Don’t look too horrified- it is actually legal to marry a first cousin in some countries. History has seen its share of such famous people who got married to their relatives.
1. Jesse James
Jesse James was a gang leader who was born in 1847. He married his cousin- a woman who was so close to the family that she was named after his mother. The couple had two children and lived happily ever after till the gang leader died in 1882.
2. Franklin D. Roosevelt
This former American president and was fondly referred to as FDR during his time. He had met Eleanor when they were children but the two met again at a dinner hosted by Franklin D. Roosevelt’s fifth cousin and Eleanor’s mother’s brother. Even though his mother was fiercely against it, the two got married in 1905 and gave birth to six children.
3. Johann Sebastian Bach
John Sebastian Bach is a well-known composer and violinist who built the foundation of the Baroque period. He was tied in holy matrimony to his second cousin, Maria Barbara Bach in 1707 but sadly, she died 13 years into the marriage. The brilliant organist did not waste too much time after and was remarried by 1722.
4. H.G. Wells
H.G. Wells was an exceptional author and is said to have given rise to the genre of science fiction as we know it today. He married Isabel Mary Wells, his first cousin but the marriage ended after three years. He will always be remembered for his work, out of which The Time Machine was the best.
5. Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson held the presidential term for 8 years and was America’s third president. He married Martha Wayles Skelton Jefferson, his third cousin when he was 29 years old and they gave birth to six children. She died eleven years later and he never got married again.
6. Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein was a brilliant scientist but many people don’t know that he was an extremely unfaithful man and could not help but cheat on his wives and girlfriends. He married Elsa, his second cousin after leaving his first wife. Elsa passed away 17 years later and he got involved with a number of women till his death. Now why would anybody want to have a relationship with such an odd looking man?
7. Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin came up with the theory of evolution and natural selection. He also married his first cousin and they had ten children.
8. Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe is a world-renowned poet who moved in with his relatives when his mother died and his father abandoned him. He was 20 years old at the time and found himself falling in love with his 7 year old cousin. He waited for 6 years after which the two got married.
9. Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis is 74 years old and was one of the earliest pioneers of the genre of rock and roll. He got married to Myra, his cousin in 1957 and that combined with the fact that the girl was only 13 years old created a lot of controversy and the singer lost a lot of respect among his fans. He had two children with her.
10. Rudy Giuliani
Rudy Guiliani married a woman who he thought to be his third cousin. They found out later that she was actually his second cousin!
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