Flavius Aetius lived from 396-454 BC, a time when the Western Roman Empire was in chaos and facing threats from all sides, and had witnessed the quick rise and fall of several military leaders over the course of the past decade, with the brutal Hunnic leader Atilla pushing deep into Italy with vast armies. Flavius Aetius grew up as a boy serving the Imperial Court, before being kept hostage for three years between 408 and 405 BC by King Alaric I of the Visigoths, and later being sent to serve under King Rugila of the Huns. These experiences around clans that were constantly thriving in war largely contributed to Flavius’ military success in later years. In 427 BC, Flavius campaigned in Gaul, defeating King Theodoric I of the Visigoths and capturing the city of Arelate, before driving the Visigoths back and emerging victorious again at the Battle of Mons Colubrarius, defeating King Anaolsus. He campaigned further in 431 BC, gaining victories over the Franks and adding more land to his territory. In 451 BC, Flavius won the battle in which he is most famous for today. Atilla the Hun was thirsty for large conquest to fuel his ambitions, and wanted to attack Gaul while Flavius was still stationed there. The two negotiated, exchanging gifts, with Atilla even presenting Flavius with a dwarf called Zerco. Eventually, however, Atilla invaded, and Flavius partnered with his old Visigoth enemy Theodoric I to meet the Huns on the battlefield. What resulted was the Battle of Catalaunian Plains, in which some sources claim Atilla had over 300,000 men. Over the course of the battle, both sides suffered heavy losses, and it is said that both Flavius and Theodoric I participated in the long battle, with Theodoric I being killed, either by falling of his horse and being trampled to death or by being hit by an arrow. Regardless, Flavius’ forces are considered the victors and Atilla’s Hunnic army was forced to withdraw. Feats like these have earned Flavius the common title of “the last true Roman.”

Living from 63-12 BC, Agrippa lived during a time of great Roman generals such as Julius Caesar and Pompey, and served as the highest ranking and most respected military leader under Rome’s greatest emperor: Augustus Caesar. Agrippa was one of Augustus’s (then called Octavian) best friends throughout his early life, and rose to power with Octavian as he was Julius Caesar’s adopted nephew, and was appointed governor of Gaul in 39 or 38 BC. Agrippa was hailed throughout Rome for quelling a Gallic rebellion, and became famous for refusing to have a triumph help for him. Octavian then seized control of the Roman Empire when Agrippa won his most famous victory, the naval clash between the Egyptian forces of Marc Antony and Cleopatra VII, the Battle of Actium in 31 BC. Agrippa participated in minor campaigns in 34 and 33 BC, before leading massive projects to beautify Rome, ordering for the large aqueduct Aqua Marcia to be renovated, and cleaned out the sewers and plumbing systems. This later prompted Augustus to state that he had “found a city of brick and left it a city of marble.” In his later years Agrippa charted geography, carried out surveys of the empire’s citizens, and helped to secure the new empire government system and added his own ideas to how it should be maintained.

I will not write his name twice so I will simply refer to him as Lucius. Living from 229-160 BC, Lucius was the two-time consul of Rome responsible for the fall of the once-great kingdom of Macedonia. Ever since the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC, Macedon had been torn apart and divided by civil wars due to the fact that Alexander did not provide any heirs. Tensions were strained between Rome and Macedonia after the clashes Rome fought previously with King Phillip the V. Thus, in 171 BC, in what is known as the Third Macedonian War, Rome and Macedon were at each other’s throats after King Perseus defeated a Roman army at the Battle of Callicinus. Later that same year, Lucius dealt the final blow to Macedon at the decisive battle of Pynda, a clash of arms which famously displayed legions flexibility over the tightly packed phalanx. Lucius ordered the execution of 500 Macedonian soldiers and exiled many more, before plundering huge amounts of money, the majority of which Plutarch states he selfishly kept to himself. To satisfy both his hunger and his men, Lucius authorized the brutal sacking of 70 towns in the kingdom of Epirus, enslaving an estimated 150,000 people. His return to Rome was celebrated with huge triumphs, in which the senate awarded him the title Macedonicus.

Constantine the Great (or St. Constantine) is famously remembered for being the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity, which is described as a dramatic ordeal in which he viewed the forming of a cross while staring into the sun. He relocated the Roman capital from the western city of Rome to the eastern city of Constantinople (Istanbul), a city that was brilliantly centered in between the Mediterranean and Black Sea, and thus thrived as a huge trading center for people from all over the world. Thus, he is considered the founder of the great Eastern Roman Empire (also called the Byzantine Empire), which would live on another 1,000 years following the collapse of the Western Roman Empire. He established his rule by defeated Maxentius and Licinius during civil wars. During his reign he led successful campaigns against the Franks, Alamanni, Visigoths, and the Sarmatians. He is considered one of the best emperors (and first) of the Byzantine Empire and launched it into great success for the many emperors that would follow him.

Commonly referred to as simply Pompey, he lived from 106-48 BC, experiencing much war and conquest with his life. In 83 BC, Lucius Cornelius Sulla returned to Rome from successful campaigns against King Mithridates the Great of Pontus, battling the powerful Marian family for control of Italy in a civil war. Soon, with the help of Pompey and his tactical maneuvers with three legions, Sulla took full control of Rome and declared himself dictator for life. Sulla was impressed with Pompey’s performance, and over the course of decades, Pompey fought successful campaigns – the first of which in Sicily and Africa through 82-81 BC. He secured Sicily and established a large grain supply for Rome, before defeating King Hiarbas and conquering Numidia. Pompey was declared Imperator by his loyal soldiers and given the title Pompey the Great by Sulla, before receiving lavish triumphs in Rome. Sulla died in 78 BC, and Pompey was sent to Hispania, in which he campaigned for five years (76-71 BC) and found it difficult to deliver a crushing blow to the resilient King Sertorious, who successfully deployed effective guerrilla tactics against Pompey’s forces on more than one occasion. Finally, after Sertorious’ assassination by one of his own officers, Pompey returned to Rome, where he captured 5,000 gladiator rebels led by Spartacus, which infuriated the very rich Marcus Licinius Crassus, who claimed that the credit should be directed at him as the rightful one who ended the rebellion.

In 71 BC he was rewarded another massive triumph in Rome, and was easily elected Consul in 70 BC along with Crassus. In 68 BC Pompey gained more popularity by commanding the successful eradication of pirates in the Mediterranean Sea (however some, notably Cicero, would later criticize this). In 61 BC, Pompey joined the First Triumvirate along with Julius Caesar and Crassus (mentioned earlier, the two had made up by then). Throughout the 50s (BC time, not 1950s), Pompey led even more successful campaigns against Pontus and Judea (Israel). However, trouble was brewing in the Triumvirate after Crassus was killed at the disastrous Battle of Carrhae, and Pompey was growing increasingly jealous of the huge military success Caesar was experiencing. Inevitably, Caesar and Pompey went to Civil War in 49 BC, and Caesar was determined the victor after the decisive Battle of Pharsalus, in which Caesar’s brilliant tactics and superior veterans defeated Pompey’s larger numbers. Pompey fled to Egypt, where he was assassinated on the order of King Ptolemy XIII, in an attempt to please Caesar (this attempt completely backfired, by the way).

Scipio lived from 236-186 BC and is considered one of the greatest generals in all of history. Upon his joining of the Roman army at an early age during the Second Punic War against Carthage and led by the brilliant Hannibal Barca, Scipio vowed that he would participate in the struggle until the end. He served with distinction and notably survived the Battles of Ticinus, Trebia, and Cannae (Cannae being labeled by some historians as the worst military defeat in Roman history). Even more incredible, Scipio supposedly saved his father’s life (also named Publius Scipio) when he was 18 “by charging the encircling force with reckless daring” – from the historian Polybius. Scipio’s loyalty to achieving Roman victory was so strong that, during a conference in which Rome’s leaders had gathered to discuss the possibility of surrender, Scipio ran into the room, threatening the politicians at sword point to never surrender. In 211 BC, both Scipio’s father and uncle were killed in battle by Hasdrubal (Hannibal’s brother) and Scipio became the new head general. Over the course of the next few years, Scipio captured Carthago Nova (New Carthage) in Hispania, which became his base of operations. Scipio gained huge respect for his humble conduct towards prisoners, and on one occasion, after being offered a beautiful woman as a prize of war, he returned her to her fiancé, a chieftain of the Celtiberian tribe named Allucius. Allucius was then so thankful that he reinforced Scipio’s forces with warriors from his tribe. Scipio then fought the Battle of Baecula against the forces of Hasdrubal, in which he outflanked and surrounded the Carthaginian army with his cavalry, while evading the armies of Gisgo and Mago (also two of Hannibal’s trusted generals). This victory, however, has been criticized because of Scipio’s decision not to pursue Hasdrubal’s fleeing army. There are many theories, but I will stick with the one in which he feared getting caught by the separate armies of Mago and Gisgo. In 205 BC Scipio was given the title of Consul and returned to Africa to resume his campaign against the Carthaginians, in which Scipio fought his most legendary and famous battle: Zama.

Arriving at the battlefield, Hannibal (yes, the great Carthaginian general himself was present at Zama) had an estimated 58,000 infantry and 6,000 cavalry, as well as 80 war elephants Scipio had 34,000 infantry and about 8,700 cavalry. The battle took place on October 19, 202 BC, and began when Hannibal ordered his elephants forward to punch holes in the Roman lines. Scipio, however, had arranged his men in vertical columns with pathways in between. Many elephants were simply goaded along through the openings, while others were forced back into the Carthaginian soldiers due to blaring noise from Roman trumpeters, causing damage and confusion to Hannibal’s left flank. Scipio’s cavalry then successfully engaged and routed the elite Numidian cavalry deployed by Hannibal, and chased them down. The infantry then proceeded to engage each other, Scipio having his line drawn out long to match the numerical superiority the Carthaginians had. The resulting clash was fierce, brutal, and bloody, and after a long standstill Hannibal’s army was finally vanquished when the Roman cavalry returned to make a rear charge. Modern historians call Zama the “Roman Cannae.” The humble Scipio did not sack Carthage like the Senate wanted him to, instead imposing moderate regulations and taxes upon them, and Scipio was welcomed back to Rome hugely famous, rewarded with a triumph and given the title Africanus and was even asked to become dictator or king (which he refused). Scipio Africanus had the rare military distinction of never losing a battle in his career.

Julius Caesar (I will call him Caesar), is probably the most famous Roman to have ever lived. He was a brilliant politician, writer, statesman, and of course, an absolute genius military general, and the most legendary of any Roman. Caesar was born in 100 BC (there is debate that it was 102 or 101 BC) to a noble family and joined the army in 85 BC following the sudden death of his father, receiving the Civic Crown for his service in an important siege (the Civic Crown is a laurel leaf “hat” that Caesar would wear throughout his life to cover his baldness). Caesar was almost killed in his 20s when Lucius Cornelius Sulla became dictator of Rome in 82 BC, he quickly began eliminating his enemies by either execution or exile, and Caesar was opposed to his policy, and thus was forced to flee Rome, catching severe malaria that very nearly killed him. Caesar returned to Rome after Sulla’s death in 78 BC, quickly becoming extremely popular by holding elaborate gladiator games for the public (in one instance, the Senate limited the amount of gladiators used in one of his shows because he had an amount large enough to prompt the Senate fear a secret rebellion). Caesar led successful campaigns in Spain in 69 BC, and famously discovered a statue of Alexander the Great, and felt ashamed realizing that he was the same age Alexander was when he had conquered half the world. Caesar was a master orator and hosted huge gladiator shows for the public, while giving bribes to voters.

This accumulated him massive debt but, in the end, caused him to reach the position of pontifex maximus (high priest) and consul in 59 BC. Caesar had also formed the First Triumvirate with Marcus Crassus, who was perhaps the wealthiest person in Rome (if not the world) during that time and freed Caesar of his huge debts. Pompey, the third member, was chosen for his huge military success (at the time, he was more popular than Caesar) and the deal was sealed following Pompey’s marriage to Caesar’s daughter Julia. Caesar launched his conquest of Gaul in 58 BC, and would remain there until 51 BC. This campaign is perhaps the most famous and brilliant of any Roman general, and is vividly recorded through Caesar’s own seven volume writings, in which he relates himself in the third-person and often relates himself as a genius, and probably has some figures exaggerated. Even so, his writings generally match that of Plutarch and other historians. He faced a formidable opponent, Vercingetorix, who understood that the science to defeating the Romans was not to face them on open ground in a fair fight, but rather, use guerrilla tactics and quick ambushes, and even deployed the interesting tactic known as “scorched earth,” in which everything, from landscape, to food, and even your own villages, is torched, the goal being that Caesar would not be able to supply his army with the necessary resources for a campaign. In 55 BC, in a display of the brilliant architectural abilities of the Romans, Caesar ordered his 40,000 men to build a bridge that would allow them to cross the 30 foot Rhine River to engage the Germanic forces on the other side. The bridge is estimated to have been 460-1,300 feet long and 23-30 feet wide, and only took ten days to complete.

Then, in 52 BC, perhaps Caesar’s greatest battle took place at the Siege of Alesia, in which Caesar used brilliant siege tactics, which included walling the already walled city, before then walling the wall to keep out reinforcements (yes, Caesar was GENIUS!). Over the course of the several weeks following, Vercingetorix and the 180,000 men, women, and children trapped in Alesia were starving to death, and the Gallic general managed to get word to other Gallic tribes to aid him, receiving a response of 250,000 soldiers led by Commodus. Despite being outnumbered 4:1, Caesar’s wall only allowed for a narrow opening, and thus Caesar still managed to ward off the counterattack. Finally, Vercingetorix surrendered, and Caesar’s 7 year campaign came to an end. Upon returning to Rome, Caesar was hugely welcomed with massive triumphs, and Pompey paled in comparison. Soon, Caesar left for the British Isles to campaign, and he and the jealous Pompey fought their own separate wars until Crassus (who was jealous of both of them), went off to Parthia with an army that was defeated at Carrhae, considered one of the worst losses in Roman history. Soon (you know what, you know the story…) and Pompey was killed. Caesar then killed our old friend Ptolemy XIII and married Cleopatra VII, and the couple gave birth to a son, Caesarian. Caesar then invaded Rome and took control of it by force, becoming dictator for life in 45 BC. Caesar had many plans for the future, including an invasion of Parthia the following months (in revenge for Crassus). He changed the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire and established the second chapter of Roman history, and the long line of emperors that would come with it. However, on March 15, 44 BC, Caesar was assassinated by 60 senators led by Marcus Brutus and Gaius Cassius by being repeatedly stabbed in the Senate chambers, with sources claiming he was stabbed up to 23 times.

Friday the 13th of any month, of course, is considered to be unlucky but it is just another ordinary day. Some years, not much happens on a month that has a Friday the 13th. Other years, history is made, for better or worse.

Other internet lists that focus on events of Friday the 13th describe the most noteworthy events that have occurred – the crash of the rugby team’s plane in the Andes mountains in 1972, the 1970 Bangladesh flood, the 1989 stock market crash, the death of Tupac Shakur in 1996. This list will focus on ten of the lesser-known events that occurred on Friday the 13th.

Event: Tennessee Makes it Unlawful to Teach Evolution.

On Friday, May 13, 1925, by a vote of 24-6, the Tennessee Senate voted to ratify the new state law called The Butler Act. The new law prevented Tennessee public school teachers from denying the biblical account of God creating man and prohibited the teaching of the theory of evolution in the classroom. Specifically, the new law stated “it shall be unlawful for any teacher in any of the Universities, Normals and all other public schools of the State which are supported in whole or in part by the public school funds of the State, to teach any theory that denies the Story of the Divine Creation of man as taught in the Bible, and to teach instead that man has descended from a lower order of animals.” Teachers who failed to comply could be charged with a misdemeanor offense and fined up to $500, a considerable amount of money in 1925.

The law was made famous by the Scopes Monkey trial when a teacher, John Scopes, agreed to be arrested on the charges of teaching evolution in the classroom. The law was then challenged by the ACLU after Scopes was indicted and convicted. In 1927, the Tennessee Supreme Court found the law to be constitutional under the Tennessee State Constitution, but threw out the charges against Scopes on a technicality. During the trial, Butler told reporters: “I never had any idea my bill would make a fuss. I just thought it would become a law, and that everybody would abide by it and that we wouldn’t hear any more of evolution in Tennessee.” The law remained on the books until 1967.

Event: Soviet MIG Shoots Down Swedish Plane.

On Friday, June 13, 1952, a Swedish C-47 airplane was performing secret Cold War electronic intelligence gathering operations for the US (Sweden being, supposedly, a neutral country). The plane was called “Hugin” after the mythological ravens used by the god Odin to gather information from all over the world. The planes were supposed to be normal transport planes but were, in fact, outfitted with five radio operator stations, each one listening in on Soviet electronic intelligence. The Hugin would become just one more of the many incidents of shooting down in the long Cold War air battle over gathering intelligence. A Soviet MIG fighter jet shot it down over the East Sea. All eight people on board were killed. Only a raft was found, no bodies or the plane were located until 2004, when they were recovered. Today the plane is on display at the Swedish Air Force museum. You can see the plane above.

