The Historical Figure Who Shares Your Zodiac Sign’s Traits
Aries: Leonardo Da Vinci (b. April 15, 1452)
As a fire sign ruled by the warrior planet Mars, Aries is passionate and confident—traits that are essential if a person desires to become one of the most admired painters of all time and one of the most innovative inventors in world history. Da Vinci’s artworks include paintings such as the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper. He is credited with inventing the concepts for the parachute, the helicopter, and the military tank. To round it all out, he was a pioneer in the study of human anatomy. If you’re an Aries, you would do well to emulate Da Vinci’s tireless quest for perfection.
Taurus: Malcolm X (b. May 19, 1925)
Tauruses are known for being smart and organized, but above all, the Bull’s defining character trait is their stubbornness. Born as Malcolm Little in 1925 when America was still segregated and opportunities were shut off to African Americans, it took young Malcolm a rare degree of bullish stubbornness to smash through societal barriers and forge a path as a fiery civil-rights leader. He overcame prison, converted to Islam, and used his oratorical skills to help raise the Nation of Islam’s membership from an estimated 1,000 to over 40,000. But his stubborn sense of right and wrong caused him to split from the Nation of Islam’s leader, Elijah Muhammad, who’d hid his extramarital affairs from the public. After visiting Mecca, Malcolm also realized that true Islam was for everyone—not only blacks, as Elijah Muhammad had taught. The whole way, his stubbornness guided his path.
Gemini: John F Kennedy (b. May 29, 1917)
Since they are ruled by Mercury, Geminis are masters of communication, and America’s 35th president achieved office through his powers of persuasion—powers which also helped him avert a string of potentially devastating military conflicts with the Soviet Union during his time in office. But Geminis are also notorious for having two personalities, which JFK also displayed—on one side he was a dedicated family man and national leader; on the other, he was a serial cheater who was privately prone to bouts of depression. But he will remain one America’s most-loved presidents because he kept the country safe at a time when nuclear devastation seemed inevitable.
Cancer: Helen Keller (b. June 27, 1880)
Cancers are the most emotional of the three water signs. When it comes to emotive capacity, no other sign can hold a candle to Cancer—they have an endless reservoir of the feels. Helen Keller, who became blind and deaf at the age of 19 months after suffering a horrible fever, had a dramatic breakthrough when her teacher, Anne Sullivan, used sign language to spell out the word “water” as cold water was running over Helen’s other hand. The experienced unleashed Keller’s inner genius and allowed her to devote her life to campaigning for those with disabilities, labor rights, women’s suffrage, and world peace.
Leo: Napoleon Bonaparte (b. August 15, 1769)
A fire sign ruled by the sun and symbolized by the Lion, Leos are the zodiac’s natural-born leaders. One of the most famous—and powerful–Leos in history was Napoleon, the diminutive military man who staged a coup only 10 years after the French Revolution and declared himself the country’s Emperor in 1804. His brazen lust for power led him on a series of stunning military victories that had him ruling nearly all of Europe. His bold sense of invincibility eventually got the better of him, though, as his ill-fated attempt to conquer Russia led to a series of setbacks and his eventual death in 1821 while exiled on a South Pacific island. The lesson all Leos can learn from Napoleon’s life is: “Be bold, but don’t be foolish.”
Virgo: Mother Teresa (b. August 26, 1910)
Virgos are not only renowned for their abiding sense of compassion and endless drive to for a better world; they are also methodical and organized. Born in Albania, the young girl whom the Catholic Church would posthumously canonize as Saint Teresa of Calcutta made it her life’s mission to feed, clothe, and help the poor in India’s most ravaged slums. But she was not merely motivated by humanitarian drives—her Virgo’s sense of efficiency led her to operate over 500 missions in 100 different countries. And since she took a vow of celibacy as a nun, it’s to be assumed that not only was she was Virgo—she was also a virgin.
Libra: Mahatma Gandhi (b. October 2, 1869)
Represented by the Scales, Libra’s defining trait is their undying thirst for peace and harmony. Born Mohandas Gandhi, this lawyer-turned-holy man earned the title “Mahatma” (Great Soul) because he led a world-changing and nonviolent civil-disobedience campaign that freed India from the shackles of British rule. He led a series of nationwide resistance movements that eventually led to his lifelong goal of self-governance for Indians. When Muslim nationalists used violence to deter Gandhi’s goal of a unified and peaceful India, he undertook several fasts in protest of the carnage, which eventually led to the partition of India from the new Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Gandhi’s endless mission of justice and peace made him India’s national hero.
Scorpio: Marie Curie (b. November 7, 1867)
Known for their passion, charm, and deep sense of mystery, Scorpios are trailblazers who go where no humans have dared to go before. During an oppressive era when women were expected stay at home and avoid paid work and higher education, Madame Curie blazed a trail for female scientists. To this day, she is the only person in history to win Nobel Prizes in two different categories—Physics and Chemistry. She discovered radioactivity and even coined the term “radiation.” She pioneered the use of X-rays. She was so dedicated to her work that she actually died as a result, falling ill and perishing in 1934 from radiation poisoning.
Sagittarius: Ludwig Van Beethoven (b. December 16, 1770)
Represented by an Archer who points their bow to the heavens and shoots an arrow into the sky, Sagittarians are celebrated for their endless curiosity and desire to explore. Ludwig Van Beethoven is widely deemed to be one of the greatest musical composers in history. The most amazing thing about his career is that he started going deaf in his mid-20s and lived the last decade of his life in almost complete silence. But due to a combination of sheer luck (Sags are ruled by Jupiter, planet of good fortune) and a desire to express the sounds inside his head to the world, many of his greatest triumphs were composed when he was almost completely deaf.
Capricorn: Martin Luther King, Jr. (b. January 16, 1929)
If Capricorns are known for anything, it’s their fierce determination to keep their eyes on the prize and achieve their goals no matter what gets in their way. No one else in history exemplified this trait better than MLK, Jr., who grew up in the segregated South, stuck to his dreams, and slowly chipped away at America’s institutional racism. Despite death threats and numerous arrests, he stuck to his vision of a more just America. In 1968, as he was broadening his outreach and striving for economic justice, he was tragically shot down in Memphis by a white gunman. But MLK has achieved something no other person ever did—he’s the only American who has a federal holiday named after him.
Aquarius: Abraham Lincoln (b. February 12, 1809)
This air sign is known for being disciplined and mature, but above all else, they are compelled to leave the world a better place than it was when they entered it. Routinely topping polls as America’s greatest president, Abraham Lincoln led America through its darkest crisis and kept the Union together throughout the Civil War, which remains by far its bloodiest and most fratricidal conflict. In the midst of the carnage, he issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which freed the slaves in the South. In early 1865 he urged Congress to pass the 13th Amendment, which permanently ended slavery. Few people would disagree that Abraham Lincoln made the world a better place.
Pisces: Albert Einstein (b. March 14, 1879)
A deeply spiritual water sign who is known for their selflessness, Pisces is widely heralded as one of the most creative and innovative signs. A Jewish man born in Germany, Einstein fled Nazi persecution in 1932 and eventually became a naturalized US citizen. Although he was rumored to be notoriously bad at math, his IQ has been estimated at over 200, and his theory of special relativity as embodied in the equation “E = mc2” is known as “the world’s most famous equation.” Although a pacifist by nature, Einstein encouraged US President Franklin Roosevelt to develop atomic weapons before the Nazis did, which is one of many reasons Germany lost World War II. Perhaps no one in world history was better at the Piscean art of “thinking outside the box” than Alfred Einstein.