Jack Churchill.

He was a British man who fought in world war 2, armed with a bow and arrow and a claymore. He also motorcycled around India while learning to play the bagpipe, was a male model and an archery champion, and later became a paratrooper in the Palestinian conflicts. In his later years he would throw his suitcases out of the train he was riding and into his backyard as he passed so he wouldn't have to carry them.

A great quote: "In my opinion, sir, any officer who goes into action without his sword is improperly dressed."

More info:

http://www.damninteresting.com/?p=529

Douglas Adams

I met him and he was very friendly.

Voodoopigs:
I cannot seriously believe this.Hitler was the most evil bastard ever to walk the earth and you're speaking about him like he was a virtuous man.Sure he brought Germany back on to its feet but you can't ignore the fact he murdered 6'000'000 people because what they believed in.He used Agit Prop(agitation propaganda) to stop other people having their own say in their own country and then he dumped them in a prison.I'm sorry I got so wound up but I'm just so amazed about how everyone is talking about him.

I'm shocked as well! The murder, as Voodopigs said, of 6 million Jews is more than enough to condemn a man.
Hitler had three main aims, only one of which was a slightly acceptable ideal, but which he put into practice poorly and brutally.

He wanted to carve an Empire out of Eastern Europe (who he hated with a passion).
To expand German Living Space (Lebensraum I believe he called it), again targeting Eastern Europe as his own personal building site.
He wanted to defeat Communism and "The Jewish Problem".

If we were to examine in-depth how he went about doing this, you would all, as I do, have no respect for him whatsoever.

He was a lunatic in a uniform, and the German people knew that, but he was a fantastic public speaker and as Germany was pretty much on its knees, a leader who could promise prosperity for Germany and the return of its proud army was something the German people would jump on eagerly.

I'm going to say Franklin D Rooservelt and Marilyn Monroe.

Voodoopigs:
I cannot seriously believe this.Hitler was the most evil bastard ever to walk the earth and you're speaking about him like he was a virtuous man.Sure he brought Germany back on to its feet but you can't ignore the fact he murdered 6'000'000 people because what they believed in.He used Agit Prop(agitation propaganda) to stop other people having their own say in their own country and then he dumped them in a prison.I'm sorry I got so wound up but I'm just so amazed about how everyone is talking about him.

bro, everyone explained and is aware of the fact that he was a bastard. but, you cannot say that he was not a motivational leader. thats why all those people want to meet him. because of his leadership skills. just because the man is evil doesnt mean people dont wanna meet he

I like Mao ZeDong, he seemed like a fun guy to hang with. Even if he was an evil dictator that got millions killed, he had a funny hair cut XD

http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/core9/phalsall/images/mao.gif

This thread is full of, don't get me started.

Issac Brock. He was a Canadian (Read: British) General in the war of 1812 and managed to get the Americans to surrender Detroit without firing a shot. Their general at that fort was later executed for cowardice, but in fact, he was just outsmarted.

Issac Brock also stared down a professional duelist in Barbados. The duelist had challenged him to pistols, at any range of Brocks choice. The Duelist was a crackshot, certain he could outfire Brock at any range. Brock chose the width of his hankerchief, less than a foot. At that range, niether man could miss, ensuring mutual destruction. The duelist backed down and was disgraced.

The only other men for me with Oscar Wilde, the most quotable man to ever live, and Ptolemy, the brains behind Alexander the Great.

Jesus.

-Ricky

Platonus, Socrates and other philosophers. Taught me to question things.
Pierre Eliotte Trudeau, for making sure people are treated equally.

Julius Caeser.
Achieved a sod of lot through sheer bloody mindedness. He could have had an Emire across Africa had it not been for his ambition blinding him to the machinations of his own Generals and Politicians.

Moses.
Regardless of what you make of the hearing of voices in his head, his own concious telling him what he knew to be wrong? Schizophrenia? What he achieved was a achievnebt beyond belief.
This was a study recently about the plagues and the parting of the Red Sea and it did happen, though naturally not as romantically as the Old Testament would have it, obviously and not in the order posited in the Book.

Otis Redding
Pure Fucking Soul.

Wow... all these historic figures... and I seem to look to Bill Hicks as someone more admirable... because he wasn't just a good man, but a great mind.