Event: Henry Rowe Schoolcraft Makes a Big Discovery.

Henry Rowe Schoolcraft was an early American geologist, geographer and explorer, who studied Native American cultures and is best remembered for what he found – the source of the mighty Mississippi River, on Friday, July 13th, 1832.

Born in 1793, Schoolcraft had an early interest in geology. He would do one of the early explorations of the American Midwest, producing the first written account of the exploration of the Ozark Mountain region. In 1820, he did some of the earliest explorations of the Lake Superior region as part of the Lewis Cass Expedition. The expedition mistakenly named the source of the Mississippi Rover as Cass Lake, in Minnesota.

As a member of the Michigan Territory legislator, in 1832, he traveled to the upper reaches of the Mississippi and spoke with many members of the Ojibwa and Dakota (Sioux) nations. Among other things, he discovered that there was no evidence of smallpox among the native people until 1750, when a group of warriors went east to battle with the French against the British. The warriors returned with smallpox and infected the native peoples who had no natural immunity from this Old World disease. While he was there, he took the opportunity to try to find the true source of the Mississippi River, and was successful.

On Friday the 13th of July, 1832, Schoolcraft discovered the true headwaters of the Mississippi River in Lake Itasca, which he named from the Latin words “verities” meaning ‘truth’ and “kaput” meaning ‘head.’ The nearby Schoolcraft River, the first major tributary of the Mississippi, was later named in his honor.

Schoolcraft would marry Jane Johnston, whose parents were Native American (Ojibwe) and Scots-Irish. Her knowledge of the Ojibwe language and of Ojibwe legends, which she shared with Schoolcraft, formed in part the source material for Longfellow’s epic poem, The Song of Hiawatha. Schoolcraft died in 1864.

Event: Kitty Genovese Murder Shocks the World.

In a murder that shocked the nation and the world, and called into question the willingness and ability of the public to help those in distress, Catherine Susan (Kitty) Genovese was stabbed to death as she was returning to her Queens, New York City home in the early morning hours of Friday March 13, 1964. She was only 29 years old. Two weeks after the murder, a newspaper article appeared that questioned whether or not neighbors heard the attack and stood by and did nothing to help the girl. Later this was called into question, but not before the murder of Kitty Genovese and the investigation brought to light a social psychological phenomenon called “diffusion of responsibility” or “the bystander effect” (or the “Genovese syndrome”).

Genovese was returning from the bar where she worked as a manager, around 3:15 AM in the morning and parked her car only 100 feet from her house. While walking in an alley to get home, she was attacked by Winston Mosely. Genovese ran away but Mosely took chase, caught her, and stabbed her twice in the back. She screamed “oh my God, he stabbed me!” and this was apparently heard by many neighbors, but only one of them, Robert Mozer opened his window and screamed at Mosley “let that girl alone!” This frightened Mosley and he fled. Genovese slowly moved towards her apartment building. People called the police to report the attack but the police were slow to respond. Meanwhile, Mosely went to his car, disguised himself, and went back to search for Genovese. He found her, at the back of a hallway leading to her apartment; she was unable to enter her apartment, too weak from the initial attack. Out of view, he proceeded to stab her several more times, then raped her as she was dying. The attack spanned at least a half an hour. She died en route to the hospital in the ambulance.

Originally the newspaper reported 38 people heard or saw the attack, but this is certainly an exaggeration. Still, at least a dozen people witnessed the attack, most mistaking it for a quarrel between lovers, or a drunken street brawl by youths.

Mosely was arrested and admitted to the crime, he said he liked to kill women because they put up less of a fight. On that night he left his wife sleeping in bed and went out on the hunt, he spotted Genovese and moved in for the kill. Mosely was found guilty of murder and sentenced to death, but this was later changed to life in prison.

The public saw the murder of Genovese as symptomatic of the moral decay and apathy present in New York City and all major cities at that time, and people in general. People felt that, especially in the cities, people were losing the sense of community and willingness to “get involved”. And the murder of Kitty Genovese brought those feelings home to an entire nation. The reality, however, was that far fewer than 38 people witnessed the murder and none of those who did witness it, saw the entire act, only bits and pieces. One positive outcome is that the murder led some neighborhoods to start what later became known as Neighborhood Watch programs.

Event: Aeroflot Ilyushin 62 Flight Becomes the Forgotten Airplane Crash.

On the same Friday the 13th in which the flight carrying rugby players from Uruguay crashed into the Andes, leading to their historic struggle for survival and rescue, made famous by the book “Alive,” another air crash occurred half way around the world that resulted in a far larger loss of life but, like most airplane crashes, is now remembered only as a footnote in the long list of aviation tragedies.

That day, Friday October 13, 1972, an Aeroflot Il-62 airplane carrying 176 people took off from Paris on a commuter flight bound for Leningrad and Moscow. The plane landed at Leningrad and then took off for Sheremetyevo airport, located just outside Moscow. The weather was bad with rain and poor visibility. The pilots were told to descend on approach to the airport. For unknown reasons, they attempted and failed to land twice. On the third attempt to land, the plane crashed into a large pond about 4 miles short of the airport. There were no survivors. No cause of the accident was ever established. At the time, the crash resulted in one of the worst loss of life incidents for a single plane crash, in history. It remains the 44th worse loss of life in an airplane crash in aviation history.

Event: Admiral Daniel Callaghan and Admiral Norman Scott Both Killed in Same Battle.

Often overlooked by the famous land battle for the Island of Guadalcanal, the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal sometimes referred to as the Third and Fourth Battles of Savo Island, or simply The Battle of Friday the 13th, took place from November 12-15, 1942. This was the decisive naval battle between Japan and the United States during the month long battle for Guadalcanal and the Solomon islands. This battle is the only instance where two Naval Admirals of the United States Navy were killed in action during surface engagements.

Beginning in August 1942, Allied Forces landed on the island of Guadalcanal and took control of an airport being built by the Japanese. The forces held off repeated attempts by the Japanese army to retake the airport. By November 1942, a flotilla of Japanese war ships were heading for Guadalcanal to reinforce the island and try once again to retake the airport. The US got wind of the approaching Japanese naval forces and sent their own navy to intercept.

Heavy battles between opposing naval forces took place, resulting in the loss of many ships on both sides. However, US forces were successful and stopped most of the Japanese troops from reaching the island, sinking the troop transport vessels before they could reach Guadalcanal. They also prevented the Japanese ships from bombarding the island, airfield and US troops.

On board the cruiser USS San Francisco was Admiral Daniel Judson Callaghan. Callaghan had served in the US Navy for 30 years and in two World Wars. Callaghan rose to become Naval Aide to President Roosevelt, but Roosevelt released him to fight in the Pacific theater during WWII. Callaghan was promoted to Rear Admiral and took command of Task Force 67, a task force group engaging the enemy during the Guadalcanal campaign. During this battle, he was on the bridge of the USS San Francisco when incoming enemy fire killed him, and most of the command crew, on November 13, 1942. Callaghan was buried at sea. He received the Medal of Honor posthumously for his efforts in this battle.

On that same Friday the 13th, Admiral Norman Scott was on board his flagship, the light cruiser USS Atlanta, when he was killed by gunfire, possibly friendly fire from Admiral Callaghan’s own heavy cruiser, the USS San Francisco, as well as an enemy torpedo. For his “extraordinary heroism and conspicuous intrepidity” he posthumously received the Medal of Honor. He was also buried at sea.

Event: Richard “Dick” Button and Dorothy Hamill Are Champions 28 Years Apart.

On Friday, February 13th, 1948, US men’s figure skating champion Richard “Dick” Button won the World Figure Skating Championship, held that year in Davos, Switzerland. It was only the second World Figure Skating Championship held after the end of WWII. Interesting to note is that skaters from Germany and Japan were not allowed to compete. Button would also win the gold medal for Men’s Figure Skating at the 1948 Winter Olympic games, at St Moritz, Switzerland, and the 1952 Winter Olympic games at Oslo, Norway. Button is one of the greatest US men’s figure skating champions of all time, but is probably best remembered as the television announcer and skating analyst for many years on the ABC Olympics coverage. Many of us who grew up watching the Winter Olympic games of that time remember Button thrilling to the skaters and saying such things as “what a beautiful line,” obviously believing we at home knew what he was talking about. Regardless, Button’s vivacious announcing of Olympic skating helped make the sport as popular as it is today in the US, and around the world.

Twenty eight years later, on Friday the 13th of February 1976, US women’s figure skater Dorothy Hammill would win gold for the USA at the Winter Olympic games at Innsbruck, Austria. Dick Button was announcing for Hammill’s gold medal win.

What is now considered an historic US landmark and pop culture icon, the Hollywood sign above Los Angeles, California, was first unveiled by the owner of the Los Angeles Times newspaper, Harry Chandler, on Friday the 13th of July, 1923. Originally the sign spelled out “Hollywoodland” and was erected to advertise a new housing development Chandler was constructing nearby. The original 30-foot wide and 50-foot tall letters were covered in 4,000 light bulbs. The sign had been intended to stand for only about a year to advertise the property. In 1949, wanting to use the sign to promote the area and not just the housing development, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce decided to remove the “LAND” from the end of the sign, and the rest, as they say in the movies, is history. Over the following decades, the wood and sheet metal sign was allowed to fall apart until it was finally rescued and renovated in 1978, by a group of people who ponied up about $27,000 each to erect a steel sign to replace the older one. One of the donors was rock star Alice Cooper who donated the money in memory of Groucho Marx. Today, the sign is protected and maintained by the Hollywood Sign Trust. In addition to being seen in countless TV, cinema and artist representations and satires, the sign has a history all of its own including the mysterious death of Broadway actress Peg Entwistle, in 1932. Her body was found in a ravine below the sign. The Police surmised Entwistle jumped to her death from the letter H.

He was the Evil Knievel of the 1800s. Sam Patch was, perhaps, the very first famous American daredevil. Patch earned his initial notoriety by successfully jumping off a raised platform into the Niagara River at the base of the Niagara Falls, in 1829. Prior to that, Patch had been a laborer in New Jersey when he got the idea to jump off the 70-foot tall Passaic Falls before a large crowd. He must have liked it because he did the jump two more times. In 1828, at Hoboken New Jersey, Patch worked his way up and over the 100 foot barrier with another successful jump. Being quite good at jumping (and surviving) he would jump from mill dams, factory walls, bridges, even ship masts, all to ever growing crowds, which he advertised to prior to performing. His reputation grew until he was called “Patch the New Jersey Jumper” and later “The Yankee Leaper.”

In the autumn of 1829, Patch made the jump at the Niagara River at the base of the Niagara Falls and lived to tell the tale. The same jump had been attempted by another man, prior to Patch making it (obviously with no success). Patch’s jump was designed to attract visitors to Niagara Falls. To do the jump, a 125-foot ladder was extended over the river, below Goat island and opposite The Cave of Winds. The jump had to be rescheduled to late in the afternoon when a portion of the ladder collapsed. Patch made the jump and disappeared into the waters. A rescue boat circled around the area where Patch entered the water and then Patch appeared, safely ashore! The crowd went wild.

Due to bad weather the crowd who witnessed his first successful Niagara River jump was small, so Patch advertised that he would do the jump again, and on October 17 he did so before a crowd estimated to be 10,000 people. Sam Patch was now a household name around the United States. His slogan “some things can be done as well as others” became what may have been the first national catch phrase.

Patch then moved on and set his sight on jumping the 99-foot high falls of the Genesee River, in Rochester New York. On Friday November 6, 1829, Patch went out onto a rock ledge in the middle of the falls to make his jump. But first he threw a baby bear cub over the falls. It landed in the water and swam safely to shore. Patch then followed the little bear and jumped into the water at the base of the falls. Even with a crowd estimated to be 8,000 people, his first Genesee River jump raised less money than Patch wanted. So he decided to do another jump a week later – on Friday the 13th of November, 1829. A jump of 99-feet had to be topped and Patch did this by constructing a 25-foot tall ladder, to stand above the height of the falls, to jump from. Those in attendance differed in their accounts of what happened next. Some say Patch fell off the ladder. Others said he did make the jump. Still others claimed he was drunk. What is known is that Patch did not enter the water, feet first and vertical as he had always done. His body hit the water with a loud impact noise and he never resurfaced. At first the crowd thought he might be hiding in a cave to heighten the sense of suspense. But his body was never seen and was only recovered in the spring as the winter ice melted. He was buried near where his body was found and a wooden board was placed over his grave. It read: “Sam Patch – Such is Fame.”

When I first read this Friday the 13th account I thought it was a hoax. I checked and this is a true story (link to the newspaper article at bottom).

Apparently at 13 minutes after the 13th hour (1 PM) on Friday the 13th of August 2010, a 13 year old boy was struck by lightning. Though this has to be one of the most unlucky Friday the 13th encounters by time signature alone, at least he was fortunate enough not to be struck by lightning 13 times! The boy was watching an air show at Lowestoft, England, when he was struck, and was later treated for burns to his shoulder. He was expected to make a full recovery.

Rex Clarke, leader of the ambulance team that treated the child, said “the boy was breathing and was conscious. He had a minor burn to his shoulder and was taken to hospital as a precaution. It could have been a lot worse,” he said, adding: “It’s all a bit strange that he was 13, and it happened at 13:13 on Friday the 13th.”

Hippocrates of Cos was an ancient Greek physician of the Age of Pericles (Classical Athens), and is considered one of the most outstanding figures in the history of medicine. He is referred to as the father of Western medicine in recognition of his lasting contributions to the field as the founder of the Hippocratic School of Medicine. This intellectual school revolutionized medicine in ancient Greece, establishing it as a discipline distinct from other fields that it had traditionally been associated with (notably theurgy and philosophy), thus establishing medicine as a profession.

Thales of Miletus was a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher from Miletus, in Asia Minor, and one of the Seven Sages of Greece. Many, most notably Aristotle, regard him as the first philosopher in the Greek tradition. According to Bertrand Russell, “Western philosophy begins with Thales.” Thales attempted to explain natural phenomena without reference to mythology, and was tremendously influential in this respect.

In mathematics, Thales used geometry to solve problems, such as calculating the height of pyramids and the distance of ships from the shore. He is credited with the first use of deductive reasoning applied to geometry, by deriving four corollaries to Thales’ Theorem. As a result, he has been hailed as the first true mathematician, and is the first known individual to whom a mathematical discovery has been attributed. Also, Thales was the first person known to have studied electricity.

Phidias, or the great Pheidias, was a Greek sculptor, painter and architect, who lived in the 5th century BC, and is commonly regarded as one of the greatest of all sculptors of Classical Greece. Phidias’ Statue of Zeus, at Olympia, was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Phidias also designed the statues of the goddess Athena on the Athenian Acropolis, namely the Athena Parthenos, inside the Parthenon and the Athena Promachos, a colossal bronze statue of Athena which stood between it and the Propylaea, a monumental gateway that served as the entrance to the Acropolis in Athens.

Prior to the Peloponnesian war, Phidias was accused of embezzling gold intended for the statue of Athena inside the Parthenon. Pericles’ enemies found a false witness against Phidias, named Menon. Phidias died in prison, although Pericles’ companion, Aspasia, was acquitted of her own charges.

“In making their own evaluation of Solon, the ancient sources concentrated on what were perceived to be the democratic features of the constitution. But…Solon was given his extraordinary commission by the nobles, who wanted him to eliminate the threat that the position of the nobles as a whole would be overthrown.” — Stanton, G.R. Athenian Politics c800-500BC: A Sourcebook, Routledge, London (1990), p. 76.

Solon was an Athenian statesman, lawmaker and poet. He is remembered particularly for his efforts to legislate against political, economic and moral decline in archaic Athens. His reforms failed in the short term, yet he is often credited with having laid the foundations for Athenian democracy.

Democritus was an Ancient Greek philosopher, born in Abdera, Thrace, Greece. He was an influential pre-Socratic philosopher and pupil of Leucippus, who formulated an atomic theory for the cosmos. His exact contributions are difficult to disentangle from his mentor Leucippus, as they are often mentioned together in texts. Their speculation on atoms, taken from Leucippus, bears a passing and partial resemblance to the 19th century understanding of atomic structure that has led some to regard Democritus as more of a scientist than other Greek philosophers; however, their ideas rested on very different bases. Largely ignored in ancient Athens, Democritus was, nevertheless, well-known to his fellow northern-born philosopher Aristotle. Plato is said to have disliked him so much that he wished all his books burned. Many consider Democritus to be the “father of modern science.”

