Sir Isaac Newton, Emily Dickenson, And Other Famous People From History Who Likely Died Virgins

In 2026, we’re precise utilized to proceeding astir the highly progressive enactment lives of celebrated radical (even erstwhile we really, truly don’t privation to). Basketball fable Wilt Chamberlain, for illustration — seen beneath successful an perfectly ridiculous photograph playing softball with Playboy bunnies — famously claimed to person bedded 20,000 women successful his life!

But what astir celebrated figures from past who were the exact opposite? Here are 10 notable names that, by each disposable evidence, were apt lifelong virgins:

1. Sir Isaac Newton (1643-1727)

He is 1 of the astir celebrated names successful subject — everyone has heard the (likely apocryphal) communicative astir the pome falling retired of the tree, hitting him connected the head, and sparking his find of gravity — but he's besides astir apt the astir celebrated virgin successful history. Newton ne'er married, ne'er had children, and was ne'er romantically linked to anyone — determination weren't adjacent rumors! That unsocial is antithetic for a salient nationalist fig successful 17th-century England. But what truly seals it is the insubstantial trail. Newton died leaving down thousands of pages of letters, journals, and notebooks...all of which obsessed endlessly implicit mathematics, theology, alchemy, and petty rivalries (the antheral could clasp a grudge). But mentions of romanticist interest? Nope.

Biographers mostly describe him arsenic intensely private, socially withdrawn, emotionally isolated, and uncomfortable with intimacy. So, alternatively of putting effort into getting into a romanticist relationship, helium poured astir each of his vigor into enactment and spiritual obsession. Some modern writers person speculated that Newton whitethorn person been what we'd present picture arsenic asexual, but they're wary of making a retroactive diagnosis (after all, the dude has been successful the crushed for 300+ years).

2. American Olympian Lolo Jones

Now this is the 1 illustration of a surviving celeb connected the list. Lolo Jones created 1 of the astir talked-about idiosyncratic storylines of the 2012 Olympic rhythm erstwhile she openly admitted she was a virgin and intended to enactment that mode until marriage. Jones — a two-time Summer Olympian and aboriginal a Winter Olympian arsenic a bobsledder — told Bryant Gumbel, “It’s conscionable something, a acquisition that I privation to springiness to my hubby … It’s the hardest happening I’ve ever done successful my life. Harder than grooming for the Olympics.” Jones' determination to stay a virgin until matrimony is rooted successful her heavy content successful Christianity.

Eight years later, Jones said connected the Tamron Hall Show that she was inactive a virgin arsenic she approached 40, and that she froze her eggs to amended her chances of having a kid 1 day. "I don't privation different pistillate to consciousness stuck," she said. "Like they don't person powerfulness successful this situation." She added, "At 39, I felt the panic of everything coming down connected me."

3. American writer Emily Dickinson (1830 – 1886)

This 1 volition astir apt astonishment you, considering however emotionally charged her poesy was, but determination is nary credible grounds that Emily Dickinson ever had a carnal romanticist narration of immoderate kind. Here's the grounds (or deficiency thereof): Dickinson ne'er married. She was ne'er publically linked to a lover. By her mid-30s, she had mostly withdrawn from society. In time, she'd seldom permission her household location successful Amherst and often communicated with visitors from down closed doors. She besides dressed astir exclusively successful achromatic aboriginal successful beingness and lived a tightly controlled, ritualized existence. Huh.

Her writing, though, could beryllium intense, and her letters, particularly those addressed to her sister-in-law Susan Gilbert Dickinson, whitethorn person hinted astatine thing more. For example, successful 1 missive to Gilbert she wrote: “Susie, volition you so travel location adjacent Saturday, and beryllium my ain again, and buss maine arsenic you utilized to?” But overall, there's not overmuch written grounds of touch, sex, courtship, oregon carnal intimacy.

4. Serbian-American technologist Nikola Tesla (1856–1943)

Tesla's enactment connected alternating existent (AC), radio, and electrical powerfulness virtually changed the modern world. How galore radical tin accidental that? But different broadside of Tesla’s beingness — his emotion beingness — wasn't astir arsenic electric. Tesla ne'er joined oregon had immoderate known romanticist oregon intersexual relationships with men oregon women during his life. A large crushed why? He believed that abstaining from romance/sex really helped him absorption connected his technological enactment and invention.

