The Beatles: The Best Band Ever (Interesting Biographies #14)

The Beatles is one of the best if not the best band ever. They set the standard for music and pop culture through their massive influence. No band has topped their fame yet, but why? Little darling, here comes the story of The Beatles.

The Beatles started in Liverpool when John Lennon in March 1957, began recruiting members for his band. Eventually, he teamed up with three other members and the group we all know as the Fab Four was created. It was Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Stuart Sutcliffe. Wait, Sutcliffe? Wasn't it someone else? Anyway, Sutcliffe is the one who came up with the name, "The Beatles". Originally he suggested the band be called "Beatals"  as a tribute to Buddy Holly and The Crickets. Then the band became "The Silver Beatles" and then they changed their name to "The Beatles". Sutcliffe also has credit for creating the classic hair cuts The Beatles had that we all love. In mid-August a drummer joined the band. I bet you know who it was. That's right, it was Pete Best! Wait, did you expect someone else? The band performed at several clubs the next two years and became popular in Liverpool. During this period Sutcliffe left the band to pursue his art studies in Germany. Boy, did that guy miss out. Eventually, The Beatles made a record deal with George Martin of EMI.

The Beatles first recorded at EMI's Abbey Road Studios in London on June 6, 1962. However, Martin was not satisfied with Best's drumming skills, so The Beatles replaced Best with Ringo Starr (there is the fourth member we all know). Hear that haters? Starr literally replaced the Best. In February 1963, The Beatles recorded ten songs for their debut album, "Please Please Me". It included two songs that had been released as singles a month earlier: "Love Me Do" and "Please Please Me", which had moderate success. Those song titles aren't exactly proper grammar. The album released in March and met with success, remaining at the top of the charts in the UK for thirty weeks. In April the band released their third single, "From Me To You" and their fourth single called "She Loves You" reached the top of the charts with their fourth single receiving the fastest sales of a record at the time.

(The Beatles' first album, Please Please Me.)

On February 7, 1964, the Beatles landed in New York's John F. Kennedy Airport to begin their conquest of the United States of America after their band had gained popularity in the U.S. in December. They became even more famous after they appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show with 70 million viewers watching them. This began the phenomenon known as Beatlemania. In March and April, United Artist Records convinced the band to sign a three-motion-picture deal because of the commercial potential for their songs. During those months The Beatles shot their first film, A Hard Day's Night, which was a mock-documentary on the band. It was a success when it premiered in July and August in the U.S. and U.K. In August the Beatles met famous musician Bob Dylan, whom introduced them to cannabis. I guess The Beatles weren't kidding when they said they got "higher with a little help from my friends".

In July 1965, The Beatles released their second album called, "Help!". This album highlighted the McCartney-Lennon song writing partnership in songs like Help!, Ticket To Ride, and Yesterday. In December they released their third album, "Rubber Soul", which included famous songs such as In My Life that showed the maturity and growth of the band. In June 1966, The Beatles released a compellation album for the U.S. called "Yesterday and Today" that caused an uproar for its gruesome cover art. The idea of the cover was supposed to be a satirical response to how the U.S. was butchering their albums. They ran into more U.S. controversy when Lennon made a comment during an interview stating The Beatles were "More popular than Jesus". It was supposed to be more of a humorous remark by commenting on how their concerts were more packed than churches. However, in the eyes of Bible Belt America, The Beatles were spawns of Satan. Just imagine how Fox News would have reacted to that comment. In response, Bible Belt Americans burned Beatles albums and banned their music from the radio. If Lennon had said "To teenage girls we are more popular than Jesus", maybe he would have gotten away with it.

(The cover of The Beatles' compellation album, "Yesterday and Today. Quite gruesome isn't it?)

