Historical Figures ....that might be new to some of us

[Bogey]

Just pulling from Ken's new avatar. So, maybe you have a somewhat famous figure in history from your area of the world or one you read about that maybe we have not.  Post 'em here and let the "possibly forgotten" history lessons begin.

[Bogey]

Here is a Coloradan: Willard Libby



Nobel Prize winner for being a main contributor to radiocarbon dating.  I did not have any idea that this took place as far back as 1949.  Pretty cool thing to have listed on a resume for sure.

https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/1960/libby-facts.html

[Mirror Image]

I'm sure most Americans will know who this is but perhaps some of our members from other countries will not:

Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929 - 1968)



Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia. King, both a Baptist minister and civil-rights activist, had a seismic impact on race relations in the United States, beginning in the mid-1950s. Among many efforts, King headed the SCLC. Through his activism, he played a pivotal role in ending the legal segregation of African-American citizens in the South and other areas of the nation, as well as the creation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. King received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964, among several other honors. King was assassinated in April 1968, and continues to be remembered as one of the most lauded African-American leaders in history, often referenced by his 1963 speech, "I Have a Dream."

[Autumn Leaves]

This is a really nice idea for a thread - keep them coming please guys.
I will try to think of some from my part of the world and add them at some stage.

[Jo498]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justus_von_Liebig

Liebig was one of the most important chemists of the 19th century and one of the fathers or organic chemistry, especially artificial fertilizers.
He was a professor at the University of Giessen (my alma mater) and after WW II it was renamed Justus-Liebig-Universität. (It used to be Ludwigs-Universität after the nobleman who founded it in the 1600s.)




A famous student in Liebig's time (although not studying with him) was Georg Büchner. A revolutionary and genius who is internationally probably best known for the fragment Woyzeck Berg's opera Wozzeck is based on. Within his short life he wrote several other plays (Dantons Tod is probably the next most famous one), revolutionary pamphlets and a dissertation (at the University of Zurich) on the nervous system of fish.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georg_B%C3%BCchner

To the eternal chagrin of later chairs of the physics department another famous scientist, Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen, left Giessen University for Wuerzburg before he made his most spectacular discovery: the X-rays or Roentgenstrahlen as they are called in German nowadays.



This monument from the 1960s in a small park in Giessen celebrates the (almost) all-penetrating rays

[North Star]

Anders Chydenius (1729-1803) was a Finnish priest and a member of the Swedish Riksdag, and is known as the leading classical liberal of Nordic history. An early pioneer — also by international standards — and proponent of economic liberalism, freedom of religion, freedom of speech and migration (writing a pamphlet on the invisible hand a decade before the publication of The Wealth of Nations) he was one of the first comprehensive philosophers of liberalism.

In 1765 Chydenius published a pamphlet called The National Gain (Den nationnale winsten), in which he proposes ideas of free trade and industry, explores the relationship between economy and society, and lays out the principles for liberalism, capitalism, and modern democracy. In the book Chydenius published theories closely corresponding to Adam Smith's invisible hand, eleven years before Smith published his book, The Wealth of Nations.

Chydenius also put his theories into practice by proposing to the Riksdag of the Estates a drastic trade liberalization of towns along the Gulf of Bothnia. However, most of his other propositions were not realized, such as turning Lapland to a nightwatchman state to make the poor province prosper economically:

" – free state, private ownership and individual freedom. Inhabitants could choose whatever profession, freedom of trade would be complete, there would be no privileges, regulation or taxes. Bureaucracy would be nonexistent, and the only officer would be a judge who would oversee that no-one's rights would be suppressed."

Chydenius became a great proponent of freedom of the press. In a report published in 1776, he wrote:
"No evidence should be needed that a certain freedom of writing and printing is one of the strongest bulwarks of a free organisation of the state, as without it, the estates would not have sufficient information for the drafting of good laws, and those dispensing justice would not be monitored, nor would the subjects know the requirements of the law, the limits of the rights of government, and their own responsibilities. Education and good conduct would be crushed; coarseness in thought, speech, and manners would prevail, and dimness would darken the entire sky of our freedom in a few years."

Chydenius was very outspoken about universal rights and the abolition of privilege. He wanted to give the poor the same freedom as for everybody else and argued for the good of the poor, which was then rather exceptional among politicians. He promoted democracy and defended the freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of trade and industry, and the workers rights. He called for an oversight of the way the state funds were spent. In modern language we would say he advocated openness and good governance.

