People Who Should Be More Famous

Lewis Cass is best known were I live as Terratorial Goveneror of Michigan. Their are citys big and small that have a Cass streets. One might not like some of the things that go on at his namesake in Detroit there are a lot of public events on Cass Street or Park in other places.

Cass Tech's pretty good. But yeah. :D

My vote is for Congressman John Bingham. I never even heard of the guy before today; that's how obscure he is. But he's the one who formally proposed the language: "No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." This became part of the 14th Amendment, and is probably the most important sentence in the entire U.S. Constitution. Before that point, any rights that you had under the Federal constitution, a state government could take it away. It basically rewrites the entire document. (Which, if you're interested in this sort of stuff, is the main flaw in Justice Scalia's legal theory of Originalism. Scalia should be looking at the 1860s, not the 1780s.)

As if he needed to do anything else, he was also the Judge Advocate of the Army during the late Civil War (translation - he policed war crimes), one of the judges in the Lincoln Assassination trial, and for 12 years the chief ambassador to Japan.
 
Michiel de Ruyter: Dutch admiral in the "Golden Age of the Netherlands" who won countless battles against Spain, France and especially England. De Ruyter was so feared and respected, that when he died, the French (enemies of the Dutch at the time) organized his funeral.

De Ruyter was definitely one of the greatest naval commanders ever, especially in the classical European times, it is sad that no one apart from the Dutch know who he is.
 
Lucius (Felix) Cornelius Sulla
The greatest roman ever lived
Seriously? How do you justify this, given the glut of great men in the last years of the Republic? Edit. Sorry, that sounded very rude, I'm just genuinely interested to see why you think Sulla beats Cicero or Augustus or Trajan or Constantine or whoever.
 

TheCrow__

Banned
Peter Kropotkin- Russian therotician, geologist, and a social therotician who advocated anarcho-communism and mutual aid between species namely humans to survive. Notably he was born a prince but was quickly disillusioned from that life and became a great revolutionary. His escape from the Peter and Paul Prison did gain him quite a bit of notoriety in his time.

Nestor 'Batko' Makhno- Ukranian peasant who lead the Black Army against White and Red forces in the Free Territory of Ukraine during the Russian Civil War. Managed to route White forces from Ukraine before Bolshevik forces turned on them.

Buenaventura Durruti- Spanish anarcho-syndicalist revolutionary during the Spanish Civil War. Helped led an army of anarchists to attack Republican and Nationalists forces. Known as the Durruti Collumn.
 
General Claude Francois Malet. Came within an ace of overthrowing Napoleon in 1812, armed only with an impressive uniform and a lot of forged papers. Perhaps the nearest thing to a real life "Wasp" but regrettably unsuccesful.

Champ Clark, Speaker of the House of Representatives 1911-1919. In 1912 received a majority of votes at the Democratic Convention, but missed the nomination owing to the two-thirds rule. So for good or ill (imho mostly ill) you got Woodrow Wilson instead. Rather neglected even in Alt-hist circles, where everyone seems to get so obsessed with TR (a very long shot at best) that the real alternative POTUS of 1912 gets overlooked
 
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Seriously? How do you justify this, given the glut of great men in the last years of the Republic? Edit. Sorry, that sounded very rude, I'm just genuinely interested to see why you think Sulla beats Cicero or Augustus or Trajan or Constantine or whoever.

He acquired the power, made reforms, and then he resigned
Also military genius (Choronea, Orcomenus), fearless warrior (Corona Obsidionalis, Corona Gaminea during the Social War), astonishing diplomat (settling with Parthia on an equal footing).
His reforms were really the last chance for the Republic to survive.

I would have several nasty things to say about Cicero.
 
Giorgio Perlasca
Little import-export trademan working between Italy and Hungary during WW2.
Deceived the germans making them beieve that he was really the spanish ambassador after 1944, and forged over 5,000 passports, allowing so many Hebrews to flee.
 
George Cayley

Ott Lilienthal

Alberto Santos-Dumont

Aurel Vlaicu

Numan Celebicihan

Ismail Gaspirali

- - -

If in terms of people who are well known to historians, but not really to anyone else :-

August von Mackensen
Hans Oster
Nikola Tesla
Charles and Gabriel Voisin
William Durant
Eugene de Beauharnais

Best Regards
Grey Wolf
 
Nestor 'Batko' Makhno- Ukranian peasant who lead the Black Army against White and Red forces in the Free Territory of Ukraine during the Russian Civil War. Managed to route White forces from Ukraine before Bolshevik forces turned on them.

I almost included Makhno in my little list

By rights, if I did, I would also have thrown in Archduke Wilhelm of the Habsburg Teschen line, whilst for my second category of people well known to historians but not others I would have thrown in Pavlo Skoropadskyi

Best Regards
Grey Wolf
 
-Otto Lilienthal
-That English guy who designed heavier-than-air aircraft in the 19th C... George Cayley, that's him
-Corazon Aquino
-Lady Jane Grey and sisters
-The plethora of Soviet Premiers aside from Lenin, Stalin, Khrushchev and Gorbachev (Andropov?)
 
