13 historical figures who were married to their relatives
In the culture of many countries, it is not customary to marry cousins or second cousins, and in some cases it is completely illegal. However, public disapproval and, for that matter, medical evidence seemed to have little concern for some people who somehow left their mark on history.
So, 13 famous men and women who have married close relatives for no other reason than because of great love.
Gangster, robber and murderer Jesse James was perhaps the most popular criminal in American history. The attitude towards him was ambiguous: someone recognized him almost as the Robin Hood of the Wild West, someone quite deservedly considered him a murderer who should suffer the highest punishment. During one of the lull periods of his "career", Jesse James was recovering from a wound at his uncle's, where he was cared for by his cousin Zerelda Mimms. The young fell in love with each other. After 9 years of courtship, on April 24, 1874, James married his beloved. The couple had a son, Jesse Edward, a daughter, Mary Susan, and twins who died in infancy.
The Russian composer, born in 1882, is considered one of the most influential figures in the music of the XX century. Stravinsky fell in love with his cousin Ekaterina Gavrilovna Nosenko in adolescence. In 1905, the couple wanted to get married, but met resistance from the church. Despite all the obstacles, the lovers were married in 1906, and they had children.
The 32nd American president ranks alongside such revered figures in the United States as George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. Roosevelt served as president from 1933 to 1945.
On March 17, 1904, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, much to his mother's displeasure, married a distant relative, Eleanor Roosevelt, niece of Theodore Roosevelt, another American president. The couple had been married for 40 years and had six children. Over time, their relationship became essentially a political partnership due to Franklin's numerous affairs and his wife's ambitions.
One of the greatest composers in history also did not resist the temptations and completely succumbed to love. In 1707, shortly after taking up the post of organist at the Church of St. Vlasia in Muhlhausen, Bach married his cousin Maria Barbara Bach. Little is known about their life together. The couple had seven children, four of whom survived, and two even became composers like their father. Maria died 13 years later, and a year and a half later Bach married singer Anna Magdalena Wilke.
The English writer is considered one of the founders of the genre of science fiction. Being a doctor of sciences in biology, Wells actively supported all the theories of Charles Darwin, which inspired many works of science fiction.
In 1891, H. G. Wells married his cousin Isabella Mary Wells. The couple divorced four years later, after it became known that the writer had an affair with student Amy Robbins. Wells soon married her, and the couple had children.
Another president is on our list, this time the third — in the period from 1801 to 1809. A graduate of the College of William and Mary and a practicing lawyer, Jefferson became one of the authors of the Declaration of Independence. He married his widowed fourth cousin Martha Wales Skelton in 1772. The happy marriage, in which six children were born, lasted until Martha's death at the age of 33. Jefferson never married again, and the role of first lady in the White House was played by his daughter Martha Jefferson Randolph, named after her mother.
One of the most famous scientists in the world got married for the second time to his maternal cousin and paternal second cousin Elsa Einstein in 1919 after a seven-year relationship. The couple emigrated to the United States in 1933, and three years later Elsa died of heart problems. There were no children in this marriage.
The scientist was one of the most influential figures in world history. It is not known whether Darwin was guided by his principle of "survival of the fittest" when choosing a wife, but he married his cousin Emma Wedgwood. The couple had 10 children, three died in infancy, others were extremely painful, and the scientist was afraid that the reason was in a closely related relationship. Nevertheless, many of his children and grandchildren have achieved significant success in life.
The founder of the detective genre, Edgar Allan Poe, was born in Boston in 1809, earned his living as a writer until his death at the age of 40. At the age of 27, the writer married his 13-year-old cousin Virginia Klemm. After a secret wedding ceremony in 1835, the couple led a quiet and peaceful life. After five years of unsuccessful treatment, Klemm died at the age of 24 in 1847. It is believed that his wife's serious illness and alcohol abuse greatly influenced the work of the writer, who followed his wife two years later.
The American singer and one of the founders of rock and roll in 1957, at the peak of his career, married his 13-year-old cousin Myra Gayle Brown. Despite the assurances that the girl was still 15 years old at that moment, the musician's reputation was irreparably damaged. His songs stopped being put on radio stations, the public turned away from him. In the 1960s, Lewis regained popularity, but he never achieved his former glory.
In 1934, long before becoming the longest-reigning monarch, Elizabeth II met Philip, Prince of Greece and Denmark. The couple got married and had four children. Elizabeth and Philip are each other's fourth cousins.
Victoria became queen at the age of 18, after three older brothers and her father passed away, making her one of the youngest heiresses to the British throne. In 1840, the Queen married a cousin of Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. A 20-year marriage, in which nine children were born, turned out to be happy and durable. There was a place not only for love and duty to Great Britain, but also for dangers — the Prince Consort twice shielded the queen from a bullet. At the age of 42, Albert died of an infection, and Queen Victoria wore mourning for the rest of her life.
The son of the writer Alan Milne and the prototype of Christopher Robin in the collection of stories about Winnie the Pooh did not get along well with his parents, obviously due to the fact that they were not too interested in him as a child, especially his mother. In 1948, Christopher Milne married his cousin Leslie Selincourt, despite the resistance of his parents. In 1956, the couple had their first and only daughter, Claire, who was later diagnosed with cerebral palsy. By the way, Christopher's mother did not talk to him for 15 years, until her death.