Historical crushes?

Roxxsmom

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Nikola Tesla. A real hottie, and crazy brilliant too. His behavior was along the lines of what one might call obsessive compulsive today, though, and he embraced celibacy for most (if not all) of his life. Ah, well, two out of three ain't bad.
 
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Flicka

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Back when I planned a Victorian project that never was, I started a Pinterest board with some of my favourite Victorian eye candy. Several mentioned in this thread figure on it, but some may just be me and my weird tastes, like batshit-insane Brigadier-General John Nicholson and my very favourite poet, the Swede Gustaf Fröding.

So if you want to enjoy a little temporary objectification of Victorian men: http://www.pinterest.com/theragsoftime/victorian-pinup-boys/
 

flapperphilosopher

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Back when I planned a Victorian project that never was, I started a Pinterest board with some of my favourite Victorian eye candy. Several mentioned in this thread figure on it, but some may just be me and my weird tastes, like batshit-insane Brigadier-General John Nicholson and my very favourite poet, the Swede Gustaf Fröding.

So if you want to enjoy a little temporary objectification of Victorian men: http://www.pinterest.com/theragsoftime/victorian-pinup-boys/

Hahaha, I love it!!! I have a few of those fellows in my "history crush" folder already... ;)

Last year I had a class on collections management, which is very, very dull, and to liven it up our instructor gave us a a project where we had to address topics within it, but in the context of a museum we got to totally make up. So people had fun with it--there was a museum of UFOs, a museum of pickles, and "Museum About Nothing" devoted to Seinfeld. What was mine? Why, the Museum of History Crushes, of course! Obviously it was all very tongue in cheek, but gee did I have fun with it.

This is my "about the museum":

"The Museum of History Crushes (MHC) was founded in 2007 on the (cynical) premise that people take more of an interest in individuals who are attractive. The MHC uses this idea to encourage an interest in historical figures by pointing out the fact that many of them were in fact very good-looking.

The museum hopes
a) to dispel the stereotype that great authors, artists, scientists, and other major figures were eternally old and dusty;

b) to personalize historical periods and major events by highlighting “regular” people living through them who were just as attractive as the best today

and c) to provide an enjoyable route into history, particularly for those groups who generally don’t enjoy it, such as teenagers and superficial young adults"


And this is the formal mandate: (writing it was part of the assignment)

"The purpose of the Museum of History Crushes is to increase interest in, knowledge of, and appreciation of history through emphasis on historical figures deemed to have a high level of attractiveness by their contemporaries and/or modern standards. The museum aims to do this by acquiring, documenting, preserving, and maintaining photographs, paintings, drawings, and other image-based media depicting attractive individuals from ancient times to the 1950s, including both those who have made significant contributions to historical events, society, art, and/or literature, and ordinary and/or anonymous persons, but usually excluding individuals primarily known for their appearance, such as actors and models. The collection also includes objects and documents related to the individuals represented therein. Integral to the aim of the museum is a focus on exhibiting items in an accessible, engaging, informative, and entertaining manner. "

My specific topic was policies and procedures related to blogging, so I made a couple fake blog posts to screenshot with titles like "(Handsome) Faces of World War One" and "John Keats: Hot or Not?". Naturally, the entire Powerpoint was well-illustrated.

I'm not really known as a funny person but my audience laughed through the whole thing (I've acted a lot, so I was able to keep my delivery very formal and serious throughout). And I totally got an A+ ;)
 

flapperphilosopher

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Nikola Tesla. A real hottie, and crazy brilliant too. His behavior was along the lines of what one might call obsessive compulsive today, though, and he embraced celibacy for most (if not all) of his life. Ah, well, two out of three ain't bad.

Agreed on Tesla! So sexy, so smart, so... well, strange, but that never hurt admiration from afar!

I love this comic, by Kate Beaton:

Tesla.png


(note: her website explicitly says it's okay to share her comics in non-commercial contexts; the original page for this one is here: http://harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=61 )
 

Flicka

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Hahaha, I love it!!! I have a few of those fellows in my "history crush" folder already... ;)

Last year I had a class on collections management, which is very, very dull, and to liven it up our instructor gave us a a project where we had to address topics within it, but in the context of a museum we got to totally make up. So people had fun with it--there was a museum of UFOs, a museum of pickles, and "Museum About Nothing" devoted to Seinfeld. What was mine? Why, the Museum of History Crushes, of course! Obviously it was all very tongue in cheek, but gee did I have fun with it.

This is my "about the museum":

"The Museum of History Crushes (MHC) was founded in 2007 on the (cynical) premise that people take more of an interest in individuals who are attractive. The MHC uses this idea to encourage an interest in historical figures by pointing out the fact that many of them were in fact very good-looking.

