JCC Favorites From History

I do like when people are sharing things beyond just a name drop. But especially since these are often well-known figures, I much prefer the posts where people highlight the points that attract them personally, instead of just a general outline of their most famous accomplishments. That way we get insight into our fellow posters and their historical favorites, both.

 

For Theodore Roosevelt, it's the wide range of his accomplishments, as well as the apparent contradictions in his nature (avid hunter and avid conservationist, advocated a strong military and brokered peace in the Russo-Japanese War, staunch Republic and staunch Progressive).

 

A guy who used to work for me just had his name changed to No One so he could run for President. Though I guess he's not an historical figure...yet.

 

Well Cousteau, he loved the Ocean and I love the ocean. He actually was able to take people there via film, especially for a kid that grew up in the Midwest. I have used his Aqua Lung invention twice in my life, and he brought me footage of sharks. Sharks I tell ya!

Muir believed in keeping big areas of land and turn them into National Parks. Because of him I have enjoyed many a camping trip. Heck next week I will be going to Mt Saint Helens, Mt Rainier, and hopefully Olympic Nation Park. His split from Pinchot was very interesting, and still is a major issue in Conservation.

PS. Go see Yosemite National Park. Just an unbelievable place.

 

Douglas MacArthur



This man was had a huge ego.

Even in defeat when he lost the Philippines to Japan he vowed to returned. He helped with the reconstruction of Japan and then was fired because he started making his own foreign policy, which then President Truman had to read about in the paper.

 

Neil Armstrong. A great explorer and a reminder that its the geeks and nerds who push back the frontiers of knowledge and build and run our society.

 

Socrates.

I'm a pretty basic guy who respects strength, courage, honour, loyalty, compassion and mastery. By mastery, I mean talent honed by consistent, dedicated hard work.

Socrates was physically strong and a capable wrestler. At his trial, the reknowned military commander Alcibiades spoke of his bravery in battle and loyalty in risking his life to save his friend. He also had the mental fortitude to be his own man, the courage to stand up to the state and the honour to die remaining true to himself while exile was everyone else's preferred option. His life was driven by compassion rather than personal gain. He could have made a fortune as a sophist but instead remained poor while teaching Athens' brightest and best with an emphasis on ethics rather than simply winning arguments in the law courts or eklesia (sp? Iello?) In terms of mastery, he had a profound and lasting impact on western thought through Plato and Aristotle without writing a word.

 

Prince Eugene of Savoy

Ugly duckling helps save the Habsburg monarchy from a series of existential crises.

 

Charles Lindbergh. He had huge amounts of skill, intelligence, bravery, integrity, and luck, and it didn't go to his head when the whole world lionized him. Eventually some started slinging mud at him, but he ignored them and kept his hands clean.

 

For good reason.

 

You may or may not be interested to know that Saladin is doing quite well in the Civ V AI-Only Battle Royale Mark II.

 

.nevermind.

 

Bertrand Russell, just because he had a fairly interesting life and is one of the founding fathers of my field. Also because a comic based on him is at least tangentially responsible for my career trajectory and the fact that I ever picked up a copy of Wittgenstein's Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, leading to that whole philosophy thing that I can't seem to make a break from.

Basically he's a case where I can honestly say "Yeah I owe a lot about my life to this dead guy I never met" and that's fun.

 

Julie d'Aubigny, who, it seems to me, was the living embodiment of YOLO in 17th century France.

That whole article is worth a read, her life was basically a never-ending cycle of performing in operas, taking lovers, besting people in duels, and then running away to another city and doing it all again. Here's my favorite part, which doesn't even involve a duel at all:

 

Horatio Nelson, First Viscount Nelson. From modest roots did he rise to become the greatest naval tactician in the greatest navy the world had ever known. Wounded several times, he lost an arm and sight in one eye before finally falling to sniper shot at Trafalgar. However, despite this Britain won that battle decisively, decimating Admiral Villeneuve's much larger fleet (England had 27 ships of the line plus 6 other ships, such as sloops; France and Spain had 41 ships in total of which 33 were ships of the line. They lost 11 ships and 3x as many hands as Britain, who lost no ships at all.)
Britain resisted short person syndrome because of the heroic victories of this great leader.

 

Kim Kardashian.

 

Leonardo da Vinci, greatest polymath of the Renaissance.

From humble roots as the illegitimate son of a noble, he became one of finest minds to ever have lived.

 

To have attempted some of the tactics he did, you'd need a huge column.

 

I'm pretty sure you posted this in jest, but IIRC she is the most followed person on social media. She might be the most covered and documented person in human history with all of the media coverage, TV show and personal self promotion.

Kim Kardashian is certainly a case study on how to be famous by just being famous and like it or not, she is a role model for many people.

 

Vasily Ivanovich Chuikov. Commanded the 62nd Shock Army at the Battle of Stalingrad, where his tactic of "hugging the enemy" bled the Germans white. Twice awarded the honor Hero of the Soviet Union. Led the 8th Guards Army during the assault on Berlin and was the one who accepted the surrender of German forces in the city.

 

Darth Guy, Wikipedia? Srsly?!

Lindbergh was misquoted, taken out of context, and outright lied about in the press by journalists and politicians with axes to grind. He never bothered to try to correct all the lies that were spread about him; he had more important things to do with his time. Try reading The Wartime Journals of Charles Lindbergh for a first person POV of what he was really like, and also any of his wife's published letters and diaries. I've read them all and found them fascinating.

 

One of only two non-Royals to be given the honour of a full state funeral. The other was this guy.