Early descriptions of erectile dysfunction can be found on Egyptian papyrus dating to around 2000 B.C.E. These writings describe two types of impotence: the first was “natural impotence,” meaning the man was simply incapable of an erection. The second, more difficult, type was “supernatural,” the result of evil influence or sorcery.

Impotence in the seventeenth century changed the face of Western civilization. The Spanish Hapsburg Empire reigned supreme over much of the world for centuries. Their downfall was attributed to the impotence of their final leader. Unable to keep it up long enough to propagate the lineage, Don Carlos II sought all available impotence treatments including exorcisms (seventeenth-century psychotherapy). Since his impotence endured, the Hapsburg lineage-and empire-did not.

Other historical figures rumored impotent include Kings Richard I and Louis XVI, George Bernard Shaw, Sigmund Freud, Napoleon, Beethoven, and Rousseau. Rousseau’s 1762 essay “Discourse on the Arts and Sciences” argued that the advancement of science and medicine had not been beneficial to mankind. He would have felt differently had the FDA approved Viagra in the eighteenth century. Edgar Allen Poe’s most famous line, “Nevermore,” evidently referred to his love life.

Curiously absent from the list of rumored impotent men from history are American presidents. Apparently, no one has trouble with erections while living in the White House-at least not the lack of them.

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