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?

Thanks, Lemony! :)

Elizabeth Woodville
Catherine the Great
Ernest Shackleton

I've got a bit of a twisted mind if I'm honest....I have a strange obsession with serial killers throughout history. I.e. Ed Gein, Elizabeth Bathory, Bela Kiss, Fred & Rose West etc. I've read endless books about various people and am fascinated by them! My mum always said I would either turn out to be a forensic psychologist or a murderer....neither occupation have really tickled my fancy as of yet

The Mitford sister x

Richard III.

OP, can we move this thread to History club?

Yes of course Yonic.

I've just spent the last two hours googling names that people have mentioned on this thread to find out a bit more about them. So I now have a whole load of new folks to be obsessed about!

Fascinated by the people from the Tudor period, not just the Kings and Queens but also all the other 'movers and shakers' of the time it was a fascinating period politically, some really interesting characters and machinations in the Court.

Charles II and his cohorts, again some fascinating characters.

Edward II and his wife Matilda, Roger Mortimer and all that transpired then.

Eleanour of Acquitaine incredible that she lived through all she did and died in her 80's!

William III

Loads!

Catherine De Medici
Eleanor of Castille
Isabella of France (Obviously)
Cecily Neville
Joan of Arc
Bess of Hardwick
Catherine of Braganza
Queen Anne
Catherine the Great
Eleanor of Aquataine.

She-wolves by Helen Castor is one of my all time favourites.

Emzii, serial killers here too, I just find them fascinating. And another nod for Himmler.

Maud Allan
Mata Hari
Mae West
Isadora Duncan
Tallulah Bankhead
Josephine Baker
Nell Gwyn
Luisa Casati

and especially:

Juana "The Mad", Catherine of Aragon's sister. Was she really mad or portrayed that way by the power hungry men around her? She was apparently extremely passionately in love with her husband, to the extent that she cut off one of his mistresses' hair (completely scandalous behaviour by a princess) and kept opening his coffin after his death. She ended up being imprisoned for 50 years firstly by her father and then by her own son so that she couldn't rule. Incredibly sad life but fascinating.

Lemony that's v interesting about Dickens. I know he sent at least 2 of his sons to Australia when they were quite young, to 'toughen them up', and one or both of them died there. And he was fanatical about tidiness and would insist on the children keeping their rooms spick and span - with regular inspections to make sure. Not a comfortable person to have as your parent.

The writer Monica Dickens was the grand-daughter of his youngest son. She writes about the family a bit in her autobiography (which is a rattling good read, btw), but doesn't mention any of the deep, dark family secrets!

Mícheál Ó Coileáin

Katherine Swynford, John of Guant's mistress, later his wife.
Anne Neville, wife of Richard III.
Henrietta Maria, Charles I's wife
Elizabeth of Lancaster, just read Anne O'Brien's historical novel about her. Fascinating!

Richard III (not just since they found him; I've been interested in the controversy over what he did or didn't do on and off since my teens)

All the Yorkist pretenders during Tudor times

William IV

Most recently, Nancy Wake, a member of the SOE in WW2. She was incredible in what she contributed to oppose Hitler and absolutely ruthless to the enemy. Male members of her team didn't have the heart to kill a female German spy, but she did on the spot saying it was war.

Love going to Scotland and the story of Mary Queen of Scots always fascinates me too. Yes, I agree that she seem to have the worst luck which ultimately lead to her execution.

hollyisalovelyname, I'm in Cork, so get to teach a lot of this stuff to my students.

Rasputin well a lot of people from Russian history.

Ptolemy - grabbed Egypt from the collapse of Alexander's empire and made it powerful so that it lasted for generations.

Noor Inayat Khan - an Indian princess and wartime SOE wireless operator who survived months in Paris with the gestapo hunting her. When she was eventually betrayed she was horribly abused, but she didn't break under torture because she didn't want to endanger her family in France. In the end they beat her to death - but they never learnt her real name.

Cassandra. Blessed with always seeing the truth as it will unfold. Cursed with never being believed.

It's true I tell you!

Eleanor Roosevelt.
George Best.
Siddh?rtha Gautama, later known as Buddha
The person who first handed Leonardo da Vinci a stick of charcoal with the words "You'll be needing one of these."

Anne Boleyn. I'd love to have witnessed the moment she met Henry. Imagine it: the course of history changed dramatically because of that meeting.

Katherine Howard. I want to know if all the affairs were true and if so to ask her, " what the hell were you thinking???"

Evelyn Waugh, Nancy Mitford and James Lees-Milne

I'm no history buff, but Margaret of Anjou, Pope Joan (if she existed) and tutankhamun really grab me, and Alexander the Great - just fascinating!