All of the following people suffered from Mental Illness in one form or another. Each is considered to be a genius, and each played a major role in our history. Are we ashamed of them?

Vincent Van Gogh – Bohemian Post-Impressionist artist. Painter of such works as “The Starry Night,” “Irises,” and “Portrait of Dr. Gachet,” which sold for nearly $100 million sometime in the 90’s.

Eugene O’Neill – Nobel & Pulitzer Prize winning Playwright. World renound author of many Broadway Plays including “Beyond the Horizon,” “Desire Under the Elms,” “Strange Interlude,” “Mourning Becomes Electra,” “Ah, Wilderness!,” “The Iceman Cometh,” “A Moon for the Misbegotten.”

Abraham Lincoln – 16th American President, responsible for the Emancipation Proclamation and 13th amendment to the Constitution abolishing slavery. Largely responsible for the reunification of the nation following the Civil War.

Ernest Hemingway – Nobel & Pulitzer Prize winning Writer/Journalist. Author of “For Whom the Bell Tolls,” “The Old Man and the Sea,” “The Sun Also Rises,” “A Moveable Feast.”

Winston Churchill – Author, Politician, Nobel Prize winner. One of the most important socio-political leaders in world history.

Isaac Newton – One of the greatest scientists & mathematicians in history. Made more fundamental discoveries than any other in his fields, and is considered by most to be the father of mechanical engineering.

Leo Tolstoy – Writer, philosopher. Regarded as one of the greatest novelists of all time. Writer of both “War and Peace” & Anna Karenina. Greatly influenced both Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr.

Ludwig van Beethoven – One of history’s greatest Composer/Pianists. Continued to compose long after losing his hearing in his late 20’s. Key player in the transition from the Classical to the Romantic period in western music.