Hi there, happy new year! Requesting to be added as a writer.

Edit: @larissa-fedunik

My favourite historical figure is Prussian-born physician Johann Friedrich Struensee. Struensee was appointed personal physician to the mentally ill King Christian VII of Denmark in 1769. He began a scandalous affair with Queen Matilda, which was unnoticed (or ignored) by the distractable King Christian. Struensee rose in power to become royal advisor and de facto regent of Denmark. His era of influence was cut short when he was sentenced to death in 1772 for usurping the royal authority.

While I don’t condone instating yourself as supreme authority by taking advantage of your patient, Struensee’s reforms were impressively progressive. He initiated the abolition of capital punishment, banned slave trade in the Danish colonies, assigned farmland to peasants, and carried out a slew of reforms to minimise corruption in Danish institutions. A complex character, his motives can be interpreted sympathetically or sceptically. Was he a well-intentioned reformer who took some shortcuts – or a usurper of power for personal gain? Did he fall in love with Queen Matilda and support her through an unedifying marriage – or did he cynically seduce her to ensure her complicity? Pondering these questions is why I love studying historical figures.

I don't believe we should judge the past through today's lens per se, not in the sense of passing legal judgement or imposing modern social mores. It is somewhat unavoidable to completely suppress our contemporary values when we examine the past, but being aware of historical context is essential.