Besides Anne, obviously??

Mine is Lucius Cornelius Sulla. I think he is completely fascinating. He is one of the only people I have ever heard of throughout history that have taken a dictatorship, only to use it to restore the balance of power and then resigned it so that normal government can be restored. He was completely ruthless, but once he had achieved what he set out to, he was content to retire from public life, I find that pretty admirable. Most people would not have done the same.

Isabella of Castile. She is simply amazing. The way she fought for her crown and her faith is undeniably remarkable and I can do nothing but admire that woman.

Then there is Anne of course. The most influentual and contravertial woman and I adore her wit. Would Henry break with Rome without her? I think not.

Catherine of Aragon. Remained loyal until the bitter end. But was it all a great lie? History's most noble lie if it was.

Elizabeth because she never fails to fascinate me. Her quotes are THE BEST. Nothing compares to some of the things she said! I just love her.

Juana I of Spain. Hate the way she's seen as 'the Mad.' So underestimated. I don't see what she ever did wrong…

Marie Antoinette. So gorgeous. And once again, I think she is much underestimated. People just fail to look past her extravagance.

Margaret Beaufort. Despite the fact that I think she was a spiteful character, one has to admire her courage.

Lady Rochford. Another spiteful character, yes. But still fascinated I like to think..

Katherine Parr. Her intelligence was so great. I think she was a great influence on Elizabeth.

Kat Astley. Forever loyal to her Queen. A favourite of mine just for that.

Anyanka said:

The Doctor.

Mine too, heh!

Besides Anne and Elizabeth:

Cynthia Ann Parker and her son Quannah Parker;  She was a girl of 9 when she was taken from her family by the Comanche.  She was raised by them and she married within the tribe.  Her son Quannah was Chief of the last band of Comanche to surrender in Texas.  A little antidote about Quannah; he became friends with many gov't officials.  Teddy Roosevelt used to hunt with him. As a Comanche he had four wives.  They told him he could not have four wives in America.  His reply was, “You tell 'em.”

Eleanore of Aquitaine; She went on Crusade with Louis.  Remarked upon as being the most beautiful woman in Christendom.  A woman ahead of her time.  Strong-willed and courageous.

King Charles II; The Merry Monarch.  Love reading about him and all of his loves.  He barely escaped with his life after his Father was executed. His youth was spent on the run.  He returned to pick up the the pieces after Cromwell died.

Abraham Lincoln; For his love of this country.  For his determination to see America whole again.

John Kennedy; for his vision of a new frontier.

Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy; For their belief in civil rights, and human rights. For their belief in peace.

Helen Keller; for showing strength in all types of adversity.

Well, besides Anne, I have a few favourite historical figures.

Elizabeth I: I've admired this women since I was seven years old. Her intelligence, courage, and conviction. Need I say more?

Katherine Parr and Anne of Cleves: for surviving Henry VIII, and for being friends with, and positive role models for, Elizabeth in many capacities.

Katherine Swynford: more than simply a mistress to John of Gaunt, the ruling class feared her, and her beauty is legendary. One of the greatest romances in history.

Pierre Elliot Trudeau: Canadian Prime Minister, creator of Canada's first Constitution, and for making Canada a great country to live in.

Tommy Douglas: creator of Canada's health care system.

Margaret Mead: pioneering 20th century Anthropologist, who inspired me to be an Anthropologist too. Her most famous work Coming of Age in Samoa helped defined participant-observation and the importance of fieldwork for social research.

Michel Foucault: a brillant philospher the world lost too soon. His theories are groundbreaking (even if I don't always understand what they are about). His book The Will of Knowledge turned my world upside down.

Jesus (human and divine): I am not religious, but Jesus's life inspires me to be the best person I can, and to try and treat others how I want to be treated.

MegC-glad to see a Southern fan of Lincoln and Darwin!  Two of my heroes.

DuchessOfBrittany-interesting that you mention Katherine Swynford.  I have only recently learned about her and her influence (and how many influential people to this very day are descended from her) but I love the medieval romance aspect of her story.  John of Gaunt was completely in love with his wife Blanche and Katherine loved her too.  It was only after her death that John and Katherine realized they were soul mates and flouted convention to be together.

Anyanka-Jehanne D'Arc is my patron saint!  To this day, when I pray, it's “Thank you, Saint Joan, for bringing me to the faith.”  As a teenager who couldn't identify with the role models I was presented with-mainly reality stars and people who came to fame from sex tapes and the like-I identified mostly with historical women.  This is where my obsession with Anne Boleyn began.  She was fully human and I've always felt an affinity with her.  The other person I felt that for was Jeanne D'Arc.  She died at 19-as a teenager, nothing could be a more powerful testimony.  She fought for what she believed in despite being made fun of my people on her own side and being attacked by her enemies.  She is also one of the few stories of God intervening for political reasons on earth.  Jesus Christ could have come to earth as a Roman heir, a rich emperor-to-be, but instead he came to earth as a poor son of a peasant in a random backwater town of Galilee.  St. Joan was not the noble militarily-trained son or daughter of a general but a random daughter of a peasant shepherd.  It makes me feel better for the rest of us!  When I joined the Catholic Church, they wanted me to take the name Guadalupe or Kateri for my Native American heritage, but I insisted on being “Joan,” after Joan of Arc.  

My favorite historical people are, of course, Anne Boleyn and Joan of Arc.  Other favorites include Cleopatra VII (is it bad that I only identified with her after seeing Lindsey Marshal's amazing portrayal in Rome?), St. Perpetua,   Elizabeth I, Marguerite de Navarre, Marguerite de Valois, Veronica Franco, Tullia D'Aragona, Carolina Otero, and others.  

Melissa said:

MegC-glad to see a Southern fan of Lincoln and Darwin!  Two of my heroes.

 

Hey, I'm from East Tennessee and we were pro-Union for the entire Civil War.  People in East Tennessee couldn't afford slaves–we were mountain folk (some of whom had blue skin, but that's an entirely different story altogether).  Unfortunately, I do have a very distant relative who was a minor Confederate General.  He was supposed to be present at the Battle of Lookout Mountain, but he overslept.  That's probably why he was only a minor general.

 

As for Darwin, I'm definitely a minority around here in my support of him.  My students never believed me when I told them that he was buried in Westminster Abbey–I even have a picture of me standing on his grave (Shhhh…don't tell anyone I took a picture inside of Westminster Abbey).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yes Sharon, Kateri Tekakwitha, the “Lily of the Mowhawks!”

Guess who? Although what he point is God only knows.