# How many generations separate the two most famous people (not royalty) who are direct descendents?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-generations-separate-the-two-most-famous-people-not-royalty-who-are-direct-descendents/643237>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [December 6, 2012, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-generations-separate-the-two-most-famous-people-not-royalty-who-are-direct-descendents/643237 "2012-12-06T21:39:48Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\
**Post date:** [December 7, 2012, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-generations-separate-the-two-most-famous-people-not-royalty-who-are-direct-descendents/643237/21 "2012-12-07T23:52:22Z")

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> [@robert\_columbia](#):
>
> [Steve Young](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Young), the football player, is a direct male-line descendant of [Brigham Young](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brigham_Young).

Yeah, I hear that Brigham guy had a few offspring, no? 🙂

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**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\
**Post date:** [December 8, 2012, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-generations-separate-the-two-most-famous-people-not-royalty-who-are-direct-descendents/643237/22 "2012-12-08T00:43:23Z")

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> [@John\_Mace](#):
>
> Yeah, I hear that Brigham guy had a few offspring, no? 🙂

Forever young.

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**Author:** ![Throatwarbler\_Mangrove](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8c91f0/32.png) [@Throatwarbler\_Mangrove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Throatwarbler_Mangrove)\
**Post date:** [December 9, 2012, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-generations-separate-the-two-most-famous-people-not-royalty-who-are-direct-descendents/643237/23 "2012-12-09T04:24:35Z")

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> [@septimus](#):
>
> Confucius is even more famous than Charles Martel, and apparently ancestral to every living Chinese.

What? Who told you this?

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