There are many that I love, mostly Philosophers (ESPECIALLY Nietzsche) and while I would usually say Nietzsche is my favourite, well... Let's just say I recently found someone I love more, historically not Philosophically, because his story is... IMMENSE.
Okay, so - this gentleman is a Philosopher from the 1600's-1700's in Tudor/Stewart England. Why do I say both, when they're such long periods of English History? Because the guy lived until he was freaking 91! Now, in an age where being 40-15 was considered
OLD imagine what it must have been like living to your 90s! Oh wait, but there's more! Not only did he live for 91 years, he also lived through: The Reigns of Elizabeth I, James I, Charles I, the English Civil War, Oliver Cromwell's Regime AND the Restoration of the English Monarchy through Charles II! That's 4 Monarchs, a Civil War and a Republic!
Oh... But there is even more! Because did I fail to mention that this man was also the Maths Tutor for Charles II? Or that he met GALILEO and RENES DESCARTES (Cogito Ergo Sum)?! Ontop of this he spent several years in exile in Europe (to avoid the Civil War, as he was a Royalist... and times weren't good for them), prior to this he explored large parts of Europe anyway (Which was rare during this era), was a Philosopher who, while Parliament at the time wanted to eradicate his work and imprison him for atheistic views, had the support of the King who refused to have him investigated?
Imagine That! He also wrote a book about the Leviathan (which has some interesting points) and despite living as long as he did he had no wife, outlived his friends/family and must've had a very lonely lifestyle (which likely was why he lived so long!) - let's look at it this way, he was born
many years before Descartes and died
many years after his death... Oh, and said book ^ is a large basis for modern westernised philosophy...
... So yeah, if you didn't know of Thomas Hobbes before reading this, I really suggest you look into his story. It's
amazing and completely 100% true/valid.
Oh, and he looked like this:
So if you ever feel like you've got it rough, just imagine living to 91 without a family/friends, so isolated that you avoided things such as mass-plague and death during the Civil War.
I hope you read/enjoyed this ^-^
- Libby