# What famous figures were you most surprised to discover were huge assholes? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 6, 2009, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-figures-were-you-most-surprised-to-discover-were-huge-assholes/492109 "2009-04-06T05:46:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Nancarrow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c37758/32.png) [@Nancarrow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nancarrow)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2009, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-figures-were-you-most-surprised-to-discover-were-huge-assholes/492109/21 "2009-04-06T14:48:13Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > [Uranus](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uranus_(mythology)). Threadwinner. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2009, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-figures-were-you-most-surprised-to-discover-were-huge-assholes/492109/22 "2009-04-06T14:48:46Z")
Didn’t Edison also do everything in his power to make Westinghouse’s AC electricity synonymous with danger and death, solely in order to make his own DC electricity the standard? (Didn’t work, but still…) ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2009, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-figures-were-you-most-surprised-to-discover-were-huge-assholes/492109/23 "2009-04-06T14:50:20Z")
Industrialist Henry Ford and First Lady Bess Truman were hard core anti-semites. ---
**Author:** ![PharmBoy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/74df32/32.png) [@PharmBoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PharmBoy)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2009, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-figures-were-you-most-surprised-to-discover-were-huge-assholes/492109/24 "2009-04-06T14:57:05Z")
> [@astro](#): > > Same here, how was he a jerk? Check out David Berlinski’s biography of Newton. It is a very entertaining and thoughtful book. He really depicts the complex character of Newton, who was indeed 1) brilliant and 2) a real jerk. To cite one example, his treatment of Leibnitz (co-discoverer of calculus) was horrendous. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2009, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-figures-were-you-most-surprised-to-discover-were-huge-assholes/492109/25 "2009-04-06T15:08:42Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > Martin Luther was also a virulently anti-Jewish bastard whose ideas led to the persecution and massacres of thousands of Jews, some of whom were probably my ancestors. "He advocated setting synagogues on fire, destroying Jewish prayerbooks, forbidding rabbis from preaching, seizing Jews’ property and money, smashing up their homes, and ensuring that these “poisonous envenomed worms” be forced into labor or expelled “for all time.” He also seemed to sanction their murder, writing “We are at fault in not slaying them.” Blimey. No wonder somebody shot him. ---
**Author:** ![hopesperson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e95f7d/32.png) [@hopesperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hopesperson)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2009, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-figures-were-you-most-surprised-to-discover-were-huge-assholes/492109/26 "2009-04-06T15:35:39Z")
> [@Ximenean](#): > > Blimey. No wonder somebody shot him. You may be thinking of Martin Luther King, Jr. Martin Luther died of natural causes. Unless this is intended to be a whoosh, in which case I get it and it’s funny. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2009, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-figures-were-you-most-surprised-to-discover-were-huge-assholes/492109/27 "2009-04-06T15:48:53Z")
> [@astro](#): > > Industrialist Henry Ford and First Lady Bess Truman were hard core anti-semites. To be fair, though, that wasn’t necessarily a negative trait to a majority of Americans living in that less enlightened era. Jews were still largely segregated from mainstream society, and non-Jews weren’t likely to know any Jews well enough to think about Ford’s beliefs. Indeed, most were likely not even aware of them. Henry still wasn’t a benign uncle to a lot of Americans, however. Even if you owned a Ford you might have had misgivings about the galloping influence of [Fordism](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fordism) in contemporary life. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Slant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c57346/32.png) [@Mr.Slant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Slant)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2009, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-figures-were-you-most-surprised-to-discover-were-huge-assholes/492109/28 "2009-04-06T16:03:29Z")
> [@NicePete](#): > > He nailed my wife’s head to a coffee table. Well, I guess if he nailed your wife you’re allowed to hold a grudge against him. ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2009, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-figures-were-you-most-surprised-to-discover-were-huge-assholes/492109/29 "2009-04-06T16:28:51Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > Didn’t Edison also do everything in his power to make Westinghouse’s AC electricity synonymous with danger and death, solely in order to make his own DC electricity the standard? (Didn’t work, but still…) If I recall, this included the public electrocution of various dogs and cats (and wasn’t an elephant involved too?) to demonstrate the dangers of AC. ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2009, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-figures-were-you-most-surprised-to-discover-were-huge-assholes/492109/30 "2009-04-06T16:45:31Z")
Ed Zotti? Joe ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2009, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-figures-were-you-most-surprised-to-discover-were-huge-assholes/492109/31 "2009-04-06T16:50:28Z")