In a 1778 essay, Thoughts Upon the Natural Rights of Servants and Peasants, he wrote:
"Nature shapes them exactly like us. Their posture in the crib is the same as ours, their souls have the same reason as other peoples', whereby it is plain to see that the Lord of creation also had intended them to have equal rights with other people."

He was also a scientist and skilled eye-surgeon, the maker of several inventions, a pioneer of vaccination in Finland and the founder of an orchestra.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anders_Chydenius

[Ken B]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anders_Chydenius

He's a keeper!

[North Star]

He's a keeper!

I knew you'd like him, Ken. 

[James]

Smedley Darlington Butler (July 30, 1881 – June 21, 1940) was a United States Marine Corps major general, the highest rank authorized at that time, and at the time of his death the most decorated Marine in U.S. history. During his 34-year career as a Marine, he participated in military actions in the Philippines, China, in Central America and the Caribbean during the Banana Wars, and France in World War I. Butler is well known for having later become an outspoken critic of U.S. wars and their consequences, as well as exposing the Business Plot, an alleged plan to overthrow the U.S. government.

By the end of his career, Butler had received 16 medals, five for heroism. He is one of 19 men to receive the Medal of Honor twice, one of three to be awarded both the Marine Corps Brevet Medal and the Medal of Honor, and the only Marine to be awarded the Brevet Medal and two Medals of Honor, all for separate actions.

In 1933, he became involved in a controversy known as the Business Plot, when he told a congressional committee that a group of wealthy industrialists were planning a military coup to overthrow Franklin D. Roosevelt, with Butler selected to lead a march of veterans to become dictator, similar to other Fascist regimes at that time. The individuals involved all denied the existence of a plot and the media ridiculed the allegations. A final report by a special House of Representatives Committee confirmed some of Butler's testimony.

In 1935, Butler wrote a book titled War Is a Racket, where he described and criticized the workings of the United States in its foreign actions and wars, such as those he was a part of, including the American corporations and other imperialist motivations behind them. After retiring from service, he became a popular activist, speaking at meetings organized by veterans, pacifists, and church groups in the 1930s.

[Drasko]

Petar Blagojevic

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petar_Blagojevich

[Scion7]

Rumanian serial-killer Ion Rîmaru, 1946-1971.
His death count was four women, but he assaulted more than ten others.
He killed with an axe - then bit their corpses on the breasts and thighs, before having sex the bodies.
Lovely chap, eh?
Rumanians with the last name "Rîmaru" changed it after he was arrested and tried - this is now a supposedly extinct last name there.

[AnthonyAthletic]

I guess Dick Turpin was the most notorious of English Highwaymen, but our local Highwayman George Lyon went down in Up Holland History.  I was born and lived in Up Holland, Lancashire till I moved away but remember often visiting his or rather his Mum's grave in the old Up Holland Churchyard 1309.  Not sure if he was buried with his Mother but this is what Wiki says about arguably the most notorious of all Up Hollander's.  I wouldn't say he was outstanding at his job, rather like Sid James in Carry on Dick. 

The Old Dog Inn (been knocked down for housing) used to be frequented by myself and friends for the odd pint of ale or two.



George Lyon was 54 when he was executed in Lancaster by hanging for robbery, as the last Highwayman to be hanged there. Sentence was passed on Saturday 8 April 1815 along with two accomplices, Houghton and Bennett.

A fourth accomplice was Edward Ford, who had been working as a painter at Walmsley House, where the last robbery took place and for which Lyon and his accomplices were eventually indicted. Ford had suggested robbing the house to Lyon, and had himself taken part in some 17 previous robberies, but because he turned King's evidence he was spared the capital sentence. The execution of Lyon, Houghton, and Bennett, took place just before noon on Saturday 22 April 1815 - the year of the Battle of Waterloo.

All capital sentences passed that day were commuted, except for the Upholland trio of Lyon, Houghton and Bennett, and two others, Moses Owen for horse stealing, and John Warburton for "highway robbery".

After his death Lyon's body was handed over to Simon Washington, landlord of The Old Dog Inn in Upholland, and a companion, for its return to Upholland for burial (the inn building still stands on Alma Hill in the village). Lyon had not wanted his body left at Lancaster as it would have been handed over to surgeons for dissection as was the normal procedure with the bodies of executed criminals. In a letter to his wife written on 14 April (with the aid of the prison chaplain, the Reverend Cowley), he implored her to arrange for his body to be returned home.

