Favourite historical figure

[Roy Mars III]

part of the revive general interest movement, who is your favourite history figure? It doens't have to be someone who you look up to or anything like that, just someone you find interesting.

For me it's two big ones.

Napoleon

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0e/Napoleon4.jpg/170px-Napoleon4.jpg

and

Hannibal from Carthage


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dc/HannibalTheCarthaginian.jpg

These are the two who probably interest me the most, and the ones I have read the most about.

[Niamh.]

Michael Collins, did great things for Ireland (eventhough he lost the 6 counties) and he's a Cork man

http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRUnSd2llkMjqMzBXU-bXRAT8Mwkar2_MgaRgxu8knfRvkXhFMcbr6MB-4z

[Kizzy]

emmeline pankhurst

[joeysteele]

Mary Queen of Scots.

[MTVN]

Wellington > Napoleon

http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSEq7nOkAUBh8__cUcGRFFdqwgoOOX5W XdGuPWULLS7dXmCcS2v

[Roy Mars III]

don't be silly

the original ganster

http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRBTxalbbvAVhO-p2urh15JEm_ze7a9ZiRsHUzTKWuJcxZ1MFoyHDxNY-wk

[Shaun]

Caligula seemed delightfully crazy.

I'm generally fascinated by the Roman empire... Antony and Cleopatra's fault.

[Scarlett.]

Charles Darwin
http://bluedotconsulting.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/darwin-10-note.jpg

[Smithy]

don't be silly

the original ganster

http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRBTxalbbvAVhO-p2urh15JEm_ze7a9ZiRsHUzTKWuJcxZ1MFoyHDxNY-wk

looks like queen elizabeth

[Brother Leon]

http://library.thinkquest.org/05aug/00158/images/malcolmx2.jpg

[Lee.]

Cleopatra

[Angus]

A toss up for me between Elizabeth I and Mother Theresa, two inspirational, gutsy women.

[Joelle.]

Pope Alexander IV/Rodrigo Borgia - The Most Corrupt Pope

http://www.sarapoole.com/blog1/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/PopeAlexander1.jpg

The only picture I could find that wasn't Jeremy Irons or Assassins Creed :suspect:

[Roy Mars III]

^^

definitely in my top ten.

[SharkAttack]

Winston Churchill.

[King Gizzard]

Not a particular figure but the Viking era is my favourite

[Jack_]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d4/Karl_Marx_001.jpg/421px-Karl_Marx_001.jpg

Karl Marx

[Ramsay]

Aul Dev :lovedup:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2b/Eamon_de_Valera_c_1922-30.jpg/240px-Eamon_de_Valera_c_1922-30.jpg

[Roy Mars III]

Another great one

Alexander the Great

http://wso.williams.edu/~junterek/images/alex1.jpg

[King Gizzard]

Medieval history is the best

[Roy Mars III]

agreed, it is what i am studying in university

[MTVN]

Diogenes of Sinope was pretty cool as well

Diogenes made a virtue of poverty. He begged for a living and slept in a tub in the marketplace. He became notorious for his philosophical stunts such as carrying a lamp in the daytime, claiming to be looking for an honest man. He publicly mocked Alexander and lived. He embarrassed Plato, disputed his interpretation of Socrates and sabotaged his lectures.

He scorned not only family and political social organization, but also property rights and reputation. He even rejected normal ideas about human decency. Diogenes is said to have eaten in the marketplace,[41] urinated on some people who insulted him,[42] defecated in the theatre,[43] masturbated in public, and pointed at people with his middle finger.[44]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d4/Karl_Marx_001.jpg/421px-Karl_Marx_001.jpg

Karl Marx

Controversial

[Roy Mars III]

erm Engels > Marx tbh

Marx was too hypocritical

[MTVN]

Engels was the man with the money, they were both bloody arrogant really

[King Gizzard]

Would of loved to see Boudy in action

http://www.radioanywhere.co.uk/upload/74/2676.boudicca.jpg

[Roy Mars III]

Engels was the man with the money, they were both bloody arrogant really

not a fan of either, really. Besides the Communist Manifesto, Marx's writing is really boring

[Roy Mars III]

honorable mention to Vlad

http://listsoplenty.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/vlad-the-impaler-281x300.jpg

[MTVN]

Very boring yeah :laugh: I've read some of his stuff and it's always a bit of a chore

[MTVN]