Herodotus was an ancient Greek historian who was born in Halicarnassus, Caria, and lived in the 5th century BC (c. 484 BC – c. 425 BC). He has been called the “Father of History,” and was the first historian known to collect his materials systematically, test their accuracy to a certain extent, and arrange them in a well-constructed and vivid narrative. The Histories — his masterpiece and the only work he is known to have produced — is a record of his “inquiry” (or ἱστορία historía, a word that passed into Latin and took on its modern meaning of history), being an investigation of the origins of the Greco-Persian Wars and including a wealth of geographical and ethnographical information. Although some of his stories were not completely accurate, he claimed that he was reporting only what had been told to him. Little is known of his personal history, since ancient records are scanty, contradictory and often fanciful.

Leonidas I was a hero-king of Sparta, the 17th of the Agiad line, one of the sons of King Anaxandridas II of Sparta, who was believed in mythology to be a descendant of Heracles, possessing much of the latter’s strength and bravery. Leonidas I is notable for his leadership at the Battle of Thermopylae, which has long been the topic of cultural inspiration, as it is perhaps the most famous military last stand of all time. His “against all odds” story is passed to us from the writings of the Greek Herodotus. He relates the story of 300 Spartans and 700 Thespians defending the Pass of Thermopylae against almost “2 million” Persians for three days.

Although modern historians have questioned the numbers presented by Herodotus, with most at around 100,000 to 250,000 invaders, the story has resonated with authors and poets for centuries over the inspiring bravery and resolution of the Spartans.

The performance of the defenders at the battle of Thermopylae is often used as an example of the advantages of training, equipment, and good use of terrain to maximize an army’s potential and has become a symbol of courage against overwhelming odds. Even more, both ancient and modern writers used the Battle of Thermopylae as an example of the superior power of a volunteer army of freemen defending native soil. The sacrifice of the Spartans and the Thespians has captured the minds of many throughout the ages and has given birth to many cultural references as a result.

Archimedes of Syracuse was a Greek mathematician, physicist, engineer, inventor and astronomer. Although few details of his life are known, he is regarded as one of the leading scientists in classical antiquity. Among his advances in physics are the foundations of hydrostatics, statics and an explanation of the principle of the lever. He is credited with designing innovative machines, including siege engines and the screw pump that bears his name. Modern experiments have tested claims that Archimedes designed machines capable of lifting attacking ships out of the water and setting ships on fire using an array of mirrors.

Archimedes is generally considered to be the greatest mathematician of antiquity, and one of the greatest of all time. He used the method of exhaustion to calculate the area under the arc of a parabola with the summation of an infinite series, and gave a remarkably accurate approximation of pi. He also defined the spiral bearing his name, formulae for the volumes of surfaces of revolution and an ingenious system for expressing very large numbers.

Unlike his inventions, the mathematical writings of Archimedes were little-known in antiquity. Mathematicians from Alexandria read and quoted him, but the first comprehensive compilation was not made until c. 530 AD by Isidore of Miletus, while commentaries on the works of Archimedes, written by Eutocius in the 6th century AD, opened them to wider readership for the first time. The relatively few copies of Archimedes’ written work that survived through the Middle Ages were an influential source of ideas for scientists during the Renaissance, while the discovery, in 1906, of previously unknown works by Archimedes in the Archimedes Palimpsest has provided new insights into how he obtained mathematical results.

Pythagoras made influential contributions to philosophy and religious teaching in the late 6th century BC. He is often revered as a great mathematician, mystic and scientist, but he is best known for the Pythagorean theorem which bears his name. However, because legend and obfuscation cloud his work even more than with the other pre-Socratic philosophers, one can give account of his teachings to a little extent, and some have questioned whether he contributed much to mathematics and natural philosophy. Many of the accomplishments credited to Pythagoras may actually have been accomplishments of his colleagues and successors. Whether or not his disciples believed that everything was related to mathematics and that numbers were the ultimate reality is unknown. It was said that he was the first man to call himself a philosopher, or lover of wisdom and Pythagorean ideas exercised a marked influence on Plato, and through him, all of Western philosophy.

Pericles was a prominent and influential statesman, orator and general of Athens during the city’s Golden Age — specifically, the time between the Persian and Peloponnesian wars. Pericles had such a profound influence on Athenian society that Thucydides, his contemporary historian, acclaimed him as “the first citizen of Athens.” Pericles turned the Delian League into an Athenian empire and led his countrymen during the first two years of the Peloponnesian War. The period during which he led Athens, roughly from 461 to 429 BC, is sometimes known as the “Age of Pericles,” though the period thus denoted can include times as early as the Persian Wars, or as late as the next century.

Pericles promoted the arts and literature; this was a chief reason Athens holds the reputation of being the educational and cultural centre of the ancient world. He started an ambitious project that generated most of the surviving structures on the Acropolis (including the Parthenon). This project beautified the city, exhibited its glory, and gave work to the people. Furthermore, Pericles fostered Athenian democracy to such an extent that critics call him a populist.

Pericles’ most visible legacy can be found in the literary and artistic works of the Golden Age of Athens, most of which survive to this day. The Acropolis, though in ruins, still stands and is a symbol of modern Athens. A famous modern Greek historian wrote that these masterpieces are “sufficient to render the name of Greece immortal in our world.” Pericles also is lauded as “the ideal type of the perfect statesman in ancient Greece”, and his Funeral Oration is nowadays synonymous with the struggle for participatory democracy and civic pride.

Plato, was a Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, student of Socrates, writer of philosophical dialogues and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Along with his mentor, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, Plato helped to lay the foundations of Western philosophy and science. In the famous words of A.N. Whitehead: “The safest general characterization of the European philosophical tradition is that it consists of a series of footnotes to Plato. I do not mean the systematic scheme of thought which scholars have doubtfully extracted from his writings. I allude to the wealth of general ideas scattered through them.” Plato’s dialogues have been used to teach a range of subjects, including philosophy, logic, ethics, rhetoric and mathematics.

Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology and zoology. Together with Plato and Socrates, Aristotle is one of the most important founding figures in Western philosophy. Aristotle’s writings were the first to create a comprehensive system of Western philosophy, encompassing morality and aesthetics, logic and science, politics and metaphysics.

Aristotle’s views on the physical sciences profoundly shaped medieval scholarship, and their influence extended well into the Renaissance, although they were ultimately replaced by Newtonian physics. In the zoological sciences, some of his observations were confirmed to be accurate only in the 19th century. His works contain the earliest known formal study of logic, which was incorporated in the late 19th century into modern formal logic. In metaphysics, Aristotelianism had a profound influence on philosophical and theological thinking in the Islamic and Jewish traditions in the Middle Ages, and it continues to influence Christian theology, especially the scholastic tradition of the Catholic Church. His ethics, though always influential, gained renewed interest with the modern advent of virtue ethics. All aspects of Aristotle’s philosophy continue to be the object of active academic study today. Though Aristotle wrote many elegant treatises and dialogues (Cicero described his literary style as “a river of gold”), it is thought that the majority of his writings are now lost and only about one-third of the original works have survived.

In the Western classical tradition, Homer is the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, and is revered as the greatest ancient Greek epic poet. These epics lie at the beginning of the Western canon of literature, and have had an enormous influence on the history of literature.

The formative influence played by the Homeric epics in shaping Greek culture was widely recognized, and Homer was described as the teacher of Greece.

The Iliad and the Odyssey reveal much about the values of the ancient Greeks. The heroes display honor, courage, and eloquence, as when Achilles rallies his troops. For almost 3,000 years, the epic of Homer have inspired writers and artists around the world.

Socrates was a classical Greek Athenian philosopher. Credited as one of the founders of Western philosophy, he is an enigmatic figure known chiefly through the accounts of later classical writers, especially the writings of his students Plato and Xenophon, and the plays of his contemporary Aristophanes. Many would claim that Plato’s dialogues are the most comprehensive accounts of Socrates to survive from antiquity.

Through his portrayal in Plato’s dialogues, Socrates has become renowned for his contribution to the field of ethics, and it is this Platonic Socrates who also lends his name to the concepts of Socratic irony and the Socratic method, or elenchus. The latter remains a commonly used tool in a wide range of discussions, and is a type of pedagogy in which a series of questions are asked not only to draw individual answers, but also to encourage fundamental insight into the issue at hand. It is Plato’s Socrates that also made important and lasting contributions to the fields of epistemology and logic, and the influence of his ideas and approach remains strong in providing a foundation for much western philosophy that followed.

As one recent commentator has put it, Plato, the idealist, offers “an idol, a master figure, for philosophy. A Saint, a prophet of the ‘Sun-God,’ a teacher condemned for his teachings as a heretic.”

Alexander III of Macedon, commonly known as Alexander the Great (Greek: Ἀλέξανδρος ὁ Μέγας), was a king of Macedon, a state in northern ancient Greece. Born in Pella, Greece in 356 BC, Alexander was tutored by Aristotle until the age of 16. By the age of thirty, he had created one of the largest empires of the ancient world, stretching from the Ionian Sea to the Himalayas. He was undefeated in battle, and is considered one of history’s most successful commanders.

Alexander succeeded his father, Philip II of Macedon, to the throne in 336 BC after Philip was assassinated. Upon Philip’s death, Alexander inherited a strong kingdom and an experienced army. He was awarded the generalship of Greece and used this authority to launch his father’s military expansion plans. In 334 BC he invaded Persian-ruled Asia Minor and began a series of campaigns that lasted ten years. Alexander broke the power of Persia in a series of decisive battles, most notably the battles of Issus and Gaugamela. He subsequently overthrew the Persian King Darius III and conquered the entirety of the Persian Empire. At that point his empire stretched from the Adriatic Sea to the Indus River.

Seeking to reach the “ends of the world and the Great Outer Sea,” he invaded India in 326 BC, but was eventually forced to turn back at the demand of his troops. Alexander died in Babylon in 323 BC, without executing a series of planned campaigns that would have begun with an invasion of Arabia. In the years following his death a series of civil wars tore his empire apart, resulting in several states ruled by the Diadochi – Alexander’s surviving generals and heirs.

Alexander’s legacy includes the cultural diffusion his conquests engendered. He founded some twenty cities that bore his name, most notably Alexandria in Egypt. Alexander’s settlement of Greek colonists and the resulting spread of Greek culture in the east resulted in a new Hellenistic civilization, aspects of which were still evident in the traditions of the Byzantine Empire in the mid-15th century. Alexander became legendary as a classical hero in the mold of Achilles, and features prominently in the history and myth of Greek and non-Greek cultures. He became the measure against which military leaders compared themselves and military academies throughout the world still teach his tactics.

This is the first date that Christmas was celebrated for certain on December 25. This is significant because Christmas is, arguably, the most widely celebrated holiday in the world. It is also a strange date to pick, since many astronomers and scientists agree that Jesus would have been born sometime during our current summer months.

On this date, England adopted the Julian calendar. This is a significant event because it was the beginning of the adaptation of the calendar that would become, not only America’s standard, but the standard of the entire world, uniting us in the common way we look at time.

Charlemagne is crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Leo III. He would become, perhaps, the most important monarch in all of Europe’s history, founding the French and German monarchies. Today, he is often referred to as the “Father of Europe.”

William the Conqueror is crowned King of England. He successfully lead invasion forces into England and defeated King Harold Godwinson (who died in the conflict) at the famous Battle of Hastings. He would go on to lead England in reforms on building standards, fortifications, the English language and the Catholic Church.

The great Christmas Flood ravaged the Netherlands and parts of Germany and Scandinavia. It was caused by a violent northwest storm, the likes of which were unknown to the population at that time. The medieval dams and dikes could not handle the amount of rainfall and failed, causing massive flooding along the coastline, which is mainly flatland. At that time there was no good warning system, and the floodwaters moved so quickly it gave people little time to escape. Approximately 14,000 people lost their lives in the disaster.

On this day, at approximately 11pm, Patriot General George Washington, along with 5,400 of his men, crossed the Delaware River, in order to surprise Hessian troops celebrating the Christmas Holiday. Around 8am the next day, his attack commenced. The Hessian defenders were quickly overwhelmed and fled from the town of Trenton, all at a cost of at most four American lives. While the victory was not a big strategic victory, it had a huge effect on strengthening the Patriots moral, and would lead then to continue the fight for independence. This is largely regarded as the battle that changed the course of the war.

This event came to be known as the Christmas truce. On this day, at midnight, during the height of World War I, the Germans began to sing Christmas Carols. As morning came, the Germans emerged from their trenches and crossed the deadly “No Man’s Land,” unarmed, shouting “Merry Christmas” in their enemies native tongue. Seeing they were unarmed, the allies emerged as well and met their enemies, shaking hands and exchanging gifts of cigarettes and plum puddings. This event showed that, even in times of great conflict, humans are silly morally good.

On this day, The British garrison in the city of Hong Kong surrendered. The day after Pearl Harbor, December 8, 1941, the Japanese began bombing raids on the city. The British immediately put up a resistance and began evacuating the Chinese population to the Philippines. When the Japanese were alerted to this, they sent their navy to block off their evacuation roots, effectively cutting off the city from the sea. Attempts to flee the city by land were futile, as the Japanese army quickly surrounded the city, completely blockading it. They were cut off from any outside help, and the Japanese cut the water and power lines to the city. Facing death by dehydration, the British raised the white flag of surrender on Christmas morning. This event set up Japan for their planned invasion and takeover of China.

On this day, the longest road trip completed on a single battery charge ended. David Turner and Tim Pickard arrived in John o’ Groat’s, Scotland, the northernmost point in Great Britain. They had set out four days earlier from Land’s End, the southernmost point in Britain, in a battery-powered Freight Rover Leyland Sherpa driven by a Lucas electric motor. They traveled 875 miles on a single battery charge. This event was a giant step in moving automobile makers away from gasoline and fossil fuels and focusing more on electric power, leading to many of the electric and hybrid cars we have today.

On this day, one of the most significant murder mysteries of our generation began with the murder of Six year-old JonBenet Ramsey. She was found under a blanket in her basement, with her hands and feet tied and her mouth taped, she had been strangled. Since this day many suspects have come up in the case, and several have even given a false confession, but evidence later proved the confessors to be lying. The chief suspects were the parents, as the ransom note for their daughter was written on paper found in their home, by writing utensils in their home, and the fact she was murdered in her own home without her parents awakening to any commotion seemed suspicious. These suspicions were raised when it was learned the parents were originally uncooperative with law enforcement. Nevertheless, a grand jury dismissed all charges against them due to lack of evidence. The case still goes unsolved even to this day.

University of New Mexico junior place-kicker Katie Hnida attempts to kick an extra point in a game against UCLA in the Las Vegas Bowl. Though her kick was blocked by UCLA, Hnida became the first woman to play in a Division I football game. The next year in 2003, she attempted two extra points and made them both, becoming the first women to ever score in a Division I football game.

This tribe has only been mentioned in passing by Tacitus, in his work De Germania. The tribe’s name came from the Proto-Germanic word harjaz, which means “warrior.” True enough, the warriors of this tribe have earned their name, not only from their superior strength, but also from tactics. These warriors had been known to paint themselves and their shields black, and attack during the night, when their enemies least expect it.

Modern scholars have connected this tribe to the Viking’s Odin-related practices and beliefs: “Einherjar” (warriors who died during battle and thus will fight in Ragnarök), the Wild Hunt and the berserkers, through etymology.

The Harii have no known descendants. The tribe had probably merged with larger neighboring tribes.

The Batavi got their name from the Germanic word batawjo, meaning “good island,” the place where they had settled. This place is now the modern-day Betuwe, in the Netherlands, at the Rhine river delta.

The Batavi used to be a part of a much larger tribe, the Chatti, but they separated after a dispute. Since then, they have been a Roman ally, supplying the empire only with men during war. A Roman military unit had been named after them.

Later on, the tribe revolted against Rome after one of their high-ranking commanders had been executed for false charges. They had been crushed by the Romans.

By mid-4th century, their land was overrun by Salii refugees (a tribe that would soon be a part of the Franks). They were either integrated into the Salii tribe, or were forced to go south, to Toxicandria, in modern-day Brabant and Flanders.

In the 16th century, the Dutch nationalists used the tribe’s identity as a suitable origin myth during their struggle for independence from Spain. However, the Batavi is only one of the many ancestral tribes of the Dutch people.

The Dutch colonial capital in Java, Batavia (now renamed Jakarta), was named after the tribe.

I have already mentioned this group in the previous entry as the main tribe where the Batavi belonged. They were located on upper Weser River, in modern Hesse, Germany.

According to Tacitus, the men of this tribe differed from other tribes in warfare and culture. He described them as disciplined warriors who carried trenching tools and provisions during war. They were also known for their warrior vows: the young men, upon entering manhood, would let their hair and beards grow until they had killed their first enemy; braver men would wear an iron ring, a sign of disgrace, until they have vanquished their enemy.

The Chatti joined the Cherusci against Varus’s three legions in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest. In retaliation, the Romans, under Germanicus, razed their capital city, Mattium. The Chatti had been absorbed by the Franks during the Migration Period.

