Famous people are usually remembered for one or two contributions to the world. When somebody does something good, that is how history will enshrine them. Real life isn’t so black and white, though. All people have flaws, but these people have some serious flaws.
From causing mass death to mistreating those around them, these historical figures and celebrities are far from angels. While it doesn’t necessarily take away from the positive things they’ve done, it can be surprising to learn about the skeletons in well-renowned people’s closets.
Check out the true facts about these people who have been whitewashed by history.
1
Alexander Graham Bell
Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone, and that’s what most people know him for. But what many don’t know is that he was a strong proponent of eugenics. He also tried to suppress sign language among deaf people. That is a unique type of evil.
2
John Lennon
John Lennon was a beloved musician who envisioned a world of peace and unity. His home life was not so peaceful, though. The Beatle was physically abusive towards women and basically abandoned his son Julian.
3
Drew Barrymore
Drew Barrymore is a beloved fixture. People admire her for overcoming the adversity of her fraught child actor upbringing, and for her realness on her talk show. But she recently crossed the picket line during the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, throwing her authenticity and integrity into question.
4
Leonardo DiCaprio
Leonardo DiCaprio is well-respected and popular as an actor. But it’s recently come to light that he seems to have a policy where he will only date much younger women, dumping them before they turn 25.
5
Matthew Broderick
As actors go, Matthew Broderick has seemed wholesome and kind since Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. But he has blood on his hands– in 1987, Broderick was driving in Northern Ireland and collided head-on with another car, killing a mother and daughter. He faced almost no consequences, just a fine of $175.
6
Thomas Edison
Thomas Edison is responsible for many important inventions that created the foundation for technology we still use today. But Edison didn’t just use electricity for light bulbs; he was apparently known to electrocute live animals in order to test and prove his theories.
7
Charles Dickens
The famous author was known for his hopeful stories that critiqued social and political conditions of the time. His personal life was a little more negative however. Dickens tried to have his wife, the mother of his ten children, committed to an insane asylum so he could run off with a teenage actress.
8
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln is one of the most well-known leaders in American history. One aspect of his story that is lesser known, however, is that he ordered the single largest mass execution in US history. In 1862, Lincoln ordered the public execution of 38 Dakota Indians as punishment for an uprising.
9
F. Scott Fitzgerald
F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote The Great Gatsby, a classic that’s still taught in classrooms across the country, as well as other books. However, parts of these books were stolen and plagiarized from his wife Zelda’s personal diary. When she approached Scott asking for a divorce, he locked her in the house until she agreed to drop it.
10
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson, like many of the founding fathers, owned slaves. He also had a long-term affair with one of his slaves, a woman named Sally Hemings. Despite writing the Declaration of Independence, it seems he didn’t believe in freedom for everyone.
11
Steve Jobs
The late great Steve Jobs was seen as a messianic figure to many in tech. He seemed chill, friendly, and conscientious to outside observers. But apparently his leadership style behind the scenes left a lot to be desired, with some describing it as ‘authoritarian’. He was also known to exploit labor in overseas factories.
12
John F Kennedy
John F Kennedy was beloved by many, and known as one of the most charismatic US presidents. That charisma was not always used for good, however, as JFK was allegedly an unfaithful womanizer.
13
Walt Disney
It’s hard not to look at Walt Disney through rose-colored glasses because of his whimsical, cute, and overall wholesome creations. But the man himself had racist and antisemitic views, as well as cooperating with the House Un-American Activities Committee during the Red Scare.
14
Pablo Picasso
Pablo Picasso is well-known as a pioneer of the Cubist movement and as a greatly influential painter. However, while he was a great boon to the art world, he was not so much of a boon to the women in his life. Picasso had many affairs and mistreated women throughout his life.
15
Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill is regarded as a hero for his leadership during World War II. However, his policies resulted in millions of deaths in India and Bengal while they were under British rule.
16
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus is celebrated for his discovery of the American continent. However, he also brought disease, slavery, mass murder, and exploitation to the native people living there.
17
Mahatma Gandhi
Gandhi is one of the most revered figures in the world. His name has become synonymous with peaceful resistance. However, he did some questionable things in his personal life, including sharing a bed with his young teenage nieces in order to “test his celibacy”.
18
Mother Teresa
You can’t get much more revered than Mother Teresa. But despite her Sainthood and renown for her humanitarian work, she was not perfect. She was criticized for poor conditions and lack of adequate medical care in her hospices.
