10 Historical Figures That Appeared In Star Trek

[TMC]

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"Not the apple story again!"

BY JACK KIELY
FEBRUARY 7TH, 2023

The number of historical figures – that is to say any person who has ever actually existed (and perhaps, arguably, characters of myth) – to have had a mention in Star Trek over the decades lists in the hundreds. In fact, this writer noted well over 200 such name-drops before calling it a day. Some references have left a bad stench in the air, but, to quote Captain Janeway, "maybe we can adjust the environmental controls to filter out the [M]usk". Distinctly more fragrant mentions have included the likes of great composers, prodigious painters, author, authors, pre-eminent politicians, and celebrated scientists.

Those who have made a physical appearance in one form or another, from fleeting image to bust in the background to central-to-the-plot, rank fewer but only about by half. With history stubbornly refusing, as it does, to take place anywhere else than the past, and time being apparently the fire in which we burn, the writers of Star Trek have had to show a degree of sci-fi inventiveness in order for any historical figure to appear 'in person'. Alien illusions, ancient immortals, enraging entities, time travel, and the holodeck to the rescue! And, across the entire franchise, only one person has ever appeared as themself, but that brief cameo was largely great enough for the rest of time. One is everything, in theory!

This list will focus on those historical figures we have seen in physical form, with one or two small, and nonetheless interestingly valid, exceptions.