In 723 AD, the sacred Donar oak of the Chatti had been cut down by St. Boniface.

Hessians were the supposed descendants of the Chatti.

Located at the low-lying region along the coast of the Netherlands, west of the Elbe estuary, the Chauci were related to Anglos, Saxons and Frisians. Tacitus described them as peaceful people; in contradiction to this statement, Pliny said they were “wretched natives.” This was one of the few times when Tacitus was wrong.

The coastal Chauci had been known for sea-raiding. They were probably the forerunner of the medieval Viking and Anglo-Saxon sea raids. In 47 AD, the Chauci, led by Gannascus, carried out a sea raid along the coasts of Belgium and Northern France. They were defeated by the Roman fleet. However, this did not deter them from continuing their sea-raids. They terrorized both sides of the English Channel, prompting the Romans to fortify their northern coasts.

They were later replaced by the Saxons in their sea activities, and gradually, they merged together.

Originally from the Danish isles and South Sweden, the Heruli had split into two when they migrated south to the Balkans and the present-day Ukraine. The western branch practiced raiding alongside the Saxons and other tribes, into which they gradually merged with. The eastern Heruli joined forces with the Goths in raiding the Black Sea and Aegean. With their combined forces, they were able to attack Byzantium and sack Athens.

The Heruli were successively subjugated by the Ostrogoths and Huns, before being able to establish a realm of their own. The Lombards destroyed their kingdom later on. The remaining Heruli joined the Lombards in establishing a kingdom in Italy.

Procopius noted that they were practicing pederasty. They were also said to let themselves be stabbed rather than die of disease and old age: a practice that will be seen later in Vikings. They served in the Byzantine armies, especially during Belisarius’s campaign to regain the Western Roman Empire.

The Anglo-Saxon word “eorlas” (nobles) and Old Saxon “erilaz” (man), which were found in runic inscriptions as an honorific title, have been linguistically connected to the Heruli.

It is still a subject of speculation about the origin of the Thuringii. They may have been the remnants of the Alemannic confederation, descendants of an earlier tribe, a confederation of smaller tribes or just another lesser tribe. They inhabited the Harz Mountains in central Germany. A faction of the tribe was able to cross the Rhine and settle in modern Kempen, Belgium.

The Thuringii had been conquered by the Huns in 430 AD. After the collapse of the Hunnic kingdom, they established a kingdom in what is now Thuringia. Their kingdom was successively annexed by the Franks and Saxons to their rule.

The Thuringii were known to be excellent horsemen due to their proximity, relationship and inter-marriages with the steppe peoples, particularly with the Huns. Archeological evidence suggests that they have either kept Hunnic women as slaves or have married them. Female skulls found in Thuringii graves were discovered to have been artificially elongated, a peculiar practice among the Huns.

One of the early Germanic allies of the Romans was the Cherusci, “swordsmen.” They were situated in the northern Rhine valley in the present day Hanover. They have been subjugated during the time of Augustus Caesar.

The Cherusci’s most famous son is Arminius (Hermann), a hostage prince, bred and trained as a Roman, and then rose to the ranks of the Romans. He unified several Germanic tribes, and won the battle against Quinctilius Varus’s three ill-fated legions in the Teutoburg Forest. However, the unified tribes were defeated by the subsequent Roman retaliation. Because of this event, the Romans abandoned their plans to extend their boundary beyond the river Rhine.

Long after that, the Cherusci once again became Roman allies, and then absorbed by the Franks, Saxons and Lombards.

Arminius has been used as a material for propaganda in German nationalism during the 19th century. A huge monument was built on a hill in the Teutoburg Forest, as a symbol for freedom, independence and unity.

Named after their location, the Marcomanni or “march (boundary) men” lived in the northern boundary of the Roman Empire, the present day Germany, Czech Republic and Austria. Their king, Marboduus, established their kingdom in Bohemia to escape the Roman rule. Their territory lay in a “market zone” where Germanic tribes can freely trade with the Romans.

Forced by the movements of the Goths from the north, they – along with the Suebi, Quadi and Sarmatians – tried to breach the imperial borders. This led to two wars against Rome during the reign of Marcus Aurelius and Commodus. The Romans were victorious, as usual, but its army was weakened. These Marcomannic Wars finally established the Danube River as the northern border of the empire.

Along with the Suebi and Quadi, the Marcomanni crossed the frozen Rhine in 406 AD. Those who remained were subdued by the Huns. They were purported to be the ancestors of the modern Bavarians.

One of the terms used by the Romans to simplify all the German tribes into one name is Alamanni, or Alemanni. The term means “all men.” The Alemanni was a confederation of various tribes on the upper Rhine Valley. Later on they became a tribe on its own, identities of the smaller tribes within it gone and forgotten.

They were first encountered when Emperor Caracalla subdued them, adding “Alamannicus” to his name. Over the course of years, they tried to cross the Rhine, but were successful only once. Once settled in the other side of the Rhine, particularly in Alsace and northern Switzerland, they started ravaging the lands. They were often described by the Christian writers as savage and brutal compared to the Franks. After the fall of Rome, the Franks annexed their kingdom to their own.

The Alamanni gave the Romance language a name to Germany (Allemande, Alemania, etc.) However, within Germany, Alemannia is only a specific area, particular to those who speak Alemannic German: Bavarian Swabia, Baden-Württemberg, Alsace, Liechtenstein and Switzerland.

Before the Alamanni became the stereotypical name for any Germanic tribesman, there was the Suebi; the meaning of which is “one’s own (people).” They were originally from the Baltic coast before migrating southwards via the Elbe River and settling at middle Elbe. Tribes who shared the same culture with the Suebi were encompassed by that name. These tribes include the Marcomanni, Lombards, Harii, and Semnones, the spiritual center and core tribe.

The Suebi were identified by their peculiar hairstyle, the Suebian knot. It was a mark of a freeborn. As the Suebic influence spread, other tribes imitated the hairstyle. Soon, the Romans began depicting the Germanic tribes with that particular knot.

The Suebi, underwent several migrations. One group led by Ariovistus reached the bank of the Rhine, where they were repelled by Julius Caesar. Another group occupied the middle of Danube, where they associated with the sub-tribes Marcomanni and Quadi. In 406 AD, the Suebi made their final exodus by crossing the Rhine, into Gaul, and into Galicia. There, along with Vandals and Alans, they established a kingdom, which lasted for about 200 years.

The Suebi who did not cross the Rhine established their own kingdom, which would later become the Duchy of Swabia. The remnants of the original Suebi/Semnones in the Elbe became known as Nordschwaben, dwelling in Schwabengau in Saxony-Anhalt. Both Suebi branches would fall under the Frankish kingdoms.

Aurelia Cotta, who lived from 120 to 54 BC, was the mother of Julius Caesar. Her husband died young, and before that, was away most of the time, so she was the one in charge of raising Caesar along with his two sisters (both named Julia – one the future grandmother of Augustus). She and her family lived in the Subura, a working class district in Rome, which was unusual for a highborn patrician family. She also raised Caesar’s daughter Julia after his wife Cornelia Cinna died. Aurelia was considered intelligent and independent. When Caesar was nearly executed at age 18 by the dictator Sulla, for refusing to divorce Cornelia Cinna, it was Aurelia who intervened. She headed a petition to Sulla that succeeded in saving her son’s life.

Lucilla was born around 150 AD, to the emperor Marcus Aurelius. She married her father’s co-ruler Lucius Verus at about age 14. After Lucius Verus died, Lucilla remarried, and traveled with her second husband and Marcus Aurelius during his Danube military campaign. It was during this time that Marcus Aurelius died, and Commodus became emperor. Commodus’ actions while emperor became increasingly disturbing, and an assassination plot was hatched by Lucilla, her nephew, her daughter, and two cousins. Lucilla planned to take over as empress afterwards, but the scheme failed. As her nephew attempted to stab Commodus, he shouted, “Here is the dagger the senate sends you!” This was ample warning to Commodus’ guards. The male members of the plot were immediately put to death, while Lucilla, her daughter, and cousin were banished to Capri. However, Commodus had them executed also a year later, in 182 AD. A character based on Lucilla appears in the movie Gladiator.

Cornelia Africana was the daughter of Scipio Africanus, famous for his victory against Hannibal in the Second Punic War. She died at age 90 in 100 BC, and was remembered by the Romans as an exemplar of virtue. Out of the 12 children she had, only Sempronia, Tiberius Gracchus, and Gaius Gracchus survived. When her husband died, she did not remarry, and took over the education of her children. When Tiberius and Gaius became involved in controversy because of their populist political reforms, they never lost the support of their mother. Eventually, she lost both her sons when they were killed on different occasions at the hands of the conservative senate. When Cornelia herself died, a statue was dedicated to her. Over time, Cornelia became an increasingly idealized figure, with emphasis switching from her own education and rhetorical skills to her image as the perfect Roman mother.

Hortensia was an orator who made her biggest impact with a speech she gave before the Second Triumvirate (Mark Antony, Octavian, and Lepidus) in 42 BC. At this time, the Second Triumvirate was at war with Brutus and Cassius, among others of Caesar’s assassins. They killed the rich and confiscated their property to raise money, but still did not have sufficient revenue. To this end, they decided to impose a tax on almost 1500 wealthy Roman women. Not having any say in politics themselves, the women were furious at being taxed for a war they had nothing to do with. The women arrived at the forum with Hortensia as a representative to make a speech to the triumvirs. Here’s a quote from her speech:

“You have already deprived us of our fathers, our sons, our husbands, and our brothers, whom you accused of having wronged you; if you take away our property also, you reduce us to a condition unbecoming our birth, our manners, our sex. Why should we pay taxes when we have no part in the honors, the commands, the state-craft, for which you contend against each other with such harmful results? ‘Because this is a time of war,’ do you say? When have there not been wars, and when have taxes ever been imposed on women, who are exempted by their sex among all mankind?”

Antony, Octavian, and Lepidus, were not pleased by this display, but were unable to get Hortensia to leave the rostra. Eventually, they agreed to tax only 400 women and to borrow the rest from men.

Livilla was born in 13 BC, and was the sister of the emperor Claudius. Just as Claudius was constantly derided by his mother, his sister was also extremely contemptuous of him. Livilla expected to one day become empress after she married Augustus’ grandson Gaius, but Gaius was killed. Livilla’s fame comes mainly from her affair with Sejanus, and attempt with him to take power. Sejanus was the praetorian prefect of the emperor Tiberius. When Tiberius abandoned Rome for his infamous island adventures at Capri, Sejanus began gaining more and more power, eliminating his opponents. Livilla was at this time married to Tiberius’ son Drusus. When he died, no one suspected anything, but it was later discovered that Livilla and Sejanus had poisoned him. The two planned to marry, but Livilla’s mother wrote to Tiberius that they were attempting to overthrow him. Sejanus was sentenced to death, and he along with his children and followers were murdered. As for Livilla, Dio says that Tiberius left her fate up to her mother Antonia the Younger, who chose to lock her daughter in a room until she starved to death. A “condemnation of memory” was voted for Livilla, so today it is difficult to identify possible portraits of her.

Helena was born around 250 AD. It is thought that she first lived in Drepanum, later called Helenopolis. Saint Ambrose said she was stabularia, which can mean either innkeeper or stable maid. It is possible that she met the future emperor Constantius while he was fighting a campaign in Asia Minor. The story goes that when Constantius saw that they were wearing the same bracelet, he decided it was a sign they should marry. Some sources refer to Helena as the emperor’s concubine, while others say they were officially married. In any case, Constantius eventually left Helena for a woman of higher birth. Helena’s son by Constantius was Constantine, who would become the first Christian emperor. Helena found what was believed to be the True Cross and other relics while in Jerusalem. She was famous for her kindness, and is considered today to be a saint.

The half sister of Cato the Younger, the mistress of Caesar, the mother in law of Cassius, and the mother of Brutus, Servilia was influential through her connections to many famous Romans. Her parents died when she was young, and she and her siblings were brought up by their uncle Livius Drusus. Unfortunately, he was assassinated for trying to gain citizenship for Italian allies. Servilia’s first husband – Brutus’ father – was killed by Pompey the Great. She eventually began an affair with Julius Caesar, and rumors circulated saying that her daughter Junia Tertia was actually Caesar’s. Cicero also made a remark about how Servilia was letting Caesar sleep with Junia Tertia (obviously, or should I say, hopefully, these pieces of gossip were not both true). It is also believed that Caesar’s daughter Julia was originally betrothed to Brutus (there is a bit of confusion here, since Brutus’ name temporarily changed when he was adopted by Servilia’s brother).

One amusing event involving Servilia and Caesar occurred when Caesar was handed a letter written by her during the debates over the Catiline conspiracy. Cato said that Caesar was receiving correspondences from the conspirators, and ordered that the letter be read out loud. Much to Cato’s embarrassment, it turned out to be a love letter by his own sister. Servilia’s relationship with Caesar in turn affected Caesar’s relationship with Brutus. For example, when Caesar was fighting Pompey in the Battle of Pharsalus, he ordered that Brutus, who was on Pompey’s side, not be harmed in any way. When Brutus and Cassius were plotting Caesar’s assassination, they met at Servilia’s house. It is unknown whether or not she knew about their plans. Servilia died of natural causes in 42 BC.

Porcia lived from around 70 to 42 BC. Porcia was the daughter of Cato the Younger, but is most famous as the wife to Marcus Junius Brutus. Porcia was considered to be both kind and brave, and was a lover of philosophy. Her first marriage was to Bibulus, an ally of Cato. Quintus Hortenius requested that Bibulus let him have Porcia for his wife, but he would not let her be taken from him. Hortensius then made the unusual request that he allow Porcia just live with him until she produced a son. Cato divorced his wife Marcia and let Hortensius marry her instead, which was a strange solution since Cato by all accounts loved his wife. When Hortensius died, Marcia moved back in with Cato. Bibulus died after Pompey was defeated by Caesar, and Cato committed suicide by stabbing himself and pulling out his intestines when his friends tried to revive him. Left without a husband or a father, and still very young, it was around this time that Porcia married her cousin Brutus. This was not well-received by many (especially his mother Servilia who hated Cato) because Brutus divorced his wife without giving any reason in order to marry Porcia.

Only Cato’s supporters, such as Cicero, approved of the marriage. Porcia was very devoted to Brutus, and one of the only women, if not the only woman, to be involved in the conspiracy against Caesar. Plutarch writes that Porcia stabbed herself in the leg to show Brutus that she could be trusted with any of his secrets, even under torture. When the assassins had to flee Rome, Porcia stayed behind. Brutus said of her: “Though the natural weakness of her body hinders her from doing what only the strength of men can perform, she has a mind as valiant and as active for the good of her country as the best of us.” The circumstances of Porcia’s death are uncertain. One of the most common accounts is that she committed suicide after hearing of Brutus’s death, either by swallowing hot coals or burning charcoal in a room without ventilation.

Octavia lived from 69 to 11 BC, and was the older sister of Octavian (later known as Augustus). Although Julius Caesar was her great uncle, she married one of his opponents, Marcellus, who she had 3 children with. After Marcellus died, she married Mark Antony. This was to help secure the alliance between Antony and Octavian who were, to say the least, not always on great terms with each other. However, Antony left Octavia for Queen Cleopatra, who he had an affair with in the past, and already had twins with. Octavia remained loyal to Antony, and she became a sort of negotiator between Antony and Octavian.

After Antony had received the money and troops he needed from Octavia to fight a campaign in the east, he divorced her. This was one of the many actions of Antony that Octavian used to paint him and Cleopatra in as bad a light as possible. Octavia never remarried, and after Antony’s suicide, she took in his 4 children by Fulvia and Cleopatra, and cared for them along with her other children. When her son Marcellus died, she remained in mourning until death. Octavia was highly respected by her brother, and was a role model for many Roman women.

Messalina was born around 20 AD. She was a cousin of Nero and Caligula, and became empress when she married Claudius. Along with Augustus’ daughter Julia (who he had banished for sleeping with so many different men), Messalina is probably one of the most notoriously promiscuous women of Rome. In 37 AD, Messalina married Claudius, who was at least 30 years older than her. At this time Caligula was still emperor. Claudius doted on Messalina, and after he became emperor, Messalina used his affection for her to get whatever she wanted. Since Claudius was old, she realized how precarious her position was, and was ruthless to that extent. She ordered that Claudius exile or execute anyone who displeased her or who she felt threatened by.

Unfortunately, this was a good number of people. For all his good qualities as emperor, Claudius became known for being easily manipulated by his wife. The account of Messalina competing with a prostitute to see who could have sex with the most people in one night was first recorded by Pliny the Elder. Pliny says that, with 25 partners, Messalina won. Messalina’s most famous affair is the one she had with the senator Gaius Silius. She told Silius to divorce his wife, which he did. Silius and Messalina planned to kill Claudius, and make Silius emperor. While still married to Claudius, Messalina married Silius. Of course, this was all discovered, and Claudius had the two put to death.

