(PCM) Did you ever wonder how someone with a tremendously huge ego could even fit their head through a doorway? A little bit of an ego never hurt anyone; being confident in oneself and one’s abilities are assets in life. But there are some people who just take it too far.
Narcissistic and self-involved, egotistical people are often (and unfortunately) not that easy to ignore. When they’re not talking about themselves, they’re often trying to re-work a conversation or situation so they can be the subject of interest. Throughout history, some of the worlds most infamous figures are those with some rather large egos.
Within this list are the thirteen figures that have somehow managed to not only make it through doors, but make a name for themselves as those who live in a perpetual state of infamy for their very selfish lives.
Excluding those who have killed over a million people, here are a list of the top thirteen most infamously egotistical people throughout history.
Billy the Kid-Known far and wide as the bad boy of the west, William H. Bonney, more commonly known as Billy the Kid, has truly become a legend. Allegedly having killed 21 men (though historians believe the actual numbers to be anywhere between four and nine), Billy was one of the key players in the Lincoln County War. In an attempt to avenge the murder of John Tunstall, Billy the Kid and his friends formed the Regulators, a group who set out to hunt down Tunstall’s killers.
Despite being known as a friendly and nice guy to those he wasn’t trying to fight, Billy the Kid was one of the most lethal men in the west and has truly made a name for himself in history.
Elizabeth Báthory-Often seen as the female counterpart to Vlad the Impaler, Elizabeth Báthory certainly is up there on the infamously egotistical list. Having lived in 17th Century Hungary, Elizabeth or the Blood Countess as she is better known, had allegedly killed up 650 girls in her court. Her reason for killing them?
To bathe in their blood and preserve her youth. However, Elizabeth’s ego was certainly her downfall as she was sentenced to life in prison for her crimes.
John Wilkes Booth-John Wilkes Booth was a man so blinded by his own ego, he carried out out the murder of President Lincoln. A famous stage actor, John Wilkes Booth was something of a heart throb with his dashing good looks and charisma on stage. Booth however, wanted to be remembered as more than an actor in history. In an effort to become the hero of his beloved South, after they lost the Civil War, Booth and friends conspired to shoot down some of the Union’s most important political officials, including President Lincoln. While Lincoln was attending the theatre in a private booth, Booth snuck up and killed him by shooting him point blank in the head.
Despite not becoming a heroic legend, like Booth had hoped, Booth maintains a role in history as one of America’s prominent villains.
Benedict Arnold-Known as history’s greatest back stabber, Benedict Arnold’s name is synonymous with traitor. Benedict Arnold was originally an American general during the Revolutionary War who maintained a correspondence with British troops throughout a majority of the war. At one instance, Arnold was caught plotting to surrender West Point to the British army, a city of which the Americans had given Arnold command of. Arnold’s reasoning behind his betrayal of West Point appears to have been initiated by the American officials taking too long to give him control of West Point.
Jesse James-Jesse James is truly a man whose ego truly was his downfall. Having become a legend of the Wild West, James was a notorious bank robber, train robber, and murderer and one of the prominent members of the James-Younger gang. Having been Confederate soldiers in the Civil War, James and his brothers were some of the most brutal soldiers to have ever walked the fifty states, committing horrible atrocities.
James’ own gang member killed him in an attempt to get the reward money for James.
Jack the Ripper-One of the world’s most famous serial killers, and we don’t even know his real name. Jack the Ripper swept the streets of 19th Century London, targeting and murdering various prostitutes throughout London. Earning the name Jack the Ripper after leaving notes for the police about his murders (notes which many believed were the work of journalists to bring attention to the case), Jack’s true identity and motives remain unclear.
Most suspect that Jack was anything from a common low-life to a renown surgeon. Whatever the case, Jack the Ripper’s story lives on.
Marie Antoinette– Most famous for her saying, “Let them eat cake”, Marie Antoinette was a pariah of 18th century French society. Having come to France from Austria, Marie Antoinette was the wife of King Louis XVI of France. Known in popular culture as being rather ditsy with an impeccable fashion sense, Marie Antoinette was truly the life of the party in France.
