People you admire and why

There are so many... but here is someone rare and relatively unknown that I admire.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tillie_Ehrlich_Lewis

I once heard a story about her first crop of tomatoes she planted in California.

First she was told these tomatoes would not grow in California yet she refused to believe that and went on to plant them. The crop of tomatoes was a success and ready to harvest then her boilers broke down. So she went for a walk out into the fields which were about to spoil from not being able to process the tomatoes. In the distance she heard the whistle of a steam locomotive train passing by. Within hours she had the train pulled up next to her cannery and providing steam to cook her tomatoes.

This was a test in the energy of convictions. Tillie certain had what it took to see her conviction through to a successful finish. I admire her for that reason.

Please tell us who you admire in history and why.