Hot Dead Guys: Lewis Powell

What’s most unfortunate about today’s Hot Dead Guy is that there is really only one photo of him available, and it’s a mugshot. But, nonetheless, feast your eyes upon this:

This is Lewis Powell, a man who became a Hot Dead Guy in the prime of his life, at the tender age of 21. Why, you ask? Because he was one of this conspirators in the plot to assassinate President Lincoln of course. Can’t you tell that this is the scary, albeit hot, face of an assassin?

Biographers of Powell describe him as a quiet, introverted boy who enjoyed fishing and caring for sick and injured animals. Awww, I’m smitten. He fought in the Civil War and became a POW of the Union troops after being injured at Gettysburg, but was able to escape with the help of a volunteer nurse at the hospital where he was kept. He then made his way to Virginia, where he joined a Confederate Calvary group called Mosby’s Rangers. His fellow rangers described him as “chivalrous, generous, and gallant.” Tell me more. But, alas, in 1865 Powell deserted the Confederate cause and crossed lines into the Union. When he signed the Oath of Allegiance to the Union, he used the alias “Paine.” That’s pretty hot if I do say so myself.

Now before you get all worked up that I’m calling an assassin a Hot Dead Guy, let me clarify that it’s not that bad…but it’s pretty bad. Powell did not directly have anything to do with Lincoln’s death, but he is responsible for the death of Secretary of State William Seward. He gained entry to his house by stating he had a prescription that Seward needed to take. Once inside, Powell was confronted by Seward’s son. To get around him, he hit him violently over the head with his revolver. Then, he slashed Seward’s bodyguard in the forehead with a bowie knife. Finally, arriving inside Seward’s bedroom, Powell screamed, “I’m mad! I’m mad!” and stabbed Seward several times. He then fled and of course was later captured and executed.

OK, so it’s always nice when these Hot Dead Guys have outstanding character traits to back them up, but things need to be spiced up every now and then. So what if Powell’s a cold-blooded killer? He’s also chivalrous, gentlemanly, and cares for sick animals. If you’re still not convinced, just look at that face!

Hot Dead Guys: Hans Scholl

Ryan and I just returned from a few days in D.C. visiting new friends and seeing the sights. Let me tell you, the Smithsonians are a great place to discover hot dead guys, so I’ve got several new posts in the works. The Holocaust Museum reminded me of today’s featured Hot Dead Guy: Hans Scholl.

Hans and his sister Sophie were the founding members of The White Rose, a student-led resistance movement against the Nazis. As students at the University of Munich, they published and distributed anti-Nazi leaflets. These leaflets advocated passively resisting the Nazis. Scholl’s downfall came when a custodian at the university spotted him and Sophie throwing leaflets from the atrium in the university’s main building and gave their names to the SS. They, along with Christopher Probst were arrested and beheaded on February 22, 1943. Scholl’s last words were “Long live freedom!”

What’s not to love about Hans Scholl? He stood up for what was right at a time when it was extremely unpopular and dangerous to do so, and it eventually cost him his life. During my semester abroad in Germany, our group was able to go on a tour of the University of Munich in order to learn more about The White Rose, and even meet one member of the group who is still alive. I vividly remember standing in that atrium and thinking about the implications of The White Rose’s actions. I felt quite overwhelmed by their bravery and decision to act. I typically think of college students as fairly forward-thinking and quick to act and speak out in the fact of injustice, but in Nazi Germany it was much easier and of course safer to just go with the flow and not speak out. I personally admire all members of The White Rose for their courage and bravery. But that Hans, he’s a hottie on top of it all.

Hot Dead Guys: Frederick Douglass

Since my dear blogger friend Katie is linking me and my Hot Dead Guys over at Unapologetically Mundane, I’d better get a new hottie up and running, huh? Let me waste no time in presenting Frederick Douglass – orator, minister, reformer, champion of equal rights for women and African-Americans, and hot dead guy. I’m not even sure where to begin with the hotness in this one. It’s hot enough that he cared enough about the equality of all people and spent his entire life fighting for this equality. He made such strong contributions to the abolitionist movement that he became known as “The Lion of Anacostia.” Rawr.

But let’s not stop there. He didn’t shy away from learning how to read and write, even though this was very much forbidden for a slave. He began learning from his master’s wife, and then continued to teach himself by learning from the white children in the neighborhood and through observation of words around him. He went on to teach other slaves how to read. Nothing is hotter in my book (get it?) than self-taught literacy and sharing of that knowledge. At the young age of 16, Douglass was nearly psychologically damaged from the regular beatings he received from his master, yet one day he decided to fight back. He was successful, and his master never whipped him again. I think it goes without saying that we all love a man who will fight for what is right. Douglass eventually escaped to freedom on his own by disguising himself as a sailor and catching a train. A man in uniform is definitely hot, particularly when that man is escaping to freedom.