In August, The Beatles released their next album, "Revolver".  This continued to show the band's maturity and experimentation with psychedelic rock. Then in June of 1967, they released their next album, "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band". This album is considered the greatest album of all time. In 1968, The Beatles released a successful film called Yellow Submarine. Then they released their next album, "The White Album", while it was successful it was not critically received well for it lacked creativity. Also the cover of the album is incredibly lazy. The making of "The White Album" is marked as the beginning of the break up of The Beatles. Tensions were growing high as the band members were becoming annoyed with each other. Also Lennon began to bring his girlfriend, Yoko Ono to the recordings. We all know what that's like when your friend is dating and they show off their date everywhere. In September they released their next album, "Abbey Road", which quickly rose to number one. It was a miracle that album was made considering how much the band members hated each other at that point. In May of 1970, The Beatles released their final album, "Let It Be". A month earlier the world was brought the most devastating announcement since the Kennedy Assasination. McCartney had announced his departure from The Beatles and soon all the other members left as well.

(The album cover to The Beatles' "Abbey Road".)

What happened to the members? John Lennon had is own successful solo career, but he was assassinated in December 1980. George Harrison also had a successful solo career, but he died in November 2001 due to lung cancer. Paul McCartney is still alive and has had a successful solo career. Finally, Ringo Starr is also still alive and had a briefly successful solo career, but now is the guy people go to in order to find out about the more popular members of The Beatles.

Why are The Beatles the most successful band in history? Why is it we don't have a artists like The Beatles in today's time? First of all The Beatles set the standard story for all bands. Start off your career with some love songs, have a documentary film about you, do some controversial stuff, get hooked on drugs, and break up. No band has strayed from this formula unless they just fade into obscurity like Click Five.

The closest thing we have to The Beatles today is One Direction, which is sad because it shows how much popular music has deteriorated over the years. Anyway, when The Beatles first started they were a simple boy band, whom sang love songs that filled the fantasies of teenage girls. One Direction is doing the same thing right now. Will One Direction mature like The Beatles did? Probably not. Why? The answer is the market. When The Beatles were around their was major changes taking place in America. President Lyndon B. Johnson had the War on Poverty, Civil Rights, and the protests against the Vietnam War. The Beatles became the people's voice of these issues and that sold a lot of money. In today's world we obviously still face major issues, but political music doesn't sell. Sex, drugs and partying does. Yeah, there are songs that relate to issues like gay marriage out there, but they are not rebellious in nature. We need a band or artist that is not afraid to be like, "FU!" to the government. For example when the NSA scandal was uncovered did you hear any artists sing about it? When is the last time you heard a political song on the radio? I don't know why, but artists have not been allowed to express those beliefs. I would think a producer could make more money on an artist that is outspoken than a restricted one. If you watch The Beatles in their interviews, they are smart and funny. They aren't afraid to mock the U.S. We need more artists like that in the world. No artist really stands out on top today because music wise they don't stick out from everybody else. There is a good chance I will not see a band like The Beatles in my lifetime and that is sad.

This has been the fourteenth installment of my Interesting Biographies series. Follow my blog for more entries in the future. Also check out my previous biographies. Leave a comment if there is someone you want me to do a biography on.

Pablo Picasso: One of the Most Inspirational Artists of the 20th Century (Interesting Biographies #13)

Pablo Picasso was one of the most influential painters of the twentieth century because of his innovations and experimentation. Behind the great paintings are a great story that reveals an interesting look inside this weird man.

Pablo Picasso was born Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Crispiniano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso on October 25, 1881, in Malaga, Spain. He was given many names to honor different saints and relatives. but that doesn't justify how ridiculously long it is. It's not like someone would actually call his by his full name. His first word was "piz, piz", which his mother claims was sort for the Spanish word for pencil, "lapiz". Or he just had to pee, but that wouldn't sound as pleasant. Picasso's inspiration came from his father, whom was an art painter and professor. By age 13, it is said Picasso had surpassed his father. His dad was so humiliated he vowed to never paint again. What a great lesson to teach your son, "if there is someone better than you, give up". Picasso was also so good he got into the School of Fine Arts his father worked at, however he lacked discipline. At age 16, Picasso enrolled at the Royal Academy of San Fernando, but dropped out because he was too cool for school.

In 1900, he moved to an apartment in Paris, France with his friend Max Jacob. 1900-04 is known as Picasso's Blue Period because he painted his paintings in red. Just kidding, obviously it was because he painted his paintings in blue. 1904-06 is known as Picasso's Rose Period because of the cheery colors of orange and pink. 1907-09 was known as his African-American Period, not because he became black, but because his art was inspired by African-American artifacts. During this period he painted one of his famous paintings called Les Demoiselles d'Avignon.

