Americans have long had a fascination with trivia and fun facts, especially when it comes to famous people. Below is a compiled list of some of the most interesting fun facts about famous people.
Marilyn Monroe: The FBI had a file on Marilyn Monroe due to her relationship and later marriage with suspected Communist sympathizer and playwright Arthur Miller. During a remodel of her former home, the couple who had purchased it also found a government–grade taping system throughout the house.
Albert Einstein: After his death, the pathologist who conducted his autopsy, Thomas Harvey, stole his brain in hopes of discovering the secret of his genius.
Michael Jackson: On his ranch, Neverland, he owned, along with a variety of other animals, two pet llamas named Lola and Louie.
Abraham Lincoln: Lincoln holds the record for being the tallest president at 6 feet 4 inches tall which was helped by his stove-pipe hat. He also used the hat to store important letters and documents.
John Lennon: Although he is known as one of the most famous singer-songwriters, Lennon actually hated the sound of his own voice and would often ask to double-track all of the songs he recorded.
Princess Diana: Princess Diana set a new trend for royal brides when she became the first one to have a job before getting married. She had previously worked as a nanny and a nursery school teacher before she became engaged to Prince Charles.
George Washington: Although the famous myth is that his fake teeth were made of wood, that is actually false. His teeth, various full and partial dentures throughout his life, were “constructed of materials including human, and probably cow and horse teeth, ivory (possibly elephant), lead-tin alloy, copper alloy (possibly brass), and silver alloy,” according to Washington’s estate website. They were said to be extremely uncomfortable, which is why he almost never smiled.
Audrey Hepburn: She began dancing ballet at age five and quickly developed a talent for it. She later conducted silent dances as a member of the Dutch Resistance to raise money for the allied forces.
Winston Churchill: The U.K. prime minister during World War II wrote a number of historical books and won the Nobel Prize in Literature for his book, “Victory,” published in 1953.
Cristiano Ronaldo: Ronaldo was named after former U.S. President Ronald Reagan, who was his father’s favorite actor as well as being someone he admired.
Walt Disney: Unsurprisingly, the man who had a role in everyone’s childhood holds the record for most Academy Awards. Disney has won 22 individual Oscars and has been nominated for 59.
Marie Antoinette: While she was largely known as the Dauphine and later Queen of France, she was born as an Austrian princess. She was the fifteenth child of Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa and Emperor Francis I.
Ludwig van Beethoven: Beethoven went completely deaf by the age of 26, and to this date, no one knows the actual cause. Some theories suggest that it was from a childhood illness such as smallpox, while others say he suffered from an autoimmune disorder.
Fun facts can be incredibly useful, so be sure to remember these if you ever want to win at trivia night or appear on Jeopardy.