Douglass’ hotness didn’t stop once he became free. Remember, this guy basically taught himself to read and write. He went on to write his famous autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, which some did not believe a black man actually wrote on account of it being so eloquently written. Hot. The success of the book made Douglass quite popular, which also put him at risk for being caught as a runaway slave and returned to his master, but he pressed on, risking his own life. Double hot. Douglass even publicly criticized President Lincoln for being “the white man’s president” and for not being quick to join the emancipation effort. That takes guts, and I call it hot.

If you still have doubts about Douglass’ hotness, just look at the man, because that’s what this is really all about anyway. First of all, the man has great hair, and who doesn’t love that? Secondly, I just love his determined look. There’s a fire in his eyes, and I don’t know of anything hotter than fire, do you? But there’s a smugness in his expression as well, and I’ll admit that I’ve been known to find hotness in a smug man. After all, when you’ve got it, you know it, so why not let the world know too. You’ve got it, Frederick Douglass. Thanks for sharing it with the rest of us and letting us lust after your hot, dead self.

Hot Dead Guys: King Henry VIII

I’m going to give you a moment to absorb this hunk of a man….

Yes, King Henry VIII is my newest hot dead guy – do you have a problem with that? What’s that? He’s not hot, you say? Oh…well…about that. I have a new obsession. It’s a little Showtime series called The Tudors. Mmmmhmmm. So I am going to contend that Henry VIII is a hot dead guy because to me, currently, he is.

And frankly, I can come up with some reasons why he qualifies, no-so-hotness factor aside. This was a man who knew what he wanted and got it no matter what. That’s fairly hot. (Ignore the fact that what he wanted was generally a divorce or beheading or something.) And I suppose in part I have him to thank for the fact that I am now part of the Anglican church. That’s hot. (Ignore the fact that he didn’t really do anything he did for a religious reason.)

OK, I give up, he’s not hot at all, and being his wife would have sucked, but I like to imagine that all the portraits we have of him are inaccurate. Of course this isn’t hot:

But that’s Henry in his older years. Surely Showtime has it right.

Hot Dead Guys: Felix Mendelssohn

I’m finally back at the hot dead guys with a delicious composer: Felix Mendelssohn! This guy has pretty much everything I’m looking for. First of all, he’s German, and I do have a soft spot for those Deutsch men. I like to imagine him helping me with my pronunciation. Also, he was a child prodigy, giving his first public concert at the age of nine. I don’t honestly think I can keep up with that kind of talent, but it’s fun to pretend. He came from a wealthy, highly intellectual family, which I’m certainly not going to complain about. In addition to being a world-renowned composer, Mendelssohn, or Felix as I like to call him, was a skilled artist in both watercolor and pencil, and could speak English, Italian, and Latin, in addition to German. Where do I sign up for this renaissance man?

But the hotness does not stop there. While many of Felix’s musical contemporaries were leading flamboyant lifestyles, he kept it fairly low-key and was a family man (except for that possible affair, but we’ll discuss that momentarily). Although he disapproved of many of his contemporaries and their music, he was typically on friendly terms with them, only badmouthing them in letters behind their backs. Politeness = hotness, and who doesn’t love a good two-face? And now for the icing on the cake (pun intended): this guy composed The Wedding March! Um, seriously hot. The song all women hear as they walk down the aisle to meet their true love, looking completely gorgeous, all eyes on them on their special day, that song was composed by Felix!

Okay, so Felix does have one bit of a drawback, but I’m still going to find the silver lining: he may or may not have had an affair with a famous Swedish soprano named Jenny Lind. According to an affidavit from Lind’s husband, Felix repeatedly asked her to elope with him to America. Well…okay…that sort of requires me to dock him some hot dead guy points, but it’s still a little sexy, right? I mean put yourself in Jenny’s shoes for a moment. This studmuffin artist – composer, painter, romance-language-speaker – who incidentally has fabulous hair, keeps whispering in your ear, “Run away with me to America. We’ll start a new life there. I will compose songs for your beautiful voice.” What’s that I hear? Silence? Yeah, because you’re considering it, I know. Felix is hard to resist.

Basically, I’ll be honest, I think he looks sort of like Adrien Brody, and Adrien Brody is at the tip top of my Hot Live Guys list, so therein lies the attraction. But he’s not just a pretty face. I mean, check him out in the photo below. Wouldn’t you want to show up at the party with this guy?!

Hot Dead Guys: Franklin Pierce

It’s time I gave “Hail to the Chief” a hot, dead spin! Of course the natural choice for a hot, dead president would be JFK, but I’m not into that clean-cut Catholic boy look. Nah, gimme Franklin Pierce any day. This guy is hot! Let me explain.

First of all, he’s the only president from New Hampshire, so I have to give him points for that. I imagine men from New Hampshire to be rugged and manly. But I’m a Southerner at heart, so Pierce’s being labeled as a “doughface” (a Northerner with Southern sympathies) truly appeals to me. Pierce was a man of many firsts while in office: the first president to affirm the oath, rather than swear by it, placing his hand on a law book instead of the Bible (love it!), and also the first president to recite his inaugural address from memory. Pierce selected men of all different backgrounds and opinions for his cabinet, despite much criticism, yet they were able to work together. That’s my man!

