Inspired by the incredible adventures of various historical figures and finally spurred on by the book, Prince Rupert â?? The Last Cavalier (2007) by Charles Spencer, which I recently read and reviewed â?? I have compiled a brief list of arguably the ten most adventuresome characters of history.
Adventuresome here requires an explanation: Audacity in more than one area of historical pursuit in physical adventure, as well as other activities or intellectual pursuits. By this I mean, for example, that charismatic heads of state, such as Robespierre, Mao, Stalin, or Hitler, do not qualify because their rise to power, despotic careers, conquests, and brutal rules are all involved in the same vein â?? the attainment and preservation of political power. The converse is also true for true republican heroes, who gained power and ruled for the best, such as George Washington and Winston Churchill; or wholly benevolent figures, such as Louis Pasteur and Robert Koch, who belong on humanitarian lists. By the same token, great generals of history, whose virtually sole claim to fame is the result of purely exercising military prowess, such as Napoleon, Hannibal, Alexander the Great, or Scipio Africanus, do not qualify.
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