Random Firsthand Descriptions Of Historical Figures As Children (14 items)

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  (#3) Henry VIII of England

  • Dec. at 56 (1491-1547)

  Dutch humanist Desiderius Erasmus met the future King Henry VIII in 1499. Henry was only 8 years old at the time (although the scholar believed Henry was 9), and Erasmus described him as "having something of royalty in his demeanor, in which there was a certain dignity combined with singular courtesy."

  During their initial interaction, Erasmus had no gift to give young Henry, something that troubled him greatly. Erasmus later sent Henry a poem, one that was accompanied with a letter praising the boy for his "splendor... authority... and liberality."

  Erasmus and Henry struck up a friendship of sorts, one that resulted in continued correspondence and affection between the two men and their associates.
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  (#11) Martin Luther King, Jr.

  • Dec. at 39 (1929-1968)

  Martin Luther King Jr. was the child of Michael and Alberta King. He was named after his father, but both King men referred to themselves as Martin Luther King as early as the 1930, an homage to the Reformation theologian.

  As a boy, King Jr. endured the strict discipline of his father. King Sr. later recalled, "He was the most peculiar child whenever you whiped him... He'd stand there, and the tears would run down, and he'd never cry."
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  (#5) Joseph Stalin

  • Dec. at 75 (1878-1953)

  Born Joseph Vissarionovich Djugashvili on December 18, 1878 (December 6, according to the "Old Style" calendar Russia used before adopting the Gregorian calendar in 1918, or December 21, 1879, to take the official date later put forward by Stalin), the future Joseph Stalin was a complicated child. 

  Nicknamed Soso, Stalin did well in school, was creative, and even had a wonderful singing voice. Stalin's former singing teacher, Simon Gogchilidze, noted the lad's "beautiful, sweet voice" and how "people would turn up just to watch him sing."

  Stalin was religious, "clever," and a bit of a teacher's pet. That said, Stalin was also quick to take charge - and even stir up some trouble - when he felt it was warranted.

  On one occasion, when one of his teachers tried to punish his schoolmates for speaking their native Georgian language, Stalin threatened the man's life. Stalin skipped school when faced with singing a song he didn't want to sing and even insulted instructors to their faces. 

  Perhaps one of Stalin's former classmates, Josef Iremashvili, said it best: Stalin "was the best but also the naughtiest pupil." 
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  (#9) Theodore Roosevelt

  • Dec. at 61 (1858-1919)

  Born in 1858 and called "Teedie" by those close to him, Theodore Roosevelt was quite sickly as a child.

  At birth, Teedie was said to be "as sweet and pretty a young baby" as his grandmother had ever seen. Teedie's mother, Mittie, remarked that her son looked "hideous" and like "a terrapin."

  "A little beauty" as a toddler, Teedie began to experience symptoms of asthma by age 3. While in Europe at the age of 11, Teedie's asthma was so bad that he spent his nights struggling to breathe, having "to sit up in bed... After a strong cup of black coffee the spasmodic part of the attack ceased and he slept; consequently woke up partly restored."

  Roosevelt himself remembered the trip, recalling how it was plagued by health troubles. Later, when doctors suggested his emotions were tied to his asthma, the future Rough Rider and US president even noted his own "doleful" demeanor before a flare-up struck.
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  (#4) Mahatma Gandhi

  • Dec. at 79 (1869-1948)

  As the youngest child of Karamchand Gandhi and his fourth wife, Putlibai, Mohandas Gandhi entered the world on October 2, 1869. Raised alongside his female cousins and sisters, Mohandas was "restless as mercury" during his childhood.

  His older sister Raliat recalled:

  [Mohandas couldn't] sit still even for a little while. He must be either playing or roaming about. I used to take him out with me to show him the familiar sights in the street - cows, buffaloes, and horses, cats and dogs... One of his favourite pastimes was twisting dogs' ears.
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  (#6) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

  • Dec. at 35 (1756-1791)

  According to Marianne von Berchtold, her brother Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgang Gottlieb Mozart showed musical talent from a very young age. As a fellow musician, Marianne learned to play the clavier alongside her younger brother Wolfgang. She later recalled, "The boy at once showed his God-given [and] extraordinary talent."

  Both Marianne and Wolfgang were taught by their father, Leopold. As Marianne, age 7, and Wolfgang, only 3 at the time, learned to play the keyboard instrument, the latter thought that "it was so easy."

  According to Marianne, Wolfgang "learned a piece in an hour and a minuet in half an hour... he made such progress that at the age of 5 he was already composing little pieces, which he played to his father who wrote them down."

  Once Leopold, a violinist and composer in his own right, presented his talented children to the public, most of the descriptions of both focused on their musical abilities. One brief physical note, however, indicated that, at the age of 9, Wolfgang had "hardly grown at all."

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