Nikola Tesla. Pitty he was a terrible businessman because then he might be mentioned in the same regard as Edison as far as inventing things go. Speaking of Edison I feel the exact opposite. I hate that lying fraud with a immense passion.
 
Grey Wolf said:
Eugene de Beauharnais

I agree on the fact that people should speak more about Eugene de Beauharnais... He was the son of Josephine, Napoleon's first wife and had a very close relationship with his stepfather, who had made him viceroy of Italy.

Eugene is one of the few people who never betrayed Napoleon. He did desobeyed orders towards the end but because he thought he could save the Italian Kingdom for his stepfather. When the Austrians tried to have him betrayed Napoleon in exchange for the Italian crown, he refused.

Eugene also had other qualities : he was a good general, very brave (he proved it several times during the Russian Campaign) and had a great charisma. He was very liked by ennemies of his stepfather, notably Czar Alexander I of Russia.

When Napoleon lost his throne, Eugene was saved and protected by Maximilian I of Bavaria, the father of his Eugene's wife, Augusta Amelia. Eugene died in 1842, but his blood runs in many royal families (one of his daughter was married to Oscar I of Sweden and another was Empress consort of Brazil).

Such a pity Napoleon didn't choose Eugene as his heir... While not of his blood, Eugene would have been a great successor for Napoleon.

As for other people I'd like people to talk more about :

Nicolas Davout : One of Napoleon's Marshall. During the battle of Auersterdt, which happened at the same time as the battle of Iena, Davout's army corpse defeated the main Prussian army ALONE. Davout is also said to have never lost one battle during the Napoleonic Wars.

François Athanase Charette de La Contrie : French Noble who was one of the main leaders of the Royalist Army during the Vendean Wars, a counter-revolutionnary movement in Vendée from 1793 to 1796. Though he had made his career in the French Navy, he proved to be an incredible general on land. Napoleon said of him that he was a genius.
Charette was captured by the French Republicans in 1796 and sentenced to death by fring squad. He commanded his own execution.
Charette also responded to a letter of the future Louis-Philippe I : "Vous direz au fils de Philippe Egalité qu'il aille se faire foutre" which can be translated in English by "Tell Philippe Egalité's son that he can go to hell".

Rodrigo Borgia/Pope Alexander VI : Probably the worst pope in the history of the Papacy.

Robert III d'Artois : He is the main figure of the books of The Accursed Kings written by French author Maurice Druon. He really existed and was a French noble who had an important role during the period going from Philippe IV's death to the beginning of the Hundred Years' Wars, though his role in the events leading to the said War is probably exagerated in the books as they are romanced.
People don't talk much about him although the books is very well known in France (I don't know for the rest of the world, sorry).
Robert was claimant to the county of Artois againt his aunt Mahaut. He played an important during the reigns of Louis X, Charles IV and later Philippe VI before being disgraced after he brought false evidences to inherit the county of Artois. He then served under Edward III of England when the latter claimed the crown of France and died in Britanny, during the siege of Vannes in 1342.

Hudson Lowe : Napoleon's jailor at Saint Helena. Probably one of the worsts men that ever existed.

Charles de Lorraine : Cousin of Louis V, last Carolingian kings of France. While he was the designated successor, the nobles elected the Duke of the Franks Hugues Capet in his place.

Giannino Baglioni : An italian merchant who claimed he was John I of France, the son of the late Louis X and Clemence of Hungary who only lived five days. He died in jale at Naples, while he was trying to be crowned king of France. The theory that he was really John I of France is explored throughout the books The Accursed Kings of Maurice Druon, most notably in the Epilogue of Le lys et le lion, the sixth tome.

Karl Wilhem Naundorff : A german merchant who claimed to be Louis XVII of France. He still has descendants who are claiming the throne of France.

Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte : Napoleon III's only son. Claimant to the throne of France under the name Napoleon IV. He died in the Zoulou Wars, after having been wounded 17 times by spears.
 
He acquired the power, made reforms, and then he resigned
Also military genius (Choronea, Orcomenus), fearless warrior (Corona Obsidionalis, Corona Gaminea during the Social War), astonishing diplomat (settling with Parthia on an equal footing).
His reforms were really the last chance for the Republic to survive.

I would have several nasty things to say about Cicero.

