I have a hot temper and that amount of tenacity of purpose, which unfriendly observers sometimes call obstinacy and which nowadays, due to such of my idiosyncrasies, it pleases my enemies to term me as having "un mauvais caractere." Well! That I cannot help.
— Howard Carter

Born in 1874 in Kensington, London, Howard Carter's hot temper would get him into trouble as well as push him toward his great discovery of King Tut's tomb. With little formal education, Carter followed in his father's footsteps and began his career as an illustrator. His drawing skills eventually took him to Egypt, where he was employed to copy the reliefs from the tomb of Eni Hassan. Not content with mere tracing, Carter created his own watercolor copies.

Eventually, Carter was promoted to investigator of monuments, where his hot temper got him into trouble. Refusing to allow unruly French tourists into the burial place of the sacred Apis bulls because they didn't have tickets, Carter was reprimanded by his superiors and asked to write a letter of apology. Carter refused and went back to being a watercolorist.

His sacking may have been a blessing in disguise. Now free to pursue excavation work, Carter formed a team with Lord Carnavon, a frail, bored man who spent his time as an amateur archaeologist in Egypt. Although some believed "the Valley of Tombs is now exhausted," Carter and Carnavon systematically searched the valley. After years of meticulously combing through Egyptian sands, on Nov. 5, 1922, Carter knew he had found something special. A telegram to Carnavon, who had returned to England, said it all: "At last have made wonderful discovery in the valley; a magnificent tomb with seals intact; re-covered same for your arrival; congratulations."