(Picasso's Les Demoiselles d'Avignon displays his weird taste in women.)

In 1909, Picasso along with Georges Braque (but no one cares about that guy) invented Cubism. Mixing cubism and serialism along with inspiration from the German bombing of Guernica, Picasso painted Guernica.

(Picasso's Guernica.)

In his personal life, Picasso was a player.  He had affairs with women that were much younger and older than him through out his entire life. Hugh Hefner would be jealous of this guy. As a result he painted several pictures of women such as the Weeping Mistress and Le Reve.

(Picasso's Le Reve is said by critics to be a picture of Picasso's erect penis. Do you see it?)

Picasso died on April 8, 1973, in Mougins, France.

This has been the thirteenth installment of my Interesting Biography series. Follow my blog for more entries in the future. Also read my previous biographies. Leave a comment if there is someone you want me to do a biography on.

Marie Antoinette: The Most Hated Queen Ever(Interesting Biographies #12)

Marie Antoinette is known for saying, "Let them eat cake" even though she never said that. If TMZ existed in her time, she would be the scapegoat of the show. She was so unpopular people even tried to kill her. Why was she so hated and was she hated too much?

Antoinette was born a princess on November 2, 1755,  in Vienna, Austria. Her dad was Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor and her mom was Queen Maria Theresa of Hungary and Bohemia. Fun fact, she was born the same day the Great Lisbon Earthquake, when fires and tsunamis almost completely destroyed the Portugal city. If that was not an obvious symbolism of the French Revolution in the future, I don't know what would have been. The only thing her education covered as a youth was how to behave like a princess, so she watch the Princess Diaries daily. She did learn how to play musical instruments such as the clavicord (whatever that is) and the harp.

(Antoinette at age thirteen, looking like a grandma.)

On April 19, 1769, she was married to Louis XVI, the future king of France. She was fourteen, which might seem young, but is only two years younger than the average Disney princess. On June 11, 1775, her husband became the king of France. Immediately, she was pressured into producing a heir. However, Louis did not know how to have sex. Their relationship was like Steve Urkel marrying Paris Hilton. Louis' friends had to tell him how to have sex. If you thought your parents were putting pressure on you to have children, just imagine how it must have felt for Antoinette to have an entire country pressure her. Antoinette did not help her image out by buying lavish clothing and gambling money while the people were living in famine. She gave birth to a daughter on December 19, 1778. Antoinette was like, "Look people, I gave birth to a child just like you wanted." The people responded, "We wanted a MALE heir, not a girl! Go have another baby!" Considering how rough of the birth was she was not looking forward to going through it again. She gave birth to a son on October 22, 1781. The only job a queen had was give birth to a son. She had no real power or influence.

(Antoinette and her husband, Louis.)

As the financial situation in France kept getting worse and no reforms were being made, the queen became involved with politics. One major reason was to save her reputation because there had been a recent scandal, which today is known as the Affair of the Diamond Necklace. The queen was accused of not paying the crown jewelers for a necklace they made for her. On top of that there was a lot of bad gossip surrounding the queen related to sexual activity.

On July 14, 1789, the French Revolution began with the destruction of the prison called Bastille. Violence started as a result of Louis' failure to provide more rights to the people. As a result, Louis signed the Deceleration Rights of the Man and Citizen, declaring men had certain universal rights and a constitutional monarchy was born. However, that didn't end the revolution because a bread shortage drew people mad again. On October 5, an angry mob stormed into the Palace of Versailles where the royals and powerful people were living. The mob successfully drove the royals and most of the French Assembly back to Paris, which is where they were supposed to be. In Paris the royal family were under watch 24/7 under house arrest. Antoinette was accused of several sex scandals and hit tabloids harder than Britney Spears. On the night of June 20, 1791, the royals tried to escape from Paris by disguising themselves as servants to spark a counter-revolution. However, the king was recognized and the escape failed.

(The angry mob storms into the palace, but they don't look that angry in this picture.)

