The Best Wedding Blog Ever by Marilyn's Keepsakes

Run for office?  No.  I’ve slept with too many women.  I’ve done too many drugs, and I’ve been to too many parties. 

This could easily be the mantra for any stereotypical, unmarried man and rightfully so.  Especially when one finds out, it came from today’s most notorious, eligible bachelor, George Clooney.  Clooney – like all eternal bachelors – has one distinctive trait that separates him from a world of commonality.  He’s never found a girl who moved him enough to answer the Beyoncé call to “put a ring on it,” and oddly enough, it is the same trait that can ring commonality to a list filled with of philosophers, artists, political leaders, media personalities and scientists.  Whether they didn’t see the point, were too focused on other goals or simply weren’t the marrying kind, one thing is for certain; the noteworthy men on this list are just as famous for what they did as for what they didn’t… get hitched, of course!

While Mr. Clooney may be the most recognizable solo act today, he is by no means a pioneer of wedding day.  Dating all the way back to the 15^th Century, Michelangelo, a true Renaissance man, made it distinguishingly obvious that his work, which includes some of the most renowned masterpieces in history, was all the fulfillment he needed.  Instead of marrying a wife who would bear him a great brood, Michelangelo painted, sculpted, engineered and crafted his offspring all on his own, as he considered each piece one of his children.

This poetic attachment to art could also be the reasons behind why men like Sir Joshua Reynolds, an influential painter who was among the founders of the Royal Academy or Henri de Toulouse-Latrec, a provocative French post-impressionist never married.  One might even consider it to be a theme in the art world, as Vincent von Gogh, famed for his vibrantly colored, emotion inducing works, also chose to never get on one knee for lady.  (This may or may not have also been affected by the bouts of anxiety, mental illness and ear chopping… just a thought.)

Famed artists, Vincent van Gogh and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec never married. (Photos Courtesy of Google Images)

Regardless of the reason, however, it seems many influential bachelors are often times more defined by their love of work, rather than their love of family.  Take for instance, the great brains of Sir Isaac Newton, considered by many to be one of the most influential men in history, Ludwig van Beethoven, a brilliant German composer and pianist and Blaise Pascal, both a physicist and philosopher who were all infamous for throwing themselves into their work.  Marriage must seem insignificant when compared to discovering gravity or composing, conducting and performing some of the world’s most powerful music… while deaf.

President James Buchanan is the only US president who never took the plunge. (Photo Courtesy of Google Images)

No matter what, there seems to be a definite correlation between a man’s ability to plunge head first into work and not down the aisle.  Even in the political world, generally depicted with a picturesque, nuclear family, there are a number of men vetoing marriage.  President James Buchanan not only remains the only U.S President to come out of Pennsylvania, but he is also the only one to never get married.  He is not, however, the only politician.  Among some of the other elected officials to populate Single Town are Ralph Nadar, a political activist who’s made a name for himself running for president and Ed Koch, U.S. congressman and former Mayor of New York City. 

It just doesn't seem right for the "Sexiest Man Alive" not to get married and make babies! Share the wealth, George! (Photo Courtesy of Google Images)

It seems every walk of life has a laundry list of bachelors filling it, but none more notably, than the one good ‘ole George Clooney represents – the entertainment world.  Fellow actor and multiple Academy Award winner, Al Pacino ranks among the top of the list of men who have never married and is accompanied by the likes of comedian and television host, Bill Maher, as well as 80’s pop icon, Billy Idol.  Apparently, for him, it was NOT “a nice day for a white wedding.”