...historical figures, no. Characters from other mediums (television, movies, etc...), yes. I used to be a fan fiction writer.
I've combined characters and put characters from different universes into the same one.
The characters are nothing like the ones they were based off of, except for two or three similarities. I can't create characters off the top of my head. They have to be based off of archetypes.
I have used real characters/people in my stories. I've used Vlad Dracul, a character based off of Claude Monet, and Elizabeth Bathory in a story with Viktor Frankenstien along with my own original characters. Don't know if that counts, though.