Ivan the Terrible was an interesting chap

http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQ0K9bG7zuxztCtT-sN56rdajEQxjTir6XrVo_hRESSG_1YNYmNxQ

[King Gizzard]

Seriously though nothing would beat being a viking invading places in long boats

[Roy Mars III]

can't beat good old Peter the Great, revolutionized Russia and all that

http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/fileadmin/historyLearningSite/peter_close2.jpg

[Roy Mars III]

Nathan you would like the lads Askold and Dir, viking rulers

http://www.trueknowledge.com/images/thumbs/180/250/c6bd805f64a7e9e2381726d88a3ec9e2.jpg

[King Gizzard]

History is going to be such a boring subject in the future

[MTVN]

Stolypin

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1f/Pyotr_Stolypin_LOC_07327.jpg/220px-Pyotr_Stolypin_LOC_07327.jpg

Did my coursework on him last year, started off thinking he'd done a pretty good job but by the end of it I'd realised he was actually pretty sh*t. He tried though, he tried.

[Roy Mars III]

underrated by many history fans

William the Conqueror

http://www.domesdaybook.co.uk/images/williamsmall.jpg

[MTVN]

Wasn't he a bit of a bastard :suspect: haven't learnt anything about him since I was about 11

[King Gizzard]

all we did in my a level history is nazi germany, women during different periods of history, and the welfare state and all that crap

and for some stupid I chose to do American History (roosevelt etc) for my project

can hardly remember any of it. Failed it all anyway cause I didn't try

[Roy Mars III]

Wasn't he a bit of a bastard :suspect: haven't learnt anything about him since I was about 11

not really anymore than others. Henry VIII was worse

[MTVN]

all we did in my a level history is nazi germany, women during different periods of history, and the welfare state and all that crap

and for some stupid I chose to do American History (roosevelt etc) for my project

can hardly remember any of it. Failed it all anyway cause I didn't try

Yeah I did stuff like that in my first year of A-level, preferred the second year where we did Russian history and modern warfare from Napoleon to WWII

[MTVN]

not really anymore than others. Henry VIII was worse

Ah right, most of the history I know is modern stuff tbh

[King Gizzard]

I propose a History sub forum where we can all be smart together while I fail

[Roy Mars III]

that sounds like a wonderful idea

[Joelle.]

This guy is too cool not to count...

http://www.artinbase.com/slika/big/164871/Leslie+Phillips.jpg

[Patrick]

http://stereogum.com/img/philcollins.jpg

[Kizzy]

Ha ha! yep the worst ahole to date!...phil collins lol

[Bollo]

The Bronte Sisters
Sigmund Freud

[Roy Mars III]

Ha ha! yep the worst ahole to date!...phil collins lol

don't be silly, phil collins is a hero if there ever were one

[King Gizzard]

niumcjEj55A

[Locke.]

How can you not like the great Phil Collins

[Joelle.]

http://www.greenprinteronline.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/genghiskhan.jpg

Genghis Khan

[Kate!]

Churchill. I like the way he says "ah, yes".

;)

[Lee.]

William Wallace

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4Oe3u6cGml0/TcasHKpssUI/AAAAAAAAGIo/KDj7PFxZBPE/s1600/Portrait+of+Sir+William+Wallace+7.jpg

[Niamh.]

He doesn't look anything like Mel Gibson :bawling: ^

[Roy Mars III]

can't believe i forgot him. one of the greats

[Lee.]

He doesn't look anything like Mel Gibson :bawling: ^

Hahaha... I think he was ever so slightly taller than Mel too. :)

[Niamh.]

Hahaha... I think he was ever so slightly taller than Mel too. :)

Seriously though, he would be a really interesting one to meet as well

[King Gizzard]

Niamh

[Liberty4eva]

George Washington was the Arnold Schwartzenegger of the 18th century. The guy dodged so many bullets in battle and survived so many diseases that he might very well have thought that he was invincible. After winning the war, he could have easily made himself king of America but chose to go back to his farm for a quiet life.

[Roy Mars III]

I am a Washington fan, but he is overrated as a strategist and general. A lot of his winning was luck, still a great guy though

[Roy Mars III]

The King of guerrilla warfare

Robert de Bruce

http://mccurdyfamilylineage.com/ancestry/exhibits/bruce_-_robert_the_bruce.jpg

[Alf]

the 16th century german monk martin luther a leading light in the protestant reformation

and of course britain's very own charles darwin with his theory of evolution

[Novo]

William Wallace was a coward, his army didn't face the English on the battlefield face to face like so many seem to suggest in fact he ambushed our brave English Warriors when they weren't expecting it.. soon enough he learnt that was a mistake :idc:

[Lee.]

