Think you and your spouse are one of history’s greatest couples? You’re not alone. Here is an overview of some of the most famous couples in history:
In 1629, a grieving widower sought to build a monument to the love of his life. They were married in 1612, when he was only fifteen years old. They had fourteen children in their short life together. Taking 20,000 workers and over 20 years to complete, the finished monument of white marble still sits today on its sand stone platform. The inside is decorated with the finest of precious stones, including turquoise, jasper, and rich agate. The gardens include four wonderful streams that channel water the entire circumference of the mausoleum, which features a 137 foot high dome. Beside it he planned to build a mausoleum form black marble for himself, but as luck would have it, the grieving widower was replaced by one of the very sons given to him by his bride. He spent the rest of his life imprisoned in a tower overlooking the monument, the Taj Mahal.
The revolutionary war kept her husband away from her during the early years of their marriage, and so, like the war brides of today, they spent as much time as they could by writing back and forth. This was unusual for the women of her day, for most of them could not read nor write. She taught herself as a child, though, and this is precisely what drew him to her. They were married for 50 years. Occasionally she was allowed to accompany her husband on diplomatic missions to Paris, were her intellect and soft spoken ways won the hearts of many a world leader. In 1801, his job was completed, and they resumed life on their farm in Quincy, Massachusetts. The couple? Mr. and Mrs. John and Abigail Adams.
When a young English girl married a German, she knew that he might be unpopular with her family and friends, but she loved him and depended on him heavily to help her make decisions regarding matters of state. They had nine children and he proved to be a loving father and devoted husband. When he died in 1861, she was so sad that she did not show herself in public for almost three years. She wore black all the way up until she died in 1901. Her reign as queen was the longest in England’s history. We speak of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.
Probably the most infamous couple in modern history was Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow. Bonnie was a poet, and her poem “The Ballad of bonnie and Clyde” is still a hit with crime buffs. At 4’11” and 5’7″, the tiny duo brought the Midwest to its knees during the great depression, as the most infamous bank robbers of the time. While the government hunted them, the public loved them, eagerly awaiting the newest edition of the paper to read about the modern day robin hood and his girl. The gang stole from the banks and gave to the poor, but Clyde Barrow often killed in cold blood as well. They said that the killings were not personal; it’s just what had to be done. They carried a Kodak camera with them and sent pictures of themselves often to the newspapers. The government ambushed them and shot them in their car on May 23rd, 1934.