Some of history's most important people were blessed with red hair.
Queen Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I was Queen of England during the 16th Century and is famous for her bright red hair. Her greatest achievement was in leading the English to victory against the Spanish Armada. Elizabeth was the daughter of Henry VIII and his second wife, Anne Boleyn, and was known as the virgin queen as she never married, nor produced any heirs.
Christopher Columbus
The explorer Christopher Columbus was also a redhead. His voyage to the New World in 1492 in many ways marked the beginning of our current era of globalization. He was described as having “hair very red” and a face “somewhat ruddy and freckled”.
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the third president of the United States and was another who had red hair. He was responsible for drafting the Declaration of Independence and was a strong believer in the rights of the individual. He advocated the separation of church and state and believed that the British aristocratic system inspired corruption. He also had a deep distrust of banks and high finance.
Vivaldi
The Italian composer Antonio Vivaldi was born in Venice in 1678 and died in Vienna in 1741. He is now most famous for his work “the Four Seasons”. He was also a man of the church and became known as “the Red Priest” because of his fiery red hair and his electrifying performances as a violinist.
Galileo Galilee
Another Italian with red hair was the scientist Galileo. Famous for many scientific achievements, he is possibly most famous for discovering the four largest satellites of Jupiter and for observing the rings around Saturn. He also helped lay the foundations for modern science by espousing the virtues of observation and experimentation.
Richard the Lionheart
Richard I, more commonly known as Richard the Lionheart, was another who had red hair. He inherited his red hair from his father, Henry II, and acquired his nickname of Lionheart because of his escapades in the Third Crusade. Although he ruled England from 1189 CE to 1199 CE he never had much affection for the place and famously once quipped that he would quite happily sell London if he could find a buyer.
Boudicca
Boudicca is famous for leading a British revolt against Roman occupation in the first Century CE. She was queen of the powerful Iceni tribe and was described by the Roman writer Dio Cassius as being “tall and terrifying” in appearance and as having a “great mass of red hair”. She has since become synonymous with the ideals of freedom and independence.
Winston Churchill
Another British redhead associated with freedom and independence is the Prime Minister Winston Churchill. He was, of course, also famously bald. He is celebrated for leading Britain to victory over Nazi Germany in World War II and for his wit and indefatigable spirit during those testing times.
Emily Dickinson
Emily Dickinson was a 19th Century American poet. Famously reclusive, she published few poems during her lifetime, most of her work being published after her death. The vibrant red color of her hair can now be seen in a surviving lock of it she once sent to a friend. Incidentally, the poetess Sylvia Plath also had red hair.
Ramesses II
Ramesses II, also known as Ramses or Ramesses the Great, was a pharaoh who ruled Egypt for sixty-six years - from 1279 BCE to 1213 BCE. Often regarded as one of the greatest pharaohs, he is responsible for many of the temples and monuments in Egypt. He also founded Egyptian cities, including the city of Pi-Ramesses. Because of his red hair he became associated with the Egyptian god Set, a god synonymous with the color red.
