Achievements
Described as being “of powerful physique, of blunt speech and great strength of character” Holmes possessed qualities of charm and generosity that won him the admiration of Arabs across the region, and he was able to invoke dreams of wealth among the many improverished shiekhs of the Arabian peninsula. Although not a trained petroleum geologist, he relied on a knowledge of geology gained as a mining engineer and a certain intuition (what Holmes described as his “nose for oil”) to locate areas where oil might be found. In the event, at a time when established opinion was generally pessimistic about finding oil in Arabia, Holmes’ predictions were remarkably accurate. It is for these reasons that he earned from Arabs the sobriquet “Abu Naft”, or the Father of Oil.
Read more about this topic: Frank Holmes (geologist)
Famous quotes containing the word achievements:
“When science, art, literature, and philosophy are simply the manifestation of personality, they are on a level where glorious and dazzling achievements are possible, which can make a man’s name live for thousands of years. But above this level, far above, separated by an abyss, is the level where the highest things are achieved. These things are essentially anonymous.”
—Simone Weil (1909–1943)
“Fathers are still considered the most important “doers” in our culture, and in most families they are that. Girls see them as the family authorities on careers, and so fathers’ encouragement and counsel is important to them. When fathers don’t take their daughters’ achievements and plans seriously, girls sometimes have trouble taking themselves seriously.”
—Stella Chess (20th century)
“Freedom of enterprise was from the beginning not altogether a blessing. As the liberty to work or to starve, it spelled toil, insecurity, and fear for the vast majority of the population. If the individual were no longer compelled to prove himself on the market, as a free economic subject, the disappearance of this freedom would be one of the greatest achievements of civilization.”
—Herbert Marcuse (1898–1979)