He who controls the past, controls the future.
Some famous relatives of US President George W. Bush
Gaius Julius Caesar[1] (pronounced [ˈgaːius ˈjuːlius ˈkaɪsar] in Classical Latin; conventionally pronounced /ˈgaɪəs ˈdʒuːliəs ˈsiːzɚ/ in English; July 13, 100 BC[2] – March 15, 44 BC), was a Roman military and political leader. He played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire.
A politician of the populares tradition, he formed an unofficial triumvirate with Marcus Licinius Crassus and Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus which dominated Roman politics for several years, opposed in the Roman Senate by optimates like Marcus Porcius Cato and Marcus Calpurnius Bibulus. His conquest of Gaul extended the Roman world all the way to the Atlantic Ocean, and he also conducted the first Roman invasion of Britain in 55 BC; the collapse of the triumvirate, however, led to a stand-off with Pompey and the Senate. Leading his legions across the Rubicon, Caesar began a civil war in 49 BC from which he became the undisputed master of the Roman world.
After assuming control of government, he began extensive reforms of Roman society and government. He was proclaimed dictator for life (dictator perpetuus), and heavily centralised the bureaucracy of the Republic. However, a group of senators, led by Caesar’s former friend Marcus Junius Brutus, assassinated the dictator on the Ides of March (March 15) in 44 BC, hoping to restore the normal running of the Republic. However, the result was another Roman civil war, which ultimately led to the establishment of a permanent autocracy by Caesar’s adopted heir, Gaius Octavianus. In 42 BC, two years after his assassination, the Senate officially sanctified Caesar as one of the Roman deities.
Charlemagne (pronounced /ˈʃɑrlɨmeɪn/; Latin: Carolus Magnus or Karolus Magnus, meaning Charles the Great) (742/747 – 28 January 814) was King of the Franks from 768 to his death. He expanded the Frankish kingdoms into a Frankish Empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned Imperator Augustus by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800 as a rival of the Byzantine Emperor in Constantinople. His rule is also associated with the Carolingian Renaissance, a revival of art, religion, and culture through the medium of the Catholic Church. Through his foreign conquests and internal reforms, Charlemagne helped define both Western Europe and the Middle Ages. He is numbered as Charles I in the regnal lists of France, Germany, and the Holy Roman Empire.
The son of King Pippin the Short and Bertrada of Laon, he succeeded his father and co-ruled with his brother Carloman I. The latter got on badly with Charlemagne, but war was prevented by the sudden death of Carloman in 771. Charlemagne continued the policy of his father towards the papacy and became its protector, removing the Lombards from power in Italy, and waging war on the Saracens, who menaced his realm from Spain. It was during one of these campaigns that Charlemagne experienced the worst defeat of his life, at Roncesvalles (778). He also campaigned against the peoples to his east, especially the Saxons, and after a protracted war subjected them to his rule. By forcibly converting them to Christianity, he integrated them into his realm and thus paved the way for the later Ottonian dynasty.
Today he is not only regarded as the founding father of both French and German monarchies, but as the father of Europe: his empire united most of Western Europe for the first time since the Romans, and the Carolingian renaissance encouraged the formation of a common European identity.[1] Pierre Riché reflects:
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. . . he enjoyed an exceptional destiny, and by the length of his reign, by his conquests, legislation and legendary stature, he also profoundly marked the history of western Europe.[2] |
William I of England (c. 1027[1] – 9 September 1087), also known as William the Conqueror (French: Guillaume le Conquérant), was Duke of Normandy from 1035 and King of England from 1066 to his death.
To claim the English crown, William invaded England in 1066, leading an army of Normans to victory over the Anglo-Saxon forces of Harold Godwinson (who died in the conflict) at the Battle of Hastings, and suppressed subsequent English revolts in what has become known as the Norman Conquest.[2]
His reign, which brought Norman culture to England, had an enormous impact on the subsequent course of England in the Middle Ages. In addition to political changes, his reign also saw changes to English law, a programme of building and fortification, changes to the vocabulary of the English language, and the introduction of continental European feudalism into England.
As Duke of Normandy, he is known as William II. He was also, particularly before the conquest, known as William the Bastard.[3]
Vladislav III, called “Vlad the Impaler” (that is, Vlad Ţepeş, pronounced [ˈtsepeʃ] in Romanian; also known as Vladislav Dracula or simply Dracula, in Romanian Drăculea; November/December 8, 1431 – December 1476), was a Wallachian (Romanian) voivode (nobleman). His three reigns were in 1448, 1456–1462, and 1476. Vlad the Impaler is known for the exceedingly cruel punishments he imposed during his reign. In the English-speaking world, Vlad III is best known for inspiring the name of the eponymous vampire in Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel Dracula.[4]
As prince, Vlad maintained an independent policy in relation to the Ottoman Empire, and in Romania he is viewed by many as a prince with a deep sense of justice[5] and a defender of Wallachia against Ottoman expansionism.
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; born 21 April 1926)[1] is the Queen regnant of sixteen independent states and their overseas territories and dependencies. Though she holds each crown and title separately and equally, she is resident in and most directly involved with the United Kingdom, her oldest realm, over parts of whose territories her ancestors have reigned for more than a thousand years. She ascended the thrones of seven countries in February 1952 on the death of her father King George VI. (see Context below).
In addition to the United Kingdom, Elizabeth II is also Queen of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, and Saint Kitts and Nevis, in each of which she is represented by a Governor-General. The 16 countries of which she is Queen are known as Commonwealth realms, and their combined population, including dependencies is over 129 million. In theory her powers are vast; in practice (and in accordance with convention) she herself rarely intervenes in political matters. In the United Kingdom at least, however, she is known to take an active behind-the-scenes interest in the affairs of state, meeting regularly to establish a working relationship with her government ministers.
