History is littered with bizarre, fascinating, mysterious and often little-known figures. So let's put some of them here!
I'd like to flag up the eccentric, dashing, violent and academically suspect Richard Meinertzhagen. Soldier, spy, famed ornithologist and reputed expert on bird lice.
The life of Meinerzhagen was not without controversy. Thought to have killed men in fits of anger, implicated in the death of one of his wives and lacking in academic scruple (many items in his collections were stolen from other collectors or museums) he remains a captivating figure.
The Wikipedia article has a number of good links at the bottom of the page.
Cheers
Malcolm
Sea Wolf
Submitted by Neil Gow on Fri, 04/07/2008 - 14:24.
Whilst not quite so obscure, this is a favourite of mine. Sir Thomas Cochrane
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Cochrane,_10th_Earl_of_Dundonald
He was the sort of third place hero of the seas during the Napoleonic Wars after Nelson and Collingwood but his exploits were far more exciting. He's a movie waiting to happen in my opinion.
Additionally he had a rather interesting political career and was a parliamentary reformer and a massive critic of his beloved navy and the people that ran it. He pioneered technology, was done for massive fraud, outlived and outfought virtually all of his peers lived a long and complicated life.
The inspiration for Hornblower and Aubrey, apparently
Neil
Take the King's shilling at http://www.omnihedron.co.uk/dutyandhonour/
Major Gustavus von Tempsky
Submitted by Adrian Price on Fri, 04/07/2008 - 21:13.
Prussian adventurer, artist, mercenary and shameless self-promoter, possibly the first man to bring a Bowie knife to New Zealand. Nicknamed Manurau, or 'a hundred birds' cause he rushed around everywhere:
http://www.dnzb.govt.nz/dnzb/default.asp
http://www.pukeariki.com/en/stories/conflict/vontempsky.htm
He did a lot of stuff all over the world, but I've only really heard of him for his activities in New Zealand, where he was part of the Forest Rangers fighting guerilla warfare in the New Zealand wars of the mid 19th century.
Court-martialled at one point, passed over for the Victoria Cross at another, he was eventually killed in fighting in the war against Te Kooti, (an even more interesting figure: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Te_Kooti's_War) after he and his men were ambushed.
Probably not a very nice guy (although apparently he went to efforts to prevent the slaughter of innocents and encouraged his men to intervene to stop other units from doing so), but certainly larger than life.
Zhuge Liang
Submitted by Destriarch on Tue, 08/07/2008 - 08:18.
Yes, Zhuge Liang of Dynasty Warriors fame. The sleeping dragon himself. Statesman, inventor, strategist and proof that the intellectual still has a place on the battlefield.
Oh come on, he invented the wheelbarrow! What's not to like?
Ash
Lev Nussimbaum
Submitted by Malcolm Craig on Tue, 15/07/2008 - 14:02.
An Azeri Jew of Georgian extraction who converted to Islam, travelled the world, changed his name to Essad Bey and Kurban Said, got him writings onto the list of approved books in Nazi Germany and finally died in fascist Italy.
His life and story is full of mystery, deceit, wonder, revolution and trickery. I was reminded of him when I picked up 'The Orientalist' by Tom Reiss again.
Cheers
Malcolm
Contested Ground Studios