Many important figures in world history were actually huge drunkards. Musicians, writers, artists but also politicians and warlords.
While art is usually a matter of opinion, Pablo Picasso was without a doubt one of the greatest painters of the 20th century. The born Spaniard was also pretty hooked on absynthe, a drink that also inspired painters like Vincent van Gogh, Edgar Degas, Paul Gaugain and Édouard Manet. To describe his relationship to ‘the…
All through history it seems drinking was mainly a hobby of men. Sure, women of lower classes could hit the bottle too, but in most cultures and societies it wasn’t very ladylike to get absolutely smashed. Unless you’re the queen of Egypt of course, a culture that was quite fond of drinking. Cleopatra VII was…
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk is the national hero of Turkey. He was an army officer, a revolutionary, founder of modern day Turkey but above all one hell of a drinker. The man drank a liter of raki, the Turkish national liquor, a day. Probably also the reason why he died only 57 years old from a…
Jan van Speijk was one of the first national heroes of current Holland. In 1831 he blew up his ship along with the whole crew in the port of Antwerpen, rather than to see it in the hands of the rebellious Belgians. In the young new state – Holland became independent in 1815 after being…
Have you ever heard of Peter the Great? If so, you probably know he was the Russian emperor, or tsar as they call it, from 1682 until 1725. He got his nickname The Great not only for his impressive physique, but also since under his reign the Russian Empire became very prosperous. He founded Saint…
Lords of the Drinks 