Julia Domna lived from 170 to 217 AD. She was the wife of the emperor Septimius Severus, and the mother of the emperors Caracalla and Geta. Born in Syria, her father was the high priest of the temple of Elagabal. Julia and Severus had a happy relationship, and she would often advise him politically. She traveled with him during his military campaigns, which was unusual for a woman. Many Romans felt she wielded an inappropriate amount of power over the empire whenever her husband was gone on a campaign. She often faced accusations of adultery or treason, but none of these were ever proven. After Severus died, Julia tried to help Geta and Caracalla rule successfully as co-emperors. Caracalla eventually had his brother killed. After that, things became a bit more strained between Caracalla and his mother, but she still traveled with him during his campaigns.

When Caracalla was assassinated, Julia committed suicide. Julia’s sister, Julia Maesa, was also an influential woman, and helped engineer the plot to overthrow Macrinus so that her grandson Elagabalus could become emperor. When Elagabalus turned out to be a complete and utter failure of an emperor, she began promoting her other grandson Alexander Severus. After Elagabalus was murdered along with his mother, Alexander became emperor. Julia Mamaea, another relation of Julia Domna’s, came to exercise power. Her son Alexander was barely 14, and she essentially had control over running the empire, until she was killed along with Alexander during a mutiny.

Agrippina the Elder lived from 14 BC to 33 AD. She was the granddaughter of Augustus, daughter of Augustus’s right hand man Agrippa, and the wife of the beloved general Germanicus. After Agrippa died, Agrippina’s mother married Tiberius. This was an unhappy marriage, as Tiberius had been forced to divorce Vipsania, who he was deeply in love with. Agrippina never saw her mother again after she was exiled for adultery. Germanicus and Agrippina had six children who lived to be adults, including Nero (not the emperor), Drusus, Gaius (later known as Caligula), Drusilla, Livilla, and Agrippina the Younger. Agrippina went with Germanicus on his campaigns, along with their children. They would dress their toddler in a little army outfit, and this is how Gaius got the nickname Caligula, which means Little Boots.

After Tiberius became emperor, he became jealous of Germanicus’ popularity, who was preferred by many for the position. It was believed by many that it was on Tiberius’ orders that Germanicus was poisoned in Antioch. Agrippina believed her husband had certainly been murdered, but the truth was never found out. She made her dislike of Tiberius clear, and accused him of trying to poison her as he did her husband. Tiberius didn’t trust her either, and had her elder sons Nero and Drusus arrested and then left to starve to death. Tiberius then banished Agrippina on false charges. Exiled to the same island her mother once had been, Agrippina was treated violently, and lost an eye while being flogged. Like her sons, Agrippina eventually died of starvation. As a side note to Agrippina’s tragic story, her youngest son Caligula was not only spared by Tiberius, but brought to live with him on Capri. I imagine that it would be slightly uncomfortable living with the man responsible for the deaths of nearly everyone in your family.

Agrippina the Younger, daughter of Agrippina the Elder, lived from 15 to 59 AD. Around age 13, she married Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus. Ahenobarbus had a reputation for dishonesty, violence, and traffic violations (he once ran over a child in the street). Agrippina and Ahenobarbus had a son named Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, who would later be called Nero and eventually become emperor. When Caligula became emperor he gave Agrippina, along with her sisters Drusilla and Livilla, many privileges and honors. When Caligula’s favorite sister Drusilla (who he often treated more like a wife) died, he was devastated, and also became colder to Agrippina and Livilla. The sisters became involved in a plot to assassinate Caligula, but it was discovered, and they were exiled. When Claudius was made emperor, he brought his nieces Agrippina and Livilla back from exile. After Claudius’ wife Messalina was killed, the freedman Pallas advised him to marry Agrippina. Agrippina and Pallas were having an affair, and he wanted to see his mistress gain power.

Other advisers presented different options to him, but Pallas argued that marrying Agrippina would help connect the Julian and Claudian sides of the family. Claudius decided to marry Agrippina, which was controversial in Rome, where it was not considered acceptable for a man to marry his niece. Just as Messalina had done, Agrippina worked to eliminate anyone who threatened her or Nero’s position. Even though Claudius had a biological son, Agrippina convinced Claudius to adopt Nero and make him his heir. Claudius seemed to begin favoring his own son Britannicus again, and this is the most likely motivation for Agrippina poisoning Claudius. After Claudius was dead, Nero became emperor, and Agrippina began exercising power through her son. Just as Agrippina was accused of incest with Caligula, she was also accused of using sex as a means of controlling Nero. Nero eventually began to resent his mother for the control she had over him. After many failed elaborate attempts on Agrippina’s life, Nero eventually resorted to the tried and true method of stabbing. When the assassins came to kill Agrippina, she told them to stab her in her womb.

Fulvia was one of the most politically involved women of the Roman Republic. She lived from 83 to 40 BC, and was the great granddaughter of Cornelia Africana. Fulvia’s first husband was Publius Clodius, who is probably best known for sneaking into the Bona Dea festival dressed as a woman in order to meet up with Julius Caesar’s wife. Clodius was a populist politician, and Fulvia was with him constantly. After Clodius was killed by his political opponent Milo, Fulvia dragged his body through Rome and incited a riot among Clodius’ followers. Fulvia gave a testimony during the trial of Milo, who was condemned to exile. When Clodius died, the power he had over many gangs in Rome transferred to her. Fulvia’s second marriage was to another popular politician, Scribonius Curio. Curio was also killed, while fighting for Caesar. Fulvia’s final marriage was to Mark Antony, who was also a good friend of Curio. In one of Cicero’s Philippic speeches, he goes on for some time about the nature of Curio and Antony’s relationship – whether completely true or not, it makes for entertaining reading. Cicero also derided the relationship between Fulvia and Antony, saying that he only married her because he needed her money. Fulvia defended Antony after Cicero’s many speeches against him, and helped her husband to gain power through the gangs of Clodius she still controlled.

After Caesar died and Antony joined the Second Triumirate, Fulvia was involved in the proscriptions. After Antony had Cicero murdered, Dio describes Fulvia stabbing his tongue with one of her hairpins. When Antony and Octavian went to fight Brutus and Cassius, Fulvia was essentially left in charge of Rome. Octavian, who had married and divorced one of Fulvia’s daughters, believed Fulvia was gaining too much power, and becoming too ambitious. Along with Antony’s brother Lucius, Fulvia raised legions to fight Octavian. Around this time Octavian wrote an epigram about Fulvia: “Because Antony fucks Glaphyra, Fulvia is determined to punish me by making me fuck her in turn. I fuck Fuliva? What if Manius [freedman of Fulvia] begged me to sodomize him, would I do it? I think not, if I were in my right mind. ‘Either fuck me or let us fight,’ says she. Ah, but my cock is dearer to me than life itself. Let the trumpets sound.” Eventually Lucius surrendered to Octavian, and Fulvia escaped to Greece. When Antony met her there, he was outraged that she had incited a war against Octavian without his permission. Soon after this, Fulvia died of unknown causes.

Livia Drusilla, the first empress of Rome, lived from 58 BC to 29 AD. Livia was first married to Tiberius Claudius Nero, who she had her son Tiberius by. When Livia met Octavian, he fell in love with her, even though she was married and pregnant with Drusus, her second son. Octavian was also married at the time, to Scribonia. On the same day that Scribonia gave birth to Octavian’s daughter Julia, he divorced her, and then forced Tiberius Claudius Nero to divorce Livia. Awkwardly enough, Tiberius Claudius was the one to give away his ex-wife in Livia and Octavian’s wedding ceremony. Livia and Octavian (Augustus) would be married for over 50 years. Despite the fact that they both had children from previous marriages, they never were able to have children. During Augustus’ long reign as emperor, Livia was a constant adviser. Since Augustus had no sons of his own, Livia began promoting her own sons as heirs, and it was around this time that rumors began spreading about Livia’s habit of killing anyone who got in the way their accession, including Augustus’ nephew Marcellus and his grandsons. It was even said that she poisoned Augustus with figs, to prevent him from changing his heir from her son Tiberius to someone else.

The image of Livia as essentially a power mad serial killer was possibly common at the time because of the Roman idea of the evil step-mother figure. In modern times, people still often picture Livia in this way, such as in I, Claudius. In reality, despite her ambitions for Tiberius and the odd coincidental deaths of Augustus’ heirs, there’s no proof to support the murders. Perhaps there’s something morbidly appealing in the idea that Augustus – the man who not only survived illness after illness, civil war after civil war, but lived to reform the Roman Republic and rule over it for roughly half a century – ended up getting killed by some figs from his beloved wife. Augustus left Livia a third of his property, and also adopted her. In the biography of Augustus by Anthony Everitt, he writes that there is not a definite reason as to why Augustus adopted his wife. He suggests that it was an acknowledgement of all the work Livia did for him and counseling she gave him. Tiberius, who did not have any desire to be emperor in the first place, did not appreciate Livia’s political advice, and began to find his mother overbearing. When Livia died, he did not return to Rome from Capri, but sent Caligula to deliver her eulogy. There were many honors granted to Livia after her death, but Tiberius had them all vetoed.

Stevenson was intensely interested in whether free will could be overcome, with the result that a person would do something s/he would ordinarily refuse to do. So he set about addressing this issue in his legendary novella about a scientist experimenting with chemicals that will cause him to change into someone else. Dr. Jekyll has no idea, at first, that the person he will change into will be a pure misanthrope, Mr. Hyde, who hates everyone and enjoys hurting them.

Hyde’s first crime is beating a little girl and kicking her to death in the street. A year later, he beats a man to death with a cane. Why? Because he loves it. He is the polar opposite of Jekyll. Eventually, Jekyll realizes the danger he poses to society and attempts to explain himself in a letter to be read after his death, stating that he does not know what Hyde will do in the end, kill himself or be executed, but that he does know Hyde will win over Jekyll. Hyde does finally kill himself.

Stevenson wrote this novella in 3 days. His family reported that he was feverish with excitement and read half the story to them all at once after an entire day and night of composition. When he was finished, he gave this first draft to his wife for her proofreading. She considered that it would be better as an allegory for people trying to be good, but thereby degenerating ever deeper into their primitive urges.

Stevenson judged his wife to be correct and proceeded to burn the manuscript, and then rewrite the whole thing as an allegory in 3 days (some sources say 6).

One of this lister’s favorite works of art. It is not a painting, but a copper engraving. Durer personally engraved every single line of it onto a copper plate, using a burin, which looks a little like what you would use to open an oyster. A slight shift of the weight of your hand or body position and the burin can easily slip, scratching across the base metal and ruining the piece. Nevertheless, this piece, typically cited with Melencolia I, and St. Jerome in His Study, is one of Durer’s most richly detailed, highly ornate masterpieces, and that’s saying a lot, given that Durer’s works are revered today as perhaps the most photogenically realistic in all art.

One of the most amazing facts regarding it is that it is only 9.6 inches long by 7.5 inches wide. Typically, an artist works on a very large scale in order to attend to the details as minutely as s/he wishes. And yet in such a tiny space, Durer was able to pack such detail that many scholars call the horse the most perfect ever drawn. You can see individual hairs in its fur, as is the case with the dog under it, individual windows in the castle on the hilltop. A masterpiece of this complexity usually requires 2 to 4 years of an artist’s time, but Durer finished this one in only 5 months.

The single most important event in all fields of 19th Century science took place during less than a year’s time, of 1861 and 1862, in Scotland. While America was fighting a Civil War, a Scottish physicist named James Maxwell was hard at work discovering and systemizing the laws of electromagnetism. Without mathematical comprehension and expressions of this, one of the four forces of the Universe, it would be impossible to harness the power that creates lightning.

We credit Thomas Edison with the invention of the light bulb. But Edison would not have known where to begin without the world’s understanding of Maxwell’s four-part mathematical treatise, “On Physical Lines of Force,” which took the next giant leap for mankind from the shoulders of Michael Faraday, who had, 40 years earlier, discovered electromagnetic induction, and subsequently invented the electric motor.

The rapid progress of electrical engineering in the late 19th Century began with Faraday, but didn’t pick up much steam until Maxwell’s four legendary equations unified all previous observations, hypotheses, theories, and experiments concerning electricity and magnetism into a single theory. These equations proved mathematically that electricity, magnetism, and light itself are all manifestations of the same thing, the electromagnetic field.

Today, this is a household term. But at the time, it might as well have been witchcraft to the public. Maxwell’s equations proved that there is a field of power surrounding any source of electricity, and a field of power surrounding any source of magnetism, that these fields almost always coexist in nature, and that any such field, as well as the single, combined field of both, travels at the speed of light.

He also proved in his experimentation that electricity, magnetism, and light travel in the form of waves, and was able to predict the existence of these waves in any oscillating field of electromagnetic radiation. He was even able to calculate the speed of light, arriving at a speed of 310,740,000 meters per second. This is not too far from the correct number of 299,792,458 meters per second. The engineering of electricity was impossible without this understanding.

Handel did not invent the oratorio, as is often claimed, but used the musical form to his financial advantage during Christmastide, when secular operas were not allowed to be performed in Britain. Handel had already written 9 oratorios and was well known for his mastery of Baroque counterpoint, second according to many scholars to J. S. Bach.

He did, however, have critics, who claimed his music did not possess sufficient depth. With Messiah, they stopped criticizing him. He wrote the entire oratorio in 24 days. It is 259 pages of full orchestral score, with comparatively few ink blots and scratch-throughs. He claimed to have written the Hallelujah Chorus in 5 hours of non-stop work. His servants or niece (sources differ) opened his study to find him weeping over his writing desk. He claimed to have seen the roof of his room disappear and Heaven descend through the sky, God Himself enthroned in glory, and a choir of angels singing. He claimed to have written the Hallelujah Chorus as dictated by God directly to him. He wrote the grand Amen at the end of Messiah in less than a day.

Wagner did not compose the Ring Cycle in a very short amount of time, as is the case with several entries of this list. Composition of the four operas spanned 26 years, 12 of which Wagner spent writing not a single note of the tetralogy, working instead on Tristan und Isolde and Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg.

The colossal stature of the whole work is beyond belief. In terms of size, it is possibly the most epic single work in all literature, of any genre. And unlike almost all opera composers, Wagner preferred to write his own libretti. These he wrote first, and they are outstanding German poetry in their own right. Then he set them to music. His rate of composition was slow, especially compared to that of, say, #3, but he made up for this with very heavy, philosophical depth in his work. Wagner’s music is not for every taste, but there is no denying its power, and his extraordinary ability at weaving his leitmotifs, a concept uniquely his own, into richly textured, often contrapuntal music.

Wagner’s method of music composition was nothing new at the time: he first sketched the themes and some development of them, then filled these out in a new draft of only 2 or 3 staves, one for the vocals, and one or two for the instrumentation. This is also called a piano score. Successive drafts would flesh out the orchestral instrumentation until he had one of publishable quality.

Wagner went through this process four times, once for each of the operas, and although the first, Das Rheingold, lasts only about 2 and a half hours, it is intended as a prelude to the other three. The average opera lasts about 3 hours. Die Walkure lasts 5 and a half hours, Siegfried 5 hours and 45 minutes, and Gotterdammerung is the longest conventional opera ever written at 6 hours. Wagner intended them to be performed in a series, one each evening over four days.

In 1464, the Overseers of the Office of Works of the Duomo (Operai) had planned to commission a series of 12 Old Testament figures to be sculpted for adornment atop the pedestals of the buttresses of the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence. Donatello completed one sculpture, of Joshua, in 1410. His apprentice, Agostino di Duccio, was given a 17-foot (over 5 meter) high block of marble carved from the Fantiscritti quarries in Miseglia.

Agostino managed to rough out where the legs would be (not their stance) and might have knocked out a hole between the ankles, but never did anything else on it. He gave up when Donatello died in 1466. For ten years the block of marble sat outside being rained on, sunned on, and blown on by the wind, until Antonio Rossellino was commissioned to continue it, but his contract was inexplicably canceled. A large portion of scholars claim that he was too scared to finish it.

This is certainly possible, because by then, the marble was in terrible condition for fine sculpting work: it was very porous, risking easy chipping and even collapse, and it was now several inches shorter, having eroded in the weather. For 25 years after Rossellino, at least 2 dozen artists, including Leonardo da Vinci, were offered the block, and all refused, citing it as a failure waiting to fall apart. Michelangelo, at 26 years old, actively campaigned for the assignment, and the Operai finally awarded him the contract on 16 August 1501, in view of his recently completed Pieta.

Michelangelo began David on 13 September 1501, and finished 2 years and 5 months later, at the end of February 1504. For the first four months of this time, he did not lay a finger on the marble, and forbade his workshop assistants from doing so. All he did was arrive early every morning, sit, and look at the block. He was getting it all in his head before his first chisel strike.