On September 21, it was officially declared the French monarchy was over and the National Assembly became the head power in France. King Louis was put on trial in December for his crimes and was found innocent. Just kidding, of course they found him guilty and had him executed on January 21, 1793. As a result Antoinette went into mourning and her health deteriorated.  The National Assembly debated on what they should do with the queen. Ideas ranged from execution to trading her for money. Eventually, she was tried on October 14, with less than a day to prepare her defense, but it's not like it would have made a difference. She was tried for incest with her son, assassination attempts, massacres, money theft, and planning orgies. To no one's surprise, she was found guilty and was executed on October 16.

(Antoinette's execution.)

Marie Antoinette was the easiest target for the French media. All of the accusations of her sexual activities were false including the one that claimed she had sex with her son. I'm not saying Antoinette is not guilty of being a bad queen. While the queen did not have much power, she should have at least fought for her people. She and the rest of the royals should have been more aware of the poverty that surrounded them. To be fair, part of this is because Louis and Antoinette were trained to behave like royals, but not on how to take the responsibilities of a royal. They had no guidance to make good choices. Giving the circumstances it is easy to see why the French media was angry and insulted her constantly. What is famously known about her comes from the rumors. In today's media we can see the same thing from TMZ reports on celebrities to Fox News on President Obama. It shows how much influence the media has and how they can create a false image of a person that becomes accepted.

This has been the twelfth installment of my Interesting Biographies series. Follow my blog for more entries in the future. Also read my previous biographies. Leave a comment if there is someone you want me to do a biography on.

John Brown: Hero or Terrorist? (Interesting Biographies #11)

Was John Brown a hero or a terrorist? He tried to end slavery, but used violence and killed people. Brown is like John Lennon if he spread his message through riots instead of music. He's the only white guy Malcolm X approved. Brown believed violence and fear was the only way to make change happen. Was he right?

Brown was born on May 9, 1800, in Torrington, Connecticut. When he was 16, he left his family in hopes of becoming a Congregationalist Minister. However, he ran out of money and had eye inflammations, so he had to move back in with his parents in Ohio. He opened a successful tannery of his own. He married Dianthe Lusk and moved to New Richmond, Pennsylvania. This guy was handier than Bob the Builder because he built his own barn, cabin, and tannery. He had seven children, but then Brown hit a rough spot in his life. One of his children died, he became ill, his business was not doing well, and his wife died. He remarried to Marry Ann Day, whom was 16 years old. Wait, Brown was 34 when he married her. That's weird, but at least she wasn't his cousin (looking at you Edgar Allan Poe). In 1836, Brown and his family moved to Franklin Mills, Ohio. Once again he opened up a tannery and once again he ran into financial difficulties. A year later Elijah Parish Lovejoy was murdered. Lovejoy was an newspaper editor and abolitionist that criticized slavery. He was killed by a pro-slavery group. When Brown heard the news, he vowed he would end slavery.

In 1846, Brown and his business partner, Simon Perkins moved to Springfield, Massachusetts. It was like the head quarters of the anti-slavery movement. He became a member of the "Free Church", where abolitionists came and gave speeches. He even spoke with Frederick Douglass. Brown and his partner ran a wool operation, but ran into financial disputes with Springfield marketers, whom were selling his wool for prices that were too cheap. Brown went to Europe to search for better business, but failed. He had to close his business and was faced with huge debt again. Poor Brown, he just can't run a business.

In 1850, the Fugitive Slave Act was passed, which stated authorities in free states had to assist slave states in capturing escaped slaves. In response to this Brown created the League of Gileadites to protect slaves escaping from Springfield. This was his first act in his abolitionist movement.

In 1855, the Kansas-Nebraska Act was passed that said Nebraska and Kansas were given the right to vote whether they would be a free state or a slave state. Pro-slavery supporters began to invade Kansas. Brown saw the corruption that was being committed and realized Kansas was practically being forced by pro-slavery supporters into becoming a slave state. On May 21, 1856, 800 pro-slavery supporters led by Sheriff Jones cause havoc in Lawrence, destroying a hotel and two printing presses. This angered Brown and he created a militia to fight back. Brown and his men killed five pro-slavery supporters north of the Pottowatomie River in Franklin County. However, it is disputed how involved or if Brown was involved in the killings at all. At the very least his followers caused havoc and murder following Brown's ideals.

