One person, one day

[spartacus53]

I know that from time to time I would think of some famous historical figure I would have loved to have met and been able to spend a day talking to them. I know that the list can change at the drop of a hat, or depending on which direction the winds blows. For this little social experiment all fields are open, whether the person is historical, in science, entertainment, etc...

To keep it simple I'll list 2 people I would love to talk to.

Robert E Lee - He lived during some extraordinary times and I would love to hear firsthand his thoughts on the war, and the times he lived in.

Nikola Tesla - A man I would call the "father of electricity", I think he was misunderstood and way ahead of his time for sure.

I hope to see some of your favorites mentioned here too.

[bigscoop]

Thomas Jefferson comes to mind.

[Mighty AP]

Tesla was perhaps the most inteligent man who ever walked this earth but he was a nut-job. He'd be my 1st choice.
Number two is a toss up between Old Ben Franklin (I'd love to kick his butt at chess) & Abe Lincoln.

[pinebarrens1]

your only 3 miles from me ..............if you ever want to detect let me know

[truckinbutch]

Tesla for certain . So many others I don't know where to start . Many are obscure : tramp miners , itenerant 'soldiers of fortune' , ect . The group of native Americans that said ,"Let's ride over there and
kick Custer's azz ."

[spartacus53]

I like the choices I am seeing here Jefferson, Franklin, Lincoln all goodies. What is really surprising me is to see a few others wanting to meet Tesla.

Truckin also touched on something else very interesting, the more obscure people. I be depending on the era we would get some great stories from the everyday man. I guess this is not only about the person, but perhaps more about the times they were in.. So far I am seeing it breaking down into 2 strong US periods; the colonial days and the Civil War.

[bigscoop]

Carl von Muller
The Dutchman
All the famous privateers
Columbus, etc.
Just about anyone who explored the world before it was a fully known world.

[BigDan]

"The Wartime Papers of Robert E. Lee"

If you want to know what he was thinking, there's no better way than to read his own letters. My impressions were that he was honorable, humble, and completely loyal to his cause, his wife and his God.

A couple things that really stood out to me were how he handled leaving the United States Military (He had been offered field command against the South). He left with no harsh words, with sadness, and even made sure to pay back his most recent wages. And, after Gettysburg, despite the absence of Cavalry (His orders to Stewart weren't that complicated...guard our flank and report enemy positions. But, Stewart took the less than "absolute" command and ran with it, leaving Lee blind to the enemy positions) Anyway...despite that, Lee takes full responsability for the loss and offers himself up for blame and even dismissal.

Oh, and, his letters home were moving. I'm certain I'd have been pro-union had I lived in that time, but I couldn't read the beautiful thoughts and feelings of such a devoted man with dry eyes. Want a real challenge? Read that book and "The Memiors of U.S. Grant", right after it.

On that note, those two men would be the first two I'd sit down with...and at the same time. (Leaving out the obvious choice of Jesus, of course.) Two very different men, each in my opinion military geniouses. But, each with very different tactics. When Lee knew the terrain and the enemy he was brilliant...and Grant, well...one can't read about the constant trials against Vicksburg without seeing the man as an unstoppable force.

[spartacus53]

Dan, thanks I'll be looking for the book. I can never read enough of the Civil War books, my favorites age the Battle and Leaders series and all but one of the works from Bruce Catton. I have at least 2 dozen other books as well. I have Grants memoirs and found it interesting that he spent a good deal of time in Brooklyn, NY. Most Civil War books are worth reading anyway.

[RON (PA)]

For me, it would be a toss up between Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jeffeson, Michael Paul Henson, and early explorers of Pennsylvania.

[bigwater]

Albert Einstein. He's the only person that I've ever really admired more than my grandfather. I've studied him from front to back, and have some questions for the man that will probably never be answered in my lifetime. I especially am interested in the "fudging" of his math in his theory of relativity due to his religious beliefs. It's some intense stuff. A thousand or so calculations into it assumptions/adjustments are made to avoid the possibility that God doesn't exist. Three years of studying that man in college still has me scratching my head and I'd just like to talk to him and figure out where he would have gone with his calculations had his religious beliefs not got in the way.

Steven Hawking would probably be another one I'd like to pick the brain of (even though he's not historical yet since he's still alive). Quantum gravity and gravitational singularities weren't taught during my days of studying physics, but I find it fascinating nonetheless.

[spartacus53]

What I find interesting about this topic is how I/we may be swayed by the replies posted. That is why I wanted a short list, Jefferson would certainly measure up to be a man to spend some quality time with, as well as some of the other scientists previously mentioned. I just don't want to second guess myself, but the replies make me think of other men I'd have a few questions for.

As far as adventurers go, I was surprised not to see Lewis & Clark mentioned yet.

The best part about this discussion is that there are no right, or wrong answers. For the most part it seems that we may divide our response to cover both a man that made history, and the other excelled in science.

