Literature heroes are almost always created by authors. Almost always. Sometimes they exist in reality...
Alice
Story of Alice in Wonderland began the day when Lewis Carroll was walking with daughters of Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University, Henry Liddell, among whom was Alice Liddell. Carroll came up with the story on the move at the request of children, but in the following times have not forgotten about it, and began to write a sequel. Two years later, the author has presented the Alice manuscript, consisting of four chapters, to which was attached a photo of Alice in the age of seven. It was titled "Christmas gift to a dear child in memory of a summer day."
James Bond
Elegant man with the title of prince, married to a Dutch princess, and prone to a shady deal - prototype of James Bond, Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld. James Bond's adventures began with a series of books written by British intelligence officer Ian Fleming. The first of them - "Casino Royale" - was published in 1953. Ian Fleming was friends with Prince Bernhard and Bond caught manner of ordering "vodka martini", adding: "Shake, not stirred", as well as the habit of effective presentation: "Bernard, Bernard Prince," as he loved to say.
Ebenezer Scrooge
You are no doubt familiar with A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, but you may not have realized that Scrooge is based on a real-life person named John Elwes.
Elwes was an 18th century politician and notorious penny pincher, and despite having a vast fortune he lived like a homeless hermit, by all accounts. He would eat rotten food and live in abandoned houses rather than finding himself a home or buying food that wasn't totally gross. The eccentric miser was born into money but refused to spend any of it, choosing instead to live in squalor in order to save his fortune.
Sherlock Holmes
In his autobiography Conan Doyle wrote: "I thought of my old teacher Joe Bell, his aquiline profile, his inquiring mind and an incredible skill of guessing all the details. If he was a detective, he would have turned it into an amazing exact science. Resorting to the power of deduction"
Mr. Burns
The Simpsons’ nuclear plant billionaire Montgomery Burns is the spitting image of Norwegian shipping magnate Fred Olsen.
But unlike his fictional double, Olsen’s business activities aren’t riddled with dodgy deals
Dorian Gray
The main character of "The Portrait of Dorian Gray" seriously tarnished the reputation of the original one. John Gray, a young friend and protege of Oscar Wilde' was famous for his beautiful and vicious appearance of a fifteen year old boy. Wilde made no secret of the similarities between his character and John, and the latter one called himself Dorian. Happy friendship ended when press started writing that John was the lover of Oscar Wilde. Enraged Gray sued and won an apology from the editors, but his friendship with the famous author slowly faded. Later the young poet became a priest and served in the Church of St. Patrick in Edinburgh.
Peter Pan
Acquaintance with the family of Sylvia and Arthur Davis gave James Matthew Barrie, at the time already a famous playwright, his main character - Peter Pan. One of the sons of Davis - Michael was his inspiration. Peter Pan was the same age as Michael and acquired from him some character traits, and the nightmares. The very story is dedicated to Barry's older bother David, who died the day before his fourteenth year birthday while skating and remained in the memory of close forever young. As for Michael he drowned in suspicious circumstances with a close friend – and possible lover just short of his 21st birthday.
Tintin
Early in 1928, a Danish newspaper ran a competition to mark the centennial of the celebrated author Jules Verne. The winner would re-enact the globe-circling voyage undertaken by Phileas Fogg in Verne's bestselling novel, Around the World in 80 Days. For reasons a 21st-century parent can only wonder at, however, Politiken decided the contest should be open only to teenage boys, who – if they won – would have to complete the circumnavigation unaccompanied, within 46 days, and without using planes.Fresh-faced, freckled, with a snub nose, a shock of bright red hair and a penchant for plus-fours, 15-year-old boy scout and car showroom clerk Palle Huld left Copenhagen on March 1 and duly circled the globe – including then-wartorn Manchuria and foreigner-unfriendly Moscow – by train and passenger liner. He returned 44 days later to be greeted by a crowd of 20,000 cheering admirers and his mightily relieved mother, who, according to the Copenhagen Post, "had been prescribed sleeping tablets for the duration"
Lolita
While working on "Lolita" Vladimir Nabokov, according to his biographer, Brian Boyd, often looked section of criminology in the newspapers for stories about accidents, murder and violence. History of Sally Horner and Frank LaSalle, which occurred in 1948, clearly caught his attention. Reported that middle-aged man, transgressing all rules of morality, stole fifteen years old Sally Horner and kept her with him for nearly two years before she was not found in Southern California motel. LaSalle as the hero of Nabokov at all times gave Sally for her daughter. Nabokov even casually mentions this incident in his book by Humbert's words: "Have I done with Dolly the same thing that Frank LaSalle, fifty years old mechanic did with eleven years old Sally Horner? "
Carlson
Zorro
Over the years, Zorro has become something of a superhero in popular culture. It’s hard to believe that a character like that could have actually been based on a real person, but as it turns out, Zorro was indeed inspired by a man named Joaquin Murrieta, also known as the Mexican Robin Hood.
Born in 1829, Murrieta found success mining for gold in California before his family was attacked and murdered by American miners. his wife and his brother were attacked by American miners who envied his success and hated Mexicans. Talk about sore losers, they not only raped his wife, they hanged his brother, and horsewhipped the innocent Joaquin to a bloody pulp. He was unable to find justice through the legal system, so that’s when he became the vigilante that would inspire Zorro. He formed a gang to exact his revenge. His outlaw band was named The Five Joaquins: Joaquin Botellier, Joaquin Carrillo, Joaquin Ocomoreniaq, Joaquin Valenzuela and Joaquin Murrieta. There was a sixth member, Manuel Garcia, affectionately dubbed Three-Fingered Jack. He and his gang continued to rob banks and commit murder until the Texas Rangers became involved and tracked down and killed Murrieta in 1853. The Rangers cut off Three-Fingered Jack's hand and the alleged Murrieta's head and preserved them in a jar of alcohol to bring to the authorities for their reward. The Rangers took the display throughout California; spectators could pay $1 to see the relics.
Winnie the Pooh
One version says that the Teddy Bear of Very Little Brain got the nickname from a favorite toy of Milne's son Christopher Robin. However, in reality Pooh was named after a real bear that lived at London Zoo. Her name was in Winnipeg, and it cheered residents of the British capital from 1915 to 1934. The bear had many fans and among them was Christopher Robin
Daisy Buchanan
In "The Great Gatsby," F. Scott Fitzgerald with deep penetration described his first love, Ginevra King, which he met from 1915 to 1917. Due to the difference in social status their relationship soon disintegrated,and Fitzgerald wrote with anguish that the "rich girls don't merry poor boys." This phrase was included in the book, and then in the screen adaptation of the same name. King also was the inspiration for Judy Jones in "Winter Dreams" and Isabelle Borge in "This Side of Paradise."
Sourse: Misc