The museum hopes
a) to dispel the stereotype that great authors, artists, scientists, and other major figures were eternally old and dusty;

b) to personalize historical periods and major events by highlighting “regular” people living through them who were just as attractive as the best today

and c) to provide an enjoyable route into history, particularly for those groups who generally don’t enjoy it, such as teenagers and superficial young adults"


And this is the formal mandate: (writing it was part of the assignment)

"The purpose of the Museum of History Crushes is to increase interest in, knowledge of, and appreciation of history through emphasis on historical figures deemed to have a high level of attractiveness by their contemporaries and/or modern standards. The museum aims to do this by acquiring, documenting, preserving, and maintaining photographs, paintings, drawings, and other image-based media depicting attractive individuals from ancient times to the 1950s, including both those who have made significant contributions to historical events, society, art, and/or literature, and ordinary and/or anonymous persons, but usually excluding individuals primarily known for their appearance, such as actors and models. The collection also includes objects and documents related to the individuals represented therein. Integral to the aim of the museum is a focus on exhibiting items in an accessible, engaging, informative, and entertaining manner. "

My specific topic was policies and procedures related to blogging, so I made a couple fake blog posts to screenshot with titles like "(Handsome) Faces of World War One" and "John Keats: Hot or Not?". Naturally, the entire Powerpoint was well-illustrated.

I'm not really known as a funny person but my audience laughed through the whole thing (I've acted a lot, so I was able to keep my delivery very formal and serious throughout). And I totally got an A+ ;)

I'd have been first in line when it opened. :)

Really fun take on the assignment!
 

M.N Thorne

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I had crushes on Langston Hughes, Cab Calloway, Bela Lugosi, and Scott Jopin.
 

bombergirl69

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Brand new here but love this thread!

Crushes on Theseus (well...yeah! he was kind of the guy back then!) And kind of a girl crush on Antiope, the amazing Amazon woman with whom he fell in love.

And of course Llywellyn Fawr (the Great) of Wales. Soldier, husband, well loved (died in 124something)

And red headed Richard Grenville, the King's General in the West (Thank you Daphne Du Maurier)

Totally fell in love with Cochise, Chiricahua chief (lucked out there; I wound up marrying a Blackfeet who looks a lot like those pictures ;) )

Also fell in love with Lafayette (a picture of him anyway)

Does Fess Parker in Smokey count??? ;)
 

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Louise Brooks
A fascinating woman with an independent attitude.
I researched her as a character for my WIP and realized that three of my favorite girlfriends in real life had her trademark bobbed hairstyle and were independent-minded women. Sub-conscious selection? I at first thought I was just born too late but in reality, she would have broken my heart like she did so many others.
 

flapperphilosopher

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Louise Brooks
A fascinating woman with an independent attitude.
I researched her as a character for my WIP and realized that three of my favorite girlfriends in real life had her trademark bobbed hairstyle and were independent-minded women. Sub-conscious selection? I at first thought I was just born too late but in reality, she would have broken my heart like she did so many others.

Hey, I watched a film of hers just last night! She really is so beautiful and has such an aura.

I totally bring pictures of her to the salon whenever I get a haircut!

Speaking of silent film stars, I have a total girl-crush on Clara Bow... she is incredibly adorable, and her personal story is really fascinating (and sad). I think she'd be a train wreck to get involved with though (if I were, you know, a young man in Hollywood in the 1920s, none of which I am).
 

Elly_Green

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Crushes on Theseus (well...yeah! he was kind of the guy back then!) And kind of a girl crush on Antiope, the amazing Amazon woman with whom he fell in love.

I kept thinking of his poor, short-sighted union with Ariadne. Though, in the end she does trade up to Dionysus. Oh, and then his ill-fated marriage to Phaedra, Ariadne's younger sister. Works great until Phaedra falls in love with her stepson, Hippolytus, his son with Antiope, and then kills herself.

I can't judge though as my historical crushes all have their own issues:

Marc Antony - womanizer, drunk, gambler, and soldier extraordinaire
Hadrian - was in love with a young man, seriously in love
Edgar Allen Poe - in love with his cousin among other issues
Sherlock Holmes - who seems to have no time for love or a belief in it (he might be more of a fictional crush than a historical one, but oh well!)

I am also just the tiniest bit in love with Saint Francis... call me Clare! :)
 

Elly_Green

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Crushes on Theseus (well...yeah! he was kind of the guy back then!) And kind of a girl crush on Antiope, the amazing Amazon woman with whom he fell in love.

I kept thinking of his poor, short-sighted union with Ariadne. Though, in the end she does trade up to Dionysus. Oh, and then his ill-fated marriage to Phaedra, Ariadne's younger sister. Works great until Phaedra falls in love with her stepson, Hippolytus, his son with Antiope, and then kills herself.

I can't judge though as my historical crushes all have their own issues:

Marc Antony - womanizer, drunk, gambler, and soldier extraordinaire
Hadrian - was in love with a young man, seriously in love
Edgar Allen Poe - in love with his cousin among other issues
Sherlock Holmes - who seems to have no time for love or a belief in it (he might be more of a fictional crush than a historical one, but oh well!)

I am also just the tiniest bit in love with Saint Francis... call me Clare! :)
 

C.bronco

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My senior year in high school, I had a huge crush on Isaac Newton. There was a younger portrait of him in my physics text, which I still have somewhere. He was hawt!
 

blacbird

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My senior year in high school, I had a huge crush on Isaac Newton. There was a younger portrait of him in my physics text, which I still have somewhere. He was hawt!

He was also, by all accounts, one of the most unsocial, arrogant bastards who ever lived. He detested women, among other things.

For me, though i wouldn't characterize these as "crushes", the two historical characters who fascinate me most are Mark Twain and Sir Richard Burton, the famous explorer and adventurer.

caw