In a 1924 interview with the Galveston Daily News, Tesla said, “Now the soft-voiced gentle pistillate of my reverent worship has each but vanished. In her spot has travel the pistillate who thinks that her main occurrence successful beingness lies successful making herself arsenic overmuch arsenic imaginable similar antheral — successful dress, voice, and actions, successful sports and achievements of each kind.” Make of that punctuation what you will, but it is often cited by biographers arsenic portion of Tesla’s broader mentation for wherefore helium was celibate. Tesla didn't person a person oregon partner, but helium did have...a achromatic pigeon. He cared for the pigeon successful his aboriginal years and told friends, “I loved that pigeon arsenic a antheral loves a pistillate … arsenic agelong arsenic I had her, determination was a intent to my life.” Well, okay!

5. Nursing reformer Florence Nightingale (1820-1910)

Florence Nightingale is similar the patron saint of nursing — her heroic enactment during the Crimean War and afterward, some helping patients and seeking reform, fundamentally created modern nonrecreational nursing. But 1 happening she didn't lend to is the stereotype of the sexy nurse...because she seems to person ne'er had a romanticist oregon intersexual relationship. Born into a affluent Victorian family, a teenage Nightingale believed she’d received a “calling” from God to assistance the sick and poor. Her parents wanted her to wed and rise a family, but Nightingale chose nursing instead, telling them she refused to marry. Historians enactment that determination were suitors — astatine slightest 1 salient person and writer projected — but Nightingale turned them down due to the fact that she believed matrimony would interfere with her “God-given work.”

Today galore wonderment if Nightingale’s adjacent friendships mightiness person contained romanticist elements — oregon whether she whitethorn person been aromantic oregon asexual — but, similar galore of the radical connected this database from the past, there's conscionable nary grounds to corroborate it. Some conjecture she whitethorn person been cheery and, times being what they were, was forced to softly prosecute emotion and sex. But you cognize what? If she were celibate, similar Tesla and Newton, they each changed the satellite for the better. If doing that meant sacrificing getting a small action, past we beryllium them a indebtedness of gratitude!

6. Peter Pan Creator J. M. Barrie (1860–1937)

The Scottish playwright and novelist champion known for Peter Pan had 1 of the astir antithetic idiosyncratic lives among large literate figures (and that's saying something). In 1894, Barrie joined histrion Mary Ansell, whom he’d met done the London theatre world. The wedding was humble and private, and the mates ne'er had children. What makes this matrimony peculiarly striking is that it was reportedly ne'er consummated. They separated successful 1909 aft Mary had an matter with different man, and grounds from the divorcement proceedings confirmed they never, you know.

In his fiction, Barrie seemed to research this magnitude indirectly: successful the semi-autobiographical caller Tommy and Grizel, a quality laments, “Grizel, I look to beryllium antithetic from each different men; determination seems to beryllium immoderate curse upon me… You are the lone pistillate I ever wanted to love, but seemingly I can’t.” After the divorce, Barrie became intimately progressive with the Llewelyn Davies family, particularly their 5 sons, who inspired Peter Pan. Over the years, determination person been a batch of innuendos suggesting helium was a pedophile, but nary grounds of intersexual maltreatment has ever been found.

7. Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875)

Hans Christian Andersen's penning — notably fairy tales similar The Little Mermaid oregon The Princess and the Pea — don't precisely shriek enactment oregon steamy romance. That’s fitting, because, similar chap writer J.M. Barrie, Andersen ne'er joined nor had a known intersexual narration successful his life. Andersen, who was apt bisexual, crushed hard connected some men and women, notably Swedish opera vocalist Jenny Lind and Edvard Collin, the lad of a Danish statesman. But his emotion for them was unrequited. Andersen pursued different men successful letters, but nary of those relationships were consummated either. So what's the woody with mediocre Hans? You'd deliberation helium would've been capable to find idiosyncratic to instrumentality his affections; helium was a celebrated author, aft all. Well, 1 mentation for his virginity is that helium was anxious and flustered astir enactment (whether owed to intersexual fear/aversion, guilt/shame, oregon aggravated sensitivity).

His diary entries (side note: Did EVERYBODY support a diary backmost past oregon what?) often picture him arsenic trembling and feeling overwhelmed successful intersexual situations, specified arsenic erstwhile men suggested they spell conscionable women, and helium yelled "No! No!" and ran home. Another entry tells how, astatine property 61, helium yet dared to measurement wrong a brothel, thing helium ever wanted to do, but failed to person sex: "Four girls came up to me; the youngest was nary much than eighteen. I asked her to enactment — she wore a elemental dress. I felt precise atrocious for her." He paid the madame 5 francs, but "didn't bash anything; conscionable looked astatine the mediocre child, who was wholly ashamed, and was amazed that I lone looked astatine her."

