Historical figures recently read about you find fascinating

[figarot]

Quite busy reading about Leon Battista Alberti whom I've never known of before and finding his life and accomplishments inspirational at my ripe old age. Considering how long ago he lived it is understood why it took me this long to find out about the man.

Too new to me to who he was to say anything about him but the web has bits of his deeds and life story captured for those curious enough.

What past characters are there that you've only recently heard of that you found interesting, and wish more folk would know of their lives?

ETA: Only searched him online after I wandered upon a street named after him.

 

[Lennart Hyland]

Napoleon - Didn't know much about him until I read a book by a Swedish historian. Very interesting and fascinating!

Don't know much about Alexander the Great either but after skimming some wikipages about some of his battles, I know he is next on my list

 

[jimbob]

Admiral Lord Cochrane.

Basics for Jack Aubrey and Hornblower.

Even more competent at making enemies in The Admiralty than in fighting.


His most famous action was the Action of 6th May 1801

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_of_6_May_1801

A 50 man sloop, Speedy, captured the 300 man frigate specifically sent to deal with him.

Finding that he had been beaten by such an inferior foe, the Spanish second-in-command asked Cochrane for a certificate assuring him that he had done all he could to defend his ship.[8] Cochrane obliged, with the equivocal wording that he had 'conducted himself like a true Spaniard'.[8]

As well as the Royal Navy, he commanded the Chilean and then Brazilian navies in their wars of independence as well as a Greek fleet in its war of independence.

 

[Crossbow]

I recently read an excellent biography of President Grant.

He was a most interesting person.

 

[jimbob]

I recently read an excellent biography of President Grant.

He was a most interesting person.

I suspect dudalb would agree.

From what I understand, he was probably the best general of the US Civil War.

 

[erwinl]

Dr. Wilhelm Molly 1838 - 1919

Not a grand statesman as the examples above, but a doctor, philatelist, but most of all tireless fighter for the rights of the stateless people of Neutral Moresnet.

Born in what is now Germany and one of only 70 physicians ever to reach the rank of Geheimer Sanitätsrat (yeah. Leave it to the Prussians to let the most prestigious rank a German medical doctor could reach back then, sound this ominous).

In all the years he lived in Kelmis/Neutral Moresnet, he fought for the rights of those inhabitants of Kelmis, who were stateless and keeping them out of the crutches of both Belgium and Germany.
Some of the hairbrained schemes, involving printing Moresnet postage stamps (for only real countries have stamps, he argued), of by trying to give Moresnet a language bof it's own, by making Kelims the capital of the newly made Esperanto language.
He must have been an amazing man, motivating the Moresnet population in collectively starting to learn Esperanto (as a step in yet another try in making Moresnet a seperate country).

A man with his heart in the right place, a grandiose dreamer, albeit unlucky in timing and naieve with international political power.

Last october I had the pleasure to lay some flowers at the grave of this remarkable man. (I imagine next day the priest of the church must have been really surprised, finding fresh flowers on such an old grave).

 

[catsmate]

Dr. Wilhelm Molly 1838 - 1919

Not a grand statesman as the examples above, but a doctor, philatelist, but most of all tireless fighter for the rights of the stateless people of Neutral Moresnet.

Born in what is now Germany and one of only 70 physicians ever to reach the rank of Geheimer Sanitätsrat (yeah. Leave it to the Prussians to let the most prestigious rank a German medical doctor could reach back then, sound this ominous).

In all the years he lived in Kelmis/Neutral Moresnet, he fought for the rights of those inhabitants of Kelmis, who were stateless and keeping them out of the crutches of both Belgium and Germany.
Some of the hairbrained schemes, involving printing Moresnet postage stamps (for only real countries have stamps, he argued), of by trying to give Moresnet a language bof it's own, by making Kelims the capital of the newly made Esperanto language.
He must have been an amazing man, motivating the Moresnet population in collectively starting to learn Esperanto (as a step in yet another try in making Moresnet a seperate country).

A man with his heart in the right place, a grandiose dreamer, albeit unlucky in timing and naieve with international political power.

Last october I had the pleasure to lay some flowers at the grave of this remarkable man. (I imagine next day the priest of the church must have been really surprised, finding fresh flowers on such an old grave).

Excellent! Neutral Moresnet is too little remembered.

 

[catsmate]

Ernst Gennat, a little known but brilliant and unique detective in inter-war Germany.
Wiki.