Historical figures you think people should know about

[Guest]

I was reading about Emily Hobhouse today and thought she had a meaningful life and brought about good change. I hadn't heard of her before and it prompted me to think about starting this thread. She was born in the county I live in and worked as a welfare campaigner, travelling to South Africa to help Boer civilians. She could have chosen an easier life but chose a difficult path, which I admire. I particularly enjoy learning about women in history that are gaining recognition for the important roles they played.

 

Have you read about someone that may not be that well known and think people should know more about them?

[Monke Jimmy]

Miriam Makeba, best singer in Africa. 

 

She was born and raised in South Africa, but became exiled, moved to the U.S. sang with Harry Belafonte for JFK, and married legendary Black Panther Kwame Ture. This lady helped to define African culture and had a significant influence on American politics and music. 

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miriam_Makeba

[StarryNightAllAlone]

Petr Ginz.

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petr_Ginz

[Captain_Tass]

Agnes Sjöberg, the first woman in Europe (and likely the first woman in the world) to defend her PhD in veterinary medicine! She faced so much adversity from her colleagues just for being a woman, but she prevailed, had a long and pioneering career and, just the cherry on top, raised 2 sons as a single mother. The adversity from her colleagues never stopped, but she was very well liked by her clients, and in recent years, she's received some of the recognition she deserves. I did a project on her in uni as part of an elective on the history of veterinary medicine!

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnes_Sjöberg?wprov=sfla1

[illumi]

cavemen. i just think theyre cool

[J. van Deijck]

I'd come up with some, but I'm not sure how well they are known in the world.

 

For the purpose of this thread, though, I'd go with countess Ada Lovelace, who's been credited as the first computer programmer in the world and the first computers have been built based on her notes.

[Snao Cone]

Snao, the founder of the AVEN-specific meme thread. 

[RoseGoesToYale]

Leta S. Hollingworth (1886-1939)- She was a psychologist who disproved functional periodicity, or the idea that menstruation incapacitates women, as well as the variability hypothesis, a pseudoscientific belief that women were doomed to be mediocre because they have less physical and psychological variety than men.

 

Julie d’Aubigny (1670s-1707)- a gender non-conforming woman from 17th century France who got onto duels with men, sang opera, and just generally did not give a flying fuck.

 

Grace Hopper (1906-1992)- The most important woman in the world to ever have lived. She is ultimately the reason we have complex computers, internet, video games, apps, digital databases, social networks, and literally anything that runs on computer code. She is the mother of computer programming.

[Lord Revan]

29 minutes ago, godverdomme said:

I'd come up with some, but I'm not sure how well they are known in the world.

 

For the purpose of this thread, though, I'd go with countess Ada Lovelace, who's been credited as the first computer programmer in the world and the first computers have been built based on her notes.

Did you know that they found a bug in her first ever piece of code ?

[Lord Revan]

Revan. They single-handedly saved the Republic from the Mandalorian invasion, and the Sith. Twice

[Milque Toast]

A name that jumped to mind was Sigmund Freud. Now, he's definitely very well known, but more as,

(ok actually hiding this because it's gross but ..)

Spoiler

"the guy who thought boys wanted to have sex with their mothers and girls had penis envy" ....

 

And yeah, obviously that's wrong. Definitely not something we should apply to the entire human race. And yeah, Freud would probably have been terribly transphobic and aphobic had he been more aware of their existences when he was studying/practicing.

 

BUT!
 

He also invented psychoanalysis, which evolved into psychotherapy. And it's something that's been incredibly beneficial to people and society today. Understanding and studying the subconscious mind and how the way we think, feel and do things comes from our experiences. Or knowning that, when we grow up, our "inner child" never truly leaves us, and that the things that happen to us as children are the most impactful of our lives and take effort to un-learn later in life. I have respect for Freud and the first people to ever try psychoanalysis, and for the fact that it benefitted them. And while that guy was hella problematic, I don't think it should mean we just discredit and laugh at everything the man did.

 

https://www.simplypsychology.org/Sigmund-Freud.html#:~:text=Sigmund Freud (1856 to 1939,adult lives%2C shaping our personality.

[Lilibulero]

1 hour ago, godverdomme said:

I'd come up with some, but I'm not sure how well they are known in the world.

 

For the purpose of this thread, though, I'd go with countess Ada Lovelace, who's been credited as the first computer programmer in the world and the first computers have been built based on her notes.

I've got her face on a t shirt😁

[J. van Deijck]

43 minutes ago, Lord Revan said:

Did you know that they found a bug in her first ever piece of code ?

I do, but it doesn't change how she's seen

[J. van Deijck]

Is Nikola Tesla a well-known historical figure? Asking because he deserves a great appreciation for what he's been doing.

[OptimisticPessimist]

Roy Hackett, but also Paul Stephenson

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bristol_Bus_Boycott

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Stephenson_(civil_rights_campaigner)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy_Hackett

[Bon-bon]

Mary Reed and Anne Bonny - both 18th century pirates who were dressed up as boys growing up for different reasons, ran into each other later, and became majorly awesome pirate captains alongside Captain Calico Jack Rackham. There’s a whole 40 minute playlist that has mostly accurate information about them (though I wish it had more of Mary’s backstory). 10/10 my favorite pirates ever. I could rant about them for a hot minute. 😂
 

 

[Lord Revan]

On 8/18/2022 at 11:01 PM, Bon-bon said:

Mary Reed and Anne Bonny - both 18th century pirates who were dressed up as boys growing up for different reasons, ran into each other later, and became majorly awesome pirate captains alongside Captain Calico Jack Rackham. There’s a whole 40 minute playlist that has mostly accurate information about them (though I wish it had more of Mary’s backstory). 10/10 my favorite pirates ever. I could rant about them for a hot minute. 😂
 

 

Everyone knows about them tho. I say Philip of Macedon