King George VI
He took over the British throne following his older brother's abdication in 1936. Because of a crippling stutter, he was terribly shy. With the help of an unorthodox Australian speech therapist, he conquered the stammer and famously addressed millions of people around the world in a live radio broadcast on Sept. 3, 1939, after Britain declared war on Germany. A call to patriotism, it was one of the best speeches he had ever made.