When he had finished, da Vinci called it the finest sculpture in history. The Operai decided that it would not do to place it 40 feet high on a buttress, because doing so would risk destroying it. There is a humorous anecdote that the Operai all turned to da Vinci for a method of lifting it onto the buttress’ pedestal. Da Vinci is said to have replied, “Oh, I could do it. But I only take risks with my own work.”

The statue was moved, for 4 days on rollers, half a mile from Michelangelo’s workshop to the Piazza della Signoria. In 1873, it was moved out of the rain into the gallery of the Accademia di Belle Arti, where it resides today.

Mahler composed the most titanic of his symphonies, which is saying a great deal, in less than a single month, from late June to mid-August 1906, in Maiernigg, Austria, on the south shore of Lake Worth, in a tiny hut of the villa he had built to enjoy the scenery. During that time, he was only seen exiting his hut to go jump into the lake and swim for a while, before disappearing inside again.

His 8th Symphony has been nicknamed “the Symphony of a Thousand,” but it does not require 1,000 people to be performed. 1,000 and more have been used before, and it doesn’t hurt the music. The first movement is a massive double fugue set to the hymn Veni Creator Spiritus, a 9th Century hymn by Rabanus Maurus. This single movement lasts about 23 minutes, huge by Classical standards. The second movement is about 53 minutes long, as long as Beethoven’s entire 3rd Symphony. It is a setting of the closing scenes of Goethe’s Faust, complete with characters, a sort of oratorio. It depicts Faust’s soul being rescued by Eternal Womanhood from Mephistopheles, and Faust’s entrance into the ecstasy of Heaven.

Mahler did not approve of the symphony’s epithet, but he couldn’t have been too hurt my the response the symphony got at its premiere. In attendance were Arnold Schoenberg, Anton Webern, Camille Saint-Saens and Richard Strauss, along with conductor Leopold Stokowski, and writers Thomas Mann and Arthur Schnitzler. Mahler, one of the finest conductors in the history of Classical music (alongside Wagner, Franz Liszt, Leonard Bernstein, and Karl Bohm) conducted the performance, the last time he would conduct his own music, and during the performance, women passed out in the audience, and grown men wept. The ovation after the final chord died away lasted 20 minutes.

Everyone knows that Mozart worked very quickly on his music. He was such a natural genius at it, that he didn’t even make corrections to some of his scores: the final copies of some works were identical to the first drafts. Near the end of his life, when he was very sick, he was making notes and corrections on all his current endeavors, especially his Requiem. But in 1788, 3 years earlier, he was in the peak of health, and riding the pinnacle of his creative powers.

Wagner’s compositional method was mentioned earlier, and for contrast, consider that Mozart, in his prime, did not sketch out his works, going through successive drafts. He composed first drafts of orchestral works in full orchestral score, deciding which instruments played when at the same time he composed the music itself. This is an extremely rare practice, as attested to by almost every other major composer throughout history. The standard practice is to compose the themes and developments in double-stave piano score, and then orchestrate it.

His last three symphonies are all products of the summer of 1788, during which time, he enjoyed very little prosperity, having moved out of Vienna’s center to the suburb of Alsergrund, where Schubert was born a few years later, and where Beethoven would live and die. Mozart was reduced to begging friends and nobility for money, depressed over his finances and the third infant death of one of his children, Theresia. Nevertheless, he composed three of classical music’s finest examples of the symphony. They are masterpieces from every musical point of view. Their melodies are all lyrical, intensely entertaining, inexhaustibly intellectual, and developed with pristine clarity, balance, and complexity. They are routinely considered his 3 finest symphonies.

The 40th is one of only two minor-keyed symphonies by Mozart, the other being his famous 25th, both in g Minor. He wrote it in one month, from 26 June to 25 July, a blazing speed that he immediately doubled, writing his 41st, now called “the Jupiter,” in 17 days. The 39th, just as magnificent, he wrote in three weeks, from mid-May to 26 June. His wife wrote in a letter to a friend that the instant Mozart set down his pen at the completion of the final chords of his 39th Symphony, he got up from his billiard table, where he liked to write, went to the bathroom, then returned, pulled over a clean sheet of manuscript paper and wrote out the entire first page of the orchestral score of his 40th Symphony, without one mark-through or errant pen smudge, while she stood at the doorway and watched him. “He only stopped there because his ink bottle was empty,” she wrote.

For Einstein’s legendary discovery to be explained here, the lister would have to understand it, and then be able to translate all the mathematics into something easily approachable, and do all that quickly. So instead, let us consider the basics of what is involved in Einstein’s conception.

Special relativity, which Einstein worked out in 1905, is a theory of the structure of space-time, that space and time are two qualities of the same entity, and space-time is like a fabric that can be distorted, in the same way that a sheet of rubber is distorted by the weights of objects of different masses placed on it.

According to this theory, “the laws of physics are the same for all observers in uniform motion relative to one another,” and “the speed of light in a vacuum is the same for all observers, regardless of their relative motion or of the motion of the source of the light.”

These postulates provide a world of astonishing results, among them that time itself can dilate, in which case a moving clock can be measured to tick more slowly than a stationary clock; energy and mass are equivalent and transmutable (E = mc squared).

It is most relevant to this list to consider the impact of Einstein’s theory. Aside from it’s almighty sway on mathematical and scientific fields explored today, the science fiction plot device of time-travel depends entirely on the concept of “warping space-time,” and Einstein discovered this concept. What special relativity does is reconcile classical mechanics with the electromagnetic field, specifically the equations of #8. General relativity reconciles classical mechanics and electromagnetism with gravity.

His theory of relativity’s consequences on time dilation are especially intriguing: he proved mathematically that nothing can exceed the speed of light, for in order to do so, the object in question would gain infinite mass and thus require infinite energy to continue propelling it. But mathematically, a person can achieve the speed of light, and while traveling at that speed for 20 years away from Earth and then 20 years back, will have traveled 40 light-years. The person will have aged 40 years subjectively, but Earth will have aged thousands of years by the time he returns. Objectively, the traveler would become the oldest person ever known to have lived.

The General theory of relativity, which Einstein worked out in 1916, adds gravity to the mathematics and defines gravitation as a geometric property of space-time. It has long been popularly thought of as dethroning the physics of the next entry on this list, but really, Einstein’s theory of relativity is a modernization of those physics. It is well known to be at odds with quantum physics, and the solution for their compatibility still eludes today’s finest mathematicians. Whoever devises the solution will be branded “Einstein’s successor.”

In 1685 and 1686, Sir Isaac Newton wrote a book of some 450 pages in Latin, which did the following: founded all of classical mechanics (excluding relativistic mechanics; see #2); discovered the Law of Universal Gravitation; discovered and developed integral and differential calculus; generalized the Binomial Theorem; developed a method (Newton’s Method) for the approximation of the roots of a function; helped systemize the power series; demonstrated the first analytical determination (based on Boyle’s law) of the speed of sound in air; inferred the oblateness of the spheroidal figure of Earth (meaning that Earth is a sphere “pushed down on both poles” thus “fattening” its Equator); accounted for the precession of the equinoxes as a result of the Moon’s gravitational attraction on Earth’s oblateness; theorized the determination of the orbits of comets; founded the gravitational study of the irregularities in the orbit and rotation of the moon.

Newton did all this in 18 months. His development of calculus actually began with pensive brainstorming sessions in 1665, when he was only 23. 20 years later he finally set about writing this all down. His publication of “De motu corporum in gyrum” (On the motion of bodies in orbit) of 1684 came slightly before Leibniz’s publication of his development of calculus, but whereas Leibniz worked on developing calculus for purely mathematical purposes, Newton developed it as a necessity for improving the mathematics of the day while working on applying mathematics to the problems every mathematician wanted answered, specifically, “What is holding the Moon in the sky? Why doesn’t it fall to Earth?” Apples fall to Earth when they detach from their trees, and Newton observed this in an orchard in his hometown of Woolsthorpe. In the spring of 1685, he formulated his famous 3 Laws of Motion, advancing human civilization for the next 300 years, until #2 took the next giant leap.

It was Newton’s monumental achievement in the field of mathematics that finally sent the Catholic Church’s hegemony packing on the subject of heliocentrism. The Church had fought tooth and nail against Copernicus, Galileo, Brahe, and Kepler, but could not do anything but accept Newton’s proofs, because the Principia is 450 pages of mathematical nails in the coffin of science’s dark age of hypotheses and conjectures regarding what he turned into classical mechanics.

The Summa Theologiae (Latin: Compendium of Theology or Theological Compendium; also subsequently called the Summa Theologica or simply the Summa, written 1265–1274) is the best-known work of Thomas Aquinas (c.1225–1274), and although unfinished, “one of the classics of the history of philosophy and one of the most influential works of Western literature.” It is intended as a manual for beginners in theology and a compendium of all of the main theological teachings of the Church. It presents the reasoning for almost all points of Christian theology in the West. The Summa’s topics follow a cycle: the existence of God; Creation, Man; Man’s purpose; Christ; the Sacraments; and back to God.

It is famous, among other things, for its five arguments for the existence of God, the Quinque viae (Latin: five ways). Throughout the work, Aquinas cites Sacred Scripture, Aristotle, Augustine of Hippo, and other Jewish, Greek, Roman, Christian, and Muslim scholars. Each proof is presented with arguments and solid reasoning for the conclusions. It’s influence is so immense that it remains to this day the main manual (in five volumes) for seminary education in the Catholic Church.

The Summa Theologica is meant to summarize the history of the cosmos and provide an outline for the meaning of life itself. The entire contents of the Summa can be found here. [Source]

In the aftermath of the Fall of Acre, during the Third Crusade, Richard the Lionheart attempted to negotiate terms of surrender with the Saracens. Richard wanted to exchange over 3,000 captured prisoners for the True Cross, as well as a hefty ransom and imprisoned Christians. The True Cross was believed to be the actual physical cross upon which Jesus Christ was crucified.

After much delay by Saladin and the Muslims, Richard, frustrated and angered, personally marched his prisoners to a hill called Ayyadieh. There, in full view of the nearby Muslim army encampment, Richard ordered the slaughter of the over 3,000 prisoners, women and children included. They were all mercilessly beaten to death, axed and cut down by swords and lances. A Muslim force, so enraged by this act, attempted to charge the crusader lines but was repeatedly beaten back, allowing Richard and his army to retire in good order. Thus concluded one of the most unusually ruthless battles/massacres, even by Crusades’ standards.

The Sicilians, fed up with being occupied by foreign forces, decided to go all out in their revolt against the French and their 20 year reign over the Kingdom of Sicily. With tensions high, thousands of Sicilians gathered for Easter Monday services and festivities at the Church of Santo Spirito in Palermo. 200 armed French troops soon arrived to frisk the Sicilians in search of any weapons. Though emotions were close to boiling over, the Sicilians obeyed their French occupiers, attempting to avoid any trouble. A Frenchman unwisely took the opportunity to grope a young maiden, thrusting his hand down her blouse. “Death to the French” was cried as a young man took the Frenchman’s sword and slew him on the spot. Chaos ensued as the outnumbered, but armed, French troops were at the mercy of an unruly mob of Sicilians. Though they suffered many casualties, the Sicilians succeeded in massacring all 200 French soldiers. The War of the Sicilian Vespers had begun, and the savagery would continue.

The streets of Palermo would flow red with French blood. Attempting to eradicate all traces of the French from their island, Sicilian women who had married Frenchmen were also slaughtered. Their children were not spared, as they were butchered in front of their mothers. The wombs of women believed to have been impregnated by Frenchmen were ripped out. Those of questionable origin were forced to say the word “ciciri”, which the French had difficulty pronouncing. The pious Sicilians even stormed the monasteries and murdered French monks. Upwards of 2,000 were killed that first day of the massacres, and thousands more would perish in the following weeks.

Ordered by Francis I of France, roughly 2,000 soldiers were sent in to slaughter the Waldensian population within the village of Merindol, and over twenty other towns. Because of their connection to the Protestants, Calvinists and other unorthodox, heretical “opposition” groups, the scourge of the Waldensians was approved by Pope Paul III and the Catholic Church. Thousands were murdered and hundreds more were sent to forced labor camps. Interestingly, the execution of one particular man is thought to be the first example of execution by firing squad in Europe.

The Bloody Assizes were a series of trials conducted by, Chief Justice George Jeffreys, in the aftermath of the Battle of Sedgemoor, which concluded the Monmouth Rebellion in England. After the Duke of Monmouth was executed for treason, over 1,400 of his supporters and fellow rebels were imprisoned, tried and executed or deported to a penal colony in the West Indies as a source of cheap labor. Most were executed for treason via burning at the stake, though at least one woman’s sentence was commuted to beheading. The law recognized no distinction between principals and accessories in treason. About 300 rebels were hanged, drawn and quartered. 144 more were hanged, with their corpses being displayed around the county as a warning to those who are tempted to rebel against the king. Over 800 rebels were sent to the West Indies. Most of the rebels still awaiting trial in prison, died from the unsanitary living conditions, which manifested Typhus. Interestingly, a woman named Elisabeth Gaunt had the distinction of being the last woman in England to be burnt for political crimes.

When William III became King of England, it was required that the Highland chieftains of Scotland, under penalty of death, were to take an oath of submission and allegiance to the rule of William and Mary, by a deadline set for January 1st, 1692. Unfortunately, the chieftain of the Macdonald clan of Glencoe, was delayed by a blizzard. He did not take the oath until January 5th. Upon being informed of the missed deadline, King William ordered the Macdonald clan to be eliminated. By February, 120 of the king’s men arrived at Glencoe where they were hospitably entertained for twelve days. In the early morning hours of February 13th, the men were ordered to slaughter every Macdonald under the age of seventy. While the bloodbath at dawn was taking place, a majority of the Macdonalds were able to escape into the wilderness, where they were forced to remain in hiding for months. Thirty-eight adult men in the Macdonald clan were slaughtered, along with forty women and children who died of exposure. The crime was deemed even more heinous under Scottish law, due to it being “murder under trust.” The rival Campbell clan is also said to be partly responsible, given that the Macdonald chieftain, who was slain in the massacre, had received a letter of protection if the situation warranted him to take the oath after the deadline had passed, thus creating a veil of suspicion over the entire outcome of this event.

One of the most brutal raids of the American Revolution, a Loyalist-Iroquois coalition massacred more than 200 unsuspecting Patriot militiamen. Having raided and scorched dozens of frontier towns in upstate New York and Pennsylvania, the British arrived in Wyoming Valley, Pennsylvania, on July 3rd. The Patriots, inexperienced and outnumbered, were ambushed and subsequently routed following a forty-five minute close combat battle. As the Patriot line crumbled, the Iroquois began brutally hunting down survivors. Only sixty Americans survived to see another day, and only five were taken prisoner. Fleeing soldiers who had surrendered, were tortured to death by Loyalists and Iroquois. It was reported that 227 Patriot scalps were collected. Dozens of bodies were found on the line of retreat, which were all buried in a common grave. In retaliation, the Sullivan Expedition, commissioned by General George Washington, systematically destroyed at least forty Iroquois villages throughout upstate New York, in 1779. Another gruesome massacre would take place against the Continental Army at Cherry Valley. Reports of the massacres of prisoners at Wyoming and atrocities at Cherry Valley enraged the American public.

The Auspicious Incident was the forced disbandment of the centuries-old Janissary corps by Ottoman sultan Mahmud II, who felt that the elite guard unit had acquired too much power and influence over the declining Ottoman Empire. Mahmud incited the Janissaries to revolt on purpose, in order to give reason in destroying them. Mahmud said that he was creating a new army, made up of mostly Turks, as the Janissaries were Christians from conquered countries (who were later converted to Islam). Thus, as predicted, they mutinied, advancing on the sultan’s palace. In the ensuing fight, the Janissary barracks were bombarded and obliterated by artillery fire, resulting in 4,000 Janissary fatalities; more were killed in the heavy fighting on the streets of Constantinople. The survivors either fled or were executed, and their possessions were confiscated by the Sultan. The last of the Janissaries were then put to death by decapitation in what was later called the blood tower, in Thessaloniki. Thousands of Janissaries had been killed, and the elite order came to its end. A new modern corps, Asakir-i Mansure-i Muhammediye (Muhammed’s Victorious Army) was established by Mahmud II to guard the Sultan and replace the Janissaries.

