Russian stars writing with the left hand. The most famous left-handers. Artists, architects, sculptors

The phenomenon has excited mankind since ancient times. Some peoples even believed that they had magical powers. AT modern world Lefties make up over 10% of the population the globe: and now there are more of them than ever. In the USSR, teachers and pediatricians believed that a left-handed child was needed. All left-handed schoolchildren in the Soviet Union underwent this unpleasant procedure. left alone at the legislative level only in 1986. We have compiled a list of the most famous lefties in the world.

Rulers, politicians and military leaders

Among the people influencing the destinies of the world, at all times there were many left-handers - from Gaius Julius Caesar and Alexander the Great to Fidel Castro and Mahatma Gandhi. It is curious that there are entire left-handed ruling dynasties, for example, British Queen Elizabeth II and her grandchildren - Harry and William. There was a left-handed and famous Joan of Arc, who lived a very short, but - bright and unusual - life.

The history of the Maid of Orleans is surrounded by legends, but there are also indisputable facts. She was born in 1412 in France in a large rural family. From infancy, Jeanne heard tales of the Maid of Orleans, who will save native land. The common people were waiting for this miracle, because France was mired in the bloody Hundred Years War with England, the lands were devastated, and people were in poverty.

At first, military fortune was on the side of Jeanne, but then she was captured by the British. She was accused of heresy and witchcraft, although she was arrested as a prisoner of war. One of the points of accusation was precisely that the French heroine is left-handed, and this, according to the Inquisition, is nothing more than evidence of diabolical power.

Even the fact that in the Middle Ages in Europe they believed that a warrior, on the contrary, was blessed by God, did not save Jeanne, and could not die from a blow to the left side of the chest. Burn Jeanne at the stake, but France revered her as a folk heroine, and at the beginning of the 20th century she was canonized as a saint.

Artists, architects, sculptors

A brilliant galaxy of left-handed creators has been known since the Renaissance: Raphael, Michelangelo, Pablo Picasso, Albrecht Dürer, Auguste Rodin and many others. But Leonardo da Vinci rightfully ranks first in this list of geniuses who wrote freely with their left hand. Never before or since has history known such a versatile person. He was a prose writer, and a poet, and a musician, and a philosopher, and a natural scientist, and an anatomist, and a botanist, and a zoologist.

This unique person, centuries ahead of his time, often wrote his manuscripts "". Many hypotheses are still being built around this habit of his. For example, they say that he did this on purpose so that “ignoramuses and fools” could not read the manuscripts. Indirectly, this version is confirmed by the fact that in everyday life Leonardo da Vinci also used his right hand, and in general he always wrote official papers in the usual way (the phenomenon when a person is fluent in both the right and left hand is called “ambidexterity”). Da Vinci took his riddle with him, leaving a grateful humanity with a rich creative heritage.

Philosophers, publicists and writers

From antiquity to the present day, left-handed people have taken pride of place among the masters of the word. Lefties were: Aristotle, Friedrich Nietzsche, Franz Kafka, Hans Christian Andersen, Leo Tolstoy, Vladimir Dahl, HG Wells, Mark Twain. One of the most intriguing people on this list is Lewis Carroll. And not only because he was a mathematician who wrote an unusual fairy tale for children and adults, but also because he is an overtrained left-hander.

Carroll's unusual fairy tales "Alice in Wonderland" and "Alice Through the Looking-Glass", belonging to the genre of "paradoxical literature", aroused great love among readers from all over the world. By the way, Lewis Carroll himself said that he wrote a fairy tale about how a left-hander feels in a right-handed world. And all left-handers feel in it about the same as Alice felt through the Looking Glass. They are familiar with doors and scissors that do not open and do not cut under the left hand. But what is surprising is that for more than a century and a half Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking Glass has attracted more and more new readers, among whom there are still more right-handers.

Scientists, researchers, businessmen

Modern science claims that the connection between the hemispheres of the brain is less pronounced, and this helps them more often than others to find non-standard solutions in difficult situations. Like it or not, it has not been definitely proven, but among the left-handers there have always been many "pure scientists", as well as scientists who are successfully engaged in business, and businessmen who promote science.

We all know such names as Albert Einstein, Isaac Newton, Nikola Tesla, Henry Ford, Bill Gates, John Rockefeller, Garry Kasparov. Among Russian scientists, the most popular at one time was the physiologist Ivan Pavlov. He has been called a "romantic, almost legendary figure" and a "citizen of the world".

The famous physiologist was born left-handed, like his father, which indirectly confirms another theory that left-handedness is inherited. At the same time, the scientist trained all his life right hand, which put everyone to a standstill.