Surely though, Diocletian fits the bill better when it comes to able commander, great reformer and decent diplomat who then resigned? Sulla let the genie out of the bottle when it came to warlord generals marching on Rome, and his actions started the collapse of the Republic into anarchy. Diocletian, by contrast, set his state upon a very firm footing- the Roman Empire three hundred years after his death was recognisably the same state, while Sulla's own reforms only lasted a few years before they were swept away by the Populares. Apologies for thread hijacking here, who's for a "who's the best Roman" one? :p
 
Surely though, Diocletian fits the bill better when it comes to able commander, great reformer and decent diplomat who then resigned? Sulla let the genie out of the bottle when it came to warlord generals marching on Rome, and his actions started the collapse of the Republic into anarchy. Diocletian, by contrast, set his state upon a very firm footing- the Roman Empire three hundred years after his death was recognisably the same state, while Sulla's own reforms only lasted a few years before they were swept away by the Populares. Apologies for thread hijacking here, who's for a "who's the best Roman" one? :p

Nope.
Marius started the collapse of the Republic into anarchy.
Sulla troops arriving were welcomed by a population weary of bloodshed by hands of Marius followers.
Sulla reforms prolonged the Republic until Caesar.
The main problem about Sulla is that the Emperor's Julian line came from the Populares, thus their courtesans (most of the historian we know) and made their utmost to depict him as a tyrant.

I agree the Diocletian was not bad as an emperor, but that's the point: he was an emperor. He had the duty of mend things and the right to do unpleasant things to mend them.
Doing them as a man not enjoying absolute power is much more an achievement
 
Pedro II, Emperor of Brazil: He ruled the Empire of Brazil for 49 years and led it to the greatest power of South America. During his reign there was the Rise of Coffee, the War of the Triple Alliance and other scientific and diplomatic advances. He is beloved by the people of Brazil. The Empire was abolished by a coup envolving the Minister of the Army and some soldierswho represented less than 5% of the army. The Republic was proclaimed in 15th November 1889 in the name of the liberty... the main reason for this was the abolition of slavery in 1888 also in the name of liberty. Now who are the liberators? The Emperor's funeral in Paris was watched by thousands of people including some monarchs from Europe.

Count D'Eu: a French who married Princess Isabela of Brazil. He won several battles on the War of the Triple Alliance and was a major political figure during the Empire.

Santos Dummont: the true inventor of the airplane

And I completly agree with Belisarius. I would like to add Anna Komnene to the list too.
 
Nope.
Marius started the collapse of the Republic into anarchy.
Sulla troops arriving were welcomed by a population weary of bloodshed by hands of Marius followers.
Sulla reforms prolonged the Republic until Caesar.
The main problem about Sulla is that the Emperor's Julian line came from the Populares, thus their courtesans (most of the historian we know) and made their utmost to depict him as a tyrant.

I agree the Diocletian was not bad as an emperor, but that's the point: he was an emperor. He had the duty of mend things and the right to do unpleasant things to mend them.
Doing them as a man not enjoying absolute power is much more an achievement

Going to start a new thread for this, because I think it's an interesting thing to discuss. I agree Sulla was an impressive figure, but have my doubts whether he's a true "great" given how many other impressive Romans there were. I hope you'll join me for a debate on the new thread!
 
Antonio Gramsci. Marxist philosopher who pointed out all the problems with the regime Lenin and Stalin were creating and proposed workable solutions. Died in Bennie the Moose's prisons.

Everybody here probably knows Henry Clay, but the general populace has no idea who he was. Nor could they name ANY Roman besides Julius Caesar.

Konstantin Tsiolkovsky.

Anastas Ivanovich Mikoyan. The only member of Stalin's Politburo to protest, in writing, the ethnic "relocations" and engineered famines. On multiple occasions. His own descendants caution against making him a hero, but - lots of lost potential there.

August Belmont. Pierre-Joseph Proudhon. Mikhail Bakunin.
 
People who should be more famous but somehow weren't mentioned here already:

Harriet Quimby: the first woman to fly across the English Channel (otherwise known as the La Manche or Pas-de-Calais). Unfortunately, she did it on April 16, 1912... All she got was a brief mention on one of the last pages a few days later. Even more unfortunately, she died in a plane-related accident a few months later (in July), before she could do anything else notable...

Robert Wood: A major (and arguably already famous, if less so than Tesla) American inventor, scientist, chemist, physician, and generally an awesome man. I'm not going to list what he did, because it's too long of a list, and there are a few books on that already. In short, the type of person Cracked would be likely to write about, and I won't be surprised if they already did. ;)

Moric Benovski (sp?): I think most of you have heard about him already (LTTW, for one), so nothing here. ;)

There are a few other ones I at some point wanted to list, but most of them are either far too famous (German Titov, Matthew Perry), don't really merit fame (Millard Fillmore, Theodore Frelinghuysen), have been mentioned already (Stanislav Petrov, Otto Lilienthal), or more than one of the above (Konstantin Chernenko, Tamerlane - and no, I didn't really want to list them, I just included them as two categories above at the same time; for that matter, Ivan III of Russia, a person I also wanted to list but decided not to, and who isn't exactly in any of the categories above).




...So what, how?
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