless Americans, Joe easily knocked Schmeling aside (KO) to strike a blow to German arrogance (much to the great annoyance of Hitler).

Humphrey Bogart

Humphrey Bogart (nicknamed Bogie) was one of the finest American actors of the 20th century. His father and mother were successful professional people and his upbringing was far for poor and he attended a private school. Bogart began acting in his early twenties and appeared on Broadway for many years.

When Humphrey moved on to the film set he played the gangster role before making a big breakthrough with ‘High Sierra’ and ‘The Maltese Falcon’. He appeared in many inspirational movies including ‘Casablanca’ for which he is still remembered. His film career lasted for about thirty years and he was nominated for the Oscars on a number of occasions. Humphrey Bogart did win an Academy Award (Oscar) for best actor in ‘The African Queen’.

His, famous actress, wife Lauren Bacall appeared with him in the movie ‘Key Largo’. Unlike many Hollywood marriages today the marriage of Bogart and Bacall was a happy one. They get mentioned together in the hit song with the words ‘We had it all, just like Bogie and Bacall’. The USPS (US postal Service) featured Humphrey Bogart on a postage stamp in its series of legends of Hollywood (late 1990’s).

Princess Diana

Princess Diana (Di), of Wales was one of those inspirational people that will never be forgotten. She was a media icon in the latter part of the 20th century. She was married to the Prince of Wales in the mid summer of 1981. Over 700 million people watched the televised celebration. She was destined to be the Queen of England.

Although a shy person, her very public persona was what endeared her to so many people around the world. Princess Di was born into a royal English family. She died tragically in a car crash in France. Diana's life was short but she is remembered for her work with those who were less well off and those suffering in war torn countries. Diana developed an intense interest in serious illnesses including AIDs and her words of encouragement were welcomed by all including government leaders when she pleaded for funds to help the suffering. She devoted herself, selflessly, to her charity work.

Wedding postage stamps

Princess Diana's son is to marry in 2011 and the celebration of his wedding to Kate will feature on postage stamps throughout the world. The stamps opposite are an example and should be collectible and of interest to philatelists. The unusual thing about this stamp pair is that you will need to buy both stamps still attached together for them to be of value. The different value on each stamp is a quirky feature too. These Royal stamps originated in new Zealand.

The three I have chosen may not be to everyone’s taste but they were interesting people and each of them had eventful lives. All three were inspirational people of their time and were commemorated on postage stamps to honor them.