New Delhi: A riel Sharon, whose half century as a military and political leader in Israel was marked with victories and controversies, died Saturday after eight years in a coma. Sharon died at Sheba Medical Center in the Tel Aviv suburb of Tel Hashomer. The Israeli leader was a national war hero to many Israelis for his leadership, both in uniform or as a civilian, during every Israeli war. Here's a list of lesser-known facts about his life:1. His birth name is Ariel Scheinerman and his nickname is Arik.2. Sharon was a member of the underground Jewish military organization Haganah. He joined at age 14 to fight for Israeli independence from British rule.3. During the War of Independence in 1948, Sharon was made a platoon commander. In one of the battles of Latrun, he was seriously wounded after being shot in the stomach. 4. Among his military accomplishments, the photo of Sharon wearing a head bandage on the Suez Canal after a decisive ground maneuver helped seal his reputation as a war hero in 1973 during the Yom Kippur War.5. Sharon, 5-foot-7 and a meat lover, at times has weighed more than 300 pounds. Doctors ordered him to go on a diet in 2005 after a minor stroke in 2005.6. His second wife, Lili Yehuda, was the younger sister of his first wife, Margalit Yehuda. Margalit died in a car accident in 1962.7. Sharon's eldest son Gur died at age 11 in a gun accident in 1967.8. Before suffering more serious health complications, Sharon was relatively healthy despite his weight. He had kidney stones removed in February 2004.9. Sharon also took medication for gout and to regulate his lymph nodes.10. Sharon was very connected to his family farm in the Negev Desert. He asked for updated information when every calf was born, according to Sharon: The Life of a Leader.
