Who's Your Historical Hero?

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I currently have two people I admire greatly, firstly Ernesto "Che" Guevara, a Guerrilla leader born in Argentina and fought for the poor working class people of Latin America. Most notably he was a leader of Castro's forces in the overthrow of the brutal Batista regime. He later was murdered after he failed to instigate a revolution in Bolivia. It is thought that it was the CIA who ordered his murder. Che was a remarkable man of great kindness to those he represented and ruthless to those who would exploit and attack the defenceless. I can think of no person of greater impact on the workers of the world with the possible exception of my second choice.

My second choice is Robert Owen a 19th century industrialist who is largely responsible for the great many of the social reforms which have enhanced the lives of the working people of the western world. He made vast sums of money by simply giving his workers a high standard of living, so they in turn worked harder for him and due to their added fitness were the most productive workers in Britain. Owen however was still not happy about the situation, and turned his factory into a model socialist community, and proved that socialism works, at least on a small scale. he later moved to the USA and setup a new community based on the same principals, it was very successful... too successful. The community was over run with people flocking to the community, which over whelmed the communities recourses. Owen spent his whole fortune on his workers, and died a pauper. Not before he forced through many social reforms which are taken for granted. In the 19th century 16 hour days were common place, sick pay was unheard of and employers had no responsibility in any way to their workers, even regarding safety and industrial accidents (which were not rare).

Owen is quite literally the greatest industrial reformer in history and the life style enjoyed by millions of Europeans, Americans, Australians, practically the whole western world, is a direct result of his efforts. Yet he dies penniless and hated by society because of his socialist principals. He is the unsung hero of the worker.

These are my hero’s, I considered military hero’s, humanitarians such as Florence Nightingale, but I think these people impacted on the lives of so many in a positive manner, to the extent that others are simply out stripped and out classed. Who are your hero’s?

 

[NiemandheißtBoshaftigkeit]

d. a.d. 21, leader of the Germans, called Hermann in modern German. He was a chief of the Cherusci (in an area of present-day Hanover) when the Romans were pushing E from the Rhine toward the Elbe. Arminius, who had been a Roman citizen and soldier, secretly gathered a great force of allies and set upon Publius Quintilius Varus by surprise in the Teutoburg Forest in a.d. 9. In the ensuing battle Varus' army was utterly destroyed, and Varus, in disgrace, committed suicide. So great was the shock in Rome that it is said that Emperor Augustus afterward would start up from sleep, crying, „Varus, Varus, bring me back my legions!” The Romans never again made any real effort to absorb the territory E of the Rhine, though Germanicus Caesar (called to aid the father of Arminius' wife, Thusnelda, against Arminius) badly defeated and wounded the German leader in a.d. 16. Arminius was later killed by treachery. Tacitus, the modern source for Arminius, glorified him as the noble barbarian. In the romantic period German nationalists made much of Arminius, who became a major national hero and was sometimes wrongly identified with Siegfried. F. G. Klopstock wrote a trilogy of plays about Arminius, and J. E. von Bandel erected a large monument to him near Detmold.

(copied from http://www.slider.com/enc/4000/Arminius.htm )

 

[Palatka44]

Jesus Christ as He is my Lord and Savior.

Then William of Normandy as he is my ancestor.

 

[NiemandheißtBoshaftigkeit]

Is he the man whom won at the Battle of Hastings?

 

[Palatka44]

Yes and the first of the Saxon Kings, I think.

 

[NiemandheißtBoshaftigkeit]

huh? Normandy is in France while Saxony (Sachsen in German) is in Germany. I believe he was the first Norman king of Englad but I doubt he was Bavarian.

 

[Palatka44]

You raise a good question. I thought that he was born in Normandy but of saxon desent. He is also known as William the Ba*tard with an 's'.

 

[NiemandheißtBoshaftigkeit]

Hmmm, I am unsure. He is your ancestor, should you not know these things?

 

[Wroth]

Some of the greatest and noblest people in my mind were unfortunately on the wrong side of the wars...

Baron von Richtofen (the Red Baron) and Field Marshall Rommel (the Desert Fox) were both great leaders, earning the trust and repect of both their allies and enemies. Both tended not to involve themselves with any of the barbaric practices seen in the war with von Richtofen having even returned personal effects of the pilots he downed to the British aerodromes by parachute.

Rommel ignored orders from Hitler to torture and kill prisoners and even ordered his troops' water rationed so that the prisoners had enough to drink. He has been implicated in the plot to bomb Hitler though it's not very clear what sorta part he played in it. Around the time of the Normandy invasion there is evidence he was testing the loyalties of other officers were Hitler to die, who they would follow and what they would do. He even managed to secure the top Waffen SS officer in his area as someone who would want to end the war. (Can't remember his name off the top of my head)

Both this guys are very reminiscent of the knights of old, fighting not out of hatred, but simply out of a sense of duty. They both died during the wars, going out fighting (well, not really for Rommel, but close enough) and followed to higher moral standards than most other officers. Doesn't hurt that they were both exceedingly good at what they did.

