People »
A Genius Among Us: The Sad Story of William J. Sidis
Before the terms “Tiger Mom” or “Helicopter Mom” entered our vernacular. Before the moms on “Toddlers and Tiaras” tried to turn their daughters into beauty queens. Before Earl Woods showed off his two year
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The First Convicted Murderer in America
Today I found out about John Billington, the first convicted murderer in America. John Billington was around 40 years old when he disembarked the Mayflower in New England in November, 1620. Like most of
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A Memory of Solferino – The Life of Henry Dunant
On May 8, 1828, the man who founded The International Committee of the Red Cross, Henry Dunant, was born. In 1922, almost a century after his birth, the eighth of May was declared a
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The Twins Born 87 Days Apart
Today I found out about Amy and Katie, the twins born 87 days apart. Maria Jones-Elliot of Waterford, Ireland, was just 23 weeks pregnant when she went into labour with her twins in 2012.
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The Man Who Held Off Six Enemy Tanks and Several Waves of Infantry for an Hour By Firing on Them While Standing Atop a Burning Tank
Today I found out about Audie Murphy, the most decorated U.S. World War II veteran. Murphy was born on June 20, 1925 in Texas. His family was extremely poor, partially due to having twelve
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The Great Frederick Douglass
“We shall look over the world, and survey the history of any other oppressed and enslaved people in vain, to find one which has made more progress within the same length as the colored
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King Richard the Lionheart of England Lived Mainly in France and Barely Spoke English
Today I found out that Richard I, also known as Richard the Lionheart, spent most of his life in France and barely spoke English. Richard was born on Sept. 8, 1157 to Henry II
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The Mad Queen of Madagascar, Ranavalona I
Today I found out about Ranavalona I, the Mad Queen of Madagascar. Ranavalona I started out in life as a girl named Ramavo. Born in 1788 in Madagascar, she had humble origins as a
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The Unsolved Case of the Murderous Belle Gunness, “Lady Bluebeard”
Today I found out about the fascinating tale of Belle Gunness, “The Lady Bluebeard,” who is thought to have murdered her husbands, her children, and a couple dozen more people during her lifetime. You
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The First Flapper: Zelda Fitzgerald
Today I found out about the life of Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald, the wife of famous writer F. Scott Fitzgerald and who the video game character of “Zelda” was named after. Zelda Sayre was born
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The “White Mouse” Who Became Australia’s Most Decorated WWII Servicewoman
Today I found out about Nancy Wake, aka “The White Mouse,” who became Australia’s most decorated servicewoman during World War II. Despite her future successes, Nancy Wake had humble beginnings. She was born in
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The First British Surgeon to Perform a Successful C-Section Was a Woman Disguised as a Man
Today I found out that James Barry, the first British surgeon to perform a C-section in which both the mother and baby survived, was born a woman. It is believed that “James Barry” started
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The Man Who Died, Came Back to Life and Won the Lotto Twice- the Second Time When Reenacting the First Win for the Media
In 1999, 37 year old Bill Morgan was a truck driver living in a travel trailer in Australia. That’s when disaster struck- while working, he got in a pretty bad accident that he nonetheless
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The Man Who Cheated Death Seven Times, Then Won the Lottery
Depending on how you look at it, Frane Selak, a now 85 year old retired music teacher from Croatia, is either the luckiest, or unluckiest man in the world, having lived a life that
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The Man Who Created James Bond Also Wrote Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Today I found out the man who gave the world one of the most enduring fictional characters of all time, James Bond, also wrote Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. The man was Ian Fleming. Born
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The First Man To Walk In Space Almost Got Stuck Out There
Today I found out that the first man to walk in space almost got stuck out there. That lucky individual was Alexei Leonov, who was born in the Soviet Union on May 30, 1934.
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The Amazing Jim Thorpe
When people make lists of the greatest athletes of the 20th century, they are populated with the usual suspects: Michael Jordan, Babe Ruth, Muhammad Ali, Serena Williams, Wayne Gretzky, Jim Brown, Pele… but there
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The Peasant Who Became a Powerful Emperor: Basil I
Born into a poor peasant family in a foreign land, no one had worse odds to become the ruler of the Byzantine Empire than Basil. Yet, through a combination of hard work, scheming, murder
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