6 Degrees of separation, vs. "historical figures"

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

The “Bacon” or whatever it’s called separation between you and someone else, who’s an important historical figure… Can you make a 6 (or less) degree separation between you and an important historical figure? If so, whom? If so, how?

I’ve got a good “thread-winning” one, but I will only give the “trivial” one, as an example, in hopes of seeing some good ones. [The “thread winning one” will likely win the thread, so will be left til later…]

I’m within 6 degrees of separation (you have to have actually met the person in question, and have conversed with the person for 5 minutes or more…, but only have to establish that “historically”, a conversation like that must have been done with an historical predecedant) of all the US Presidents going back to Grover Cleveland’s 2nd term.

HOW? My brother’s father-in-law has a wikipedia page, because he’s held important government functions. He [B’s FIL] is “friends with” a single “Supreme Court Associate Justice”, who was invited to my brother’s wedding. As a result, I met 4, (count 'em, 4) US Supreme Court Associate Justicices at my brother’s wedding. I trace the “degrees of separation” through the one I met and had a 5 minute conversation with, trace through the longest serving Supreme Court Justice the one in question served with, and go back as far as you can with that. Tie into the president who appointed that justice, and I get:

2:
Barack Obama
George W. Bush
Bill Clinton
George H. W. Bush
Ronald Reagan
3:
Jimmy Carter
Gerald Ford
Richard Nixon
Lyndon Johnson
John F. Kennedy
Dwight D. Eisenhower
4:
Harry S. Truman
Franklin D. Roosevelt
5:
Herbert Hoover
Calvin Coolidge
Warren G. Harding
Woodrow Wilson
6:
William Howard Taft
Theodore Roosevelt
William McKinley
Grover Cleveland

Justice I met, combined with longer serving justice he/she served with:

Scalia, Antonin
Brennan, William J., Jr.
Black, Hugo Lafayette
McReynolds, James Clark
White, Edward Douglass - appointed by Cleveland (2nd term) - makes 6 to president
I can establish, by the same means, an 11th connection to George Washington, himself. Cleveland is only the last 6th degree I can establish by that means. If you look at historical connections, however, Cleveland as 6th, leaves LOTS of room for more “interesting” connections. I have one… Try to guess…

2

I’ve met and had dinner with State Sen. John Giannetti of Maryland. I imagine he’s had the opportunity to meet any number of important persons, and he probably puts me within a few degrees of numerous political figures.

My mother was in prison with Pablo Escobar’s mother-in-law. I like to sarcastically say this gives me an Escobar Number of 3.

From meeting Wyclef Jean I have a Kevin Bacon Number of 3. My Bacon Number also puts me within 7 degrees of Thomas Edison! Edison has a Bacon Number of 4, btw.

3

Do meetings only count?

My mother got Jesse Sapolu to come to my graduation party, so I am connected by 1 degree to Joe Montana and Jerry Rice, which, imho, is pathetic to even claim such a relationship.

4

A friend of 30 years standing is a good friend of Joe Montana. He was the team doctor during Montana’s stint with the Kansas City Chiefs.

One of my clients is the ex-wife of Nobel Laureate and insane person Dr. Kary Mullis, so I’ve met him. And, tragically, this puts me 2 steps from O.J. Simpson, as the “Dream Team” hired Mullis (not to put him on the stand, but to keep the prosecution from hiring him).

When I was a kid, a psychiatrist named Park Dietz examined me. The name was so unusual that it stuck in my head. And it puts me two steps from Jeffrey Dahmer, John Hinckley, Andrea Yates, the Menendez Brothers, John duPont, The Unabomber and David Koresh. Fun company.

In the late 1990s, I was working for Forrester Research developing their electronic document delivery systems. Apparently, I was on the official tour as their “geek cred” being the only non-Ivy League person in the building and the only person with long hair. George Colony would bring various corporate executives through the office, so I met the heads of various Fortune 500 companies.

I met various cartoonists during my time at Hallmark Cards, including Scott Adams, and tons of musicians when I was a sound engineer including Ray Charles and James Brown.

5

My step-brother knows George Bush I very well. As in he’s stayed at Bush’s home and Bush named him in the dedication of one of his books. Step-bro has met Bush II a few times but doesn’t know him very well. I know a couple of people who worked for Clinton and have met met with him on a number of occasions. So I am one away from three Presidents. I’m two away from a few more, not including other Presidents in the chain.

6

If sports are considered “historical,” I know a guy who played for the Los Angeles Raiders for two years which puts me one or two away from tons of NFL stars. I know another guy who played for the Boston Bruins for parts of three or four years. He’s good friends with Wayne Gretzky through NHL charity work. I knew both of them pretty well, not just a five minute conversation.

Crispin Glover was a good friend of mine in our teen years. I also knew his dad who was a working character actor from the 1960’s through the 90’s. That puts me one or two away from most of Hollywood.

7

I’m two degrees of separation from Stan Musial, Ted Williams, and Bobby Doerr. A good friend of miine was in the Marines during the Korean War, and while in training camp was on a baseball team that played against a team that had those folks in it. He met them all.

8

I don’t know about US presidents, but I’m a couple of degrees from Vladimir Putin. Lovely!

9

I’m two degrees from Ed Rendell, which gives me three degrees from all fifty governors; a good bit (if not all) of the Senate; Og knows how many congressmen; and all of the presidents going back to at least Bush I. (Rendell was the mayor of Philadelphia from 1992-1999, chairman of the Democratic Party from 1999-2001, and has been governor since 2002.) Gov. Rendell and I have several mutual acquaintances, although I don’t know him personally.

I’m also two degrees from Sens. Casey and Specter (I know people who work for them or have worked for them), so that’ll remove a degree from the Senate and all of the people they know.

Party politics is fun!

10

Yes, nice! That’s what I’m looking for. I wonder if I have a good “Escobar” number!

11

That alone puts you within 3 or 4 of some very famous Jarheads (US Marines)…

12

HOW??? Tell us… :smiley:

13

The presidential connection probably means you are within the “6” of me… Hey! Cousin!!!:smiley:

14

My former boss is close friends with former NY Governor George Pataki. So I’m probably four degrees of seperation from many American political figures.

And I knew Mark Chapman. Does that count as a connection to John Lennon and everyone he knew?

15

Ya, that’s GOOD!!! 2 steps from all the best psychos! Lovely!

16

In grammar school my class took a field trip to the Georgia State Capitol and I had a conversation with Governor Jimmy Carter.

17

I know the man who helped Bill Clinton into his scholarly robe before he gave a speech here in Bangkok in November 1996, shortly after he won reelection. A shot of the robe assist appeared on the front page of the Bangkok Post. That puts me two degrees from Clinton. And I saw saw the arm of either George HW Bush or the American ambassador in the back of a limo in Bangkok shortly after Bush left office, so that puts me one or two degrees from him.

My uncle in Glendale, who turns 90 next month and grew up in Hollywood, went to school with several future Hollywood B stars.

18

THIS is an interesting connection… Tell us about your MDC connection, please!

19

Let’s egg this on:
Given that I have 4 for my connection to FDR, and he met Joe Stalin at (or before) Yalta, then I also have Vladimir Lenin as 6…

Also L. Beria, and other Soviet mo-fo’s

Add historical mo-fo’s as you can…

20

I have encountered ousted Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra in person on a number of occasions. He is friends with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen. This puts me somewhere close to Pol Pot. And with the entire Burmese military junta.