As the cart approached the final part of its journey, a huge crowd was observed moving off from Orrell Post near Upholland in the direction of Gathurst, to observe the return of Lyon's body. When word came through that the cortege was instead passing through nearby Wrightington and heading for the road through Appley Bridge instead, the crowd rushed across the fields from the Gathurst Bridge which still spans the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, to meet the cart at Dangerous Corner, and then followed it in procession through Appley Bridge, and up the climb through Roby Mill, until it eventually reached Parliament Street in Upholland, and the last few hundred yards to The Old Dog Inn, where Lyon's body was laid out in the landlady's best parlour overnight.

Hundreds of people gathered outside the pub the next day, and even climbed onto the roofs of adjoining buildings, to see the coffin as it was taken for burial to St. Thomas's churchyard in Upholland on Sunday 23 April 1815. George Lyon was buried in his daughter's grave (not, as is traditionally believed, that of his mother or grandmother), the inscription simply reads "Nanny Lyon, Died 17th April 1804". His name is not recorded on the stone.

[James]

Jack Kirby (August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994), born Jacob Kurtzberg, was an American comic book artist, writer, and editor widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Kirby

[Archaic Torso of Apollo]

I'm going to stick to the suburb I currently live in, Lake Bluff, IL. A small (6000 people) but interesting place.

In music:

The Tin Pan Alley composer Joe Howard lived here. Among his songs is "Hello! Ma Baby," quoted extensively by Charles Ives in Central Park in the Dark.

The pop singer Richard Marx, who had a string of hits in the 1980s, lives on an estate a few blocks north of me. The same estate was featured in Robert Altman's film A Wedding.

In literature:

The writer and editor Margaret Anderson used to hang out here in the summer, escaping the heat of Chicago. She founded The Little Review, the modernist literary magazine, where several chapters of Joyce's Ulysses were first published.

Ray Bradbury set a short story here: "The Lake," published in the 1940s. He was a native of Waukegan, a few miles to the north of us.

[kishnevi]

As a diversion, and a lesson in how legends grow, Count Walentin Potocki, a convert to Judaism who was burned at the stake for abandoning Catholicism in 1749, and whose grave was until a few years ago visitable  (the cemetery is now being built over despite protests).
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_ben_Abraham

And who probably never actually existed

[Florestan]

First and foremost, I strongly protest against Scion7´s post.

First, he is not Romanian so he should mind the bussiness of his own nation, whatever it is; second, any nation has had their share of lunatics and psychopatic persons. Offering them as  "historical figures" worth remembering, especially when the one posting does not belong to the nation in question, is disingenuous and offensive.

It´s not the first time that Scion7 uses Romanian history or Romanian symbols in an inappropriate context. Until now, I have kept silent --- but enough is enough! On behalf of the Romanian nation I formally protest!

Secondly, here is one of the most luminous and tragic figures of the Romanian history, a cultivated man, patron of arts and letters, and a martyr for the Christian Orthodox faith.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constantin_Br%C3%A2ncoveanu

And I do wonder, who were more barbarians, the Turks who perpetrated that odious crime of the gentlemen-ambassadors of the then Western powers who watched it as they would have watched a theater spectacle, comfortably seated in their lodge...

[Scion7]

Vampires are offensive?

Gasp!   

[Ken B]

First and foremost, I strongly protest against Scion7´s post.

First, he is not Romanian so he should mind the bussiness of his own nation, whatever it is; second, any nation has had their share of lunatics and psychopatic persons. Offering them as  "historical figures" worth remembering, especially when the one posting does not belong to the nation in question, is disingenuous and offensive.

It´s not the first time that Scion7 uses Romanian history or Romanian symbols in an inappropriate context. Until now, I have kept silent --- but enough is enough! On behalf of the Romanian nation I formally protest!

Secondly, here is one of the most luminous and tragic figures of the Romanian history, a cultivated man, patron of arts and letters, and a martyr for the Christian Orthodox faith.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constantin_Br%C3%A2ncoveanu

And I do wonder, who were more barbarians, the Turks who perpetrated that odious crime of the gentlemen-ambassadors of the then Western powers who watched it as they would have watched a theater spectacle, comfortably seated in their lodge...

I doubt more than 2% of Romanians are serial killers.

[Florestan]

The unknown history of aviation (click on the pictures for further informations)

[Ken B]

From my hometown of Guelph, where apparently was once spotted the 7th Magic Dragon ...

The 1874 World Baseball Champions, the Guelph Maple Leafs

Elinor Glyn, scandalous authoress of Three Weeks and It, and a rare female director of Hollywood silents.

Ned Hanlon, rowing champion.

Edward Johnson, possibly the most famous tenor after Caruso about 1910

John McRae, author of In Flanders Fields

Thomas Costain, a top selling historical novelist of the 40s

Neve Campbell

The Canola plant and thus Canola oil. Okay, not a person.