Been nice knowing you, Joe. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2009, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-figures-were-you-most-surprised-to-discover-were-huge-assholes/492109/32 "2009-04-06T16:54:30Z")
Ty Cobb and Joe DiMaggio. ---
**Author:** ![Jodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@Jodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jodi)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2009, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-figures-were-you-most-surprised-to-discover-were-huge-assholes/492109/33 "2009-04-06T16:54:57Z")
Not the same kind of famous, but I was surprised to learn that Peter Sellers was such a big honkin’ jerk, because he was so funny in many movies, including _The Pink Panther_. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2009, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-figures-were-you-most-surprised-to-discover-were-huge-assholes/492109/34 "2009-04-06T16:57:07Z")
Margaret Sanger was another racist and believed in eugenics. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2009, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-figures-were-you-most-surprised-to-discover-were-huge-assholes/492109/35 "2009-04-06T16:58:15Z")
> [@](#): > > Cite on Newton? He was kind of a weirdo, but I’ve never heard of him being an asshole. Newton was extremely jealous of other scientific figures getting any credit that he felt he alone deserved. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2009, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-figures-were-you-most-surprised-to-discover-were-huge-assholes/492109/36 "2009-04-06T17:05:41Z")
> [@](#): > > Margaret Sanger was another racist and believed in eugenics. John Scopes was also a eugenicist with some racist views. Here’s a [link](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civic_Biology) to some passages from the textbook, _A Civic Biology: Presented in Problems_, he was arrested for teaching evolution from. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2009, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-figures-were-you-most-surprised-to-discover-were-huge-assholes/492109/37 "2009-04-06T17:10:12Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Henry Ford was vehementally anti-Semetic. A real Jew hater. His writings might have had some impact in starting the Holocaust. Henry Ford’s own work (and stuff he commissioned), which mostly ended up being published as _The International Jew_, didn’t convince many people. However, he bankrolled publishing and distribution of _The Protocols of the Elders of Zion_ in the US and elsewhere, which is arguably the basis for all Western anti-Semitism. The modern-day conspiracy theorists who talk about a shadowy Jewish plot to take over the world are essentially just recycling _Protocols_. The strangest part is just how silly the Protocols really are. Sample passage: > [@](#): > > For us there are not checks to limit the range of our activity. Our Super-Government subsists in extra-legal conditions which are described in the accepted terminology by the energetic and forcible word - Dictatorship. I am in a position to tell you with a clear conscience that at the proper time we, the law-givers, shall execute judgment and sentence, we shall slay and we shall spare, we, as head of all our troops, are mounted on the steed of the leader. We rule by force of will, because in our hands are the fragments of a once powerful party, now vanquished by us. AND THE WEAPONS IN OUR HANDS ARE LIMITLESS AMBITIONS, BURNING GREEDINESS, MERCILESS VENGEANCE, HATREDS AND MALICE. On a completely unrelated note, I was kind of shccked to discover that Vince McMahon is a pretty nice guy. All signs point to the opposite. ---
**Author:** ![Maeglin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8baadc/32.png) [@Maeglin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maeglin)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2009, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-figures-were-you-most-surprised-to-discover-were-huge-assholes/492109/38 "2009-04-06T17:21:50Z")
Newton was a genuine asshole in the way ordinary assholes can only aspire to be. In addition to the calculus controversy, Newton as Master of the Mint pursued those he suspected of counterfeiting with fanatical zeal and caused the execution of many accused, rightfully and wrongfully. He was very smart, and could be very petty and vindictive. He was absolutely not the kind of man anyone in his right might would want to cross. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2009, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-figures-were-you-most-surprised-to-discover-were-huge-assholes/492109/39 "2009-04-06T17:26:27Z")
Bugs Bunny. On-screen he was a law-of-physics bending crossdressing sarcastic funnyman, but off screen he told the House UnAmerican Activities Committee that Foghorn Leghorn, Porky Pig and Road Runner were a Communist cell, routinely beat his does and had them reabsorb their litters in order to avoid paying child support, insisted that his wards Buster and Bunny have only Pay-for-Play contracts to keep their residuals, and introduced the Beatles, the Who, Cary Grant and Jimi Hendrix to Lapine Sense Deepener (LSD) all while authoring constant screeds under assumed name denouncing Jews, foreigners, Catholics, and- for no apparent reason- Vivian Vance in the most hateful of terms. I hope he burns in hell. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2009, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-figures-were-you-most-surprised-to-discover-were-huge-assholes/492109/40 "2009-04-06T17:31:10Z")
And that’s nothing. You should read what he thought of Mel Blanc. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-figures-were-you-most-surprised-to-discover-were-huge-assholes/492109.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-figures-were-you-most-surprised-to-discover-were-huge-assholes/492109.md?page=3)