20 Historical Figures Who Would Be Most Shocked By Their Modern Fame
![20 Historical Figures Who Would Be Most Shocked By Their Modern Fame](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/5/5/1/1119551_320x180.jpg)
People who end up in positions of immense power and leadership tend to actively seek them out. There aren’t a lot of presidents, generals or pop stars who just kind of Mr. Beaned their way into the gig. A lot of them are forgotten by history, which would disappoint them greatly, but we’ve only got so many pages in the textbooks. If they wanted to be remembered, they should have achieved more in their terms/lyrics about boning.
There are people throughout history, however, who never sought power, never gained it in their lifetimes and/or would be completely surprised that anyone today knows who they are, let alone everyone. They were just doing their own thing, and years later, someone dug up their art or documentation of their quietly incredible feats. And so, when user GCanuck asked r/AskReddit, “Which historically famous person do you think would be most surprised to learn they are famous?,” it was a nice reminder that you, too, could be remembered for your talent, bravery or spectacular fuck-ups, even if they’re not recognized now.
![film_composer 2y ago Hegelochus, an actor who mispronounced a word in a play in the year 408 BC and was mocked so thoroughly for it, his mistake has made it into the collective ledger of things historians know about and generally agree upon having happened... and we're still aware of it over 2,400 years later. Imagine making a meme today with a word misspelled, and others found that misspelling so egregiously mockable that you are still known for it in the year 4422.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/8/4/3/1116843.jpg)
![dntExit 2y ago Blind Willie Johnson. Не passed away blind, poor and sick, lying in the ruins of his house after it was burnt down. And his song 'Dark was the Night, Cold was the Ground' left our solar system not too long ago aboard the Voyager to be listened to by life among the stars.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/8/4/2/1116842.jpg)
![finsareluminous 2y ago Lisa Gherardini, the Mona Lisa model. She was just some unremarkable random wife, ended up as one of the most recognizable faces in history.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/8/4/1/1116841.jpg)
![Jumping_Bear_ 2y ago Crazy Horse. In his mind, Не just fought to preserve his people way of life, not something that he believed would make him famous](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/8/4/0/1116840.jpg)
![2y ago Pontius Pilate. As far as he knew, he executed some random native, just like any other Roman governor was doing at the time.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/8/3/9/1116839.jpg)
![rattyguts 2y ago John Keats. Man died pretty broke and without ever seeing success in his lifetime and yet he's considered such an important poet today](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/8/3/8/1116838.jpg)
![AtomicBasie93 2y ago JS Bach. His kids were more famous than he, and his music was virtually forgotten about until Felix Mendelssohn essentially brought it back many years later.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/8/3/6/1116836.jpg)
![rabidmossfrog 2y ago I think Alan Turing would be surprised that he's famous, more surprised that there's films about him, and even more surprised how far the LGBT community has come in terms of acceptance.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/8/3/7/1116837.jpg)
![Ah_Um 2y ago Edited 2y ago Emily Dickinson. She lived her life as a recluse and some have speculated she was a closeted lesbian. Her poems were rejected and maligned by publishers while she was alive and now she's one of the most famous writers ever...](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/8/3/5/1116835.jpg)
![Myfourcats1 2y ago Dracula was a flop. The Picture of Dorian Grey was much more popular. I think Bram Stoker would be shocked at how much vampire stuff has been inspired by his book.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/8/3/4/1116834.jpg)
![strangedigital 2y ago Vincent van Gogh. His paintings made billions of dollars for rich people, but couldn't trade a painting for a meal during his lifetime. Had to be supported by his brother.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/8/3/2/1116832.jpg)
![IllustriousSquirrel9 2y ago Kafka. Rarely published in his lifetime, and when he did it was in obscure magazines which nobody read. Explicitly asked that his works be destroyed after his death. It's only because his executor disregarded his wishes and published his unfinished works (which comprise the majority of his oeuvre) that he is famous today.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/8/3/3/1116833.jpg)
![2y ago Nick Drake. In his lifetime, the three studio albums he made only sold a few thousand copies. Не was still fairly unknown at the time of his death in 1974, at the age of 26. Не would be shocked to learn that his songs have since been used in commercials and movies, and that his albums regularly make it on to best albums lists.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/8/2/9/1116829.jpg)
![2y ago I always wonder how Buddy Holly would feel about how influential he's been on popular music. So many groups formed over a mutual love of his music or had success with one of his songs (The Rolling Stones first Top 10 hit was Not Fade Away) The Crickets invented the four piece line-up we take for granted now and Lennon and McCartney by their own admission were inspired to write their own songs by Buddy ( the first song they recorded together was That'll Be The Day). Just think of the ripple effect - no Buddy, no Beatles. No Beatles, no](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/8/2/4/1116824.jpg)
![gabriel1313 2y ago Robert Johnson. Blues guitarist and first member of the 27 club. Only one or two actual pictures of him and hardly any real documented trace of his life. Ends up becoming the face of the folk revival, huge influence of Bob Dylan and rock n roll in the late 60s. Popular music in the last half of the 20th century is not the same without him.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/8/2/5/1116825.jpg)
![centaurquestions 2y ago Herman Melville. Не had a few early successes with seafaring books, but Moby-Dick was a total flop that got bad reviews, and he spent the final decades of his life working in the customs department. Не would be shocked to hear he wrote the Great American Novel.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/8/2/6/1116826.jpg)
![BeardsuptheWazoo 2y ago John Kennedy Toole. Wrote a Confederacy of Dunces. Killed himself. His mom took his papers in to a publishing house? Something like that. Was insistent that someone read it, said it's very good. The person who took the chance realized it WAS good.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/8/3/0/1116830.jpg)
![bogus_bovine 2y ago Harriet Tubman Illiterate, escaped slave, traumatic brain injury at a young age, US Army scout. I seriously doubt she expected to be a household name 200 years after her birth.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/8/3/1/1116831.jpg)
![ThadisJones 2y ago Gregor Mendel, the monk and scientist who experimented with pea plant traits to describe what we today literally call Mendelian inheritance. The significance of Mendel's findings, which he published in 1866, went almost completely unrecognized during his life and after his death. His work was only rediscovered in the early 1900s when modern ideas about inheritance and selection started taking hold.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/8/2/8/1116828.jpg)
![SuperstitiousPigeon5 . 2y ago Most of the world has read your diary. Wait...All of my diary?](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/8/2/7/1116827.jpg)