favorite history figure and why

i want to know who your favorite history figures are that you look up to.

^Yup Dr. King and Malcolm X were pretty amazing.

In addition to them:

Clara Barton, Arthur Miller, Marilyn Monroe, Hitler (not because I support him but because he's a fascinating example of human psychology), Humphrey Bogart, Charles Manson, H.H. Holmes and so many more I can't think of right now!

Now note: "look up to" is not quite the term I'm meaning to use, "fascinate me" is more appropriate :)

Fidel Castro

He is so brave and self-disipcilend(sp?)

though I don't believe...I'm surprised no one said Jesus so far.

Where are all yee faithful?

Haha

Martin Luther King Jr.

He stood up for what he believed in and spoke up without fear. One of his quotes "We have nothing to fear but fear itself" remains one of the few quotes that I actually remember and have been inspired by.

^ I thought that was a quote from Roosevelt...? Eh, maybe they both used it : ).

For me, hm.

Jesus (as mentioned by Joseph [wow, that sounded like a Gospel])
Leonardo daVinci. Great all-around genius.
Socrates. He's basically the man.
King Arthur - the once and future king! (rightwise born King over all Britain!)
Gandhi
Joan of Ark - that's girl power for ya
Van Gogh - w00t for insane, brilliant artists
St. Augstine
Beethoven - see Van Gogh
Einstein

ohhh, wait. were we supposed to pick just one? dangit.

Wow, the only ones I can think of at the moment have already been covered. How odd.

Leonardo daVinci
Gandhi
Joan of Arc
Victor Van Gogh
Beethoven
Albert Einstein

I'll have to think of some more later.

Oh yes, Galileo Galilei. Him too.

OH, and why? Well sheesh, that would take forever to answer. Let's just say, I know A LOT about all the people I listed. A LOT. They are my heroes, all for different reasons.

Humm, I was going to say Adolph Hitler.. reason because he dominated (Third Reich), he created his own race, created the Nazi Party.. man was crazy .. but a frikken genius.

^^^I somewhat agree, although he used his intelligence very poorly lol. But fidel castro? I have to disagree...Cuba has been not well off for the last several decades because of him.

i was talking about men and women who had a positive affect on history.

not fidel castro who overthrew the cuban government and set up a cruel dictatorship

or malcolm x who encouraged all blacks to violently oppose whites

oh by the way it was proven that martin luther was killed because he owed some guy money. but most people give in to the theory he was killed because of his beliefs.

charles mansion brainwashed kids into doing his dirty work, now he makes a living out of scaring passersby in jail. every parole hearing he has he chooses to do something more radical than the last.

adolf hitler poisoned the minds of millions and systematically led the nation in killing six million jews and countless more people by the cause of war

why don't you add joseph stalin? he seems like another likely member of your list. he killed atleast 25 million of his own people.

i would not give one washington, adams, or justinian for a million of each of those tyrants, bloodletters, hatemongers, and idolaters.

do you want me to be?

bummer, well that's in the cards right?

why not?

ok...you're totally missing the fact that malcolm x was a huge inspiration to many blacks who were finally unafraid to stand up for themselves and be who they are.

and although these people are not classified as "good people" they are fascinating and that is undeniable. and if we don't study the evil in people and learn from it, we're destined to repeat it.

thank you bob.

I forgot to add John Stuart Mill. The guy contributed so much to moedern political philosophy, plus.... he's just fascinating. Who learns Greek at the age of 4? Goes through law school at like, 16? Psh. I'm so afraid that they don't make people like that anymore. If anyone can tell me of some, I'd love to hear : )

Noah Because his boat floated

malcolm x fell in love with his kill all white's dream and he got assassinated. muttering his last words "cool it brother" i'm studying to be a historian.

oh and by the way i don't need to get to know bad men in history, because it is my experience that one bad apple ruins all the good apples around it, not the other way around.

i would rather exalt a good man like martin luther king jr. than a violent anarchist like malcolm x.

maybe i would like malcolm x if i knew him besides his hate mongering against whites, but he tried to do the right thing by the wrong means.

most secular history books in schools focus on the results not the means to get those results and it is sad.

know your history before you slander me and my chosen profession

oh so because you're a historian that means you know everything and nothing anybody else says has any validity to it? really, why'd you start this post then if you weren't willing to accept all answers? and in many people's eyes, particularly black people's eyes, malcolm X WAS an inspiration.

Greatest figure in History?

Prophet Muhammed (PBUH).

thank you william. actually queen i am smarter than you apperently because you don't have the facts at your disposal and i do.

why don't you write me a detailed report on malcolm x right now. oh but you won't because you only wish to argue.

but you won't say that, you'll make some excuse about me being a jerk or saying i am a know it all.

david, it might be a good idea to -inform- people when you have the facts, instead of degrading them. Then you're using your knowledge for good, and it wouldn't be so easy to call you a jerk.

At the same time, though... don't be arrogant. You may well know a lot, but you certainly don't know everything. Don't be afraid to expand your knowledge even more, by learning the opinions of these other people.

Out of curiosity - what period do you specialize in?

sibyllene this post here is not for you. for i admire your advice and your looking on both sides of the subject. thank you.

i would like to state the synopsis of malcolm x, for anyone who wishes to know

jobs and hobbies: drug dealer, gambler, racketeer (organized gang), and robbery

avoided world war II draft by acting mentally handicapped by saying he wanted to shoot some "white crackers" (you may like being called a cracker but i don't)

said of abraham lincoln our 16th president who abolished slavery "a president who didn't like us when he was alive"

said of the john f kennedy assasination "a case of chickens coming home to roost, chickens coming home to roost never made me sad, it only made me glad."

a white college girl walked in a restaurant to help whites and muslims get along. malcolm said there wasn't "a ghost of a chance" and sent her off crying.

malcolm x has been arrested for grand larceny, and breaking and entering.

when someone asked whether he would be nonviolent he stated "don't teach me to be nonviolent until you teach some of those crackers to be nonviolent"

what a good role model. that is who inspires or fascinates you?