Someone else like this is perhaps General Patton - great leader, fiery personality and awesome at his job. It's been said even that Hitler feared him so much that when the Allies were staging for the invasion of Normandy, they faked that he was preparing an assault at Pas de Calais, the closest point between mainland France and Great Britain. Hiltler ordered that the elite SS units stationed at Pas de Calais not be moved because he was so scared of Patton coming over there. Even after Normandy was overrun, it still took a day or so before he allowed the troops to be moved, thinking that Normandy was a diversion for Patton.

So ya, I love war heros and great leaders.

I also like Sir Drake because apparently my family is traceable back to him and his cousin (can't remember his name either... geez... must be tired or something) on my mom's side... I'd love to actually do that research sometime...

 

[Dyrwen]

I admired Eugene Debs for fighting against the government he once tried to run for president to control, getting plenty of votes and being imprisoned for it all. I can't pin down just one hero, but he's certainly on the list for socialistic leaders.

Most people that marytr themselves against the government usually gain my respect. Like the Buddhist monks that set themselves on fire for a cause, or those that stood up to fight against their governments.. heh.

 

[USincognito]

William was a Norman meaning he was descended from Viking stock that had settled in north west France about 2 centuries earlier. Harold was a Saxon (not Saxony) king of England also descended from Viking stock.

I have many historical heros, but one who stands out was an actual historian. Thucydides chronicled the events of the Peloponesian War for us and set the standard for historical record keeping. His writings are proof that history is not always written by the victorious.

 

[elanor]

Does Robin Hood count?

My hero is still living--Jimmy Carter, because of his tireless work for peace around the world.

 

[Jeremiah the Bullfrog]

Major James P.S. Devereux

He is the guy that commanded the defence of Wake Island. He stood of the Japanese for a couple weeks without any help.

 

[Tangnefedd]

I don't think I have one. Most of the folk who are our 'heroes', were not particularly nice people in reality. Winston Churchill topped the poll of the greatest Briton a year or two ago, but he was a drunkard, a depressive and jolly difficult to get a long with!

 

[ChrisB]

Xenophon - he led the retreat of a band of Greek mercenaries through over 1,000 miles of hostile Persian territory after the battle of Cunaxa (401BC)

 

[NiemandheißtBoshaftigkeit]

Harold was a Saxon (not Saxony) king of England also descended from Viking stock.

I thin in English the country in called Saxony and I am now sure that it is as I checked. People from Saxony are Saxons but it is called Saxony. Anyway....I prefer to call it "Sachsen" as that is the German name for "Saxony" and "Saxony" is in Germany. Sachsen is pronounced sax-sen.

 

[SolomonVII]

You raise a good question. I thought that he was born in Normandy but of saxon desent. He is also known as William the Ba*tard with an 's'.

I believe the Normans themselves were originally from northern Europe or Scandinavia, and were part of the Viking raids that plagued the slightly more civilized parts of Europe. Rather than just carrying out raids however, the Normans began to colonize Northern France and establish themselves there. Because the people that surrounded them became were more culturally advanced, the Normans went on to become more 'Latinized' although the lost little of their barbarian vigor when it came to waging battle.

Now if memory serves me, it was Harold that was the last of the Saxon kings of England, and with the victory of William the Conqueror over him, England began to be ruled by a French speaking overlords. It was through William however that the English could lay claim to sovereignty over much of what is now France, leading up to the One Hundred Year's War in which the English at first won most of the French lands,only to eventually lose it back to rulers more indigeneous to French lands.
The Normans also set up a kingdom in the southern part of Italy, and if memory serves me, it was they that were able to drive back the Moslems that were also trying to take a run at establishing their Islamic domains into Rome itself.

A cousin of mine on my mother's side recently did a family history in which he traced the family name back to Alaric, who was a Gothic chietain responsible for the sack of Rome. That is not to say that Alaric was one of my direct ancestors, of course, or even worthy of being considered a hero, but it is of some personal interest to me.

When I was growing up, Abraham Lincoln always stood out as someone who was admirable. The stance he took against slavery really cemented the ideals of the American Revolution as being worthy.

 

[NiemandheißtBoshaftigkeit]

To solomon: What is the point of that post? Did it say Saxony? If it did, it has been corrected, so....

 

[SolomonVII]

I thin in English the country in called Saxony and I am now sure that it is as I checked. People from Saxony are Saxons but it is called Saxony. Anyway....I prefer to call it "Sachsen" as that is the German name for "Saxony" and "Saxony" is in Germany. Sachsen is pronounced sax-sen.

The original people of England were of Celtic origin. The invasion of England by Germanic tribes such as the Angles, the Saxons and the Jutes were not really a part of what most historians refer to as the Viking invasions, but were from an earlier period.
One thing of interest is how thoroughly any memory of a previous people in England was erased from the culture of the people that preceded them. Hardly even a word of the original language of the Celts has survived in the English language, leading some historians to think that the original peoples of England were totally eradicated.
Oh, and I never read to the bottom of the thread before I (misposted) my original post.

 

[Key Of David]

1) Jesus Christ

2) King David

3) Paul (wrote much of New Testament)

4) JFK