David Ben-Gurion was born David Grun in Poland on October 16, 1886.
To mark 130 years since his birth, here are five facts you may not have known about the first prime minister of Israel:
1.David Ben-Gurion began standing on his head on the advice of Dr. Feldenkrais, who claimed that Ben-Gurion's head was disproportionately large compared with his small body.
2.Every morning, David Ben-Gurion ate "Kutch-Mutch," sweet cheese-filled dough that Paula Ben-Gurion made for him. Even though he was revolted by it, he continued to eat it even after her death, to remember and honor her.
3.David Ben-Gurion refused to use the preposition "Et," which indicates a direct object, claiming it was superfluous in Hebrew.
4.Ben-Gurion needed sleeping pills in order to fall asleep, but when he apprehended that they could affect his memory, he stopped taking them, and thereafter slept no more than two hours a night.
5.David Ben-Gurion was in the habit of corresponding with all sorts of Israelis. Sometimes the correspondence would carry on for years without Ben-Gurion meeting or knowing the person with whom he was corresponding.
To conclude with a quote by Ben-Gurion about quotations: "The important thing is not who said it, but what was said."
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev was established to fulfill his vision and is home to the Ben-Gurion Research Institute for the Study of Israel & Zionism and the Ben-Gurion Archives.