8. The Queen of England, Elizabeth I (reigned from 1558-1603)

Queen Elizabeth’s clasp connected the throne was ever tenuous. The girl of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, she was declared illegitimate aft her parents’ matrimony was annulled and her parent was executed. (Not to get excessively heavy into the royal weeds here, but the charges against Anne were mostly a sham, ginned up truthful Henry could wed idiosyncratic else.) And erstwhile Elizabeth yet did ascend to the throne — aft her member Edward VI and her sister Mary I some died — galore inactive didn’t presumption her arsenic their rightful ruler. So however did she negociate to reign for 44 years? One mode was by ne'er taking a hubby and branding herself arsenic the “Virgin Queen.”

But did the “Virgin Queen” virtually dice a virgin? Historians aren't sure. Some deliberation she was secretly getting enactment (or adjacent secretly married!), and constituent to her intensely adjacent affectional narration with Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. Contemporary observers gossiped endlessly astir their closeness, and overseas ambassadors routinely reported rumors that Dudley had entree to the queen’s backstage chambers precocious astatine night. Maybe, but nary of those claims person ever been substantiated with hard evidence. And nary surviving letters, aesculapian records, eyewitness testimony, oregon modern documentation beryllium that Elizabeth ever had a intersexual relationship. It's a precise existent anticipation that she did so ne'er suffer her virginity. Sex, aft all, would beryllium a existent menace to her power. Imagine the fallout if the "Virgin Queen" got pregnant!

9. American Pop creator Andy Warhol (1928 - 1987)

Here's a shocking, if true, but admittedly ambiguous, one. Andy Warhol — the popular creation provocateur down the avant-garde movie Blow Job and the "Sex Parts" bid — mightiness ne'er person had enactment himself. Even past 50 years old, Warhol inactive claimed successful interviews to beryllium a virgin, and wrote bluntly astir his deficiency of involvement successful carnal relationships for overmuch of his life, describing himself arsenic idiosyncratic who got “nervous astir radical physically.” He besides wrote successful his publication The Philosophy of Andy Warhol, "The astir breathtaking happening is not-doing-it. If you autumn successful emotion with idiosyncratic and ne'er bash it, it's overmuch much exciting." This each jibes with Andy Warhol, arsenic you representation him, arsenic a voyeuristic creator much funny successful observing and documenting than thing else.

Of course, I said the lawsuit for Warhol's virginity was ambiguous, and that's due to the fact that others scoff astatine the notion. Author and 80s-era Club Kid Dianne Brill said connected the Night Fever podcast, "Well, helium did person a large penis, and helium did person sex," portion others said the full virginity assertion was conscionable a persona helium wanted to cultivate, 1 that distanced him from enactment and made his creation much marketable. Also, could helium truly person spent truthful overmuch clip successful hedonistic, drug-fueled, and sexually charged atmospheres similar The Factory and Studio 54 without adjacent erstwhile getting successful connected the action? I'll fto you decide.

10. Finally, philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724–1804)

Kant was not lone 1 of the astir influential philosophers who ever lived, but was besides legendary for his obsessively regimented lifestyle. Neighbors successful Königsberg (in modern time Russia) supposedly acceptable their clocks by his regular day locomotion due to the fact that it happened astatine the nonstop aforesaid infinitesimal each day. Chaos was not invited successful the Kant household. That utmost self-control extended to his romanticist beingness (or deficiency thereof). Kant ne'er married, ne'er had kids, and near down nary grounds of immoderate romanticist oregon intersexual relationships of immoderate kind. His surviving letters and biographies are packed with dense philosophy, ethical theory, and metaphysics, but thing astir the longings of the bosom (or loins).

And erstwhile Kant did constitute astir enactment successful his philosophical work, it was mostly to pass against it. In Lectures connected Ethics, helium described intersexual tendency arsenic thing that reduces radical to objects and disrupts rational self-control, arguing that unchecked passionateness threatens quality dignity and motivation clarity. Biographers posit Kant apt lived a celibate life, chiefly due to the fact that it didn’t acceptable into his hyper-disciplined worldview. He preferred cleanable logic, predictable routines, and intelligence purity implicit affectional messiness oregon carnal indulgence.