Hong Xiuquan started life as a provincial scholar in 19th Century North China. He was, by all accounts, a brilliant scholar in his early years despite his humble beginnings. However, Xiuquan suffered a nervous collapse in his early twenties after failing an Imperial exam, and things started to get pretty weird from there. During his recovery, he had a series of visions which led him to believe that he was the younger brother of Jesus. After coming to this conclusion Hong began destroying idols and enthusiastically preaching his (somewhat shaky) interpretation of Christianity. Hong began destroying Buddhist and Confucian statues, temples, and books, attracting a large group of supporters as he did so. He went on to become the leader of the Taiping Rebellion, which saw the deaths of some 20 million people, most of them non-Christian civilians. Although many of the deaths were the result of plague and famine at the time, it is estimated that the Third Battle of Nanking in 1864 saw the deaths of more than 100,000 people in three days. In 1853, the Rebellion reached its peak and Hong Xuiquan was able to take control of the city of Nanjing, converting it into the capital city of his new Holy Kingdom. Hong ruled the Kingdom as the son of God and introduced sweeping reforms including outlawing polygamy (while keeping several concubines himself) and introducing a complex system of civil bureaucracy. Everyone knows that bureaucrats are evil. And, like many of the men on this list, he fell into the habit of executing those he saw as rivals.
With a (nearly) useless degree in English literature and a personal trainer qualification he's never used, Freddie spends his times writing things that he hopes will somehow pay the rent. He's also a former professional singer, and plays the saxophone and ukulele. He's not really used to talking about himself in the third person, and would like to stop now, thanks.