Colleagues said that it was very difficult to assist him in operations: it was impossible to guess which hand he would use, for example, to suture. With both his right and left hand, Pavlov did this so swiftly that two assistants could hardly keep up with giving him the instruments. But the rabbits practical exercises Ivan Pavlov always cut with his left hand, "mirror". And the right-handed students suffered a lot, trying to reproduce the actions of the teacher.

Musicians

There were many great classical musicians: Niccolo Paganini, Ludwig van Beethoven, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Frederic Chopin. Left-handers "noted" in various genres of rock and pop music. Who doesn't know names like Enrique Caruso, Mireille Mathieu, Sting, Kurt Cobain, Celine Dion, Ricky Martin, Robert Plant or Eminem? However, more than others from this stellar list, the 20th century was shocked by the legendary "Beatle", who received the noble prefix "sir" in front of his name for his merits - Paul McCartney.

However, few people know that as soon as Paul picked up his first acoustic guitar, he immediately found himself in a dead end. He did not understand how to play it: after all, the teenager was left-handed, and in those years no one had heard of guitars for left-handed people. Fortunately, McCartney was familiar with the work of popular folk singer Slim Whitman. He was also left-handed, and the strings on his instrument were arranged in reverse order. Paul had no choice but to take this experience into service. Subsequently, Sir Paul McCartney changed the strings on all instruments in this way.

actors

The world theater and cinema would be impoverished if there were no left-handers in the world. As for Hollywood, then, probably, it would simply cease to exist. After all, the top American actors are entirely left-handed: and Jim Carrey, and Tom Cruise, and Robert De Niro, and, and Mila Jovovich, and Julia Roberts, and Bruce Willis, and Sylvester Stallone, and Whoopi Goldberg, and Keanu Reeves, and Hugh Jackman, and Ben Stiller, and Matthew Perry, and Mickey Rourke.

But even in this brilliant list, she stands apart: both by the right of talent, and because, like the mythical King Midas, she turns everything she touches into gold. Lefty Nicole Marie Kidman was never retrained by anyone: she went for it absolutely voluntarily, and being already an adult woman. Having abandoned the understudy, the actress managed to learn how to write with her right hand. After all, this was demanded by the role in the film "The Hours", where she played a right-handed writer. Having received an Oscar for her efforts, Nicole later admitted: “Many thought I was crazy, but I was sure that this was necessary.”

Russian lefties

There have been and are many famous left-handers in our country: the writer Leo Tolstoy, and the ethnographer Vladimir Dal, and the musicians Sergei Rachmaninoff, and Sergei Prokofiev, and the ballerina Maya Plisetskaya, and the chess player Gary Kasparov, and the singer, and director Yuri Lyubimov, and the actor Viktor Sukhorukov. There has always been a lot of talk about left-handers, but it was the Russian writer Nikolai Leskov, who himself was left-handed, who guessed to write the first book in the history of mankind about left-handers.

By the way, the prototype of the protagonist of the piercingly bitter "The Tale of the Tula Oblique Lefty and the Steel Flea" actually existed. He was the gunsmith Alexei Surnin, who, a hundred years before writing the book, really traveled to England "to exchange experiences." But his life was not so tragic.

It is believed that lefties find it extremely difficult and uncomfortable to live in our world, which all the time gives them the wrong hand. But practice shows that lefties are extremely gifted, ambitious and purposeful people. The Times magazine published the top ten left-handers who have achieved the greatest global popularity. This list is headed by US President Barack Obama, the current, forty-fourth President of the United States, the first African American to head this state, and a laureate of Nobel Prize peace.

Another well-known left-hander is the founder of Microsoft Corporation, Bill Gates. According to some reports, the richest man in the world in 2009. "One left" he earned 50 billion dollars. He donates most of his money to charity.

Oprah WinfreyOprah Winfrey- host of her own TV show, actress, producer, public figure. The press calls Oprah the most influential celebrity in the world. She is also the only black woman to earn a billion dollars.

Napoleon Bonaparte- the most famous emperor of France, a commander who conquered almost all of Europe.

Also left-handed Julius Caesar, Alexander the Great, Tiberius

Leonardo da Vinci- a man who is universal in his genius. Artist, architect, sculptor, scientist, writer of the Renaissance.

And no less ingenious - Michelangelo, Raphael (Raffaello Santi), Pablo Picasso, Peter Paul Rubens.

Marie Sklodowska-Curie- Laureate of the Nobel Prize in Physics and Chemistry, discoverer of new chemical elements.

Aristotle - ancient Greek philosopher, scientist, logician. Founder of classical (formal) logic.

Ned Flanders (Nedward "Ned" Flanders) character in the animated series The Simpsons. Neighbor of the Simpson family, Christian, founder of a left-handed store in Springfield.

