Famous Historical Figures You Didn’t Know Were Related
Some family trees seem primed for the history books, from the Medicis and Habsburgs to the Rockefellers and Kennedys. These historical relations prove that family does indeed matter. Take for instance the two father-son duos that became U.S. Presidents: John Adams and John Quincy Adams, and George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush. There’s also Queen Victoria of England’s many grandchildren to consider. These famous cousins — among them King George V of Britain, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, and Tsar Nicholas II of Russia (by marriage to Victoria’s granddaughter Alexandra) — went on to rule much of Europe.
Other famous family connections aren’t as obvious, such as the relationship between the real-life inspiration for Dracula and Queen Elizabeth II, or the distant connection between two trailblazing women, Amelia Earhart and Laura Ingalls Wilder. Here are five of the most surprising family ties in history.
Queen Elizabeth II and Dracula (Vlad the Impaler)
One of Europe’s most mild-tempered monarchs was distantly related to none other than Vlad III, more commonly known as Vlad the Impaler, a ruthless 15th-century Romanian prince who likely inspired Bram Stoker’s Dracula. The relation comes from Queen Elizabeth II’s grandmother Mary of Teck (a princess from Germany’s Württemberg dynasty), who was the wife of England’s King George V. Mary of Teck was a descendant of the merciless Romanian ruler, who had a reputation for executing many of his subjects. The surprising connection between Vlad III and the British royal family has also been acknowledged by Queen Elizabeth II’s son King Charles III, who owns a home in Transylvania (where Vlad once ruled) and is involved in conservation efforts to save the region’s forests.
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Robert E. Lee and George Washington
These two Americans were born in Virginia’s Westmoreland County 75 years apart (in 1732 and 1807, respectively), and served as senior generals in two of America’s most influential wars — the Revolutionary War and Civil War. Confederate General Robert E. Lee married Mary Anna Randolph Custis, the daughter of Martha Washington’s grandson (from her first marriage). This means he was also related, by marriage, to the first President of the United States, George Washington. And the unlikely connection between the two figures doesn’t stop there. After the Civil War, Lee became president of Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia, which was named after both men.
Amelia Earhart and Laura Ingalls Wilder
Aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart and acclaimed author Laura Ingalls Wilder are both renowned figures of the 20th century. They’re also distant relatives. Amelia Earhart is remembered as the first female pilot to complete a solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean. Further proving that adventure runs in her bloodline, Earhart is a descendant of Mayflower passenger Richard Warren, and Wilder is descended from the same man. Though the relation is distant (possibly eighth cousins once removed), there are some undeniable similarities between the two women. Both are from Kansas, the setting of part of Wilder’s most famous book, Little House on the Prairie, and Wilder published her first book, Little House in the Big Woods, in 1932, the same year that Earhart made her famous transatlantic flight.
Queen Elizabeth I and Mary, Queen of Scots
Two of the most famous female monarchs in history were first cousins once removed — despite the fact that they never met, and one ordered to have the other executed. Mary, Queen of Scots, was the daughter of King James V of Scotland and his French wife, Mary of Guise. Her great-uncle was King Henry VIII of England, the father of Queen Elizabeth I (whose mother was Anne Boleyn). Mary and Elizabeth shared the same royal grandparents, King Henry VII and Elizabeth of York, but the cousins were forced to be enemies due to years of violent wars over the English and Scottish thrones. After decades of keeping Mary imprisoned for fear that she would overtake England, Elizabeth ordered the execution of her cousin at Fotheringhay Castle in 1587.
Presidents James Madison and Zachary Taylor
The fourth President of the United States, James Madison, and the 12th President, Zachary Taylor, were second cousins. They share a great-grandfather, Colonel James Taylor of Virginia. The two politicians were alive at the same time and were known to correspond occasionally. Madison, one of the Founding Fathers, created the framework for the U.S. Constitution and also had a hand in initiating the War of 1812 against Great Britain. Taylor was a member of the Whig Party and died 16 months into office in 1850. He was a soldier in the Confederate Army during the Civil War and later became one of the top generals in the Mexican-American War. In 1849, while serving as President, Taylor held a funeral in Washington, D.C., to honor his late cousin’s wife, Dolley Madison.
Conquistadors Hernán Cortés and Francisco Pizarro
Francisco Pizarro and Hernán Cortés were 16th-century Spanish conquistadors known for colonizing much of Peru and Mexico, respectively. They were also distant cousins. The family connection was through Cortés’ maternal grandmother, Leonor Pizarro, who was related to Pizarro’s ancestors. The duo didn’t work together but traveled to Central and South America around the same time. Pizarro conquered the Inca Empire and founded the city of Lima, Peru, while Cortés overthrew the Aztec Empire and took control of Mexico for the Spanish crown. Pizarro was killed in his palace in Lima in 1541 by rival conquistador Diego de Almagro. Cortés wished to return to Mexico before his death, but he died in 1547 in Seville, Spain, disgraced after being accused of poisoning the colonial governor, Luis Ponce de León.
Writers Mary Wollstonecraft and Mary Shelley
This talented mother-daughter duo is credited with writing some of the most celebrated works in English literature, though their styles and subjects are very different. Mary Wollstonecraft was an early feminist who penned 1792’s A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, a scathing review of gender inequalities, which argued that young girls should receive the same education as boys. It is among the first prominent feminist works, and Wollstonecraft is regarded as one of the founders of feminist philosophy. Her daughter, who was also named Mary Wollstonecraft and became Mary Shelley upon her marriage to poet Percy Shelley, became a famous writer in her own right. But Shelley took a different path than her mother, gravitating toward fiction. She published her most famous novel, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, in 1818. Like her mother, Shelley was considered a trailblazer in her writing discipline, and Frankenstein is regarded as one of the first science fiction novels.
