Andrei Sakharov was born on May 21, 1921. He studied physics at Moscow University, was exempted from military service during the war, and, at war's end was recruited into the top-secret nuclear weapons project. He is now known as the father of the Soviet hydrogen bomb. In 1957, he began to see his country was on the wrong track, and for ten years, lobbied with his government for policy changes that became, in Soviet eyes, more and more radical. In 1968, he published an essay, "Reflection on Progress, Coexistence and Intellectual Freedom" in The New York Times. It was a scathing indictment of the Soviet totalitarian system, urged an end to the cold war and set forth a constructive blueprint for remaking the Soviet Union and the world. For this, he was fired from the Soviet weapons program and exiled to Gorky, a small town outside Moscow. But in 1975, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The Nobel citation called him "the conscience of mankind" and said that he "has fought not only against the abuse of power and violations of human dignity in all its forms, but has in equal vigor fought for the ideal of a state founded on the principle of justice for all." Sakharov was denied a visa to go to Norway for the award. Elena Bonner, his wife who was in Italy for eye surgery, traveled to Oslo and read his acceptance speech on his behalf. The five years that followed the Nobel Prize brought no improvement of the human rights situation, but Sakharov continued to develop what would become the intellectual framework for the political, economic, and legal reforms of perestroika. On December 16, 1986, Gorbachev called Sakharov out of exile, inviting him back to Moscow to perform "patriotic work." He was elected to the Presidium of the Academy of Science, and to the Congress of People's Deputies, and appointed a member of the government commission to draft a new Soviet constitution. He served as a national ombudsman, traveling around the Soviet Union to lend his support to persons suffering from official abuse. In June 1989, at the First Congress of People's Deputies, Sakharov appealed for a radical reformation of the Soviet system and for an end to the Communist Party's dictatorship. He wrote a draft of a new constitution for the "Union of Soviet Republics of Europe and Asia," then began to witness the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the beginning of irreversible changes that swept Russia and eastern Europe in 1989. He died that year on December 14. There's an Andrei Sakharov Foundation in the U.S.. It has an extensive Home Page at <www.hdn.com/asf/>

MODEL: Sakharov's moral courage. He stood up for truth, justice and freedom in a land where such a stance could (and did) lead to summary execution. By his eloquence and the rightness of his ideas, however, he help change the world. ***

A dreamer with grit. If you were born on May 21, you have vision and the resolve to stick with it. You thrive on challenge, gathering even more energy from problems and setbacks. You are driven by a desire to see your ideas brought to physical, concrete form: something you can touch, see or hold. Ruled by the number 3 and the planet Venus, you should beware of being too optimistic with get-rich-quick schemes.

In the trenches. You have a great desire to be amongst people, battling alongside your comrades, fighting for a just cause. The cause can be initiated by you or someone else; you give your undying devotion in either case. Giving is easy for you. Accepting gifts or help, however, can be difficult. You prefer to handle personal matters yourself.

Struggle for money. You don't strive for money, but somehow it always appears when you desperately need it. You just have such confidence in your success, others rally around you. You may struggle for years without success, scorned by others, but you are not diverted from your goals. A few less evolved May 21 people may have great ideas but lack the courage to act on them.

Over the top. For the majority , however, confidence is abundant and leads to success. You must beware of your ego inflating to the point where you become arrogant and stop listening. Beware that your giving becomes a form of condescension from your lofty perch.

Some advice: Once in a while, take a good look at yourself to see if you are as selfless as you think. Accept a little help or charity occasionally; it makes people feel good. Slow down and attend to your own needs.

Also born on this day: Clarence "Bighouse" Gaines college basketball coach) Malcolm Fraser (Australian prime minister) Armand Hammer (businessman, promoted trade with China & USSR) Andre Sakharov (Russian physicist) Marcel Breuer (designer, architect) Robert Montgomery (actor) Gina Bachauer (pianist) Harold Robbins (writer) Fats Waller (jazz pianist) Henri Rousseau (French painter) Raymond Burr (actor).