One story about Franklin Pierce particularly revs me up, though. Pierce was not a fan of Abraham Lincoln, and during the Civil War he openly attacked Lincoln for suspending habeas corpus. Pierce stated that even during a time of war a country should not abandon its protection of civil liberties (I concur!).  So, on April 16, 1865, when the news of Lincoln’s assassination spread, an angry mob gathered outside of Pierce’s house demanding to know why his house was not dressed with black bunting and American flags. Pierce came outside to calm the crowd. He explained that he was saddened by Lincoln’s death. A voice then cried out, “Where is your flag?” Pierce became angry and told of his family’s long devotion to America, including his and his father’s military service. He stated that he needed no flag to show loyalty to his country. Is it getting hot in here or what? I love a man who stands up for what he believes in.

Other hot facts about Pierce include his being nicknamed “Baby” Pierce (love a man with a nickname), he was inoffensive and made friends easily, and he was an alcoholic (I like a man who will buy me a drink, but death by cirrhosis is not so hot). Philip and Peter Kunhardt wrote in The American President that Pierce was “a good man who didn’t understand his own shortcomings. He was genuinely religious, loved his wife and reshaped himself so that he could adapt to her ways and show her true affection. He was one of the most popular men in New Hampshire, polite and thoughtful, easy and good at the political game, charming and fine and handsome. However, he has been criticized as timid and unable to cope with a changing America.”

Basically, he is my husband Ryan in an earlier form. Seriously. Except the alcoholism.

If I have not yet convinced you to fall in love with Franklin Pierce, would you just look at that hair? It’s a beautiful, wavy beast of a thing.

Hot Dead Guys: Jack Kerouac

Jack Kerouac is best known as the father of the Beat movement, and while being the founder of a ground-breaking movement gets you major hotness points in my book, he’s got more going for him than just notoriety and rugged good looks. To me, he’s kind of got that bad boy thing going on, and speaking as a good girl myself, we all secretly want the bad boy.

I was pretty much sold on the bad boy thing already, but a quick glance at his Wikipedia page gave me even more to swoon about. Kerouac often gave conflicting stories about where he came from. Hot. He was bi-lingual. Double hot. He was honorably discharged from the Navy during World War II on psychiatric grounds, being diagnosed with “schizoid personality.” Hot. He was a witness to a murder his friend committed and helped dispose of evidence. So hot.

Even if you’re not into the whole bad boy thing, he’s still totally hot. I mean, look at the fact that he wrote constantly, taking his notebook everywhere. That really revs up this English teacher, I assure you. Or take into consideration the fact that he had an influence on numerous great authors, like Hunter S. Thompson and was friends with Allen Ginsberg.

I figure Kerouac is kind of the Justin-Bobby of Lowell, Massachusetts. And if you get that reference then congrats, we can be best friends for life.

I’d go on a road trip with you, Jack. All you have to do is ask, which I suppose will be difficult from six feet under…

Hot Dead Guys: Gregory Peck

I’ve had a thing for Mr. Gregory Peck for quite some time now. It all started with Spellbound, a Hitchcock thriller co-starring Ingrid Bergman (that lucky dog!), and of course was only heightened by Roman Holiday (I hate that Audrey Hepburn!). If that wasn’t enough, he played the legendary role of Atticus Finch for goodness sake! How can you not be in love with this man?

His film repetoire is quite impressive, but so is his off-screen reputation. In 1947, he signed a letter admonishing a House Un-American Activities Committee investigation of reported communists in the film industry. He was outspoken against the Vietnam War, and made himself an enemy of Richard Nixon due to his liberal activism – a turn-on for sure. I love a man who stands up for what he believes in.

And I love Gregory Peck. Too bad he died the same year I graduated high school. I think it’s his boyish good looks I love the most. So let’s enjoy them, shall we?

You know, Gregory Peck is even the type of man that makes me want to say, “Baby, how’s about you puttin’ on that Revolutionary War costume tonight?” Oh yeah…

Hot Dead Guys: Walt Whitman

I was thumbing through the poetry section of my 8th grade textbook today when I came across a photo of Walt Whitman I had never seen before. He looked downright fiiiine, so I figured I should pay him homage by adding a new feature here at mere musings (after all, it is my blog). So, I present to you my newest feature: Hot Dead Guys.

Walt Whitman is totally hot on a number of levels. I mean there’s the obvious literary attraction – father of free verse, neither transcendentalism nor realism, arguably the greatest American poet of all time. Then of course “Song of Myself” only gives him further hotness points. I mean, who doesn’t love an amazingly groundbreaking poem chock full of ego and attitude – just what I want in a man. Whitman wrote and spoke against slavery, so we know he had a good heart, and reportedly Bram Stoker’s character of Dracula was based on Whitman, so basically he was a pre-cursor to Edward Cullen, who is every woman’s desire. What’s not to love? I feel like the famous photo below really says it all. He’s got attitude, suave, finesse. In a word, hotness.