Jimi HendrixJimi Hendrix- the greatest guitarist in the world, according to the American press. He also became famous as a composer and singer.

The facts speak for themselves: left-handed people are often brilliant and multi-talented individuals. And society, which often repels those who are not like everyone else, is forced to recognize and accept them. Even though they don't seem to need it.

Here you can add:

Queen Elizabeth II

Prince Charles

Prince William

Singer Sting

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt

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Tom Cruise

Charlie Chaplin

Marilyn Monroe

Benjamin Franklin

Fidel Castro and Harry Truman

Winston Churchill and Mahatma Gandhi

Beethoven and Chopin

Pushkin and Lewis Carroll

Hmayak Hakobyan

In ancient times, they were mistaken for evil sorcerers and witches, then for gods who descended from heaven to earth. The Inquisition at one time even exterminated about five percent of left-handers, believing that they are direct descendants of the devil, eager to destroy everything around. scary times The Middle Ages are long gone, but the left-handed phenomenon has remained undiscovered. Psychologists from year to year try to add more and more new and amazing facts about them.

So, according to scientists, left-handers, of which there are about 10 percent in the world today, are creative, active and large-scale natures. With logic, they periodically have problems, but the sensual component, led by intuition, takes over. As a rule, every left-hander has outstanding talent grasp information on the fly, creating an overall picture of what is happening.

Checking if your child is left-handed is quite simple:

1. Ask him to pick up his favorite toy from the floor and pay attention to which hand he takes it with.
2. Ask to stomp your foot, not specifying right or left
3. Give your baby a kaleidoscope or a spyglass and see which eye he brings to the eyepiece

If in all three cases the child performed the task with his left hand and foot, respectively, then he is left-handed. If in three tasks the baby used both the right and left limb, then it belongs to the type of "double hands" or ambidexterity (the ability to equally own both hands with proper training - if there is none, then the body itself will give preference to the most convenient side of the body).

In addition, according to sociologists, the IQ level of left-handers is on average higher, and those whose mental index is 140 units or more are generally found mainly among left-handers. However, there is also a negative fact: scientists have calculated that in 40% of patients with schizophrenia, exactly left hand, despite the fact that the proportion of left-handers in the world is extremely small. Another negative aspect follows from this: sociologists argue that the number of criminals and drug addicts among left-handers is much higher than among right-handers, while the treatment of these disorders in left-handers is very difficult.

The same scientists explain the phenomenon of left-handedness by the more developed left hemisphere of the brain, which is responsible precisely for the abstractness of thinking and the creative potential of a person. It is for this reason that outstanding figures of science and culture are very often born left-handed.

On the international day of left-handers, "MIR 24" decided to recall the most famous "left-handed" creators.

Politicians

There are many left-handed figures in politics, and most of them are high-flying birds. For example, Gaius Julius Caesar, Alexander the Great, Otto von Bismarck, Benjamin Franklin, Winston Churchill and Napoleon Bonaparte All were born left-handed.

Today, scientists note that the main concentration of "political left-handers" is in the United States. Right there on presidential elections 1992, all candidates were left-handed ( Bill Clinton, Ross Perot and George Bush), and Clinton, who won in the end, even swore on the Bible with his left hand. By the way, the current president of the states Barack Obama also born left-handed.

The science

In the caste of world scientists, the most big names also belong to lefties: Leonardo da Vinci, Albert Einstein, Isaac Newton, Nikola Tesla and Ivan Pavlov. Each of them went down in history, outlining the boundaries of a new era, firmly entrenched in each of the names.

Known for his everyday oddities, Einstein, for example, not only did not hide his own left-handedness, but long time and had no idea about her. Once he was amazed by the statement of his colleagues that the physicist is left-handed. In response, Einstein was surprised: “Really? And I never noticed."

Business

The activity, located at the intersection of science, creativity and the desire for profit, also has its left-handed kings. Surname rockefeller, which became a household name, belonged to all left-handed members of one of the richest American dynasties entrepreneurs. Our contemporary Bill Gates, who built the Microsoft empire, also counted his multi-billion dollar capital exclusively with his left hand. Henry Ford on the other hand, a unique businessman, he almost always created his own projects with a pencil, holding it in his left hand.

Painting

Raphael, Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangel o - this is the first trio of artists that immediately comes to mind in a conversation about painting. And all the members of this trio painted their canvases only with their left hand.

The legendary Pablo Picasso, but scientists are still arguing about the "purity" of the artist's natural left-handedness. Some are inclined to believe that the painter, knowing about great talent left-handers, deliberately retrained himself to write exclusively with his left hand.