The next few years Brown gathered money, weapons, and supporters. He allied with six wealthy abolitionists, which provided his financial backing for his plan for a certain raid. These men were known as the Secret Six, not to be confused with Doctor Octopus' Sinister Six. He met with famous figures such as Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and got some men from Harriet Tubman. Finally, after years of planning and preparation, Brown could commence his raid on Harpers Fairy, West Virginia. His ultimate goal was to start a slave revolt.

(It's Brown cosplaying as Radagast the Brown?)

On October 16, 1859, before the raid Brown and his men took several people hostage including Lewis Washington, the great-grandnephew of George Washington. They raided the arsenal of Harper's Fairy to get weapons. During the raid they killed a free black man, which was ironic. The next day, the community of Harpers Ferry set up their own militia. Brown battled the townspeople and relocated to a small engine house. The companions of Brown who tried to escape the house including his son were killed. President James Buchanan sent Brevet Colonel Robert E. Lee (yes, THE Robert E. Lee) and troops to take care of Brown. The next day, Brown was given a chance to surrender, but refused. Then an epic battle that lasted three minutes ensued. Brown and seven of his men were captured, five of his men escaped, and ten of his men were killed.

(An artist's depiction of the battle at Harpers Ferry.)

On October 27, Brown was put on trial in Virginia for the murder of four white men and one black man, conspiracy to start a slave rebellion, and treason. After a week, Brown was found guilty on all three accounts. This is not surprising when you consider he was tried in the state he attacked. That's like putting Osama Bin Laden on trial in New York. Brown was hanged on December 2, for his crimes.

In a sense John Brown was a terrorist. He and his buddies used violence and intimidation to try to achieve their political goals and they terrorized people. Brown's role in the deaths has been debated. His men defiantly killed people, but some historians claim Brown thought his men went too far. People defend Brown by saying he was fighting fire with fire. The pro-slavery guys attacked first and Brown was just defending abolitionists. Also just the fact that he was trying to end slavery justifies his actions and even those deaths. That makes him a hero. There is a very thin line between terrorist and hero in this case. It's all about perspective. No one was there when Brown made his decisions, so it's tough to decide. However, I will say that he did do more good than harm when you look at what happened after his death. The Raid on Harpers Fairy is on of the events that set of the Civil War and the Civil War ended up freeing the slaves. Then again I could say Adolph Hitler was a major cause of World War II and World War II was the reason the U.S. got out of a financial crisis and it led to the world we have today. Every historical figure has made a contribution that was better or worse for the world.

This has been the eleventh installment of my Interesting Biographies series. Follow my blog for more entries in the future. Also read my previous biographies. Leave a comment if there is someone you want me to do a biography on.

Harriet Tubman: The Black Moses (Interesting Biographies #10)

She deserved the name, "Moses". Harriet Tubman is not just a famous icon in Black history, but women history as well. She is one of the most import women in history, displaying bravery and determination. In honor of Black History month I decided to tell her story.

Tubaman was born as Araminta Harriet Ross in Dorchester County, Maryland. She was born into slavery as her parents were slaves. No exact record of her birth date exists, but historians put her birth year at 1820. Tubman showed signs early on as a rebel. When she was a teen she came across a slave, whom was being chased by his master. The master told Tubman to hold down the slave, but she refused. The master tried to knock out the runaway slave with a two pound weight, but nailed Tubman in the head instead. She never received treatment for her injury. She would work in the field as blood spilled down her face and have epileptic seizures. She began to have visions of God bringing messages to her. The same images Joan of Arc must have had.

In 1844, she married a black freed man named John Tubman. However, Tubman was still a slave, so any child she bore was bond to slavery. In 1849, Tubman became ill and as a result, the value she could be sold for decreased. Her master was furious. Tubman prayed to God for her master to be killed. The good news is her prayer actually came true and her master died a week later. The bad news is this made things worse for Tubman because now it was more likely she would be sold and separated from her family.

In 1849, Tubman escaped from slavery. She followed the North Star on foot and traveled 90 miles (145 kilometers) in five days and three weeks to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In December 1850, Tubman was informed her children were being sold in Cambridge. She went there and with the help of her friends she smuggled her children out. In the following spring she went back to Maryland to save other family members and slaves. In the fall she went back to get her husband, but he had married another woman, so she left him and saved other slaves instead.

