5 Drunks Who Changed the World

Listed as one of the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art, the Dutch Post-Impressionist painter was also a tortured soul. He suffered from psychotic episodes and delusions, often made worse through heavy drinking. His drink of choice was absinthe, a highly alcoholic beverage known as “the green fairy”, which Van Gogh featured in numerous paintings. Van Gogh himself admitted that alcohol was “one of the great causes of my madness.” It’s been theorised by scholars that his underlying mental health issues were worsened by his addiction to alcohol, and in 1890 he took his own life by shooting himself in the chest.

The world-renowned novelist, Nobel Prize winner and American icon, whose style of prose changed literature and inspired a generation of writers, went about most of his adult life with a bottle of booze close to hand. Described as a “thinly controlled alcoholic” with a penchant for drinking sprees, Hemingway drunk as well as he wrote. With quotes such as “Write drunk. Edit sober” and “I have drunk since I was 15 and few things have given me more pleasure”, it’s not hard to imagine that he pretty much drank anything. Cocktails, absinthe, whiskey, beer, champagne, nothing escaped the lips of “papa” as he was often referred. In his later years he suffered from high blood pressure, liver disease and diabetes caused from accidents and years of heavy drinking. Like Van Gogh, Hemingway took his own life, shooting himself with a shotgun.

“When I was younger I made it a rule never to take strong drink before lunch. It is now my rule never to do so before breakfast.” WC

Voted as the country’s greatest ever Briton, Churchill kept the nation’s spirits high during its time in need. Speaking of spirits, Churchill often kept a glass of whiskey going throughout the day, especially during the war years. Although historian’s debate over whether Churchill had a drinking problem, one thing is for sure, he could certainly put them back with a famous stamina to boot. Along with the whiskey, Churchill enjoyed a white German wine called ‘Hock’ for breakfast, brandies and ports for lunch with “champagne at all meals & buckets of claret & soda in between.” Considering how much he drunk every day, his achievements in life are quite staggering!

By the age of 30, Alexander the Great had created one of the largest empires in the history of the world. Undefeated in battle, he is one of the greatest ever-military commanders in history. He also liked to drink…a lot, with some historians describing him as showing “the classic symptoms of alcoholism.” His drinking sessions didn’t always end well either. On one occasion, Alexander killed his friend Cleitus with a spear after getting into a drunken verbal altercation. Made all the more shocking is the fact Cleitus had recently saved Alexander’s life in battle! Although the exact cause of Alexander’s untimely death at aged 32 is unknown, with poison, malaria and typhoid being the most common theories, many agree that at the time of his death, years of drinking had probably taken a heavy toll on his general health.

He accompanied Neil Armstrong on the famous Apollo 11 mission and became the second person ever to set foot on the moon in 1969, marking one of the greatest ever moments in human history. But after touching back down on earth and leaving NASA, Aldrin struggled to find a purpose and found solace in the bottom of a bottle. His two autobiographies, Return to Earth (1973) and Magnificent Desolation (2009), detail his problems with depression and alcoholism, which contributed to the breakdown of his 21-year marriage in 1974. Another marriage and divorce followed suit, along with a period of unemployment and a short stint as a car salesmen. Finally in 1978, Aldrin faced his demons, sought help and went sober. He hasn’t touched a drink since.