Do you have any historical figures who fascinate you?

[WilburIsSomePig]

Just watched a programme about Mary Queen of Scots. Well she had a real shady taste in men and made some rubbish decisions but my god the woman really did have a shite time of it. I have always been a bit obsessed with her so are there any historical figures that really capture your thoughts?

Currently, Catherine Parr. And the Mitford's if they are historical enough!

Galois the mathematician. What is true and what is false?

yy to Collins and de Valera. I read the Tim Pat Coogan biographies of both a few years ago. I became fascinated when we studied Sean O'Casey for A level and did some background reading.

I banged on about my love for Prince Rupert on another thread last night, so I only mention him in passing.

Charles II.

John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester

John and Sarah Churchill

And I am a little obsessed with the Jacobite rebellions - so Bonnie Prince Charlie and his father, James Francis Edward Stuart

Freya Stark

Gertrude Bell

Harold and Doreen Ingrams

Violet Dickson

Jesus

Eleonore Sullavan

Count Axel Fersen

Alexander the Great

Will think of more once I am properly coffeenated.

Catherine of Aragon, such a strong woman, but such a sad life.

Mary Queen of Scots and Anne Boleyn seem to fascinate a few of us.

There are loads more too, sometimes an event or person just gets in your head as a child and stays there for good. I remember reading about Titanic when I was very small and I still have a real fascination (and horror) about it almost 40 years later, as does DD now. There are some names mentioned on here that I didn't know so having Googled I now have some more fodder to keep me going!

The suffragettes if they are classed as historical yet.

Yes Mary queen of scots and Elizabeth 1 why didnt she marry and have babies they were all having babies i reckon she hated her dad and wanted his line to die out orsomething. Also this is a bit sinister but jack the ripper i watch programmes and have a few books about it.

Jesus fascinates me but in a non religious way

Not a figure per se, but the history of my town is very interesting, for example in 1013 my town was the capital of England for 5 weeks before the king died here and got shipped back to Denmark. The story of King Canute happened here, he was actually proving that he couldn't control the tide rather than showing that he could.

Yep, Jack the Ripper too. Horrendous and fascinating.

ThatBloodyWoman agree re the suffragettes and anyone from the past is a historical figure to me.

Katherine Swynford thanks ton reading Anya Seton's book at the age of 15. This has spread to an interest the Wars of the Roses generally

I live in a historical town we have a castle a battle field or 2 a few monuments my village had a famous defeated the English battle Robert the Bruce is embedded in our minds from primary so im not fascinated by him as such but know loads about him

Lillie Langtry ...... I've been sucked in to re watching the TV series from the 1970's with Francesca Annis that I watched as a child. It really stands up to time and FA is incredibly beautiful in it. This has led me on to looking online about the real Lillie and it's strange that to my eyes at least she didn't look as gorgeous as FA. Is it just modern beauty ideals are slightly different?

TE Lawrence

Just off the top of my head...

Nikola Tesla
Jane Austen
Rudolf Virchow
August Bier
Robert Johnston
Emmy Noether
Beethoven

Oh yes, Eleanor of Aquitaine. What a woman. Went on crusade with all her ladies.

The Plantaganets and Tudors, and their world in general, fascinate me. So shady and full of intrigue.

Isabella of Spain.

Indra Devi. First woman to bring yoga to the west. Went to India to find a guru and annoyed the hell out of him by refusing to give up or go away until he said he'd teach her.

The Mitfords and all the 'bright young things' set of the Roaring Twenties.

Not very far back in time, but Georgia O'Keeffe. I love her work and she had such commitment to it, and such great strength and self-belief.

Eleanor of Aquitaine

Margaret of Anjou

Gertrude bell (her writings on the middle east before and after the first world war are so interesting)

Elizabeth 1st

matilda (1st, even though she wasn't crowned I still class her as our first female monarch)

I'm fascinated by all things king Arthur

Alfred the great

aethelflead of wessex

Wyatt Earp.

Another Tudor one - Thomas More. And the Duke of Norfolk. Henry VIII is interesting but I'm even more intrigued by all his hangers on. His later 2 wives are the most interesting to me as well, because by that time you knew what you were getting to some degree....

And other of the less well-known women of the Tudor court - Katherine Willoughby, Mary Shelton, Mary Howard.

Raoul Wallenberg such a fascinating man.

Robert E. Lee

Emily Bronte fascinates me, perhaps because so little is known about her. Its such a shame that she died before she could write any more novels, who knows what she could have followed Wuthering Heights with...