Over the course of eleven years Tubman rescued around 300 slaves from Maryland in 19 trips. She nor the slaves she was freeing were ever caught. Tubman was able to avoid capture through the Underground Railroad. The Underground Railroad was network of secret routes and safe houses that assisted escaped slaves to the North. In April of 1858, she met abolitionist, John Brown. It was the civil rights equivalent of Superman teaming up with Wonder Woman. Together, they planned an attack that would inspire slaves to revolt. On October 16, 1859, after a year of planning, Brown along with other abolitionists and slaves attacked Harper's Ferry in Virginia. Tubman was not present during the attack. Which was good for her because the raid failed. Brown was captured and hanged.

In 1861, the Civil War broke out. She joined the Northern army and operated in Port Royal, South Carolina. She became the first woman to lead an armed assault in the war. On June 2, 1863, Tubman along with Colonel James Montgomery and his men assaulted a series of Confederate plantations along the Combahee River. The raid was a success. More than 700 slaves were freed. Tubman served as an active scout and nurse until the war ended in 1865 with the Confederates surrender. After the war she moved to Auburn, New York, where she would live the rest of her life.

(Tubman in her Civil War uniform.)

In the last years of her life Tubman spent it dedicated to the improvement of other people's live. She was a major activist for women's rights and setting up homes for poor African Americans. She died in 1913 of pneumonia at the age of 96.

This has been the tenth edition of my Interesting Biographies series. Follow my blog for more installments in the future. Also read my previous biographies. Leave a comment if there is someone you want me to do a biography on.

Terry Fox: Canada's Hero and the Most Inspirational Man Ever (Interesting Biographies #9)

Justin Bieber is the most well known Canadian celebrity today, especially with the youth. I decided this needs to be changed. Today, I will inform the public of Canada's hero, Terry Fox. His life is the most inspirational story I have ever heard.

Fox was born on July 28, 1958, in Winnipeg, Manitoba. His family settled in Port Coquitlam in 1968. Fox was a very athletic student in his school years, playing basketball, baseball, cross country, soccer, and rugby. In his senior year of high school he won the athlete of the year award. He attended Simon Fraser University.

In March 1977 Fox had severe pain in his right knee and went to a hospital to get it checked out. He was diagnosed with osteosarcoma. Fox had to amputate his leg and there was only a 50% chance he would survive. Fox survived the amputation and was able to walk three weeks after it. He now had an artificial leg.

His experience at the hospital made him realize how little money was dedicated to cancer research at the time. After being inspired from an article he read on Dick Traum, the first New York City amputee to run the New York City Marathon, Fox hatched an ambitious plan. He would run across the entire country of Canada to raise money and awareness for cancer. Fox wanted every person in Canada to donate at least one dollar, which would mean he would raise 24 million dollars for cancer research. The total length of his planned run was 5,000 miles (8,000 kilometers).

On April 12, 1980, Fox began the Marathon of Hope  in St. Johns, Newfoundland. 1/3 of the way into his journey he had collected over 200,000 dollars in donations. He also had the backings of almost 1,000 corporations that had pledged to donate two dollars for every mile Fox ran. Everyday Fox ran at least 26 miles. The toll on his body was huge. He suffered from several injuries and even got tendinitis, but Fox pushed through everyday, refusing to give up. As he ran his fame grew. Thousands of people would greet him when he arrived in their area. One day he visited a city and raised 100,000 dollars.

Unfortunately, the pain became too much. On September 1, Fox had to be dropped off at the hospital where he found out his cancer had returned and had spread to his lungs. Fox was forced to end his run 143 days in. He had ran 3,339 miles (5,373 kilometers). The disease took his life on June 28, 1981.

Fox is the prime example of the saying, "if you put your mind to it, anything is possible." This man put himself through hell everyday to improve the lives of others. What he did was unprecedented and has not been repeated. So lets spread the story of Terry Fox around the world. Please promote this post to other people. Let people think of him when they think of Canada and not Bieber.

This has been the ninth installment of my Interesting Biographies series. Follow my blog for more biographies in the future. Also read my previous biographies. Leave a comment if there is someone you want me to do a biography on.

