- Like the sandwich?
What strange things named after people do you know about? What about nicotine or sandwiches?
Silhouette — Étienne de Silhouette
A silhouette is a dark outline of a person or object, but the word began with a French finance minister. Étienne de Silhouette served briefly under King Louis XV in 1759 and became notorious for unpopular financial measures. He was associated with frugality and cutting costs.
Around the same period, inexpensive profile portraits made from black paper became fashionable. Because these portraits were cheap compared with painted likenesses, they became associated with Silhouette’s supposedly miserly reputation. His name eventually became attached to the art form.
Cardigan — James Brudenell, Earl of Cardigan
The cardigan sweater takes its name from James Brudenell, the 7th Earl of Cardigan, a British military officer best remembered for leading the disastrous Charge of the Light Brigade during the Crimean War.
According to the conventional story, knitted waistcoats and jackets associated with him became known as cardigans. The garment survived its namesake’s military reputation and became one of the most ordinary pieces of clothing imaginable. Did you know this was one of the strange things named after people?
Sandwich — John Montagu, Earl of Sandwich
The sandwich is supposedly named after John Montagu, the 4th Earl of Sandwich. The famous story says he wanted food that could be eaten without leaving a gambling table, so meat was placed between slices of bread.
The exact story is probably simplified. Contemporary accounts suggest that Montagu may have been eating while working rather than gambling. Either way, his title became attached to one of the world’s most basic meals.
Boycott — Charles Boycott
Charles Boycott wasn’t famous for inventing anything. His name became a verb because Irish tenants refused to deal with him.
In 1880, Boycott was an estate agent in County Mayo working for an absentee landowner. During a dispute over rents, local workers and businesses withdrew their cooperation. They refused to work for him, serve him, or trade with him.
Newspapers needed a word for this unusual form of collective isolation. “Boycotting” was born. Did you know this was one of the strange things named after people?
Guillotine — Joseph-Ignace Guillotin
The guillotine is named after Joseph-Ignace Guillotin, a French physician and politician who advocated for a more uniform and supposedly humane method of execution.
Ironically, Guillotin did not invent the machine and was not its executioner. He proposed that capital punishment should be carried out using a mechanical device that would kill quickly and without regard to social class.
The machine eventually became associated so strongly with the French Revolution that his name survived as a synonym for it.
Nicotine — Jean Nicot
Nicotine sounds like it should be the name of a chemical discovered in a laboratory. Instead, it comes from Jean Nicot, a 16th-century French diplomat.
Nicot encountered tobacco while serving in Portugal and sent it to France, where it became fashionable. His name was later attached to the plant’s principal addictive chemical.
Did you know about these strange things named after people? Tell us something that wasn’t on the list in the comments!