Who's Your Favorite Historical Figure?

[Aegon]

Oh wow, I have so many.

I recently read Robert Caro's latest installment in his biographies on LBJ. Fascinating read, to get inside the mind of Johnson. I'd say he's my favorite at the moment just because it was so recently that I read about him.

But you can't go wrong with "Mad Jack" Churchill.

Running into battle armed with a broadsword, bow, and quiver of arrows was perfectly acceptable if you were fighting in the Hundred Years’ War or fending off some orcs on Middle Earth. But when it comes to World War II, such medieval weaponry looks like child’s play next to the technology of the time. A sword isn’t the most likely of defences against rifles and tanks. However, for John Malcolm Thorpe Fleming Churchill, nicknamed “Mad Jack,” there was nothing he’d rather arm himself with than a trusty sword and bow.

...

By May 1940, Mad Jack was the second in command of an infantry company. He always marched into battle with a bow and arrows and his trusty basket-hilted claymore by his side. Despite these weapons being wildly outdated, Churchill defended them, saying, “In my opinion…any officer who goes into action without his sword is improperly dressed.”

His medieval weaponry wasn’t just for decoration, either. During the 1940 Battle of Dunkirk—in which 300,000 troops became stranded on beaches and had to be evacuated—Churchill struck down a German soldier with a well-placed arrow. He was later seen chugging along on a motorcycle with his bow strapped to the side. A German officer’s cap was hanging on the headlight.