Who are some famous lifelong singles?

Octavia Butler, Molly Ivins, Ed Koch, Janet Reno, David Souter, Coco Chanel, Isaac Newton.

Pope Benedict has to be right at the top of the list.

Mother Teresa

John Mayer? Taylor Swift?

Truman Capote.
Gertrude Stein.

is this a hitlist or something?

Probably quite a few members of the 27 club, including Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Brian Jones, and Amy Winehouse.

Some of these people weren’t singles. Amy Winehouse was once married. Brian Jones was married and had children. Truman Capote had a long-term relationship with Jack Dunphy.

H.C Andersen died a virgin.

Tesla was the first that jumped to mind for me.

I feel like I remember hearing of someone who was celibate their whole life and near the end decided to see what sex was like so they got a hooker and ended up getting an STD that resulted in their death. Can’t remember who the hell it was though or if I’m even getting the story completely right.

Joan of Arc…okay, twas a short life, but still.
HRH Elizabeth I…not for nothing known as the virgin queen.
Fun factoid, Katherine Hepburn & Spencer Tracey never married, though they were in a relationship for 27yrs, he was unable to divorce his catholic wife.

Ed Koch
J Edgar Hoover
Helen Keller

(It is probable that they all had lovers, more or less secretly. Some of the world’s
best secrets, however.)

If Gertrude Stein was single, then I guess Alice B. Toklas was too.
Was Hitler married?

^^^ Yes and no: he did hang around with the lovely Eva Braun for 14 years.

“As Red Army troops fought their way into the neighbourhood {of Hitler’s bunker} on 29 April 1945, she married Hitler during a brief civil ceremony; she was 33 and he was 56. Less than 40 hours later, they committed suicide together in a sitting room of the bunker, she by biting into a capsule of cyanide. The German public was unaware of Braun’s relationship with Hitler until after her death.” Source

@Sunny2 Only for a few hours & only then as a token gesture from a defeated & broken man…romantic bugger eh?

Frankenstein’s monster.

President James Buchanan.

Susan B Anthony
Barbara McClintock
Emily Bronte
Jane Austin
Amelia Earhart (I think)
Jane Addams
Gertrude Bell

Amelia Earhart was married to George Putnam.

Thank you @diavobella. I knew I should have fact checked that one. Eventually I will start heeding myself. : )

I think that Jane Addams may have had a significant other. It is up for debate.

Jesus Christ.
Emily Dickinson.
The Dalai Lama.
Hildegard von Bingen.
Louisa May Alcott.