Can you name some historical 'bastard' children who went on to great success?

Question

I understand that some of the United States' "founding fathers" were born out of wedlock, which was a big scandal at the time. I'm looking for inspiration--people who overcame rootlessness and made a difference.

Relax Nikki--it's a historical term, and was for a long time before it meant 'rotten person.'

It's not hardship per se--it's more like feeling not-quite-accepted for something you didn't do. Not having generations of legacy, good or bad, to plant roots in.

Answer 1

I don't believe Oprah Winfrey's parents ever married.

Answer 2

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
Can you name some historical 'bastard' children who went on to great success?
I understand that some of the United States' "founding fathers" were born out of wedlock, which was a big scandal at the time. I'm looking for inspiration--people who overcame rootlessness and made a difference.

Answer 3

It wasn't that big a scandal. Benjamin Franklin's son William was illegitimate and he was the Governor of New Jersey. he married well, too.

In the Diary of Martha Ballard, a midwife from the 1700's, she describes helping unmarried women give birth. While they were embarrassed in court if they didn't have enough money to take care of their own kids, they were still just as marriageable and they weren't shunned. The only time they were looked down on was if it was believed that they were accusing the wrong man of being the father, as blackmail to get money.

If you want inspiration, look for orphans, not bastards.
.

Answer 4

The man we know as William the Conqueror was commonly called William the Bastard up until 1066.

Cesare Borgia in famous for being the son of a Pope, but also a general and statesman in his own right.

The Duke of Monmouth led a rebellion against James II after the death of his father, Charles II.

Looking at your question though, those last two maybe don't qualify, as they were acknowledged and supported by their fathers, so they didn't really have to overcome their background as much as it might seem.

Answer 5

One might say that coming from a bad "family", abusive parents or a broken home could also be considered as being "rootles". Don't overlook them. If you can't find what you're looking for, a person to show you that you can be successful even though you've been throug great hardship....that doesn't mean it can't be done. Be your own inspiration. No influence should have that kind of power of you, good or bad.

Answer 6

Sure:Born around 1028, William the conqueror was the illegitimate son of Duke Robert I of Normandy, and Herleve (also known as Arlette), daughter of a tanner in Falaise. Known as 'William the Bastard' to his contemporaries, his illegitimacy shaped his career when he was young. by: Desp.

Answer 7

William the Conqueror
Lawrence of Arabia
Willi Brandt
Don John of Austria

Answer 8

Barack Hussein Obama

Answer 9

------Alexander Hamilton, the first Secretary of the Treasury, American Founding Father, and author of the Federalist Papers, was born out of wedlock, the second son of a younger son of a Scottish laird and a French Huguenot mother on the Caribbean island of Nevis.

------George Washington Carver, African-American botanist and chemist, never knew the identity of his father.

------Booker T. Washington, African-American educator, was the son of a white slave owner.

------William the Conqueror, the Norman noble who conquered Anglo-Saxon England in 1066, was originally known as William the Bastard.

------Cesare and Lucrezia Borgia were the illegitimate children of a pope.

-----Marilyn Monroe's mother listed her divorced husband's name on Norma Jean's birth certificate, but she was never really sure who her dad was.

------Leonardo da Vinci's father acknowledged him enough to help pay for his brilliant son's education.

------Desiderius Erasmus, a philosopher from the Netherlands, was illegitimate.

------Sarah Bernhardt, a famous 19th-century actresses, was the illegitimate daughter of a Dutch-born, Paris courtesan.

------T. E. Lawrence, who was better known as Lawrence of Arabia, whas the child of an aristocrat who had abandoned his wife for his daughters' governess.

------Henry Morton Stanley's birth certificate lists him as a bastard. He would win fame as the explorer who would find the famed missionary doctor, David Livingston.

Answer 10

This isn't a historical figure, but Dave Thomas, founder of Wendy's was adopted. Also, remember Jesus didn't have an "earthly biological" father. There was a ton of scandal surrounding Mary's pregnancy - and look at the difference HE made!!!