History.

[Ph0t0n1c Ph34r]

Heisenburg. Now, through the miracles if SCIENCE, if I derive the exact velocity of my neighbor's yappy dog, she should be impossible to locate. I'm hopping she just magicaly teleports into the center of the sun. Or New Jersey.

 

[Parshooter]

Hannibal

he would have won if the romans didn't go the way the of guerilla warfare
then after defeat he was able to pay back all the tribute they demanded.

 

[Kavachi]

Pfieuww, I'm really glad this thread isn't a flame war (it could easily been one if someone said Hitler or something).

Well, my fav is...
No idea actually, there are too many to chose from. Although I do like Willem van Oranje (founder of the Netherlands) for being the founder of the Netherlands (FYI I'm Dutch)

 

[DagothGares]

Hannibal

he would have won if the romans didn't go the way the of guerilla warfare
then after defeat he was able to pay back all the tribute they demanded.

Hannibal did guerilla warfare...
It was the romans who marched straight into Carthage...

 

[thylasos]

Pfieuww, I'm really glad this thread isn't a flame war (it could easily been one if someone said Hitler or something).

People actually have, it's just they've given decent reasons, considering him as a mental case and such, rather than saying "he was a great guy", they're saying "he was an insane guy and that's kind-of interesting".

Anyway, I'll go for The Levellers. They were pretty incredible in terms of defining British revolutionary thinking 300 or more years before it's widely acknowledged.

 

[Superhyperactiveman]

*Stuff about Andrew Jackson*
And we put him on the twenty just so that his ghost wouldn't come back and challenge us to a duel.

This all seems suspiciously similar to the Cracked article...
I'm just sayin'.

You mean the Cracked article that I blatantly copied? Just because someone else wrote it doesn't mean it's not my opinion!

Andrew Jackson: the single most bad-ass president of all time.

After fighting in a war or two, Jackson decided to run for president, to which people responded "ME!?! Vote for that NUTCASE!?!"

But he still won.

While in office, Jackson found that he missed the ability to kill large quantities of people that he enjoyed so much in the war, so he took up dueling. If you criticized him in even the slightest way, Jackson would challenge you to a duel and blow your brains out with his trusty pistol. He came close to killing 100 people in this manner.

At the end of his life, Jackson said something along the lines of "My only regret is that I did not hang Henry Clay, and I did not shoot John C. Calhoun"

After a lifetime of killing people, his only regret was not killing more people... one of whom was his vice-president!

And we put him on the twenty just so that his ghost wouldn't come back and challenge us to a duel.

Now I know I put Stalin on my list... but Andrew Jackson? As in Trail of Tears, now he did do some pretty cool things for democracy and power to the people, but it was white people that he empowered, not to say that any of the others at the time were paragons of virtue above him, it was just society at the time.

Yes Andrew Jackson! Did you not hear what I just said about all the people he killed? Dude was hardcore!

 

[Dancingman]

*Stuff about Andrew Jackson*
And we put him on the twenty just so that his ghost wouldn't come back and challenge us to a duel.

This all seems suspiciously similar to the Cracked article...
I'm just sayin'.

You mean the Cracked article that I blatantly copied? Just because someone else wrote it doesn't mean it's not my opinion!

Andrew Jackson: the single most bad-ass president of all time.

After fighting in a war or two, Jackson decided to run for president, to which people responded "ME!?! Vote for that NUTCASE!?!"

But he still won.

While in office, Jackson found that he missed the ability to kill large quantities of people that he enjoyed so much in the war, so he took up dueling. If you criticized him in even the slightest way, Jackson would challenge you to a duel and blow your brains out with his trusty pistol. He came close to killing 100 people in this manner.

At the end of his life, Jackson said something along the lines of "My only regret is that I did not hang Henry Clay, and I did not shoot John C. Calhoun"

After a lifetime of killing people, his only regret was not killing more people... one of whom was his vice-president!

And we put him on the twenty just so that his ghost wouldn't come back and challenge us to a duel.

Now I know I put Stalin on my list... but Andrew Jackson? As in Trail of Tears, now he did do some pretty cool things for democracy and power to the people, but it was white people that he empowered, not to say that any of the others at the time were paragons of virtue above him, it was just society at the time.

Yes Andrew Jackson! Did you not hear what I just said about all the people he killed? Dude was hardcore!

Exiling Indians isn't hardcore, it's cruel and unusual punishment.

 

[RoyalStranger]

for the sake of getting flamed:

Harvey Milk, I'm positive most people know what he did.

I don't. What did he do?

Well I guess I should rephrase, it wasn't what he did, but what he was.
And he was the first openly gay official. He was the most famous and most significantly open LGBT official ever elected in the United States.

But to be honest, he was a pretty uptight man, and not very many people liked him.

 

[Sacman]

Darth Vader
I mean come on, he just so bad ass...

 

[leviathanmisha]

I'd have to say Anne Bolyen, and if you must, you may look her up on wiki. I wish I could go back in time and stop her husband from executing her. If you think about it, she was one of the leading causes for England turning its back on the Church of Rome, and thus giving more power to the reformation. Also her daughter was a beast, it takes balls of titanium to rule a country on your own...and to not get married in those days.