The Sauk Chief, Black Hawk, was unhappy with the deal the United States made with his people for their land. Angered by the loss of his birthplace, Black Hawk led a number of incursions across the Mississippi River into Illinois, during 1830 and 1831, but each time was persuaded to return west without bloodshed. In April 1832, encouraged by promises of alliance with other tribes and the British, he again moved his so-called “British Band” of around 1,000 warriors and non-combatants into Illinois. Finding no allies, he attempted to return across the Mississippi to present-day Iowa again, but the undisciplined Illinois Militia’s actions led to Black Hawk’s surprising victory at the Battle of Stillman’s Run. A number of other engagements followed, and the militia of Michigan Territory and the state of Illinois were mobilized to hunt down Black Hawk’s band. The conflict became known as the Black Hawk War. The Battle of Bad Axe followed the Battle of Wisconsin Heights and was the final battle of the Black Hawk War. Women and children fled the fight into the river, where many drowned immediately. The soldiers killed everyone who tried to run for cover or cross the river; men, women and children alike were shot dead. More than 150 people were killed outright at the scene of the battle, which many combatants later termed a massacre. The soldiers then scalped most of the dead, and cut long strips of flesh from others for use as razor strops. U.S. forces captured an additional 75 Native Americans. Those who managed to escape across the river found only temporary reprieve, as many were captured and killed by Sioux warriors acting in support of the U.S. Army.

The attack is thought to have been instigated by exiled leaders of Al-Gama’a al-Islamiyya, an Egyptian Islamist organization, attempting to undermine the July 1997 “Nonviolence Initiative”, devastate the Egyptian economy and provoke the government into repression that would strengthen support for anti-government forces. The Islamic Group was against a secular Egypt, and desired to establish an Islamic state in its place. They also demanded the release of their leader, cleric Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman, imprisoned in the United States for conspiracy in the 1993 World Trade Center Bombing in New York. The six assailants were armed with automatic firearms and knives, and disguised as members of the security forces. They descended on the Temple of Hatshepsut and would ultimately take the lives of 62 tourists.

With the tourists trapped inside the temple, the killing went on systematically for 45 minutes, during which many bodies, especially of women, were mutilated with machetes. A note praising Islam was found inside one disemboweled body. The dead included a five-year-old British child and four Japanese couples on their honeymoons. The attackers then hijacked a bus, but ran into a checkpoint of armed Egyptian tourist police and military forces. One of the terrorists was wounded in the shootout and the rest fled into the hills where their bodies were found in a cave, apparently having committed suicide together.

Being a pre-9/11 terrorist attack, like the 1993 WTC bombing and 1995 Oklahoma City bombing to a lesser extent, it has often been ignored and pushed aside in the history books. Besides 9/11, this is partially because it did not have the desired effect the terrorists wanted, it arguably backfired on them. Egyptian public opinion turned against them and the organizers and supporters began denying involvement.

Credonia Mwerinde was the high priestess and co-founder of the Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God, a sect that splintered from the Roman Catholic Church in Uganda. Mwerinde and Joseph Kibweteere claimed to have witnessed visions of the Virgin Mary. With the new millennium looming, activity by Movement members became frenzied, their leaders urged them to confess their sins in preparation for the apocalypse. January 1st, 2000, passed without the advent of the apocalypse, and the Movement began to unravel. Another date was immediately predicted, March 17 was the new end of the world. When that date came around, over 500 members entered a church in western Uganda and began singing. Hours later, the building was set on fire, with the doors locked and the windows boarded up and nailed shut. Everyone inside was incinerated, including eleven children. At first the authorities thought the church fire was a mass suicide attempt by the cult, but later they changed their minds when bodies began to show up in other places.

Members wanted their money back when the world didn’t end and the cult leaders refused, so they murdered them all. Bodies were found in wells, latrines, under houses and in gardens. Some members had been poisoned, stabbed or clubbed. The estimated death toll is about 1,000. Although it was initially assumed that the five leaders died in the fire, police now believe that Joseph Kibweteere and Credonia Mwerinde may still be alive, and have issued an international warrant for their arrest.

In 1872, the world’s first international football match was played in Glasgow between Scotland and England, which ended in a 0–0 draw. In 1930, the first FIFA World Cup was won by the host nation, Uruguay. In 1973, Secretariat became the first racehorse to finish the Kentucky Derby in less than 2 minutes, a time that remains the best in Kentucky Derby history. The Maxim gun was the first self-powered machine gun, invented by the American-born British inventor Sir Hiram Maxim in 1884. As you can see, there are literally thousands of historical firsts across a wide range of topics. This article will focus on ten that you haven’t read before. I tried to select shocking events that are relevant to current world trends.

First Person to Expose the Mafia

Joseph Valachi was born in East Harlem, New York City, on 22 September 1904. His criminal career began with a small gang named The Minutemen. The gang was known for being able to carry out burglaries and escape in under a minute. In the early 1930s, Valachi was introduced to the Cosa Nostra and became a soldier in the Reina Family (now known as the Lucchese Family) during the height of the Castellammarese War. Valachi fought on the side of Salvatore Maranzano, who eventually defeated rival Joseph Masseria. After Maranzano was murdered in 1931, Valachi became a soldier in the Genovese Family headed by Charles “Lucky” Luciano.

In October 1963, Joseph Valachi became an informant for the FBI and testified that the Mafia did exist. He was the first person to publicly acknowledge the Mafia. Valachi’s disclosures did not lead to the prosecution of crime leaders. However, he was able to provide many details on the organization’s history, operations, and rituals. Valachi named members of major crime families and aided in several unsolved murders. His testimony was broadcast on radio and television and published in newspapers. In the early 1960s, Joseph Valachi made the Cosa Nostra a household name.

Valachi’s motivations for becoming an informant have been debated. In 1962, while in prison for heroin trafficking, Valachi murdered a man he feared was sent to kill him. Joseph claimed that he testified against the Mafia as a public service, but he might have been attempting to get his prison sentence reduced. In 1966, Valachi attempted to hang himself using an electrical extension cord. He died of a heart attack in 1971, at La Tuna Federal Correctional Institution in Texas. The $100,000 bounty placed on his head went uncollected. Joseph Valachi inspired the characters of Willi Cicci and Frank Pentangeli in the hit film The Godfather Part II (1974).

First Commercially Viable American Skin Flick

The Immoral Mr. Teas (1959) is the first successful film by director Russ Meyer. Meyer is known for writing and directing a series of low-budget “sexploitation” films that feature camp humor, sly satire and large-breasted women. The Immoral Mr. Teas consists of a series of short scenes in which Mr. Teas is overcome with fantasies of nude women. The only nudity in the movie is seen through the viewpoint of Mr. Teas. His fantasies always result in a number of bizarre situations.

In the movie, Mr. Teas (Bill Teas) is a delivery man who works for a dentist. After he undergoes a procedure to get a molar removed and is given an analgesic to ease the pain, Teas discovers that every woman he comes across is naked, even his dental assistant. Before the film was released, the only moving pictures that exhibited extensive nudity were either underground pornographic films, typically distributed in 16 mm black and white film, or naturist pictures, which were shown in specialized movie theaters.

The Immoral Mr. Teas was the first American “above ground” movie since the early sound era to show female nudity without the pretext of naturism. It is considered to be the first commercially viable American “skin flick.” Some consider it to be the first pornographic film. The movie spawned a wave of “Nudies” that were produced for grindhouse theaters in the 1960s.

First Person to Record a Sniper Kill at a Range of 2,475 m (2,707 yd)

Craig Harrison is a member of the Household Cavalry of the British armed forces. In 2009, while participating in the War in Afghanistan, Harrison shot two Taliban machine gunners south of Musa Qala in the Helmand Province of Afghanistan at a range of 2,475 m (2,707 yd) using an L115A3 Long Range Rifle. The shot was from approximately 1.53 miles (2.4 km) away. It is the longest confirmed sniper kill in combat.

Craig Harrison was nearly 3,000 feet beyond the effective range of his Long Range Rifle at the time of the shots. The bullets took almost three seconds to reach their target. The distance was so great that the Taliban members probably didn’t hear the shots. In a BBC interview, Harrison reported it took about nine shots for him and his spotter to range the targets, and then his first attempt was a kill shot. The bullets were aided by the ambient air density near the valley in which Musa Qala is situated. Harrison said the environmental conditions were perfect for long range shooting – with no wind, mild weather and clear visibility.

Craig’s shot passed the previous record set by Canadian corporal Rob Furlong in 2002, by 45 m (49 yd). In a remarkable tour of duty, Craig Harrison cheated death a few weeks after the event when a Taliban bullet pierced his helmet but was deflected away from his skull. Harrison later broke both arms when his army vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb. After the bombing, Craig was sent back to the UK for treatment, but insisted on returning to the front line after making a full recovery. He has since said the injury didn’t affect his natural sniper ability.

First Small-Body Collision between Asteroids

On 6 January 2010, the Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research (LINEAR) project discovered a mysterious X-shaped Solar System body, named P/2010 A2, traveling at 11,000 mph. The object has confused astronomers because it shows characteristics of both an asteroid and a comet. It has the orbit of a main-belt asteroid and the tail of a comet. For this reason, P/2010 A2 was originally listed as a main-belt comet.

Within a month of the discovery, analysis of the images captured by the Hubble telescope suggested that P/2010 A2 was generated from a recent head-on collision between asteroids. It was the first time a small-body collision by asteroids had been observed. The evidence was supported by the position of the object’s nucleus, which is offset from the axis and outside of the dust halo. P/2010 A2 has no sign of an active nucleus, which has caused scientists to believe it was moved in an impact event.

NASA determined that the nucleus was the “surviving remnant of a hypervelocity collision,” when two small and previously unknown asteroids hit. This event created a shower of debris that is being swept back into the tail by the pressure of the sunlight. The X-shaped debris pattern of P/2010 A2 is unusual and has confused scientists.

Before it was determined that P/2010 A2 came from an asteroid collision, some speculated that it may be a rare carbonaceous asteroid located in the inner main belt. If true, this would suggest that there are more volatile-rich asteroids closer to Earth. The orbit of P/2010 A2 is consistent with the Flora asteroid family, which was produced more than 100 million years ago. The Flora family of asteroids may be the source of the K/T impactor, which is the likely culprit in the extinction of the dinosaurs. The discovery of P/2010 A2 has spawned a collection of conspiracy theories regarding the collision hypothesis.

First Person Convicted of Murder Based on DNA Fingerprinting Evidence

On 21 November 1983, a 15-year-old girl named Lynda Mann left her home in Narborough, Leicestershire, England, to visit a friend’s house and never returned. The next morning, Lynda was found raped and strangled on a deserted footpath known locally as the Black Pad. Using forensic science techniques available at the time, police linked a semen sample taken from her body to a person with type A blood and an enzyme profile that matched only 10 percent of males. With no other leads or evidence at the time, the case was left open.

Just under three years later, on 31 July 1986, another 15-year-old girl from Enderby, also in Leicestershire, named Dawn Ashworth took a shortcut instead of her normal route home. Two days later, her body was found in a wooded area near a footpath called Ten Pound Lane. She had been beaten, savagely raped, and strangled to death. The semen samples taken revealed that the perpetrator had the same blood type as Lynda Mann’s killer. The prime suspect was a local 17-year-old youth named Richard Buckland who revealed knowledge of Ashworth’s body. Under interrogation, Buckland admitted to Dawn Ashworth’s murder, but said he didn’t kill Lynda Mann.

In 1986, Alec Jeffreys of the University of Leicester had recently developed DNA profiling along with Peter Gill and Dave Werrett of the Forensic Science Service (FSS). DNA profiling is used to assist in the identification of individuals by their DNA profiles. Using this technique, Jeffreys compared semen samples from both murders against a blood sample from Buckland, which conclusively proved that both girls were killed by the same man, but not Buckland. As a result, Richard Buckland became the first person to have his innocence established by DNA fingerprinting. There is no doubt that without the DNA evidence Buckland would have been sentenced for the murder of Dawn Ashworth.

After the turn of events, the Leicestershire Constabulary undertook an investigation in which 5,000 local men were asked to volunteer blood or saliva samples. This took six months and no matches were found. Later, a man named Ian Kelly was heard bragging to his friends that he had obtained £200 for giving a sample while masquerading as his friend Colin Pitchfork, a local baker. On 19 September 1987, Pitchfork was arrested at his home in Haybarn Close, in the neighboring village of Littlethorpe. His recorded fingerprint DNA sample matched the killer.

Colin Pitchfork admitted to the two murders in addition to another incident of sexual assault. He is the first criminal convicted of murder based on DNA fingerprinting evidence and the first to be caught as a result of mass DNA screening. On 14 May 2009, Pitchfork’s legal appeal was heard at the Royal Courts of Justice in London. He won a two-year reduction in his original sentence of a minimum 30 years’ imprisonment. As a consequence, Pitchfork will now be eligible for release in 2016. The Lord Chief Justice Lord Judge stated, however, that “he cannot be released unless and until the safety of the public is assured.” For a child murderer, this should be never.

First Recognized Survivor of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki Atomic Bombings

During the final stages of World War II in 1945, the United States dropped two atomic bombs on the Japan cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The first landed on 6 August 1945, and the second on 9 August, these two events are the only use of nuclear weapons in war to date. Within the first two to four months of the bombings, the acute effects killed 90,000–166,000 people in Hiroshima and 60,000–80,000 in Nagasaki.

Tsutomu Yamaguchi was a Japanese national who survived both the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings. It should be noted that at least 160 people are known to have been affected by both bombings, but Yamaguchi is the only person to have been officially recognized by the government of Japan as surviving both explosions. In 1945, he was a resident of Nagasaki, and in Hiroshima on business for his employer Mitsubishi Heavy Industries when the city was bombed at 8:15am on August 6. When the bomb went off, Yamaguchi was approximately 3 km (1.8 miles) away.

Yamaguchi recalls seeing the bomber and two small parachutes, before there was “a great flash in the sky, and I was blown over.” The explosion ruptured his eardrums, blinded him temporarily, and left him with serious burns over the top half of his body. Yamaguchi did not receive treatment until he got back to Nagasaki the next day. Despite being heavily bandaged, Yamaguchi reported to work three days after the explosion. At 11 am on August 9, he was describing the blast in Hiroshima when the American bomber Bockscar dropped the Fat Man atomic bomb on Nagasaki. Yamaguchi’s location was again 3 km (1.8 miles) from ground zero, but this time he was unhurt by the blast.

When the Japanese government officially recognized atomic bomb survivors as Hibakusha in 1957, Yamaguchi was only identified as being present at Nagasaki. As he grew older, his opinions about the use of atomic weapons began to change. In his eighties, Yamaguchi wrote a book about his experiences and was invited to take part in a 2006 documentary about 165 double A-bomb survivors. At first, he didn’t feel the need to draw attention to his double survivor status. However as he aged, Yamaguchi applied for double recognition. The application was accepted by the Japanese government in March 2009, making Yamaguchi the only person officially recognized as a survivor of both bombings.

In 2009, Tsutomu Yamaguchi learned that he was dying of stomach cancer. He passed away on 4 January 2010 in Nagasaki at the age of 93. On 22 December 2009, Canadian movie director James Cameron and author Charles Pellegrino met Yamaguchi while he was in a hospital in Nagasaki, and discussed the idea of making a film about nuclear weapons. Yamaguchi said, “I think it’s Cameron’s and Pellegrino’s destiny to make a film about nuclear weapons.”

First Observed Solar Flare

A coronal mass ejection (CME) is a massive burst of solar wind. They are often associated with other forms of solar activity, most notably solar flares. A solar flare is a sudden brightening observed over the Sun, which has been interpreted as a large release of energy. The flare ejects clouds of electrons, ions and atoms through the corona into space. These clouds typically reach the earth a day or two after the event. Most ejections originate from active regions on the Sun’s surface, such as sunspots. During the solar maximum, which is the time when the Sun shows the greatest amount of activity, the Sun produces about 3 CMEs every day, whereas near solar minimum there is about 1 CME every 5 days.

The next solar maximum is predicted to occur sometime between January and May 2013. When a coronal mass ejection is directed towards the Earth, the wave of particles can create a geomagnetic storm that may disrupt the magnetosphere. The process can cause strong auroras around the Earth’s magnetic poles, known as the Northern and Southern Lights. Coronal mass ejections and solar flares can disrupt communication lines, radio transmissions, and cause damage to satellites and electrical transmission facilities, resulting in massive and long-lasting power outages on Earth. Humans in space or at high altitudes, in airplanes for example, risk exposure to intense radiation.

The solar storm of 1859 occurred during solar cycle 10. It was the most powerful solar storm in recorded history. The largest flare, observed by Richard Christopher Carrington, became known as the Carrington Super Flare. On 1 September 1859, Carrington and Richard Hodgson, another English amateur astronomer, independently made the first published observations of a solar flare. It should be noted that Scottish physicist Balfour Stewart recorded a super flare on the evening of 28 August 1859, at the Kew Observatory, and presented his findings in a paper on 21 November 1861. Despite this fact, Richard Carrington has been given the designation of being the first to demonstrate the existence of solar flares.

In 1859, the largest flare was caused by a coronal mass ejection directed toward Earth. The CME took only 18 hours to arrive. This is remarkable because such a journey normally takes three to four days. On 1–2 September 1859, the Earth experienced a huge geomagnetic storm. Auroras were seen around the world, most notably over the Caribbean and Rocky Mountain. In the wake of the storm, telegraph systems all over Europe and North America failed. Telegraph pylons threw sparks and paper spontaneously caught fire. Some telegraph systems appeared to continue to send and receive messages despite having been disconnected from their power supplies. A similar event in 2013 could devastate the world’s infrastructure.

