Philosophers

Aristotle

Aristotle was the son of Nicomachus, physician to King Amyntas II. His parents died when he was still a very young boy and he was brought up by a guardian, Proxenus, who sent him to Plato's... [more]

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d'Alembert, Jean le Rond

d'Alembert was a foundling , discovered near the church of St. Jean-le-Rond in Paris (hence his name), but he was in fact the son of Madame de Tencin and General Destouches-Canon. His fath... [more]

Dante Alighieri

Dante was from a noble family, orphaned as a boy and educated by the Dominicans. (According to the Encarta Encyclopedia his father did not die until he was 18, which would put him beyond th... [more]

Marcus Aurelius (under Roman Empire)

Ancient Roman society institutionalized the adoption of adults. It was relatively common for a wealthy Roman couple to adopt an adult man, even a slave, as heir if they did not have any son... [more]

Rousseau, Jean-Jacques

Rousseau's mother died a few days after he was born (in Switzerland) and he was then raised by an aunt and uncle. Another version of his life says his father raised him until he was 10, ... [more]

Schuon, Frithjof (under Honorific Adoption)

It is not unusual for adults to be adopted as honorary members of a family, clan or tribe. There are two main types. One is the publicity-stunt adoption of politicians, usually western l... [more]

Tolstoy, Leo Nikolayevich

Tolstoy was born the son of a noble landowner in Russia but his mother died when he was two and his father when he was nine. He was then raised by relatives, first a grandmother, who died, ... [more]