Cinema

If there are names in the credits of the film Charlie Chaplin, Marilyn Monroe, Tom Cruise, Robert De Niro or Demmy Moor- the picture, most likely, is the pearl of world cinema. Along with hundreds more famous artists, these actors are born left-handed by nature, which sometimes makes their filming process difficult. For example, Nicole Kidman, who, by the way, is also left-handed, for the sake of the role of Virginia Woolf, she had to relearn how to write with her right hand, as the writer herself did.

Music

In music - from classical to rock - almost every cult name is directly related to the left-handed theme. Nicolo Paganini, Ludwig van Beethoven, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, as well as from "another opera" Paul McCartney, Mireille Mathieu, Kurt Cobain and Jimi Hendrix– all natural left-handed musicians. Paul McCartney, in one of his interviews, even claimed that he understood about his peculiarity only through a guitar, the strings of which had to be arranged in reverse order.

Literature

Fairy tales Hans Christian Andersen, poems Alexandra Pushkin and multi-volume novels Lev Tolstoy were also written by the author's left hand.

In general, scientists note that among the literary elite most of masters of the pen were left-handed by nature or possessed the so-called "double hands" - the ability to work with equal efficiency with both the left and right hand. In the foreign world of prose and poetry, this quality was distinguished Lewis Carroll, H. G. Wells and Mark Twain who first learned about his peculiarity already in adolescence.

Philosophy

The minds of philosophers, given to people as one of the ways of enlightenment and knowledge of the world, also often think “on the left”. Aristotle, for example, for a long time did not suspect that by nature he was left-handed. According to legend, already in his youth, he conducted an experiment on writing one of his works with his right hand and realized that it was completely incompetent.

Unlike him, Friedrich Nietzsche, who told the world the concept of the superman, with young years learned to wield the right to use both with the greatest efficiency.

Sport

Scientists have long agreed that left-handed sports are the most suitable platform for realizing their potential. Together with music, this area opens up great opportunities for the left-handed creator. For example, a tennis player Maria Sharapova, football players Pele and Diego Maradona and also a boxer Sultan Ibragimov have a considerable advantage over their rivals due to the "unconventional game".

The maneuverability of a left-hander is capable of putting the enemy into a stupor for some time, thereby increasing the chances of a left-handed athlete to win.

Ekaterina Kovaleva

Only 10-15% of all people prefer to use their left hand. But how are they different from us? “Lefty is most common among people with neurological disorders such as epilepsy, Down syndrome, autism, mental development and dyslexia.” says the Journal of Intellectual Disability Research.

But after all, left-handers were and are among those people who have achieved a lot in life. We will consider them in this article.

Don't be misled. There is a large number of celebrities who have the status of "left-handed" is not proven. There are legends that Marilyn Monroe or Pushkin were left-handed. There is no evidence, but rather, there are photographs where Marilyn Monroe writes with his right hand, and there is also a drawing by Pushkin. But 100% of the people in this article are left-handed.

1-2. Yes, Barack Obama is left-handed.

3. Paul McCartney. His famous Hofner bass (not the one pictured) is symmetrical. At one time, McCartney took such a guitar so that it would not spoil its appearance when he changed it to his left hand.

4. Winston Churchill - smartest person, Prime Minister of Great Britain in 1940-1945 and 1951-1955; military man, journalist, writer, Nobel Prize winner in literature. According to a poll conducted in 2002 by the BBC broadcaster, he was named the greatest Briton in history. And he's left handed

5. Bill Murray. Famous actor, one of his most popular films is Ghostbusters. Bill Murray is not indifferent to golf, and he holds the club like a left-hander. He also writes with his left hand.

6. An outstanding master of cinema - Charlie Chaplin. Chaplin was left-handed, and even played the violin with his left hand, he almost did not part in the image of the “Little Tramp”, the cane was always in his left hand, it’s more convenient for him, he is left-handed.

7. Gerald Ford, 38th President of the United States

8. Bill Clinton, 42nd President of the United States

9. Model and film actress - Angelina Jolie.

10. Julia Robert, the world's highest paid actress, whose films have grossed over $2 billion worldwide, is also left-handed.

11. Whoopi Goldberg is one of the brightest Hollywood stars.

12. One of the most successful film actors in Hollywood, Bruce Willis is also a left-handed celebrity. As a child, he suffered from a stutter. At the age of eight, he began to study in an amateur drama studio in the school theater. Now he is the embodiment of the male ideal, and left-handed

The following people, unfortunately, do not have a photograph where they express their “left-handedness”.

14. Adolf Hitler was left-handed, according to old videos where he writes with his left hand. Although it is interesting that when “Ha: nde hoch” was pronounced, everyone raised their right hand, including the Fuhrer himself.