First Eyewitness Report of a Megatsunami

Lituya Bay is a fjord located on the coast of the Southeast part of the U.S. state of Alaska. A fjord is a long and narrow inlet with steep cliffs. The bay is part of Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve. The entrance of the fjord is considered dangerous for ship navigation, especially when the tidal currents are running. The interior of Lituya Bay provides good protection for anchored ships.

In the past 150 years, the area has experienced five megatsunamis. On 9 July 1958, a large earthquake struck Alaska and caused a rock and ice landslide in the Crillon Inlet at the head of Lituya Bay. The falling debris generated a massive megatsunami measuring 524 m (1,719 ft). The rock (30 million cubic meters worth) impacted the bottom of the inlet and formed a large crater. The wave possessed sufficient power to snap all trees up to 1,720 feet (520 m) high around the bay. Most of the trees were spruce and they were 6 feet (1.8 m) thick. The tsunami stripped the soil to the bedrock.

At the time of the megatsunami there were three fishing boats anchored near the entrance of Lituya Bay. One boat sank in the wave and two people were killed. The other two boats were able to ride the waves above the tree line and survive the disaster. Among the survivors were Adam Gray, William A. Swanson and Howard G. Ulrich, who were each able to provide an account of what happened. It has been estimated that the wave was traveling at 600 mph. However, when it reached the open sea it dissipated quickly.

This incident was the first direct evidence and eyewitness report of the existence of megatsunamis. Mathematical modeling studies conducted by Dr. Charles Mader support the rock slide as a triggering mechanism. There is a sufficient volume of water in the Lituya Bay inlet to account for the giant wave and subsequent inundation. One eyewitness account indicates that an enormous piece of the Lituya Glacier moved during the earthquake, and may have fallen into the water. The impact was similar to an asteroid generated tsunami wave. It has allowed scientists to re-evaluate historical events and identify large waves.

First Ship Sunk in Anger by a Nuclear-Powered Submarine

ARA General Belgrano was a warship that was originally constructed as the USS Phoenix in 1935, and launched in March 1938. The vessel survived the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, and was decommissioned from the US Navy after World War II in July 1946. Phoenix earned nine battle stars for World War II service. USS Phoenix was sold to Argentina in October 1951, with another vessel, for US$7.8 million. The ship was renamed General Belgrano after General Manuel Belgrano, who fought for Argentine independence from 1811 to 1819. The Belgrano was outfitted with the Sea Cat anti-aircraft missile system, between 1967 and 1968.

On 2 April 1982, military forces from Argentina mounted amphibious landings on the Falkland Islands. The event marked the beginning of The Falklands War between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the disputed Falkland Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. After Argentina landed on the Falkland Islands, Britain launched a naval task force to engage the Argentine Navy and Argentine Air Force, and retake the islands by amphibious assault. The conflict ended with Argentina surrendering on 14 June 1982. The islands remain under British control.

The war lasted 74 days. It resulted in the deaths of 255 British and 649 Argentine soldiers, sailors and airmen. On 30 April 1982, the ARA General Belgrano was detected by the Royal Navy nuclear-powered hunter-killer submarine HMS Conqueror. The ship was located just outside the British-declared Total Exclusion Zone of 370 km (200 nautical miles) radius from the islands. The British decided the war ship was a threat and on 2 May 1982, the Conqueror fired three 21 inch Mk 8 mod 4 torpedoes, each with an 805-pound (363 kg) Torpex warhead. Two of the three torpedoes hit the General Belgrano. One of the torpedoes blew off the ship’s bow and the second punched a hole in the side of the ship and exploded in the aft machine room.

Twenty minutes after the attack, Captain Bonzo ordered the crew to abandon ship. In all, 323 people were killed. Argentine and Chilean ships rescued 770 men in the water from May 3 to May 5, 1982. The vessel became the only ship ever to have been sunk in anger by a nuclear-powered submarine and the second sunk in action by any type of submarine since World War II. The first was the Indian frigate INS Khukri, which was attacked by the Pakistani Hangor during the 1971 Indo-Pakistani War. There was a public controversy surrounding the sinking, but in 1994 the Argentine government conceded that the attack was “a legal act of war.”

First and Only Person to Execute Over 10,000 People

Vasili Blokhin was a Soviet Major-General who served as the chief executioner for the NKVD (Soviet secret police). He was hand-picked for the position by Joseph Stalin in 1926. Blokhin led a company of executioners that performed and supervised numerous mass executions during Stalin’s reign, most notably during the Great Purge and World War II. Vasili Blokhin is recorded as having personally executed tens of thousands of prisoners by his own hand, including 7,000 condemned Polish POWs in one mass execution, making him the most prolific official executioner in world history.

During his time as executioner, Vasili Blokhin made sure he personally pulled the trigger on all high-profile cases conducted in the Soviet Union. His most infamous act was the April 1940 Katyn massacre, in which Blokhin killed 7,000 Polish officers. The massacre was prompted by Lavrentiy Beria’s proposal to execute all members of the Polish Officer Corps, dated 5 March 1940. The mass executions conducted by Blokhin in Poland were carried out on 28 consecutive nights. He used a specially-constructed basement execution chamber at the NKVD headquarters in Kalinin, Russia (now Tver).

In April of 1940, Vasili Blokhin performed 300 executions per night. He engineered a deranged system in which the prisoners were individually led into a small chamber. The chamber was painted red and was known as the “Leninist room.” The room was specially designed with padded walls for soundproofing, a sloping concrete floor with a drain and hose, and a long wall for the prisoners to stand against. Vasili Blokhin was outfitted with a leather butcher’s apron, cap, and shoulder-length gloves to protect his uniform. He had no procurator present and did not read any death sentences to the victims. Over and over again, Blokhin pushed the prisoner against the wall and shot him once in the base of the skull with a German Walther Model 2 .25 ACP pistol.

The use of a German pocket pistol, which was commonly carried by Nazi intelligence agents, provided plausible deniability of the executions if the bodies were discovered later. Blokhin had his men escort prisoners to the basement, confirm identification, and then remove the bodies and hose down the blood after each execution. He was the primary executioner and, true to his reputation, liked to work continuously and rapidly without interruption. The executions were conducted at night, starting at dark and continuing until dawn. The bodies were continuously loaded on flat-bed trucks through a back door and buried in mass graves. Vasili Blokhin worked without pause for ten hours each night, executing an average of one prisoner every three minutes.

The event is the most organized and protracted mass murders by a single individual on record. On 27 April 1940, Blokhin secretly received the Order of the Red Banner from Joseph Stalin. In 1955, Blokhin sank into alcoholism, went insane, and died, with the official cause being “suicide.” In 1943, the government of Nazi Germany announced the discovery of mass graves in the Katyn Forest. The revelation led to the end of diplomatic relations between Moscow and the London-based Polish government-in-exile. The Soviet Union continued to deny responsibility for the massacres until 1990, when the government officially acknowledged and condemned the event.

Boycott’s name quickly became the byword for economic ostracism in English, French, Dutch, German and Russian. We still use boycotts today for nonviolent protest and consumer activism. Submitted for your approval are 10 Famous Boycotts, escalating from silly to serious.

We’ll start light and get progressively heavier. So first, a stereotype: All teenage girls do is shop, right?

As if. In 2005, 24 teenagers started a “girlcott” against youth retailer Abercrombie & Fitch. While acknowledging the attempt at humor, the girls took offense at T-shirts with “Who needs brains when you have these?’ and “I had a nightmare I was a brunette” on the front. They claimed the slogans degrade women and contribute to unhealthy body images for young girls.

Sarah Gould, president of the Ms. Foundation for Women, concurred, saying the slogans “reinforce the message that girls are only as good as what their bodies are, and that’s very undermining to a girl’s healthy development”. Abercrombie & Fitch pulled the offending shirts a month later (likely after inventory ran out, and smirking at the free publicity).

Since its origins in the nineties, the purpose of International Buy Nothing Day is to provide a moment of pause from the rampant overconsumption in western economies. IBND takes place in Canada and the United States on Black Friday (the day after the fourth Thursday in November—the busiest shopping day in North America). In the rest of the world the boycott happens the following Saturday, which begins their consumer run-up to Christmas.

Some boycotts are logical, even noble, but there are also Pilates exercises in stupidity. Case in Point: striking RITE AID pharmacy workers in Cleveland, Ohio.

In March 2011, Rite Aid Pharmacy experienced a strike at six union stores in the Cleveland metro area. This strike is unusual because picketers were holding up signs saying “Don’t Shop Rite Aid”. That’s no longer just a strike: it’s a call to boycott. According to Ohio law, unions may not call for boycotts against businesses that force workers to join a union. By calling for consumers to shop elsewhere, the unions violated that law. Further complicating matters is that Rite Aid has both union and non-union stores in Cleveland.

And it’s not like the timing’s great, either. Rite Aid’s in pretty bad financial shape, and an illegal boycott probably puts union stores at the top of the store closure list. Sure, the unions may win loads of concessions in contract negotiations, but if the company can’t afford union stores it will just eliminate them and keep the non-union stores running.

Worse, aren’t the strikers sending career-limiting messages to their employer? Can you imagine interviewing for a promotion? “Oh. Karlson. I remember you. Weren’t you outside telling my customers to shop at CVS?”

Lysistrata is one of the few surviving plays by Greek dramatist Aristophanes. Fed up with the Peloponnesian war, and after a LOT of effort, heroine Lysistrata convinces Athenian women to barricade themselves in the Acropolis and withhold sex until their lovers negotiate peace with Sparta. Far-fetched, funny, and definitely rated NC-XVII.

And life imitates art. In 2002, former professor Samira Ahmed launched an altar campaign in Sudan, encouraging wives to abandon sexual relations with their husbands until the second Sudanese Civil War ended. Thousands of Sudanese women answered the call, and the war dragged on until a peace treaty was signed in 2005. Coincidence? All we know for sure is that cigarette sales spiked 20 minutes later.

The Arab League has boycotted Israeli goods and services since the founding of Israel in 1948. Their stated goal is to isolate Israel economically, and discourage Jewish immigration to the Middle East.

The boycott has three parts, just like Neapolitan ice cream. The chocolate/primary boycott prohibits importing Israeli-made goods and services. The vanilla/secondary boycott prohibits doing business with anyone trading with Israel. The strawberry/useless third boycott prohibits doing business with anyone on the Arab League’s (unenforced) blacklist.

Most Middle East merchants (anonymously) agree the boycott is mainly for show, and it waxes/wanes with Arab-Israeli tensions. It gets absurd in places –from Saudi border guards delaying tourists with “Israel” on their passport (they claim they don’t know where “Israel” is), to Iranian wrestlers withdrawing from competition prior to a match with an Israeli athlete.

Frankly, the boycott just isn’t that big a deal: since intra-region trade with Israel is so small, the impact of the ban is negligible. (When the boycott relaxed in the early 90s, foreign countries exported cars to Israel for the first time. A study found that, if the boycott had been enforced, the Israeli auto market would have been only 12% smaller. Ironically, to hurt Israel the Arab League would do better to first trade more with it).

Many Arab nations have since ended the charade. See? Greed conquers all.

In 2009, after years of complaints about Black-on-Asian violence (and 30 separate attacks in a single day), 26 Asian-American students stopped attending South Philadelphia High School. Their boycott lasted over a week and publicly aired accusations that the school administration mishandled evidence, ignored eyewitness accounts, and even blamed Asian-American students for inciting attacks on themselves.

After news of the boycott went public, administrators transferred 10 students to other schools, and increased the number of security guards and surveillance cameras. But by then, it was too late. The public demanded a federal investigation, which quickly “found merit”; in the complaints and later ruled the school had been “deliberately indifferent” to ongoing harassment of Asian students.

The result? While never acknowledging any wrongdoing, the school agreed to state and federal oversight as it addressed racial violence at the school. A new principal arrived in July 2010, and the administration reports a 50 % decrease in attacks for 2011.

Following a series of foreign policy setbacks, US President Jimmy Carter issued an ultimatum that the United States would boycott the Moscow Olympics if Soviet troops did not withdraw from Afghanistan. When the USSR refused, Carter led over 60 nations to boycott the 1980 summer games.

Japan, West Germany, China, the Philippines, Argentina and Canada quickly joined in. The UK and France supported the boycott, but left the decision to the individual athlete. So Spain, Italy, Sweden, Iceland and Finland represented Western Europe, along with a few Americans with dual citizenship in other countries. Many athletes marched under the Olympic Flag in place of their national flag, and replaced their national anthems with the Olympic anthem (in some events, the medals ceremonies raised three identical Olympic Flags).

NOTE: Besides the athletes, do you know who the real loser of the 1980 boycott was? Broadcaster NBC, which paid $85 million for the TV rights. That price tag included $61 million to the Russians, who saw no need to give it back. Fortunately, some finance whiz at NBC thought to insure the project with Lloyd’s of London, and NBC only ate about $4 mil.)

The Soviets returned the favor in 1984, and passed on the summer Olympics held in Los Angeles. They issued a statement saying that the Soviet Union would boycott the 1984 summer games due to ‘chauvinistic sentiments and anti-Soviet hysteria being whipped up in the United States.” Thirteen Soviet allies joined the boycott.

NOTE: The real loser of the 1984 boycott was McDonald’s, which held an American promotion promising a free Big Mac for every gold medal the US won. With no ‘roided out East Germans or Russians around, the US breezed to over 90 gold medals, triple the amount McDonald’s budgeted for. (Guess they didn’t have a finance whiz –or a sports fan– in the Promotions department).
 

In June 1767, Parliament cut British land taxes, and tried to finance its troops in the Colonies by over taxing the colonists. So they passed the Townshend Acts, which taxed items like paper, lead, glass, paint and tea shipped from England. The Brits thought indirectly taxing imported goods would fare better than the repealed Stamp Act (a direct tax on printed materials). Sounds reasonable, right?

The Colonists were livid, and reacted in what passed for ‘immediately’ in Colonial times. New York and Boston boycotted all British goods in August 1768. Philadelphia joined in March 1769, and by that October the boycott spread to New Jersey, Rhode Island and North Carolina. Seeing the Colonists united in their opposition to the Townshend Acts, King George III sent more troops into the Colonies, insisting that you can put a fire out with gasoline, if you just throw it hard enough.

However, history shows the non-importation movement wasn’t as effective as the Colonists hoped. British exports to the colonies did decline by 38% in 1769, but some merchants never participated in the ban. The boycott sputtered in 1770, and quietly died in 1771. However, an indirect result of the boycott was that American women gained a greater place in society because they still had to provide many of the refined goods normally imported from Britain.

The Townshend Acts were repealed in March of 1770, except for the taxes on tea (and we all know how well that turned out).

The Delano grape strike was a strike/boycott/protest led by Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers (UFW) against growers of table grapes in California.

The protest began on September 8, 1965 when Filipino farm workers in Delano, California, walked off the job. At the time, farm laborers were among the lowest-paid workers in the US, and all they wanted were wages equal to the federal minimums ‘enjoyed’ by other workers. A week after the strike began, Cesar Chavez’ Mexican-American National Farmworkers Association joined in, forming what eventually became the United Farm Workers of America (UFW).

The strike was noted for its grassroots organization: community marches, aggressive consumer boycotts, a little longshoreman sabotage, and steadfast non-violence. The public was especially attracted to the farmworkers’ peaceful protests, and consumers even helped identify fake labels used by grape growers seeking to bypass the boycott.

At its height, more than 14 million Americans were refusing to buy grapes. In 1969, the pressure became too much to bear, and Delano growers signed historic contracts with the UFW.

In 1955, Rosa Parks was riding a bus home from work and was ordered to yield her seat to a white passenger. This was Alabama law at the time, and some black men had already started toward the back to make room for her in the ‘Colored’ section. But Ms. Parks refused out of principle, and authorities arrested her.

News spread fast, and community organizer Jo Ann Robinson distributed a pamphlet stressing an overlooked economic point: blacks were ¾ of the Montgomery bus clientele. Blacks had more power than they thought, if they had the courage to wield it.

To make her point, Robinson implored blacks to not ride any buses the following Monday. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. noted the success of that Monday Boycott, and used his Montgomery Improvement Association to encourage all blacks to keep the boycott going.

Carpools emerged overnight, black taxi drivers charged only a dime for black passengers, and some white employers (ironically) drove their black servants to work. Lloyd’s of London even insured carpool vehicles when US insurers were pressured to drop them. The Montgomery Bus Boycott lasted until December 20, 1956, when a federal ruling (Browder v. Gayle) led the U.S. Supreme Court to declare that the Montgomery laws requiring segregated buses were unconstitutional.