Henry Kissinger

Born Heinz Alfred Kissinger in Furth, Germany. His father was a schoolteacher. His mother kept a kosher home. He'd flee the Nazis at 15 with his family, arriving in New York in 1938. He never lost the accent.

Drafted into the U.S. Army. Assigned to the 84th Infantry Division's intelligence section. He interrogated German prisoners and helped de-Nazify the town of Krefeld. The Army sent him back to Germany to hunt for Gestapo agents. He was 21.

Begins secret negotiations with North Vietnamese diplomat Xuan Thuy in a Paris apartment. The public talks are a sideshow. These back-channel meetings will drag on for four years through bombing campaigns and failed ceasefires.

Flies to Beijing on a Pakistani military plane, faking a stomachache in Islamabad to cover his absence. Meets Zhou Enlai. The trip opens China to the West after 25 years of isolation. Nixon announces the visit on live television a week later.

Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize alongside Le Duc Tho for the Paris Peace Accords. Two Nobel Committee members resign in protest. Le Duc Tho refuses the prize. The war continues for two more years.

Critics charge him with complicity in the bombing of Cambodia, the overthrow of Chile's Allende, and East Timor. Supporters credit him with detente, arms control, and reshaping the global order. He'll spend the next 50 years defending both records.

Dies at his home in Kent, Connecticut. He is 100. He'd published 20 books, advised 12 presidents, and remained a lightning rod until the end. His last book came out the year before.