You'll Love This Quiz on History’s Great Romances

In 1818, poet John Keats wrote a letter to his brother saying that his neighbor Fanny Brawne had caught his attention. Keats and Brawne fell in love, but their courtship was short-lived, as Keats died in 1821. Brawne inspired some of his most beloved poems, including “Bright Star” and “The Eve of St. Agnes.”

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon are one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Legend says the gardens were in modern-day Iraq, where the Babylonians thrived. The king built them for his wife, Semiramis, a Persian princess suffering from homesickness.

The Celtic legend of Tristan and Isolde is a tragic tale of forbidden love. The story begins with Tristan’s journey to Ireland to request the hand of Isolde for his uncle, the king of Cornwall. On their way back, Tristan and Isolde accidentally drink a love potion that binds them together in a hopeless romance.

Homer’s “Odyssey” tells the tale of Odysseus and his return home to Ithaca after the Trojan War. His wife, Penelope, waited for him on the island for 20 years, although many suitors tried to court her because Odysseus was presumed dead. The two were reunited after Odysseus won a contest against other suitors to prove to Penelope that he was still alive.

Dante’s “Inferno” describes a journey through the nine circles of hell. In the beginning, Beatrice, who is in heaven, arranges for an angel named Virgil to guide Dante safely. Beatrice was no random character — she was the love of Dante’s life, whom he met when he was 9.

Queen Victoria of England mourned the passing of her husband, Prince Albert, for 40 years. The two met in 1836 and had nine children and 42 grandchildren. Albert died in 1861 at 42, and Victoria went into mourning for the rest of her life, wearing black day in and day out.

In 1958, Mildred Jeter, a Black woman, and Richard Loving, a white man, got married. Just five weeks after their union, the couple was arrested for violating Virginia's anti-miscegenation law, a ban on interracial marriage. The pair fought the decision, but the state Supreme Court ruled against them. However, in 1967, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled in their favor, striking down interracial marriage restrictions.

Gertrude Stein was an avant-garde writer living in Paris when she met Alice B. Toklas in the early 1900s. The two quickly began a relationship that would last more than 35 years. The couple accrued a large and valuable art collection during their lifetime. Stein finally achieved literary success with her 1933 book, "The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas," which tells the story of their life together.

Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Robert Browning were both successful poets, and their deep mutual love permeates their poetry. Elizabeth's best-known collection is her "Sonnets from the Portuguese," which is a series of love poems to Robert and includes a famous sonnet that begins with "How do I love thee? Let me count the ways."

In one of the most famous legends surrounding King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, Arthur's wife and love, Queen Guinevere, fell in love with one of his knights, Sir Lancelot. The two kept their relationship secret but the truth was eventually revealed. Arthur's knights tore the adulterous couple apart and Lancelot lived out the rest of his days as a hermit, while Guinevere became a nun.

Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera were two of Mexico’s most prominent painters, brought together while working on their art. They married in 1929 and continued their careers — Rivera was known for his vivid murals and Kahlo for her self-portraits — until Kahlo’s death at 47. Although Kahlo and Rivera’s love story was at times tumultuous, Rivera said that Kahlo’s death was the most tragic moment of his life.

For their research on radiation, Henri Becquerel and Pierre Curie were nominated for the Nobel Prize in physics. When Pierre found out that his wife, Marie, was not on the nomination, he was livid. Marie had done as much work on radiation as Pierre had (if not more), so he complained to the committee and had her name added, making her the first woman ever to win a Nobel Prize.

Queen Helen of Sparta was said to be the most beautiful woman in the world and Paris, the Trojan Prince, wanted her. There was just one problem: She was already married, to Sparta’s King Menelaus. One day, when Menelaus was out, Paris and Helen ran away together to Troy. Menelaus and his brother Agamemnon started a war to get her back. Eventually, Paris was killed and Helen fell back in love with her former husband.

“Two households, both alike in dignity / In fair Verona, where we lay our scene…” The first lines of this prologue reveal the setting of Shakespeare’s tragic love story “Romeo and Juliet.” Shakespeare first published the drama in 1597 as an adaptation of “The Tragedy of Romeus and Juliet,” a 1562 poem by Arthur Brooke. The story takes place in Verona, Italy — also the setting for the beginning of "The Two Gentlemen of Verona."

Shortly after the start of his reign in 1936, King Edward VIII of Britain proposed to twice-divorced, American socialite Wallis Simpson — a problematic move at the time. As king, Edward was the head of the Church of England, which disapproved of remarriage after divorce if the former spouse was still alive. But Edward's love for Wallis was deeper than his love for the monarchy, and he abdicated the throne. His brother George VI (Queen Elizabeth II’s father) replaced him.

Musicians Johnny Cash and June Carter met backstage at the Grand Ole Opry in 1956. The duo immediately hit it off, and Carter began touring with Cash. The pair wed in 1968 and recorded many duets, including the Grammy-winning hit “Jackson.”

Shah Jahan was the Mughal Emperor of India for 30 years in the 1600s. He had many different wives during his reign, but his most beloved was Mumtaz Mahal, to whom he dedicated the Taj Mahal. The building, located in Agra, India, is actually a mausoleum that was constructed after Mumtaz's death. It is also considered one of the "New Seven Wonders of the World."

Shortly after winning the Best Actress Oscar for “The Country Girl” in 1955, Grace Kelly was in France and was invited to meet Prince Rainier III of Monaco. The couple had their first date at the prince's private zoo, and one year later, they were married. The newly crowned Princess Grace of Monaco retired from acting and assumed the Monegasque throne, which she held with her husband for the next 26 years.

Mark Antony and Cleopatra's relationship was full of pageantry and partying, but also true love and affection. Ultimately, the ancient power couple found themselves in a losing war with Roman Emperor Octavian (who would later rename himself Augustus). With Octavian's forces closing in on them, the couple took their own lives. After the victory, Octavian honored Cleopatra's last request by burying her next to Mark Antony.

Yoko Ono and John Lennon’s whirlwind romance made headlines in the 1960s when Lennon was part of the biggest band in the world. The Beatles broke up just one year after Lennon’s 1969 wedding, and shortly after, Lennon and Ono began collaborating on musical projects together, releasing multiple albums until Lennon’s assassination in 1980.