Communities

Writing
Writing
Codidact Meta
Codidact Meta
The Great Outdoors
The Great Outdoors
Photography & Video
Photography & Video
Scientific Speculation
Scientific Speculation
Cooking
Cooking
Electrical Engineering
Electrical Engineering
Judaism
Judaism
Languages & Linguistics
Languages & Linguistics
Software Development
Software Development
Mathematics
Mathematics
Christianity
Christianity
Code Golf
Code Golf
Music
Music
Physics
Physics
Linux Systems
Linux Systems
Power Users
Power Users
Tabletop RPGs
Tabletop RPGs
Community Proposals
Community Proposals
tag:snake search within a tag
answers:0 unanswered questions
user:xxxx search by author id
score:0.5 posts with 0.5+ score
"snake oil" exact phrase
votes:4 posts with 4+ votes
created:<1w created < 1 week ago
post_type:xxxx type of post
Search help
Notifications
Mark all as read See all your notifications »
Q&A

Post History

60%
+1 −0
Q&A Can I use prominent people in history to as characters in my fiction?

Yes, you may use prominent people in history pretty much any way you choose. Obviously libel laws apply. Generally you cannot libel the dead, however some US states permit lawsuits where the descen...

posted 7y ago by Surtsey‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

Answer
#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T06:39:03Z (over 4 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/28751
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by user avatar Surtsey‭ · 2019-12-08T06:39:03Z (over 4 years ago)
Yes, you may use prominent people in history pretty much any way you choose. Obviously libel laws apply. Generally you cannot libel the dead, however some US states permit lawsuits where the descendants are the plaintiffs.

Avoid people with commercial legacies. e.g. Don't portray Walt Disney as a child molester - The Disney Corporation will bury you, your family, your unborn descendants, anybody who looks like you, and anybody whose name has a similar spelling.

Stick to 'real' people. e'g' "Thor" is a mythological Norse god. You are free to use him. However, "Thor" is also a Marvel character. If your "Thor" is similar to Marvel's Thor you'll be in trouble.

Lincoln - you may portray any way you wish.

Please be aware, I am not a lawyer.

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2017-06-16T14:03:21Z (almost 7 years ago)
Original score: 2