Definition of eccentricity
Eccentricity is necessarily defined relatively. For the purposes of this article, an eccentric is someone whose behavior, beliefs and/or hobbies deviate in a significant way from the accepted norms of their society. He or she may be regarded as strange, odd or at least unconventional, irregular and erratic. Other people may regard the eccentric with apprehension but also with considerable amusement.
People behave in "eccentric" ways for many reasons. Sometimes, particular patterns of "eccentric" behavior can be a sign of mental illness. For example, many experts believe Howard Hughes suffered from the neurological effects of late-stage syphilis.
Sometimes eccentricity is clearly intentional. Some comedians behave in eccentric ways even off-stage for professional reasons—to maintain their funny public image. Some entertainers and artists like Salvador Dalí use eccentric lifestyle to draw attention to themselves and exploit the common perception that creativity and madness are closely related. Athletes may behave in aggressive ways because it is part of their image as "tough guys" and as a way to intimidate their opponents.
There are historical cases where an eccentric may have taken the mantle intentionally for religious reasons (Russian Yurodivy, for example) or used it as an unusual way to make a semblance of living. Some of their contemporaries may have regarded them with religious devotion.
Other so-called "eccentrics" behave the way they do simply because they care little about societal pressures against their behavior. What other people think often does not matter to them.
Further insight in the complex relations between madness, eccentricity and the perception of deviant behavior by mainstream society can be found in A social history of madness by Roy Porter (1987 - ISBN 0297795716). This book also treats several examples of "famous" people ending up in asylums, as a result of their eccentric behavior, e.g. Schumann.
Persons whose habits, appearance, or beliefs have often been described as eccentric include:
Architects
- Antonio Gaudi, Catalan-Spanish architect
- Charles Ribart, 18th century French architect who designed a building shaped like an elephant.
See also: by George R. Collins et al. ISBN 0810909146
Aristocrats
- Ludwig II of Bavaria, also known as Ludwig the Mad, builder of Neuschwanstein Castle
- William Thomas Beckford, builder of Fonthill Abbey
- Lord Cornbury, British governor in America whose political foes claimed, falsely, that he was a transvestite
- Francis Henry Egerton, 8th Earl of Bridgewater who organized banquets for dogs
- John Mytton, English squire who would ride a bear
- Matthew Robinson, Lord Rokeby who wanted to be amphibious
- William John Cavendish Bentinck-Scott, 5th Duke of Portland in UK who liked to live underground, and preferred not to be seen; built an entire underground mansion, painted it pink, and filled it with brown wigs packed lovingly in cardboard boxes
- Stephen Tennant, English aristocrat who spent his life in bed
Artists
- Brigid Berlin Warhol superstar, actor, artist
- Ivor Cutler, Scottish poet, musician and thinker
- Salvador Dalí, Spanish surreal artist
- Alfred Jarry, French playwright
- Edward Leedskalnin, Latvian-born sculptor who built a castle in Florida
- William MacGonagall, Scottish poet
- Edith Sitwell, British poet who recited her first poem through a curtain and claimed to be descended from Plantagenets
- Andy Warhol, New York artist and social commentator
- James Whistler, US painter
Athletes
Business
- "Judge" Roy Bean, US saloonkeeper and arbitrary judge who called himself "The Law West of the Pecos".
- E. H. Bronner, US soapmaker who covered his product's packaging with dense text expounding his philosophical views
- Timothy Dexter, US businessman who literally sold coal to Newcastle
- Hetty Green, US businesswoman famous for her stinginess; her estate was more than $100,000,000
- Howard Hughes, US industrialist and aviator who became a recluse and feared germs
- Bernarr McFadden, US publisher and fanatical fitness proponent
- George Francis Train, US businessman who circled the world four times
Entertainers
- GG Allin, punk rocker
- The Great Antonio, Canadian strongman
- Syd Barrett, British psychedelic musician
- The Cherry Sisters, whose performances were typically met with a barrage of thrown vegetables
- Robert Coates, "Worst actor on Earth"
- Roky Erickson, US rock singer
- Glenn Gould, Canadian classical pianist, Bach interpreter
- Louis T. Hardin, street musician called The Moondog
- Michael Jackson, US pop singer, likes to be like a child and be with children; has had multiple facial surgeries
- Keith Moon, drummer for The Who
- Anton Newcombe, US rock singer, of the Brian Jonestown Massacre
- Oofty Goofty, entertainer posing as a "wild man from Borneo" who claimed to feel no pain
- Ol' Dirty Bastard, US rapper famous for a series of bizarre public actions and legal trouble
- Lucia Pamela, American musician
- Sun Ra, American jazz musician
- Edie Sedgwick, model, actor
- Phil Spector, producer
- Stanley Unwin, comedian and wordsmith