 

[The Grim Sqeaker]

I had to register to write this but it is so worth it!
Kerensky and General Kornilov!
Check them out seriously, best ironic bits of history EVER

ah, new blood, well here goes: wellcome to the escapist, amoung the last bastions of the internet not yet to be overtaken by trolls, five simple rules: 1.DON'T BE A DICK, 2.no threads about halo, zombie appocolypes's, the school system (those have been done to death by now) and don't go on rants that provide no disscusion whatsoever. 3. no versus threads 4 don't abuse the mods, 5. no flaming, flamers will be banhammered

cheers just been out of it for a few weeks, been in America
and i tell you their school system....oh wait i cant mention that!
nah everyone on this place seems really friendly!

 

[Berethond]

Simon Häyhä. the guy killed at least 505 people in WW2 alone from a tree with a normal rifle and was nicknamed "The White Death" by the soviet. He managed to survive even though the soviets started to randomly carpet bomb the areas where he might be and also took out several counter-sniper teams that were sent to eliminate him. In the end a soviet soldier managed to shoot Simon in the jaw and the damage was described as "half his head was missing".... he later made a full recovery.

He also shot and killed the man who shot him in the jaw before passing out.

 

[Spaghetti]

So many to choose from!
Umm, I'm going to go for Bernard Montgomery.

The man himself was a bit of an arse, but he was a great General. A lot of people here mentioned Rommel. Who beat Rommel? Monty. (plus Rommel said that d-day would be in calais and stuck to this theory even as British and American tanks starting rumbling Paris and Caen, so he's a bit of a numpty in that regard.)

Plus Montgomery led the substantial combined British and American force into Germany with operation Plunder Varsity. Ignore the "Bridge at Remagen" nonsence, that was just a bunch of American GI's who decided to go on a wander.

Oh, and he took Patton down a peg or two by beating him to Germany, so that's all well and good

 

[captainwillies]

Niccolo Machiavelli, for the simple reason that The Prince is an excellent book.

Emily Bronte, for Wuthering Heights, which is also an excellent book.

And last, but not least, Frank Lloyd Wright. Pretty much everything he did was awesome.

blast ninja'd again.


Niccolo Machiavelli was definitely a smart cookie

Also Nikola Tesla, a very interesting man. With some very interesting theories.

Spoiler

As well as Charlie Chaplin who was an amazing performer.

Spoiler

Not to forget my favourite comedian of all time. Bill Hicks was a man of great insight.

Spoiler

And last but to least the most mysterious man of them all


yes M00t founder of 4chan.org. Say what you want about the site but M00t's influence and actions have largely intrigued me for a long time.

 

[Arsen]

Robert E. Lee.

He was truly a gentleman, nobleman (reminiscent of chivalric times), an intelligent human being, and a true commander with a heart and soul.

Why he is not on the fifty dollar bill is a horrible mystery to me.

 

[AcrylicHero]

Octavian- All the praise and attention in media has been awarded to Julius Caesar who in the end did not succeed in maintain his dictatorship. Octavian, his nephew/adopted son, not only managed to establish his dictatorship but was awarded the title of father of state and the saviour of the republic by the senate. He gave Rome a long period of great prosperity, stability and glory that no other roman patrician or emperor could. He may not have been as much of a military mastermind as his uncle, but hell he was an extremely vicious, efficient and a skillful political beast.

Arthur Wellesley- The most famous duke of wellington. May have been a shit politician after the war, but during the napoleonic wars he was a ruthless and cunning strategist and leader. Compared to other commanders of the time Wellington was miles ahead of them in the art of resourcefulness and defending.

Erwin Rommel- everything I gotta say about this man has been said countless times. A man of brilliance, principle and sheer charisma.

 

[bcponpcp27]

My favorite ever? EVAR!?

Too many to choose from dammit. I can't decide. So many good ones, way more bad ones. Way WAY more ones that none of us will ever know about.

 

[the_dancy_vagrant]

Enkidu from the saga of Gilgamesh, both for having a ridiculous name and for being struck down by the gods because he became civilized and helped Gilgamesh kill 1) a giant responsible for the deaths of many many people and 2) the bull of heaven, which the gods sent specifically to kill Gilgamesh.

 

[Anarchy In Detroit]

Why the fuck do you people quote things right above you? (No, I'm going to respond to anyone quoting this, because I don't care what you think in the first place.)

uhhhh people... historical people...

Genghis Khan is a great figure. A fearsome warlord but also a benevolent ruler. Everything about his life is purely amazing and inspiring.

Charlemagne.

Various figures in Polish history accomplished great deeds. Kasciusko, Pulaski, Walesa, Jan Sobieski etc. That matters to me on a personal level.

William Tecumseh Sherman.

Crazy Horse.

Chief Pontiac.

Walter Reuther.

Benjamin Franklin.

George Carlin

In terms of myths I like Beowulf, Norse mythology in general, and Odysseus.

 

[Tairan]

Some people might hate me for this but probaly The guy who made the first nuke,for some reason i think their awesome!