Favorite Person in History

Niccolo Machiavelli. Only he could write satire and have it interpreted as an work of instruction 500 years later.

Though it remains to see if we'll see someone in the future take Jonathan Swift to heart. Soylent Green, anyone?

Joan of Arc. She's just badass!
Susan B. Anthony b/c she was born where I live! =D
And I'm thinking Teddy Roosevelt, FDR, and JFK.

John Adams, Woody Guthrie, Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, Ramblin' Jack

Adolf Hitler. (Kidding)
I'd have to say Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, for attempting to kill Hitler and Albert Einstein .

The Emperor Augustus. I think he was the most perfect leader in all of history. If only we could have more people like that..

Jane Austen was pretty awesome. Also Joan of Arc and Florence Nightingale, MLK, Alexander the Great and Churchill :)

Anne Frank. :)

Dmitri Shostakovich. He's my absolute hero. Aside from being an incredibly gifted composer and pianist, he was a great example of the struggle against censorship in the Soviet era. You can hear all sorts of political hints in his music, as well as a great sense of wit. Because his music was denounced by the Soviet government twice (and a lot of it was even banned), he appeared to submit to them by composing to their standards and wishes, but all the while adding subtle sarcasms and criticisms that they wouldn't detect. It's amazing how he used his medium to pretty much give Stalinism the middle finger, and not get caught. He lived a terrifying life at times, though. Friends and relatives of his would simply disappear due to the Stalinist regime.

He was also a fireman in World War 2, a qualified football referee, and a rather heavy vodka drinker.

Charles II - He restored the English monarchy after 20 years of Republican rule. I did an investigation piece on his role in the restoration for my A-Level coursework, it was interesting learning about him.

Winston Churchill - Did a course on him in History as well, possibly one of Britain's greatest Prime Ministers and a brilliant public speaker.

William Shakespeare - He's produced some great plays, one of my favourites being Much Ado About Nothing.

Tutankhamun.

Someone might have already said this before but, my favorite person would be Charles Manson. My 9th grade history class watched a video about him and ever since then, I have always been fascinated by the way he managed to "control" all of those people. It makes me wonder what would've happened if he used that power to help people somehow.

Hans Christian Andersen.

He wrote many children's stories that were a big part of my childhood ("The Little Mermaid" and "The Ugly Duckling" still being my personal favorites), that have been passed down through generations for people everywhere and that I plan on passing down to my own children. He had a brilliantly interesting and creative mind, I think he's fantastic.

William Shakespeare.

I don't think that really needs to be explained, but lets just say "Romeo and Juliet" and "Richard III" are plays that I love greatly and thouroughly enjoyed studying at school.

I had a long list written out, but then I realized I could summarize it up pretty easily:

Anyone involved in the French Revolution (especially Napoleon Bonaparte) and any US President (especially Andrew Jackson and Lyndon B. Johnson). I never get tired studying either of those things.

Vladimir Lenin.

He was seriously the original gangster. Fucking revolutionary. Unbelievable intelligence, wit, ambition, and conviction. Awesome facial hair. I have posters of him in my room and a tattoo dedicated to him. Straight-up Soviet thug. I wish he was still around today. I think he could do a lot of good in the political world.

Okay, so I love so many people in history. (I'm the only one in my school that's really into history.)

I like:
•Anne Frank. She was so strong during one of the worst times in history.
•Rosa Parks. Just an amazing woman.
•Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Totally awesome black rights activist!
•John F. Kennedy. Even though he had issues, he was one of our greatest presidents.
•George Washinton. Who doesn't love him?
•Phillis Wheatley. Being the first black person in America to publish poetry. Truly inspiring in itself.

There's so many—OMZ! HOW COULD I FORGET ABOUT JESSE JAMES?

I like LOVE Jesse James. Sure, he was an outlaw, but he was still a Southern gentleman. His mother, Zeralda: I idolize her. =^.^= But, anyway, back to Jesse: I'm currently reading a book on him (of my own choice), and with every paragraph I am further fascinated by him. He is truly amazing.

As you can tell, I'm mostly into American history. XD

I also like:

•Saint Valentine. Just the way he believed in true love so much and even fought the man for it. Rock on, Valentine. ;)
•Tituba. She was the Indian slave of Samuel Parris. She admitted to being a witch during the Salem Witch Trials of the 1600's to avoid being hung. (I personally hate the little brats she had to take care of, so I admire her for dealing with the worst kids in American history.)
•Betty Williams. She was awarded the Noble Peace Prize in 1976.

I have a really odd love for Achilles. We learned about him in Classics in year 7, and I just really loved him. His boyfriend (yes, I know it’s a controversial topic, but our teacher told us they were romantically involved so I stick to that theory) was murdered violently. He was immortal but knew he had a weak spot, but still fought in battles and became the best fighter (I know this is an odd point, but I like thinking about the humanity of Greek heroes). He was obviously extremely brave, and coped with being dressed up as a woman by his mother.

He was famous for being bad tempered, but I do love him for that. All the other heroes go into battle, slay some monsters then walk away with an ego larger than Greece. While Achilles obviously already had an ego the size of Greece, he was still human enough to throw a strop over not getting the woman he was promised. Again, that just makes him seem even more human to me.

Overall it’s kind of hard to explain why I love him as a historical figure, since he did do a lot of bad and had the temper of a five year old. I guess for me he was always just the most human Greek hero. He had flaws, and a real weakness. The others weren’t immortal but still didn’t seem to show any weaknesses.

(I really hope he counts as a historical figure, since no one actually has concrete evidence of his existence. Oh well. We still learn about him in a historical way at school and in the myths.)

Marsha P. Johnson

John Adams.

Salvador Dali

Vlad the Impaler