Elizabeth II holds a variety of other positions, among them Head of the Commonwealth, Supreme Governor of the Church of England, Duke of Normandy, Lord of Mann, and Paramount Chief of Fiji. Her long reign has seen sweeping changes in her realms and the world at large, perhaps most notably the dissolution of the British Empire (a process that began in the last years of her father’s reign) and the consequent evolution of the modern Commonwealth of Nations.
Since 1947, the Queen has been married to Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, born a prince of Greece and Denmark but after naturalisation known as Philip Mountbatten and subsequently created Duke of Edinburgh. To date the couple have four children and eight grandchildren; the eighth (Viscount Severn) was born on 17 December 2007 to Prince Edward and Sophie, Countess of Wessex.[3]
Joseph Smith, Jr. (December 23, 1805 – June 27, 1844) was the American religious figure who founded the Latter Day Saint movement, also known as Mormonism. Smith’s followers declared him to be the first latter-day prophet, whose mission was to restore the original Christian church, said to have been lost soon after the death of the Apostles which caused an apostasy. This restoration included the establishment of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and the publication of the Book of Mormon and other new scriptures. As a leader of large settlement communities, Smith also became a political and military leader in the American Midwest.
Adherents to denominations originating from Joseph Smith’s teachings currently number between thirteen and fourteen million. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the largest denomination with over 13 million members.[1] The second largest is the Community of Christ, formerly known as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, with about 250,000 members. Other groups who follow Smith’s teachings have membership numbering from dozens to the tens of thousands.[2]
Brigham Young (June 1, 1801 – August 29, 1877) was a leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and was the president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1847 until his death. Young was also the first governor of the Utah Territory, United States.
Young had a variety of nicknames, among the most popular being “American Moses,”[2] (alternatively the “Modern Moses” or the “Mormon Moses”)[3] because, like the Biblical figure, Young led his followers, the Mormon pioneers, in an exodus through a desert, to what they saw as a promised land. Young was also dubbed the “Lion of the Lord” for his bold personality, and was commonly called “Brother Brigham” by Latter-day Saints. Young’s legacy is controversial, however. While having helped to organize a large religion, as well as the accession of Utah Territory to the United States, concerns persist about his role in the Utah War against the United States government.
Lafayette Ronald Hubbard (March 13, 1911 – January 24, 1986), better known as L. Ron Hubbard, was the founder of the Church of Scientology, as well as the author of Dianetics and the body of works comprising Scientology doctrine.[2] He was also an author in numerous speculative fiction genres for the pulp magazines[3] and, later in life, returned to science fiction.[4][5][6]
Hubbard was a highly controversial public figure during his lifetime. Many details presented by Hubbard of his life and knowledge remain disputed by critics, media[7], scientists, and even governments[8]. Official Scientology biographies present him as “larger than life, attracted to people, liked by people, dynamic, charismatic and immensely capable in two dozen fields”.[9][10] In contrast, unofficial biographies (some of which are by former Scientologists) as well as some reports in the press paint a much less flattering picture which often contradicts official Church accounts.[11][12]
John Pierpont Morgan (April 17, 1837 – March 31, 1913) was an American financier, banker, philanthropist, and art collector who dominated corporate finance and industrial consolidation during his time. In 1892 Morgan arranged the merger of Edison General Electric and Thompson-Houston Electric Company to form General Electric. After financing the creation of the Federal Steel Company he merged the Carnegie Steel Company and several other steel and iron businesses to form the United States Steel Corporation in 1901. He bequeathed much of his large art collection to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City and to the Wadsworth Atheneum of Hartford, Connecticut. At the height of Morgan’s career during the early 1900s, he and his partners had financial investments in many large corporations. By 1901, he was one of the wealthiest men in the world. He died in Rome, Italy, in 1913 at the age of 75, leaving his fortune and business to his son, Jack Pierpont Morgan.
John Davison Rockefeller, Sr. (July 8, 1839 –May 23, 1937) was an American industrialist and philanthropist. Rockefeller revolutionized the petroleum industry and defined the structure of modern philanthropy. In 1870, Rockefeller founded the Standard Oil Company and ran it until he retired in the late 1890s. Standard Oil began as an Ohio partnership formed by John D. Rockefeller, his brother William Rockefeller, Henry Flagler, chemist Samuel Andrews, and a silent partner Stephen V. Harkness. Rockefeller kept his stock and as gasoline grew in importance, his wealth soared and he became the world’s richest man and first U.S. dollar billionaire, and is often regarded as the richest person in history.[1][2][3][4] Standard Oil was convicted in Federal Court of monopolistic practices and broken up in 1911. Rockefeller spent the last 40 years of his life in retirement. His fortune was mainly used to create the modern systematic approach of targeted philanthropy with foundations that had a major effect on medicine, education, and scientific research. His foundations pioneered the development of medical research, and were instrumental in the eradication of hookworm and yellow fever. He is also the founder of both University of Chicago and Rockefeller University . He was a devoted Northern Baptist and supported many church-based institutions throughout his life. Rockefeller adhered to total abstinence from alcohol and tobacco throughout his life.[5]
Some other notable relatives of the Bush family:
Aldous Huxley, King Robert the Bruce of Scotland, Ferdinand III, Charles Darwin, Constantine the Great, Henry David Thoreau, General Benedict Arnold, Francis Scott Key, Howard Dean, John Kerry, George Washington, Johnny Carson, Dick Cheney, the list goes on and on….
Sources: here, here, and here
Thanks to David Rothscum from the PP forum for finding the source material.
Biographical info from Wikipedia
