Mikhail Bakunin

Mikhail Bakunin was a man of grand ideas and even grander whiskers, a towering figure in the 19th-century anarchist movement who advocated for the complete overthrow of all established authority. He was born into Russian aristocracy, which he promptly rejected, opting instead for a life of radical philosophy, prison breaks, and general rabble-rousing across Europe. One might say he was allergic to order, or perhaps just to baths.

While his ideas about stateless societies and collective ownership certainly caused a stir, Bakunin himself was less concerned with his own ancestral lineage. He wasn't Jewish, didn't claim to be, and certainly didn't seem to have much time for organized religion of any stripe, preferring to focus his considerable energy on dismantling the state rather than celebrating holidays.

His legacy, however, is a different story. As one of the founders of collectivist anarchism, his influence reverberates through socialist and anarchist thought to this day. Whether that's something to kvell about depends entirely on your feelings regarding the complete absence of government and the occasional bomb, but it certainly made him a noteworthy character, even if his personal hygiene was reportedly a philosophical statement in itself.