The fact there is such a rift over Hitler... isn't too shocking... but the general ignorance does shock me.
In my opinion I don't agree with what happened due to him "and" the Nazi party. He isn't the only man solely responsible for 6 million deaths. He was never a saint, but the fact people associate just his name with evil... it's kind of bad.
If you studied the hierarchy of the Nazi party back then it makes it a lot harder to overlook figures like Joseph Goebbels... who was actually the man behind Krystalnacht... but hey... blame Hitler... he was the leader right? And how hard is it to remember more than one name.
The only thing I'll say in his favour is "Volkswagon"...

I would have to say Alexander the Great. If you want great leaders, you can't get better. At the height of his power he ruled almost the entire known world, and he ruled his people not through fear but through respect.

Socrates and Sun Tzu.

Pope John XII

Possibly the youngest pope ever and one of the most sexually active.

Last in the era known as the pornocracy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_John_XII

Hitler was a great man for everything he ever did!

*SMACK*

Heh. Sorry.
Hitler was a TERRIBLE man for everything he did BUT he did create the Autobahn (Germany's highway system) and the Volkswagon (the "people's car"). That and he pulled Germany out of the Great Depression faster than anyone else. That's certainly worth something.

Tolkien. The Hobbit is what got me into reading.

santaandy:

Khell_Sennet:
Also high up are literary genius Robert A Heinlein, the uncredited father of Science Fiction (damn Asimov for stealing his glory)...

Not that I don't like Heinlein, but the founder of sci-fi was Jules Verne.

My current favorite historical figure would have to be one of the Soviet space pioneers (Yuri Gagarin was the first man, and Valentina Tereshkova was the first woman).

...Or Stephen Colbert for raising awareness of the bear menace!

jules verne invented the steam punk future, which at that time might have been science fiction, but in our time is an alternate universe completely.

also, niels bohr is one of the more under appreciated people. while einstein did do alot for science, bohr significantly improved atomic model and quantum mechanics. he was also key in the manhattan project, and creating the first atomic bombs. more importantly, he answered the questions that einstein asked in their "debates".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bohr-Einstein_debates

Martin Luther for exposing the Catholics and starting the ball rolling on the reformation, Gutenberg for allowing books to be more available to people everywhere, Jesus Christ for everything, Patrick Henry for him being instrumental in creating America, anyone else I cannot think of at the moment who stood up for what was right despite what anyone else said and those who have tried to change the government. Also certain people involved in the Austrian school.

Winston Churchill
Smoked like a chimney yet taxis still bounced off him. The last politician to be balls-to-the-wall awesome. Insulting his enemies and rivals, making incredible acts of bravery, like going to see how D-day was getting on on day 2, or flying to meet the allied leaders over German held territory. When i get into parliament i will try to recreate his style in spirit by being brash and getting things done without being a damp squib like today's batch of politicians.

theklng:
jules verne invented the steam punk future, which at that time might have been science fiction, but in our time is an alternate universe completely.

Jules Verne did pioneer what would later be steampunk, true, but steampunk *is* a sub-genre of sci-fi, even now. And the passage of time does not change the genre of his work. Science fiction is about speculation on science and technology, not the time period it was written in. Also, Heinlein helped to popularize science fiction, and especially the sub-genre of Hard science fiction. He did a lot of great things for the genre, but he did not invent or "father" it, as many people had been writing in the genre far before he was even born (see Jules Verne, Paschal Grousset, Emilio Salgari, Osip Senkovsky, Oshikawa Shunro).

santaandy:

theklng:
jules verne invented the steam punk future, which at that time might have been science fiction, but in our time is an alternate universe completely.

Jules Verne did pioneer what would later be steampunk, true, but steampunk *is* a sub-genre of sci-fi, even now. And the passage of time does not change the genre of his work. Science fiction is about speculation on science and technology, not the time period it was written in. Also, Heinlein helped to popularize science fiction, and especially the sub-genre of Hard science fiction. He did a lot of great things for the genre, but he did not invent or "father" it, as many people had been writing in the genre far before he was even born (see Jules Verne, Paschal Grousset, Emilio Salgari, Osip Senkovsky, Oshikawa Shunro).

yeah, you basically said in an entire paragraph what i said in a couple of lines...

Sun Tzu... cmon he's a Warrior Philospher! And he wrote some of the most basic philosophies of life that we still quote today (and that other great people have also quoted) sometimes without even realizing it.

Those who want to know what Sun Tzu wrote, go and google The Art of War. He wrote it.