[spartacus53]

Tesla was perhaps the most inteligent man who ever walked this earth but he was a nut-job. He'd be my 1st choice.
Number two is a toss up between Old Ben Franklin (I'd love to kick his butt at chess) & Abe Lincoln.

I still get a kick out of the man and I loved his way of thinking overall. Although he was a bit eccentric, I loved the way he dealt with the problems he faced. I know that when Edison hired him, he took advantage of Tesla and ripped him off for over $50,000. That was some big money then. To get even, he decided to beat Edison at his own game and he surely did. You have to admire someone like that, he didn't get even, but took it one step ahead to make his adversary look the fool That is my kind of hero. Scientists today are still trying to figure out where he was headed.

[Mighty AP]

Tesla was border-line insane. He was so far beyond the average mans inteligence that he could barely cope with modern society. (well, turn of the century society) He was the father of AC electricity, set the standards for distributing power over long distances, although he did not get the patent in time is thought to be the inventor of radio, although his "wireless electricity" venture failed because of lack of funding scientists are just recently starting to think it could work...........electricity that does not require wiring, you draw it from the air like radio waves. I saw a documentary 20 years ago that said Tesla was responsible for the Tunguska explosion in Siberia, he was trying to light up the city of Paris to show the world what was possible. He screwed up his numbers slightly & overshot Paris by a few thousand miles.........believing that there was no man alive who was smarter than himself & the fact that he caused so much damage & couldnt control this awesome power & knowing human nature to destroy, he disassembled his contraption & never spoke of it. Tesla was a few centuries ahead of his time fer sure!
You are a civil war buff Spart? Me too.........I have too many books on the subject including the complete Time/Life series.

[spartacus53]

I am a big time Civil War buff; love reading about it and walking the battlefields. Even though all the battlefields are several hours to drive, it is well worth the trip. I have some really great pictures from the 145 anniversary of Gettysburg. I had 3 cameras with me several lenses with 2 & 3x adapters, tripods, the works. I was able to weasel my way into the VIP/press section with no problem. I was just fumbling with my gear when they asked who I was, I said "press" and I was in like Flynn. I guess I looked the part It was the most amazing reenactment I have ever been too and had over 10,000 participants. To say it was breathtaking to see these men in formation wouldn't even come close. Sit back and think; to multiple that number 20 times and visualize the mayhem that soon followed.

[BigDan]

My greatest conquest was "running away" from home when I was twentynine....I took a few days and drove nine hours alone in a Chevy Sprint to Sharpsburg. Just, felt like it. At the battlefield, I happened upon a Round Table group taking a tour given by a young author named "Priest", I think he was a high school history teacher. I pretended to have accidentally been caught up in the tour when the museum's intercom called persons up to the second floor....

...anyway, I got myself kindly invited to join them...then followed a step behind the author and two steps ahead of the group as he explained the battle from the perspective of his book, "Antietam, A Soldier's Battle". After the tour...I bought one book from the trunk of his car, he kindly signed it. I saw him years later on the History Channel commenting about Gettysburg.

As the day was ending, I was retracing the tour on foot and recapturing his comments and the sights in my mind as tightly as I could hold them.

My ancestry is full of soldiers who fought for each side...my Great-Grandmother was orphaned when her father was called outside during their supper, and shot for aiding and abetting the enemy. I am drawn to this time in history above other times for no better reason I can think of than that my own physical being is such a hodge podge of those people that were there. And likely, I think...I am not the exception, but the rule, among "buffs".

[spartacus53]

Dan; shame on you, weaseling your way into the tour. You sound exactly like me Although most parks will give a guided tour, there is nothing like getting lucky to see a special tour and hop aboard their gravy train. Although I have no family that fought in the war, I am still drawn to the times. I guess it's a mixture of chivalry, romance, action and that era in general.

Your quote
As the day was ending, I was retracing the tour on foot and recapturing his comments and the sights in my mind as tightly as I could hold them.

I think that is exactly what each and everyone of us that is a buff has running though their minds. What I found to be the greatest aid was that I also had a great visual, physical, and olfactory sense of the battle. I was next to a battery of about 8 cannon, which is small in comparison. The sight of the guns flashing, smoke, concussion and the odor of burnt powder stuck with me. It was too easy to feel the true horror of what they faced, even at this lesser scale. An afternoon like that made you appreciate what these young men faced.

[BigDan]

We are so lucky these days Spartacus to be spoiled and only so few called upon in the tasks and travails those people were asked to perform.

Hey, I've got a question for you regarding detecting...I'll post it in the Metal Detecting section.

[DBFISHER]

jesus, einstein, the famous tombstone sheriff, lewis and clarke, and my brother who past about 15 yrs ago.

[goldie1959]

ditto but my brother who passed away 33 yrs ago