Hi Steemians, Here I am with the first blog of the new year of the daily blog I write on the information on Five selected famous personalities born on this day. Courtesy of this information goes to onthisday.com, famousbirthdays.com and wikipedia.org and image source is mentioned under "Source" just below each image. 1. Christine Lagarde ![Lagarde Christine.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmbezSmvcTKrNY89ADvSBokBNu3UanfmeC9PizuftvbPys/Lagarde%20Christine.jpg) Source Christine Lagarde is a French Lawyer and politician who is the current Managing Director of International Monetary Fund(IMF) and is one of the powerful women in the world. Prior to becoming MD of IMF, she has worked as minister of various portfolios in French Government including Minister of Economic Affairs, Finance and Employment, Minister of Agriculture and Fishing, Minister of Trade. She is regarded as the first woman to head IMF and was the first woman finance minister of a G8 economy. She was ranked as the best finance minister in the Euro-zone by Financial Times daily newspaper in 2009. She was ranked 5^th most powerful woman in the world by Forbes magazine in 2014. She is currently serving second term as MD of IMF. She has been honoured with Order of Légion d'honneur. 2. Manuel Roxas ![Manuel_A_Roxas.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmRszHLoLZ3LV5p1GU2u2ppsbPAy6SZN1AvtHW1UPM84fj/Manuel_A_Roxas.jpg) Source Manuel Roxas was the fifth President of Philippines from 1946 to 1948 and is regarded as the first President of independent Philippines as Philippines got back it's sovereignty from United States in 1946. He is also known to have occupied more higher positions than any other prior Filipino politicians. He was Speaker of the House of Philippines for 12 consecutive years. 3. Pierre de Coubertin ![Pierre_de_Coubertin.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmQmkc83mTME5yFj9V44n4BCHReAa6GB4uH9ihVVhNWVYs/Pierre_de_Coubertin.jpg) Source Pierre de Coubertin was an educator and historian from France and is the founder of the International Olympic Committee. Coubertin is considered as the Father of Modern Olympic Games. The Pierre de Coubertin medal (also known as the Coubertin medal or the True Spirit of Sportsmanship medal) is an award given by the International Olympic Committee to athletes that demonstrate the spirit of sportsmanship in the Olympic Games. Coubertin himself was an Olympic Medalist with a gold medal for literature in 1912 Summer Olympics for his poem Ode to Sport. 4. Vernon L. Smith ![Vernon_L._Smith.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmSANdihwcbsM7CVNmHRtJAjHrbSAFmiEUyCZSQvabqQHQ/Vernon_L._Smith.jpg) Source Vernon L. Smith is an American professor of economics and law who is a co-recipient of 2002 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences along with Daniel Kahneman. He is also the founder President of International Foundation for Research in Experimental Economics. Smith worked in many positions including associate professor at Standford University from 1961 to 1962 and it was in Arizona University where he started research from 1976 till 2001 and that the research there earned him Nobel Prize. 5. E. M. Forster ![E. M. Forster.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmeoN8q6PLWo8LMfbA4BB8EA3VmXprqbqs4fDtQ7YzRDzn/E.%20M.%20Forster.jpg) Source E. M. Forster was an English novelist, short story writer and essayist whose novels examined class difference and hypocrisy in early 20^th century British Society. His notable novels are A Room with a View, Howards End, A Passage to India. Foster was nominated for Nobel Prize in Literature for 16 different years. He was an honorary Fellow of King's College, Cambridge. He was made Order of Merit in 1969. Though he was awarded Knighthood in 1949, Foster declined to receive that.