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Notable Achievements at Age 41
Discharged from hospital and placed on blood thinners (diagnosed blood clot)
Kate was discharged from the hospital on June 9 and doctors identified a blood clot in a kidney vein; she was sent home on anticoagulant medication.
Developed postpartum complications and eclampsia (medical emergency)
Approximately two weeks after Mars's birth, Kate experienced headaches, seizures and loss of consciousness; paramedics suspected eclampsia. She had seizures in the house and ambulance, was intubated and placed in a medical coma (People exclusive).
Public discussion and reflection on rare postpartum condition
Following the hospitalization, Kate and husband Joey spoke publicly about the rare postpartum complication (eclampsia/preeclampsia), recovery and the importance of awareness.
Inaugurated as President; dissolved parliament
Sworn in on 20 May 2019; used inaugural address to dissolve Verkhovna Rada and call snap parliamentary elections.
Inaugurated as 6th President of Ukraine
Sworn in on 20 May 2019; inaugural address included dissolution of parliament and call for snap parliamentary elections.
Elected President of Ukraine (second round landslide)
Won the second round with 73.23% of the vote against incumbent Petro Poroshenko—the largest landslide in Ukrainian presidential history.
Diagnosed with breast cancer
Tig Notaro was diagnosed with cancer in both breasts (stage reported in media) on July 30, 2012.
Breast cancer diagnosis (public announcement)
Live-blogged her mammogram and announced a positive breast cancer diagnosis via Twitter (Dec 1, 2011); later documented treatments including Taxol and surgery.
Launched Grantland (editor-in-chief)
Grantland (ESPN-owned longform sports & pop culture site) launched on June 8, 2011 with Simmons as editor-in-chief.
Unanimously confirmed by U.S. Senate
U.S. Senate unanimously confirmed his nomination as U.S. Attorney for SDNY.
Oversaw Galleon insider-trading investigation
SDNY office oversaw the high-profile Galleon Group insider-trading probe (Raj Rajaratnam and others) during his early SDNY tenure.
Awarded MacArthur Fellowship
Named a MacArthur Fellow for work investigating and articulating modern surgical practices and medical ethics (MacArthur Fellowship stipend awarded).
Co‑founded Y Combinator (with Livingston, Blackwell, Morris)
Launched Y Combinator, a new model of startup accelerator/seed fund (originated after Graham's 'How to Start a Startup' talk/essay).
Purchased the Dallas Mavericks for $285M
Cuban bought a majority stake in the NBA's Dallas Mavericks from H. Ross Perot Jr. for $285 million.
Death of Labour leader John Smith
John Smith died suddenly of a heart attack on 12 May 1994, triggering a leadership contest.
Ayatollah Khomeini issues fatwa calling for his death
On Valentine's Day 1989, Iran's Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini announced a fatwa calling for Rushdie's death over The Satanic Verses.
Awarded the ACM A.M. Turing Award (with Ken Thompson)
Ritchie and Ken Thompson received the Turing Award 'for development of generic operating systems theory and specifically for the implementation of the UNIX operating system'.
Launched Cable News Network (CNN)
Founded CNN, the world's first 24-hour television news channel; network debuted June 1, 1980.
Received National Medal of Science
Awarded the U.S. National Medal of Science (presented by President Jimmy Carter).
💡 What this means for you
At age 41, you're at a pivotal point where many successful entrepreneurs made their breakthrough. Whether you're building your first company or scaling an existing one, these examples show what's possible with focus and execution.
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