Hmm...

I missed a couple of people that I admire.

Amelia Earhart - braved the 'unknown'
Joan of Arc
And Jesus

yes he does fascinate me. and you are NOT smarter than me thank you very much. you may be more knowledgeable on certain subjects but that is a VERY strong claim to say that you're smarter than me, and backing it up with a few intelligent facts is not going to cement anything.

even though you haven't put in squat to defend yourself or your claims. you merely yell and get angry.

you show no intelligence just anger and resentment. i feel sorry for you.

ok you know what, david, fine you're right? Becuase clearly thats what you need to here You've sure got my personality nailed down. Of course I yell because you can TOTALLY hear me lol. Whatever, you're smart, everyone else is dumb.

Ok and just for reference, I know this is lame to pull out a textbook definition of malcolm X, but I just think you should look at a REAL professional's side to malcolm X, not just your own biased side:

During his life, Malcolm went from being a drug dealer and burglar[1] to one of the most prominent black nationalist leaders in the United States; he was considered by some as a martyr of Islam and a champion of equality. As a militant leader, Malcolm X advocated black pride, economic self-reliance, and identity politics. He ultimately rose to become a world-renowned African American/Pan-Africanist and human rights activist.

During a pilgrimage to Mecca in 1964, Malcolm became a Sunni Muslim. Less than a year later he was assassinated in Washington Heights on the first day of National Brotherhood Week. Although three members of the Nation of Islam were convicted of his assassination (one of whom confessed), there are several theories positing the involvement of elements of the United States Government.

yeah he did drugs and was a burglar. Who the hell cares? Maybe you, not me. I know plenty of brilliant people who do drugs. Poor choice, maybe, makes them any less of an intelligent person, not really. :)

p.s. you asked for people's "favorite" history figure, why would you ask if you were just going to criticize. FYI, people are different and have different respects.

i care. because doing something wrong for a goal that's right is wrong. oh and look up the word militant for me.

oh and to a textbook the worst people can be written as the best. i don't go by summaries i go by how they lived their lives.

oh and if you read what i wrote then you wouldn't say squat. i don't care who you are cracker is racist slander.

oh and also he split from the nation of islam in the late 60's because they weren't too "militant" for him.

i looked up three different sources for my summary of him but you just took a paragraph out of your little book.

i put my points down, more than you have.

you ARE stubborn, almost like a fool. "as a dog returneth to his vomit so a fool to his folly"

you keep attacking me with the same old stuff.

pitiful

because i owe it to great men in history who fought for me and my family. not persecuted them.

i don't agree with some black dude calling me a cracker, as i would if i was black and someone called me the n word.

gee for someone fighting racism he was very racist himself

whatever, you're right to an extent. his actions WERE controversial. but frankly Lincoln HAD slaves, he had a hard time dealing with this country and everyone thought he abolished slavery for the black people, but that wasn't the real reason, it was to preserve the union, he did not have his heart with the black community. and "cracker" to me is not racist slander, maybe he was shooting back to the white community ONE label as opposed to the numerous horrible labels given to blacks. but i'm done arguing this. argue someone else and their person they chose. and why dont u stop calling me names david? stubborn, fool, dumb, its not needed.

first of all lincoln never had slaves. second even if he did he freed them to free all slaves. second his wanting to free the slaves tore apart the country, that's why he didn't free them until 1863.

third, cracker IS a racist slander and saying insults back to the person directing them at you won't solve a problem but just make it worse.

oh and anyone can shout insults. i only said the truth. and i even used a bible verse to back it all up.

your slander is all a big insult. as is your lack of knowledge on history

you'll never admit anyone is right. only to an "extent"

the road is either right or wrong there is no middle way.

oh and by the way honey, lincoln lived in indiana and illinois, both of whom were free states since before he was born.

what do you know of the mason dixon line? and the missouri compromise, and the compromise of 1850?

hahahahahahahaha

the bible...

hahahahahahahaha

ok man, i'm a big insult. dude, you need to take a chill pill. question: what's your race?

i don't think that should matter which is why i didn't ask you the same thing.

okay, well nice attempting to have a debate with you david although everything on this forum ends up in a big dramatic argument. cya

adios

i still know alot more than that infernal woman. i like harriet beecher stowe's uncle tom's cabin, a good read.

i know about malcolm x's pilgrimages to mecca and all his trips to africa. it's just hard to get on track when you have to defend your ideals on the spot.

and i do believe mohammad ali (or cassius clay) wasn't a traitor but i can't stand it when people shirk their duty for their country.

during the american revolution it came down to 2000 versus 20000 but they all hung in there and fought on.

nothing against ali but if it was me i would feel so guilty.

my family is full of war heros.

uncle: faught in desert storm and worked security at the pentagon
grandpa: fought with the navy in vietnam
great grandpa: fought in africa, italy, and normandy in wwII
i had a relative in wwI

for the civil war i am related to grant, lincoln, robert e lee

and then it all goes down to gearge washington himself

but i can't join the armed forces because of my eyes, i want to uphold family tradition but i can't. that is why i hate it when people don't do their duty.

i can't turn from my opinions on bad men in history, which malcolm x isn't bad he just used the wrong means to acheive his goals

why can't everyone be more supportive of a washington or adams instead of a malcolm x and a charles mansion

it scares me, one day i will have to raise my children. for what? anarchy supporters.

i cry when i think of these things