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7 Historical Figures Who Had A Secret Wild Side

You know their names and their deeds, but these historical figures were actually legends in more ways than one. Find out about the hidden wild sides they won’t tell you about in any history class.

1. Abraham Lincoln

Great orator, greater partier. Anyone who stuck around after a long cabinet meeting learned that Lincoln’s stately stovepipe hat concealed a jug of primo moonshine—hence his famous nickname, Ragin’ Abe.

2. Vincent Van Gogh

Lock up your daughters! Vincent van Gogh famously gifted an ear to a prostitute he was in love with, but he also repeated this gesture with other body parts for at least a dozen other women.

3. Marie Curie

Before handling the dangerous radioactive materials that ultimately killed her, Marie Curie would always shotgun a six-pack. She just went for it, man.

4. Martin Luther King Jr.

The Rev, killing it! When Martin Luther King Jr. wasn’t delivering sobering speeches, he was wailing on his drum set at all hours of the night, breaking only to refill the smoke machine.

5. Eleanor Roosevelt

Roosevelt is best remembered for her time as first lady, but patrons of the Washington D.C. nightclub scene better remember her by her nickname: The Mistress of Molly.

6. Napoleon Bonaparte

Short in stature, but big on partying. In fact, most paintings of Napoleon Bonaparte document the infamous story of the time an out-of-control Bonaparte headbutted his horse on a dare.

7. Margaret Thatcher

Margaret Thatcher wasn’t just the first female Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, she was also the first woman to win the International Ultimate Frisbee Tournament in 1943 (She’d go on to win four more times!)

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