- Ed Wood, independent film director
Political leaders
- Idi Amin, president of Uganda, self-proclaimed "Conqueror of the British Empire"
- Jean-Bédel Bokassa, president of the Central African Republic who had himself crowned "Emperor"
- Farouk, the last King of Egypt and an accomplished pickpocket
- Lord George Gordon, who insisted on reading out long irrelevant pamphlets in Parliament, and led a riot which killed or injured 450
- Enver Hoxha, leader of Albania
- Kim Jong Il, leader of North Korea, noted for his movie collection, cognac consumption, platform shoes and "pleasure squad"
- Ludwig II of Bavaria, also known as Ludwig the Mad, builder of Neuschwanstein Castle
- William Lyon Mackenzie King, Prime Minister of Canada who consulted mediums to communicate with his deceased mother
- Maximiliano Martínez, President of El Salvador, who believed that hanging colored lights in San Salvador would cure a smallpox epidemic
- Matayoshi Mitsuo, Japanese politician who calls himself Matayoshi Jesus
- Saparmurat Niyazov, President of Turkmenistan, renamed months of the year after his family and declared himself "President for Life" and "Father of All Turkmen," among other things
- Miguel Primo de Rivera, Prime Minister of Spain, known for walking around in his underwear and never taking a shower
- Screaming Lord Sutch, British founder of the Monster Raving Loony Party
- Charles Taylor, President of Liberia
- Joshua A. Norton, who declared himself "His Imperial Majesty Norton I, by the Grace of God, Emperor of the United States, and Protector of Mexico"
Inventors
Occultists
Main article: List of occultists
Pranksters
Religious
Scholars and scientists
Main article: Mad scientist
- Jeremy Bentham, British philosopher who wanted himself mummified
- James Burnett, Lord Monboddo, Scottish judge and scholar
- Martin van Butchell, British dentist who put his dead wife on display
- Horace Donisthorpe, myrmecologist
- Paul Erdős, Hungarian mathematician
- Kurt Godel, Austria mathematician
- John Forbes Nash, American mathematician
- Francis Galton. British scientist
- Oliver Heaviside, British scientist who replaced his furniture with giant granite blocks
- Patrick Moore, British astronomer and xylophonist
- Gene Ray, discoverer of the Time Cube
- Josef Maria Wronski, Polish mathematician
Writers
- William Blake, British poet
- Truman Capote, American author
- Samuel Taylor Coleridge, British poet
- Gerard de Nerval, French poet and lobster fancier
- Edgar Allan Poe, American author, critic and poet
- J.D. Salinger, American author and recluse
- Horace Walpole, British novelist
- Oscar Wilde, Irish playwright and poet
- Tom Wolfe, American author
Others
- Patch Adams, US doctor and clown.
- David Belasco, US writer and producer, wandered New York dressed as the Bishop of Broadway
- Harry Bensley, UK adventurer known for being the subject of a notorious wager
- Bill Boaks, UK road safety campaigner and election candidate who set records for the fewest votes
- Robert "Gypsy Boots" Bootzin, American fitness pioneer
- Ian Brackenbury-Channell, a.k.a. The Wizard of New Zealand
- Beau Brummell, British fop
- Ferdinand Cheval, castle-building French postman
- Collyer brothers, US recluses and hoarders
- Fred Crisman, paranormal enthusiast
- Quentin Crisp, English homosexual activist
- Daniel Dancer, stingy British farmer
- John Patrick Ennis, known as Sollog
- Bobby Fischer, chess prodigy
- James Hampton, janitor who secretly built a throne from scavenged materials
- William Hung, former American Idol star noted for his boldness along with his lack of talent.
- David Icke, conspiracy theorist who proclaimed himself 'son of the Godhead' and wore only turquoise
- Florence Foster Jenkins, US lady who thought she could sing
- Stanley Marsh 3, best known as sponsor of the Cadillac Ranch
- Edward Wortley Montagu, who wanted to be an Ottoman prince
- Cecil G. Murgatroyd, Australian/New Zealand satirical political candidate
- Archimedes Plutonium, "The King of Science"
- Dr. William Price, who refused to treat smokers and carried out an impromptu cremation of his baby son
- Geoffrey Nathaniel Pyke Difficult to categorise but tried to use opinion polls to prevent World War II among other unusual ideas.
- John Roche, Irishman who built a castle for himself in County Cork
- Richard S. Shaver, US author who believed the earth to be controlled by sadistic inner-earth dwellers operating mind-controlling ray machines
- William James Sidis, US secluded autistic genius
- Viv Stanshall, notable English eccentric
- David Sutch, British founder of Official Monster Raving Loony Party
- John Cleves Symmes, US proponent of a Hollow Earth Theory
- Orelie-Antoine de Tounens, French lawyer and adventurer
- Edmund Trebus, Polish-British compulsive hoarder
- Charles Waterton, English explorer who improved on nature
- Sarah L. Winchester, US heiress who continued construction of her house for 38 years to confuse the spirits
see also Impostors
Bibliography
- Le livre des bizarres (in French) - Guy Bechtel and Jean-Claude Carrière, Robert Laffont, Paris (1981)
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