Top 10 Historical Drinkers that changed the world

9 January 2015

This January brings the arrival of Comedy Central's hilarious new show DRUNK HISTORY. The show features comedians getting outrageously drunk and regaling an historical story they are passionate about. As they narrate these stories, slurred word for slurred word, a host of well-known actors, celebrities and other comedians act out these new, rather blurry versions of history. We thought why not celebrate this and take a trip into the past to find out which historical figures were actually partial to a tipple or two.

Winston Churchill

(30 November 1874 - 24 January 1965)

Sir Winston Churchill, best known for his part in giving the United Kingdom the leading role in opposing Nazi Germany during World War I. His lesser known role is being a great drinker! The prime minister apparently once impressed Stalin with his heavy drinking, and it was reported that he never missed having a bottle of champagne for lunch and very often had another one for dinner

Boris Yeltsin

(1 February , 1931 - April 23, 2007)

Boris Yeltsin is known to some in Russia as the person who demolished the Soviet Union, however to many he is known for having a great time! There are numerous supposed drunken escapades reported

of the former Russian president Yeltsin, including President Bill Clinton's memoir where he describes the time Boris got so drunk during a visit to Washington that he was found standing outside the White House in his underpants trying to hail a cab to go and buy a pizza.

Ulysses S. Grant

(April 27, 1822 - July 23, 1885)

Ulysess S. Grant, the 18th President of the United States. A commanding general, in 1865, Grant led the Union Armies to victory over the Confederacy in the American Civil War. Ulysses S. Grant suffered from perhaps the most unfair reputation of all the generals during the Civil War: He was widely regarded as a common drunk.

Vincent Van Gogh

(30 March 1853 - 29 July 1890)

Vincent Van Gogh, the world renowned post-impressionist Dutch painter had a huge influence on 20th century art with notable works including 'Starry Night' and 'Sunflowers'.

However this artist did not live a healthy lifestyle, surviving on coffee, cigarettes and alcohol. He also suffered bouts of mental illness which resorted in cutting his own ear off.

His work took him to Antwerp where he began drinking Absinthe heavily. As a drink known to give mild hallucinations, there is potential that booze had quite an "impression" on his painting.

Buzz Aldrin

(20 January 1930 - )

Buzz Alrin, American engineer and former astronaut, was the second man on the moon following in the "giant" footsteps of Neil Armstrong.

Leaving NASA in 1971 Aldrin allegedly took drinking to another level and rumour has it this was due to him not being able to handle his fame. However he claims that it was his early retirement and painful divorce from his first wife Jean Ann Archer.

However, there is light at the end of the tunnel as forced into rehab by his second wife, he is now clean and claims he hasn't had even a tipple since 1978.

Benjamin Franklin

(January 17 1706 - April 17 1790)

Benjamin Franklin, one of the "Founding Fathers of the United States", Franklin's face can be found on the $100 dollar bill.

Interested in a wide range of subjects throughout his life including science, art and literature, he also wasn't shy when it came to multiple alcoholic beverages, like most men in his time, drinking every day. In Colonial America the water was unsafe to drink so people turned to beer, wine and cider as alternative third quenchers. Franklin summed this up nicely with the following quote: "In wine there is wisdom, in beer there is freedom, in water there is bacteria."

Cleopatra VII

(Reign: 51 - 12 August 30 BC - 21 Years)

Cleopatra VII was the last Egyptian pharaoh and lover of the Roman leaders Julius Caesar and Marcus Antonius. As a self-proclaimed reincarnation of the goddess Isis, she was deemed untouchable and as one of the few women of power in history, could go through life bathing drunk in wine, literally. In ancient Egypt people of power threw wild parties, and believed that through wine you could speak with the Gods. Women were bound to strict rules in their consumption of alcohol however Cleopatra was allowed to bend the rules - being a Goddess!

She was also leader of the female devotees of Dionysos, the god of drinking.

Ernest Hemingway

(July 21 1899 - July 2 1961)

Ernest Hemingway, an iconic American author and journalist, won a Nobel Prize in Literature in 1956. Enjoying a drink in his youth, his favourite tipple was a dry martini and his characters often drank what he himself swilled in the city he was writing in. His motto being: "Write drunk, edit sober" However his life had seen some turbulent times and he often turned to drink as the answer. From 1942 to 1945 Hemingway deemed himself out of business as a writer and as his literary friends such as F Scott Fitzgerald and Gertrude Stein started to pass away, he sank into depression. During this period, he suffered severe headaches, weight problems and diabetes, all a result of many years of heavy drinking.

Ludwig van Beethoven

(17 December 1770 - 26 March 1827)

Ludwig van Beethoven, the hugely talented German composer and pianist, was a crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and romantic era in Western music.

However at the age of 26 he began to lose his hearing and developed a severe form of tinnitus, a constant "ringing" in the ears, making it almost impossible for him to play, conduct and therefore earn a living.

This illness may have contributed largely to his drinking habit and upon his deathbed an autopsy revealed significant liver damage due to heavy alcohol consumption.

Charles Dickens

(7 February 1812 - 9 June 1870)

Charles Dickens, a world-renowned English author, most famously known for his fictional works such as 'Oliver Twist' and 'A Christmas Carol'. Most may not know that the greatest novelist of the Victorian age was also supposedly a heavy drinker.

Dickens was said to be immensely fond of alcohol, strongly against teetotallers and also described as a womanizer and tyrant. While on his last reading tour of America in 1868 he would consume fresh cream and two tablespoons of rum at seven in the morning; a Sherry Cobbler (sherry, sugar and slices of orange) at noon; a pint of Champagne at three; and an egg beaten into a glass of sherry before his evening performance.