What History’s Most Famous Figures Actually Looked Like

As an Egyptian queen and spouse to Pharaoh Akhenaten, Nefertiti was a significant figure of ancient times. And during her life, she’s said to have supported innovative and cutting-edge art.

Nefertiti’s bust is now in the Neues Museum in Berlin, Germany — although we’ll likely never know how accurate this likeness actually is. Nevertheless, that hasn't deterred people from trying.

At one time, George Washington was the head of a Virginia plantation. As many of us know, though, he ultimately rose to become the commander-in-chief of the colonial forces during the American Revolution.

Well, you'd think the answer would be an undisputed "yes," given that Washington’s likeness has been emblazoned on paintings and $1 banknotes, and not to mention the side of a mountain! 

On New Year’s Eve 1862 — while the U.S. was in the midst of the Civil War — the USS Monitor was sailing off Cape Hatteras in North Carolina. Tragically, though, the ship went down after a storm.

In 2002 the gun turret of the USS Monitor was brought to the surface, with the remains of two crewmen found inside. Then, a decade later, the LSU Forensic Anthropology and Computer Enhancement Services (FACES) Laboratory teamed up with the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to reveal what the men really looked like.

Mary Magdalene is unarguably a significant figure within the Christian faith. According to the Bible, she was a Jewish companion of Jesus who was present during some crucial events during the Son of God’s lifetime.

Despite her mysterious past, the legends surrounding Mary Magdalene have only grown over the centuries. There also could be proof that she really did once exist, too. A claim whose roots place her remains in France.

France’s King Henry IV may be more familiar to you under one of his grandiose nicknames — Henry the Great, for example, or Good King Henry. Still not sure?

Ultimately, Henry was murdered in 1610 at the age of 57, although some of his remains have apparently survived to the present day. The king’s skull, it seems, was stolen from his grave at some point before ending up in private hands in 1919.

Following the death of her father, James V, Mary Stuart became the Scottish queen as a newborn. She then held this title until 1567, when she was forced to surrender her throne.

Centuries on, specialists from Scotland’s University of Dundee attempted to piece together what Mary may have looked like. To do so, they utilized 3D modeling programs and so-called “craniofacial templates,” with their finished rendition then put on display in Edinburgh in 2013.

History buffs will recognize Maximilien de Robespierre as one of the prominent leaders of the French Revolution. Yet while the rebel’s rise through the ranks of the Revolutionary government may have seemed practically unstoppable at first, he ultimately met a grisly end.

Yet a so-called death mask of Robespierre’s face was created, with this going on to form the basis for a likeness made by the acclaimed wax artist Madame Tussaud. The mask was also used as a reference point for a digital reconstruction conducted by facial reconstruction specialist Philippe Froesch and forensic pathologist Philippe Charlier in 2013.

The Egyptian Saint Anthony — said to have been among the first-ever monks — is widely credited with being the architect of Christian monasticism. Or, in other words, living entirely alone as you worship God.

In 2014, however, the University of St. Anthony of Padua’s Anthropology Museum joined up with an international team of forensic researchers to create a realistic digital reconstruction of Saint Anthony.

Agnes Sorel was only 20 years old when she first encountered King Charles VII of France. And by many accounts, the supposedly attractive and smart young woman swept Charles off his feet.

While expecting her and Charles’ fourth baby, however, Sorel fell ill and died under suspicious circumstances. In 2005 the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility subsequently discovered that she’d had a high amount of mercury in her system.

Depictions of the Son of God have appeared in countless artworks over the centuries — including, of course, Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece The Last Supper. And with such a proliferation of imagery, most people could confidently give a description of the archetypal Jesus.

In 2001, then, British forensic anthropologist Richard Neave attempted to get to the bottom of the matter by constructing a model of a Galilean man as part of a BBC documentary called Son of God. This likeness, it turned out, was inspired by a real skull once found in Israel.

Honoré-Gabriel Riqueti, Comte de Mirabeau was a prominent French politician of the 18th century. And during his lifetime, he was at the heart of the governing National Assembly of France.

After Mirabeau’s death in 1791, he was given a rather grandiose send-off. The Panthéon was actually built as a resting place for the statesman, with the famed Parisian monument later becoming a burial ground for numerous other important French figures.

Born in the latter half of the 12th century, Jacques de Vitry was among the most celebrated Catholic preachers of his period. The French theologian was a talented storyteller, in fact, and composed hundreds of sermons throughout his life.

Then, in 1229 — and around 11 years before his death — Jacques became a cardinal. And even centuries later, he has endured as a figure worthy of attention.

The Sechelts — also known as the Shíshálh people — are Native Americans from the Pacific Northwest Coast. And during the period when Europeans first made it to the continent, the Sechelt population amounted to around 26,000 people.

New diseases with which they had never previously come into contact with — such as smallpox — spread widely, you see, and significantly laid waste to many of the locals.

While classical music fans will instantly recognize Johann Sebastian Bach’s output, even those with no passion for the genre are likely to be familiar with at least one of his acclaimed compositions.

In 2008, meanwhile, the Bachhaus Eisenach museum commissioned a reconstruction of the 18th-century composer. This depicts a man with something of an uneven face, full cheeks and notably dark eyes.

In May 1950 a pair of peat cutters happened upon a dead body in a Danish bog. The remains appeared to be fresh, too, leading the duo to believe that they’d discovered a murder victim.

The naturally preserved body is said to date back some 2,400 years, to be more precise. Experts have since suggested that this individual — known as Tollund Man — may actually have been purposely sacrificed as part of a ritual.

The term “Cro-Magnon” is a little out of date nowadays, as experts currently prefer to use the phrase “Early Modern Humans.” However these individuals are referred to, though, we’re talking about Homo sapiens, who existed from about 40,000 to 10,000 years ago.

Fast-forward to the present day, and Visualforensic used CT scans of an approximately 30,000-year-old skull to create a digital rendering of a Cro-Magnon individual.

The Celts once lived in the British Isles and parts of the European continent, with their society beginning to evolve in around 1200 B.C. These people were split, however, into various different tribes.

Elaborate tombs and Celtic designs made of precious metals are still being dug up in Europe, too. But despite such interest, there's no real indication of what the ancient Celts would have actually looked like.