15 Historical Figures Who Had Surprisingly Normal Day Jobs

History has a way of reducing famous people to the one thing they eventually became known for. Writers were always writers, revolutionaries apparently spent their entire lives plotting revolutions, and future presidents seemingly emerged from nowhere already dressed for the job. Real life was considerably less tidy. Before fame, power, or a place in the history books arrived, plenty of recognizable figures needed ordinary ways to earn a living. Some taught classrooms, others worked behind counters, and a few held jobs that seem almost impossible to reconcile with the person they later became. In many cases, those unremarkable years also helped shape what came next. Here are 15 historical figures who had surprisingly normal day jobs.

Abraham Lincoln: Store Clerk

Long before reaching the White House, Abraham Lincoln worked as a clerk in a general store in New Salem, Illinois. His early working life also included manual labor and other jobs before he eventually established himself as a lawyer and politician.

Albert Einstein: Patent Clerk

Einstein was working at the Swiss Patent Office in Bern when he produced some of the scientific papers that transformed modern physics. He evaluated patent applications during the day while developing revolutionary ideas about light, atoms, and relativity in his own time.

Adolf Hitler: Struggling Artist

Before entering politics, Hitler attempted to make a living as an artist in Vienna after twice being rejected from the Academy of Fine Arts. He earned money by producing and selling paintings and postcards, particularly architectural scenes.

J.K. Rowling: English Teacher

Before Harry Potter made her one of the world’s best-known authors, Rowling taught English as a foreign language in Portugal. She later returned to Britain and continued working on the manuscript that became Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.

Stephen King: High School Teacher

Before becoming a bestselling horror author, Stephen King taught English at Hampden Academy in Maine. He wrote outside his teaching hours, and the success of Carrie eventually allowed him to leave the classroom and write full time.

Barack Obama: Ice Cream Scooper

Years before becoming president, Barack Obama had a summer job serving ice cream at a Baskin-Robbins in Honolulu. He later joked that the experience left him so tired of ice cream that he stopped liking it.

Whoopi Goldberg: Mortuary Beautician

Before her entertainment career took off, Whoopi Goldberg worked a variety of ordinary jobs, including as a bricklayer and a mortuary beautician. The latter involved applying makeup and preparing deceased people for viewing, which is considerably different from a Hollywood dressing room.

Christopher Walken: Lion Tamer

As a teenager, Christopher Walken briefly worked with a circus act involving a lion. Walken later explained that his role was less dramatic than “lion tamer” makes it sound, since the animal was old and trained and he essentially performed a routine alongside her.

Danny DeVito: Hairdresser

Before acting made him famous, Danny DeVito trained as a hairdresser and worked at his sister’s beauty salon. He even learned specialized makeup techniques before deciding to pursue acting professionally.

Steve Buscemi: Firefighter

Before becoming a familiar face in movies and television, Steve Buscemi worked as a New York City firefighter in the early 1980s. Years later, he returned to his former firehouse after the September 11 attacks and worked alongside firefighters at Ground Zero.

Harrison Ford: Carpenter

Harrison Ford struggled to support himself through small acting roles, so he turned to professional carpentry to provide a steadier income for his family. The work also put him around people in the entertainment industry before Star Wars eventually changed his career completely.

Walt Disney: Ambulance Driver

Near the end of World War I, a teenage Walt Disney joined the American Red Cross and traveled to France as an ambulance driver. He arrived after the armistice, so much of his work took place during the postwar period rather than on active battlefields.

Stan Lee: Obituary Writer

Before superheroes defined his career, Stan Lee held several jobs, including writing obituaries and press releases. He eventually joined Timely Comics, the company that would evolve into Marvel, while still a teenager.

George Orwell: Police Officer

Before writing Animal Farm and 1984, George Orwell served in the Indian Imperial Police in Burma during the 1920s. His experiences there later contributed to his increasingly critical views of imperialism and influenced several pieces of his writing.

Pope Francis: Laboratory Technician

Before entering the priesthood, Jorge Mario Bergoglio trained as a chemical technician in Argentina. He worked in a food laboratory under biochemist Esther Ballestrino de Careaga, years before becoming a priest and eventually Pope Francis.