List of virgins

From Free net encyclopedia

Current revision

This is a list of noteworthy historical and legendary figures who have been famous for their virginity, or who have widely been believed to be virgins for an unusually long length of time—typically for the span of their lives, and with long enough lives to make this significant. The list does not include figures who are not unusual in their virginity, such as children.

Religious and mythological figures

Many religions have long considered sexual abstinence a virtuous way of life, and so a large number of famous virgins throughout history, legend and mythology have been spiritual and religious figures.

Christian saints and monastics

• Saint Agnes-Almost escaped execution due to her virginity.
• Aloysius Gonzaga-Said to have taken a vow of chastity at 10 years old.
• Anthony the Great-By tradition (Little to nothing of his first 20 years is certain)
• Saint Apollonia-Counted as a virgin martyr
• Saint Bernadette-Had religious visions that started at the age of 14, and became a nun at 22.
• Dorothea-Name of two separate virgin martyrs
• Maria Goretti-Stabbed to death at 11 for refusing sexual advances. (Noteworthy as a symbol of purity, as an 11-year-old dying as a virgin is in itself not unusual)
• Hildegard of Bingen-A nun who lived in a convent from the of age eight
• Jesus Christ (disputed by a relatively small minority)
• Joan of Arc-Investigated during her trial and confirmed
• Margaret of Antioch-Called the virgin, killed for refusing a marriage that would have ended her celibacy.
• Mary, the mother of Jesus (disputed, although she is commonly referred to as The Virgin Mary.)
• Paul of Tarsus-Unmarried on conversion, advocated celibacy, and lived strictly according to rules against pre-marital sex before then.
• Rose of Lima-Devout as a youth, never married, and became a nun at 20.
• Mother Teresa-Felt a vocation at 12, became a nun at 18.
• Teresa of Avila-Ascetic from an early age and a nun.
• Thérèse de Lisieux-From the age of nine she asked to be a nun and stayed celibate.
• Saint Wenceslas-Died in his twenties, was a devout Roman Catholic throughout life, and was never married.

Buddhist monks and lamas

• Buddhadasa - A bhikkhu since twenty and celibacy is expected in this role.
• Hsing Yun - Joined a Buddhist monastery at 12 and has stayed a monastic for the last 66 years.
• Kalu - Lived as a monastic or religious hermit from 15 until his death.
• Kumarajiva - Buddhist religious student at age 9, ordained at 20, and one for life.
• Linji - Monastic, generally of a strict kind

Hindu saints and spiritualists

• Adi Shankara, Hindu saint
• Dayananda Saraswati, Hindu social reformer
• Jayendra Saraswathi, renowned Shankaracharya
• Chinmayananda, Hindu saint (after becoming the saint)
• Paramahansa Yogananda, Hindu mystic and yogi
• Sri Aurobindo, Hindu saint
• Swami Vivekananda, Hindu saint

Ancient Greek and Roman figures

• Diogenes of Sinope (Noted for masturbation, though)
• Sophocles
• The Vestal Virgins

Rulers, politicians, and activists

This includes activists, freedom fighters, politicians, leaders and rulers believed to be virgins.

• Vinoba Bhave, Indian freedom fighter and social reformer
• Boleslaus V of Poland
• Queen Elizabeth I, Queen of England (disputed)
• Adolf Hitler, German dictator (disputed)
• Samuel J. Tilden, American politician and 1876 presidential candidate. He died a bachelor and confided to a friend that he had never slept with a woman in his life. Template:Citation needed
• Ann Widdecombe, British politician. A strict Roman Catholic who has not married.
• Maximilien Robespierre, French revolutionary.
• Charlotte Corday, French terrorist
• Mikhail Bakunin, Russian anarchist
• Charles II of Spain

Artists (actors, models, writers, etc)

This includes actors, comedians, authors, poets, critics and musicians believed/confirmed to be virgins.

• Jean Alexander, actress (Coronation Street, Last of the Summer Wine)
• Hans Christian Andersen, author
• Jane Austen, British novelist
• Jorge Luis Borges, Argentine writer
• Anne Brontë, British novelist and poet
• Emily Brontë, British novelist and poet
• Anton Bruckner, Austrian composer
• Lewis Carroll, author and logician
• Leonardo da Vinci, Italian architect, musician, anatomist, inventor, engineer, sculptor, geometer, and painter.
• Henry Darger, outsider artist
• Edgar Degas, French painter and sculptor
• Glenn Gould, pianist
• Samuel Hardy, prolific writer of the Victorian period
• Henry James, American-born English novelist
• Adriana Lima, Brazilian supermodel (confirmed by herself in April 2006 GQ magazine cover feature) "Sex is for after marriage. [Men] have to respect that this is my choice. If there's no respect, that means they don't want me." [3]
• Morrissey, English singer (disputed) (not according to his biography) [1] [2]
• Flannery O'Connor, author
• Fernando Pessoa, Portuguese poet and writer
• Denise Pfeiffer, writer and model
• John Ruskin, art critic

Scholars

This includes mathematicians, philosophers, scientists, and other thinkers and inventors believed to be virgins.

• Thomas Carlyle, Scottish essayist, satirist, and historian
• Henry Cavendish, English physicist and chemist. (Little social life of any kind and he avoided women, but is not believed to have been homosexual either. Most likely he was asexual.)
• Paul Erdős, Hungarian mathematician
• Anna Freud, Austrian-born British psychoanalyst
• Kancha Ilaiah, Dalit scholar
• Immanuel Kant, German philosopher and scientist
• A P J Abdul Kalam, notable Indian nuclear scientist, current President of India
• Søren Kierkegaard, Danish philosopher and theologian (disputed)
• John Harvey Kellogg, American inventor of corn flakes and campaigner against all forms of sex
• Florence Nightingale, English pioneer of modern nursing. She was also a noted statistician.
• Isaac Newton, English physicist
• Nikola Tesla, Serbian inventor

Other

• Ed Gein, serial killer
• J. Edgar Hoover, FBI director (disputed)
• Joseph McCarthy married Jean Kerr (his secretary) when he was 44. He and his wife adopted a baby girl in January 1957. (disputed)
• Friedrich Nietzsche (disputed)
• Bao Xishun, The world's tallest man. According to China Daily Website “Bao Xishun, 55, from China is 2,36m tall but has never married or even dated because of his extreme height” (2006-03-24 14:42).

References

• Wallace, Irving & Wallace, Amy & Wallenchinsky, David (1981). The Secret Sex Lives of Famous People.

See also

• Asceticism
• Celibacy
• Asexuality
• Historically significant eunuchs
• Involuntary celibacy
• Monasticism
• Skoptzy
• Sexual abstinence
• Shakers