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Real simple: Who is you favorite historical figure and why?

I'll start.

For me this is an easy one: Henry V, the hero King of England. A man of his time who packed much into his short 35 years (as we would measure it today). He was a brilliant tactician, a sound strategist (for the most part) and was in many ways  the first modern general.

He was also a cultured man in an age that was emerging from the horrors of the Black death and the other disasters of the 14th century. Not only that but he spoke several languages and has a keen interest in not only law but music and spiritual/political measures.

He was also hard and domineering man, sometimes unreasonable, and towards the end of his life more inflexible.

He also died young at the pinnacle of his greatness, leaving history to ponder what might have been if reigned for more then his short 9 years.

In spite of all this however, he was alway be remembered as a soldier and great general. He was personally brave having fought and routed the rebels at Shrewsbury as Prince during his father's reign to fighting and leading the English at Agincourt and the grueling sieges in the later years of his reign.

In closing the example of medieval kingship personified. So much so the Bard would raise his status to mythical proportions. But in truth the reality is not very far from the legend. Read GL Harris' Henry V- the Practice of Medieval Kingship for insights to all aspects of his reign, a good read indeed.

I'm interested to hear others favorite figures throughout history.

I love history and I want to thank you for that rundown. Never studied that time so glad to learn!

Not really one favourite person in history but I've always been intrigued by Djengiz Khan, Napoleon and the Greek and Roman era. And then specifically their (Greek/Roman) mythology and sagas.

i think personally although i have a very varied personal library when it comes to history topics, my favorite characters have to be the WWII general erwin rommel. he was such a great strategist and really brought tactical warfare up to modern day standards.

but then if we go for something a bit less military, i pretty much like the gruesome side of life. Vlad the impaler, various pirate captains, rasputin, elizabeth bathory, just to name a few.

the problem with history is that there is just so much of it.

This doesnt nessicarily have to be military related. Mine just happens to be.

Alexander the Great. He conquered the known world in twelve years and was undefeated in battle. Can't get much cooler than that.

Really? Me too (more or less).

Well I don't live there right now. Last time I was at the GW there though, some people commented on my girlfriend buying some Wood Elves - were you one of them?

Off the top of my head, I guess I could say Thespes. So much influence in the world, a travelling pioneer of theatre (where the term thespian comes from) and theatre has influenced so much, directly and indirectly. However, I'd actually rather say I have no favourite historical figure

Until he met his match in Grant...

my favorite historical figure is richard the lionheart, although he was king for 10 years and only spent 6 months in england he  risked all he had to seize the holy land for god, he spent all the money he had and emptied the coffers of england and france to raise an army to equal the whole muslim army that stood at 4 million, he took the holy land with a small amount of men and restored peace in jerusalem from a conflict that lasted 100's of years.

a terrible king, but an unequaled warrior and crusader

Whole heartedly disagree.

Luck helps any general (read: Lee could have very well lost at Chancellorsville; Hooker had a strong, but complex plan that stood every chance of success, it was by the merest flukes of chance that it turned out the way it did).

Grant understood throughly what was required. Prior to Grant every thrust by the Army of the Potomac into northern Virgina was expertly parried by Lee.

At the start of the Wildness Campaign however, Lee saw the writing on the wall as he had learned of Grant promotion. After a defeat the Army of the Potomac would usually retreat across the retreat Rappahanock. River. Not Grant. He turned the army southeast and keep the pressure on. This simple maneuver electrified the army realizing that finally the army had the right general.

Luck? Witness his brilliance during the Battle of Shiloh when he snatched victory from the jaws of defeat.

Luck? The Vicksburg campaign is regarded as one of the finest military campaigns of not only the Civil War, but in military history. Every move was the right one. He expertly maneuvered and fought completely cut of from supplies and split the Confederacy in two.

Did he make mistakes? Sure, Cold Harbor for one. His mistakes however were more then made up by his successes which were nearly continuous from Fort Donaldson to Appomattox.

In terms of tactics Lee was brilliant, no one will deny that, but he was also going up against generals that were no match for him (McClellan, Burnside, Hooker). In terms of strategy they were pretty close, but again Grant understood the larger picture better, the ever tightening naval blockade, turning Sherman loose on the South , Sheridan in the Shenandoah, etc...

In closing Lee was a superb general, but Grant is often slighted for not being up to par, this is unfounded in my opinion. In the end Grant is extremely underrated. He understood what was needed to end the war and he did it. And if he didn't... I wont say the South would have won the war... there was no way that was going to happen, Lee simply delayed it with his brilliance on the battlefield , Grant and his dogged determination  and equally up  to par generalship did that

If your looking for an implacable soldier (among many others) who was also a clever politician and even a tolerant man: Mehmet II the Conqueror.

Now, my favorite historical figure is a man I admire. I dont know if many of you know anything about him. He is largely unknown in his own country: Bernard Lazare.

Greek Emperors? Now that's an interesting concept. I never knew they ever had an Emperor at all.

If I had to choose one favourite, it would probably be Ramesses II. This man has achieved more than any mortal leader or king could ever hope to achieve in his lifetime. Historically, among many other things of importance is that he made the first written peace treaty (with the Hittites) in human history.

Even when his mummy was relocated after 3000 years by Archeologists, great crowds of Egyptians gathered to pay their respect to the Pharaoh. Now that is what I call immortal power! ^^

Won't that be pleasant.

@Ishkur: Greek Emperors? I think she might have meant the Roman Emperors.

Yep, I'd say so.

Aw, it doesn't have to be that way.  What about Louis Riel?  The Northwest Mounted Police?  France vs. England for control of Canada?  Laura Secord and the War of 1812?  Burning the White House?  Vimy Ridge?  Suez Crisis and the invention of peacekeeping?  The creation of the charter of rights?  See, all good things.

As for historical figures,  Cyrus the Great, the first Persian Emperor, was pretty awesome.  He conquered the vast majority of the Middle East, Egypt and parts of Central Asia, where before the Persians were basically hill-dwelling nomads.

I like Zarathustra too, he was pretty boss as prophets go - actually prophets and scholars in general are interesting historical figures:  Jesus, Muhammad, Siddharta Gautama, Laozi, Confucius, Mencius, Xunzi, Nichiren, Joseph Smith, etc.  But that may be because studying religion is my field.

I'm going to have to say Jesus was my favourite.  Anyone who has seen "Jesus Christ:  Vampire Hunter" would agree.  His kung-fu is badass.

Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine, and Charles Darwin are a few of my choice favourites.

Vlad Tepes I think; there's something really intriguing about the bloke (not least because the vamp Dracula was based on him of course), from his ways of psychological warfare by impaling and torturing foes to scare the enemy, to the impaling and torturing of his own subjects to keep order. After all, pain and suffering often make for more interesting reading than good times and happyness (at least IMO).

However, I don't have a great historical knowledge, so there might be more interesting chars out there in the past - though I do like Attila the Hun as well