Miyamoto Musashi: The Greatest Samurai Ever (Interesting Biographies #8)

This man never lost a battle in his life. If you are a fan of Shonen Jump, then you have probably read series such as Dragon Ball Z, Naruto, One Piece, and Rurouni Kenshin. Those series are full of heroes that know martial arts and have powers. Miyamoto Mushashi was the real life Shonen Jump hero that comes from history. His story has become a legend in Japan. He is the Japanese version of Hercules or Robin Hood.

Musashi's  story begins where ever he was born in 1584. It is unknown exactly where he was born. The two most likely places are Harima Province and Banshu. His father, Shinmen Munisai, was a master of material arts, the sword, and the jutte. His dad kicked ass and his ass when he trained him in swordsmanship and the jutte. Munisai stopped Musashi's training when Musashi was seven because it's hard to train someone when you're dead. After his father died, Musashi honed his skills in on his own.

At the age of thirteen in 1596, Musashi won his first duel. He had won against Arima Kihei. Kihei was a traveler,  whom would challenge people to duels in the towns he visited in order to improve his skills. When Kihei visited Musashi's town, Musashi challenged Kihei and Kihei accepted. Musashi fought Kihei using a six-foot quarter staff. Kihei arrogantly thought he would take down Musashi, but he was dead (emphasis on dead) wrong.  Musashi knocked Kihei to the ground and beat him to death with the staff in a finisher that would be put in a Mortal Kombat game. It's more disturbing that he was only thirteen at the time and already he was more messed up than Alex from A Clockwork Orange. 

In 1599, Musashi left his village and became a traveler. His goal was to fight in duels to become a master samurai. In 1600, he fought in the war between the Toyotomi and Tokugawa clans. Musashi fought on the Toyomati side. With such an amazing samurai on their side it is no wonder the Toyomati side....lost the war. Then Musashi fled after it was over.

At the age of 20/21, Musashi arrived in Kyoto and challenged the Yoshioka School in many duels to prove he was the best. He first dueled against the head of the school, Yoshioka Seijuro on March 8, 1604. Musashi arrived to the duel late because his strategy was to psychology weaken his opponent. By arriving late he greatly irritated Seijuro and made Seijuro's fighting style less tactical, making him more open. Granted showing up late to a duel a duel of honor is not exactly the honorable way to behave. After Seijuro's death, his brother, Denshichiro, challenged Musashi. Musashi arrived late once again and was easily able to defeat Denshichiro. Then he was challenged by the next head of the school, Matashiro, whom was twelve years old. The clan knew having a twelve year old fight Musashi would make the school lose all credibility, so they sent a bunch of soldiers to fight with him. Musashi defeated Matashiro and the soldiers as if he was Arnold Schwarzenegger from Commando. This battle is significant because it was the first time Musashi fought wielding two swords at once, a style he would be best known for.

(Musashi wielding two bokken just like he would with his swords.)

After taking out the main branches of the Yoshioka School, Musashi fought in 60 or more duels. His arguably most famous duel took place on April 13, 1612. He dueled Sasaki Kojiro, a famous swordsman. What Musashi did in this duel is controversial. He arrived late, which people find in this duel inappropriate because it was too disrespectful.  It's like if Micheal Jordan showed up hours late for an NBA slam dunk contest. Also it's not like he was Kakashi from Naruto.  Legend says Musashi disarmed and beat Kojiro to death with a wooden staff he made from an oar. It's a good thing Musashi didn't use wooden weapons often. With this record he would have become a murdering psychopath like Jason Voorhees.

In 1645, the Toyotomi and Tokugawa clans fought in another war. Once again he fought on the Toyotomi side. Over the next several years Musashi worked for different lords and daimyos. In 1643, Musashi retired from fighting to live in a cave named Reigando and there he wrote his most famous work, "The Book of Five Rings". In the book, he talks about how in order to become a master fighter, one must practice extensively everyday and focus their mind. Musashi died on June 13, 1645.

This has been the eighth installment of my Interesting Biographies series. Follow my blog for more biographies in the future. Also check out some of my previous entries. Leave a comment if there is a person you want me to do a biography on.