While we wait: favorite historical figures?

[30rus]

Oh I don't think it was off topic and I agree with your overall point ... but in defense of Huntington he was saying that different regions were going to have some common link .... and in the case of the "Islamic world" it was the common theme of Islam ... now would you consider Nigeria part of the Ummah (I mean they are part of the OIC) or would you consider Turkey? All that plays to your point but he was making a simple point so I say we cut him some slack

truth be told i havent read the clash of civilizations  fully i just got the idea from grad tutors and a couple of  papers and a book called the meta-history of the clash of civilizations  by adib-moghadam from SOAS. i agree with the common islamic link you mentioned but i think thats all there is to it, if you follow the trend you hear many things on islamic brothership (didnt put hood to not mix it up with the group) and unity amongst muslims but thats all there is to it, and exposions in iraq and pakistan and else where are widening the islamic gap so if i understood sam correctly, the name if islam is their only point of similarity. anyways, i certainly respect him as an academia, and quite like his student, farid on cnn, great guy:D

[bigtime]

My favorite historical figures are Frederick Douglass, W. E. B. Du Bois, and Thurgood Marshall.

[C&C]

I'm obsessed with John C. Calhoun! (In case my username didn't already give that away.) I'm actually in the process of writing a thesis on nullification at the moment. All I can say is...what a character! 

 

I also enjoy Robert E. Lee, "Stonewall" Jackson, and John Adams.

[hdunlop]

I'm more of an era or movement guy but it's hard not to find compelling Johnson and Nixon and their counterpart Khrushchev, essentially self-made individuals who through bitterness and drive propelled themselves to the highest office -- and went down in flames.

 

If the atomic bomb counts as a historical figure it's up there too -- an engineering marvel that proceeded to hold hostage its own creators.

 

 

I'm into history because real life can be more Shakespearean than Shakespeare.

[Beckert]

Eleanor Roosevelt and Fredick Douglass  (awesome abolionist + great hair - whats not to love)! I get to vist FD's house this year....sqqquueee so excited

[dr. t]

How has no one mentioned His Imperial Majesty Norton I, Emperor of These United States and Protector of Mexico (r.1859-1880)?

[JacksonBaby]

Oh Charles William Post is totally my man. He has been the hart of my thesis and quite frankly his early Postum and Grape-Nuts advertisements are hilarious.

 

An apartment mate of mine is doing thesis work on Helen Taft, and she is surprisingly awesome as well. A powerhouse turn of the century woman.