Yer baws

[Kazanne]

Florence Nightingale,Joan of Arc and Charles Dickinson.

[Roy Mars III]

Machiavelli

[Vanessa]

I'm really fascinated by Leonardo Da Vinci. He was a true genius. :)

[LemonJam]

Samantha Mumba

[Kate!]

Samantha Mumba

:hugesmile: ah yes, who can forget her outstanding hits (I said HITS!) ... erm, Always come back, and the other ones :joker:

[Legend killer]

http://www.bobdylan.com/sites/bdylan/files/imagecache/225x225/bobdylan_1.jpg

Took a stand for Black people and is the GOAT muscian to boot

[Ninastar]

Churchill

[MTVN]

can't beat good old Peter the Great, revolutionized Russia and all that

http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/fileadmin/historyLearningSite/peter_close2.jpg

:worship:

Him and Alexander II are my favourite Tsars

[Roy Mars III]

good to see another Russian history fan. The second greatest country ever, after Italy, of course.

[MTVN]

Easily the history I have the most interest in, never done much on Italy but I am doing an Italian history module next term

[Roy Mars III]

hopefully, you do a lot of the political stuff during the late middle ages and the Italian Renaissance. There is so much corruption and intrigue in the city states and the papacy. It's great stuff.

The only bad thing is they alway spend a lot of time on the art and such, which is nice and all, but I like history for the politics and warfare.

[MTVN]

Don't think I will be unfortunately, it's gonna be more modern stuff just starting from the unification

[Roy Mars III]

That will still be good.

The stuff leading up to WW2 esp. Mussloni is an underrated as a figure in history in terms of his impact. Sure he became second dog to Hilter during WW2 but leading up to it he was very instramental to it all. And the rise of Fascism as a whole.

[MTVN]

Good stuff, I will look forward to it, do tend to find the late 19th/early 20th century one the most interesting historical periods

[Niall]

I don't know why, but I tend to find the old communist dictators and their time in power very interesting.

Mao and Stalin are probably my favourites even though they're both deeply awful people. I just find that cult of personality aspect and the mass hysteria it caused in the people bizarre. That and the fact that they both transformed backwards, agrarian economies into industrial powerhouses. I quite like Deng Xiaoping too. The way he modernised China from an old Stalinist state into the China of today is a pretty amazing.

Also, speaking of personality cults, Kim-Il-Sung and his still ongoing glorification in North Korea is something I find to be incredibly odd, yet still intriguing.

[Mystic Mock]

I found Hitler's regime interesting as he liked his people to have blonde hair yet he had dark hair, and I wonder what made him hate the world as much as he did.

[Roy Mars III]

I don't know why, but I tend to find the old communist dictators and their time in power very interesting.

Mao and Stalin are probably my favourites even though they're both deeply awful people. I just find that cult of personality aspect and the mass hysteria it caused in the people bizarre. That and the fact that they both transformed backwards, agrarian economies into industrial powerhouses. I quite like Deng Xiaoping too. The way he modernised China from an old Stalinist state into the China of today is a pretty amazing.

Also, speaking of personality cults, Kim-Il-Sung and his still ongoing glorification in North Korea is something I find to be incredibly odd, yet still intriguing.

As do I. Though I prefer Lenin over Stalin in terms of historical interest

[Niall]

As do I. Though I prefer Lenin over Stalin in terms of historical interest

Lenin does seem like an interesting guy. I don't know too much about him though. We only touched on him briefly when we learn about Stalinist Russia at school. I'll have to read up on him sometime..

[MTVN]

Imperial Russia > Soviet Russia

I do find the early stages of the Revolution interesting though, and the civil war

[MTVN]

Imperial Russia > Soviet Russia

I do find the early stages of the Revolution interesting though, and the civil war

[Niall]

Imperial Russia > Soviet Russia

I do find the early stages of the Revolution interesting though, and the civil war

I don't really find the Imperial Russia stuff interesting tbh. I haven't looked into it in depth, but from the little I've read it seems like the classic story of the the rich aristocracy oppressing the poor. I just don't find it all that intriguing. :suspect:

I find all the sneaky political stuff and all the crazy things that went on within Stalinist Russia far more interesting. Like the fact that within Stalin's speeches, if you were the first to sit down after applause you'd likely be executed. It was absolute insanity.