However, as a ruler, Marie Antoinette and her husband often left a lot to be desired. When presented with the issue that her people were starving in the street and had no bread, she couldn’t understand why they could not eat cake instead. Eventually, both she and her husband were tried and executed, though Marie Antoinette’s legacy remains as one of the most silly and snobby rulers of all time.
Haman-Haman is one of the most villainous and egotistical men in Jewish tradition. According to legend, Haman was so disgruntled with the Jewish people’s “lack of respect” towards him, he and his wife planned on wiping out the entire population of Jewish people. However, the heroic Queen Esther stopped Haman in his tracks and sentenced he and his ten sons to death.
John Mayer-Perhaps one of the self-centered guys in Hollywood, John Mayer is known for his bad boy behavior in Hollywood as a ladies man and all around jerk. Having come onto the music scene with his cool attitude and thoughtful lyrics, Mayer soon abandoned his public image of sensitive guitarist with his relationships with stars Jennifer Aniston, Jessica Simpson, and Taylor Swift among countless others, often sharing very intimate details about their private lives with anyone would who would listen.
And the worst of it is? He doesn’t understand what he did wrong. Mayer reportedly was very offended when ex, Taylor Swift, released the song “Dear John” which was allegedly about him. Mayer claimed she was just being mean to him, and didn’t get why she could be so mean.
“Pretty Boy” Floyd-A gangster during the Great Depression, Charles Arthur Floyd, best known as “Pretty Boy” Floyd is one of America’s most famous outlaws. Having participated in the Kansas City massacre, as well as a series of robberies within the Midwest, Floyd wasn’t happy with the nickname the public gave him, thinking it was embarrassing.
Floyd was eventually gunned down by policemen. His funeral was attended by almost 40,000 people, and Floyd has been romanticized throughout the years, having songs written about him and bands named after him.
Lizzie Borden-Everyone’s heard of Lizzie Borden, who allegedly gave her father and stepmother forty whacks with an ax. Borden and her older sister Emma lived with her father and stepmother in a state of tension. Lizzie and her stepmother, Abby Gray, had a falling out that was so bad, Lizzie began calling her “Mrs. Borden” as opposed to mother. In 1892, both Lizzie’s stepmother and father were found by the family maid after having been brutally murdered with an ax.
Though Lizzie was tried for the crime and eventually acquitted, her parents murder had some hauntingly familiar elements; a few years prior, Borden’s father killed her pet pigeons by cutting off their heads with an ax. Borden and her sister lived out the rest of their lives in relative normalcy, dying within days of each other.
Robert Stroud-Robert Stroud, better known as the Birdman of Alcatraz, said that he himself was the most famous man in the world. After committing multiple murders and crimes, both in and out of prison, Stroud was sentenced to spend the rest of his life in Acatraz prison, in San Francisco Bay. While in Leavenworth prison, Stroud found a love for birds so strong, he began breeding and selling them from his prison cell. Penning two books about birds, as well as finding a cure for one of birds many ailments, Stroud soon found himself transferred to Alcatraz where pets were not allowed.
Stroud often claimed that the day he died, all the headlines would be talking about him. He died the day before John F. Kennedy was assassinated, not even getting a mention in any major newspaper.
Joe Francis-Everyone knows about the Girls Gone Wild series, whether they want to know about it or not, and Joe Francis is the one deserving of all the credit. Francis often goes into clubs, parties, and other locations where drinks are served and films girls going wild. Francis, in order to get the perfect shot for the fans of his series, allegedly often hires girls to go and act wild first, hoping the other girls will follow their example and appear on screen.
However, these first hired girls are never on camera, according to reports. Francis has attempted to refurbish his bad reputation by working with charity; he donated money from sales of his Mardi Gras tapes to the Red Cross in order to aid Hurricane Katrina victims.
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