[Novo]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/A0FhcoSCYAEvmqR.jpg

[MTVN]

I don't really find the Imperial Russia stuff interesting tbh. I haven't looked into it in depth, but from the little I've read it seems like the classic story of the the rich aristocracy oppressing the poor. I just don't find it all that intriguing. :suspect:

I find all the sneaky political stuff and all the crazy things that went on within Stalinist Russia far more interesting. Like the fact that within Stalin's speeches, if you were the first to sit down after applause you'd likely be executed. It was absolute insanity.

The debates they were having to have near the end of the Imperial era were quite interesting though, how and if they could remain an autocracy while having to deal with all the pressures and changes of the era

Does actually sound pretty boring when I put it like that but I find it really interesting for some reason

[SirCiaran]

Michael Collins, did great things for Ireland (eventhough he lost the 6 counties) and he's a Cork man

http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRUnSd2llkMjqMzBXU-bXRAT8Mwkar2_MgaRgxu8knfRvkXhFMcbr6MB-4z

you should look into your history a bit more, he didn't lose the 6 counties. There was nothing he could do when he went over to London plus there were 5 other men with him. De Valera was too chicken to go with him and the only reason he sent Collins because he knew partition wouldn't end in Northern Ireland meaning Collins would get the blame. He didn't lose them, they were already lost after the Government of Ireland Act 1920. Collins was a hero, even thought his aims were never achieved, he only did us good.

[King Gizzard]

http://i.imgur.com/Ujarh.jpg

[Novo]

Look how small is head is compared to his body.. what the ****

[Ammi]

..undoubtedly Boudica the warrior queen....

http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQDS0a-kVEGjFTayzWHUdQxbMeM1lT8xCTOuT4Q7_-G25JTmMJ4wQ

..in more recent times..Martin Luther the King..and JFK are people I enjoy reading about....

[Lee.]

Julius Caesar and Cleopatra

[Kizzy]

Joseph Rowntree,
'' In connection with Religious, Political and Social work, it is to be remembered that there may be no better way of advancing the objects one has at heart than to strengthen the hands of those who are effectively doing the work that needs to be done. Not unfrequently one hears of persons doing excellent work whose service is cramped, or who are in danger of breaking down through anxiety about the means of living. It would be quite in accordance with my wish that cases of this kind be assisted…."

John Maynard Keynes,
'' The love of money as a possession — as distinguished from the love of money as a means to the enjoyments and realities of life — will be recognised for what it is, a somewhat disgusting morbidity, one of those semi-criminal, semi-pathological propensities which one hands over with a shudder to the specialists in mental disease ... But beware! The time for all this is not yet. For at least another hundred years we must pretend to ourselves and to everyone that fair is foul and foul is fair; for foul is useful and fair is not. Avarice and usury and precaution must be our gods for a little longer still''

[Jesus.]

http://images.betterworldbooks.com/048/Rights-of-Man-9780486408934.jpg

[Roy Mars III]

one of the greats.

[Livia]

Emmeline Pankhurst.

[MTVN]

A bump to give you my favourite three historical figures right now:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b9/Holbein,_Hans_-_Thomas_Howard,_3rd_Duke_of_Norfolk.jpg

Duke of Norfolk in Henry VIII's time, a right belligerent asshole who ripped it out of everyone lower than him but also a quality government workhorse

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/74/RichardCromwell.jpeg

Richard Cromwell, 8 short months as Protector but very underrated all things considered

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b9/SirArthurHaselrig.jpg/200px-SirArthurHaselrig.jpg

Arthur Heslirige, great speaker and an unwavering republican. Bit of a nob personality wise but he had fun

[jennyjuniper]

Top three (There are so many I would like to mmet/admire/find awful but fascinating.

Jesus of Nazereth
Boudicca
Richard of York (111)

[Kyle]

Sonic the hedgehog.


Anybody remember that guy?

[Kazanne]

Sonic the hedgehog.


Anybody remember that guy?

:joker: trust you Kyle,did he have a pet hedgehog?:hehe: For me it would be Charles Dickens,Florence Nightingale and John F Kennedy.