Historical Figures

When we think about royalty, we often imagine gilded thrones and ornate drawing rooms. But according to German troops in World War II, Catherine the Great's furniture went way beyond your average aristocratic flair.

By Lena Thaywick

In the world of mountain climbing, few stories are as harrowing or as inspiring as that of Beck Weathers.

By Lena Thaywick

During World War II, an extraordinary group of women broke barriers, defied expectations, and changed history. Known as the Six Triple Eight, this all-Black, all-female battalion of the Women's Army Corps served overseas in Europe, sorting millions of pieces of backlogged mail and boosting the morale of American troops far from home.

By Lena Thaywick

Amelia Earhart set numerous records before vanishing in 1937 during an attempt to circumnavigate the globe. Her disappearance remains one of the greatest unsolved mysteries of aviation, sparking decades of research and speculation about what really happened to her and her navigator, Fred Noonan.

By Talon Homer

A pro wrestling family patriarch, Fritz Von Erich (real name: Jack Adkisson), and his wife, Doris, married young in 1950. A few years later, they welcomed their first son, Jack Jr., quickly followed by brothers Kevin, David, Kerry and Mike.

By Mitch Ryan

Oppenheimer's legacy is as complex as the quantum mechanics and theoretical physics that dominated his mind and shaped his life.

By Mitch Ryan

The pirate life wasn't all about buried treasure and parrots on shoulders — they also ruled the waves, looted merchant ships and struck fear into entire nations. During the Golden Age of piracy, few pirates could escape the watchful eyes of the Royal Navy or the bounty-hungry pirate hunters, but some managed to build lasting legends.

By Yara Simón

The story of Abby and Brittany Hensel, the world's most famous conjoined twins, has captivated audiences for decades.

By Zach Taras

The endless curiosity of Marshall Brain helped educate, inform and inspire countless students, entrepreneurs and web surfers for decades before Brain's death on November 20, 2024.

By Peter Crooks

You don't have to be a prime minister, civil war general, Nobel Peace Prize laureate or founding father to learn the strengths of famous leaders and better your own life. You can learn a lot from the greatest leaders in history — including what to do and what not to do — and prepare for your time to lead others.

By Mitch Ryan

Jon Brower Minnoch is the heaviest person ever in medical history, weighing up to 1,400 pounds (635 kg) at one point.

By Marie Look

Jayne Mansfield was a superstar when she was alive, but today she is perhaps most famous for her tragic death at the age of 34. Get the facts behind the Jayne Mansfield death and her lasting impact.

By Sascha Bos

Helen Keller accomplished a lot in her lifetime. Despite becoming deaf-blind at 18 months of age, she authored multiple books, engaged in outspoken activism and gave lectures around the world. But did Helen Keller fly a plane?

By Sascha Bos

The sinking of the RMS Titanic is one of the most famous tragedies in maritime history, with some stories of the Titanic survivors having reached legendary status.

By Marie Look

On Christmas Eve in 1971, a young woman's life changed forever when she found herself plummeting through the sky in the midst of a thunderstorm. That woman was Juliane Koepcke, the sole survivor of a tragic plane crash in the Peruvian rainforest.

By Marie Look

Wisconsin is known for its cheese, beer and ... terrifying serial killers? It turns out some of the most notorious serial killers in the United States hail from America's Dairyland.

By Sascha Bos

The life story of George Jung reads like a high-stakes thriller, tracing the meteoric rise and dramatic fall of one of the most infamous drug smugglers in the history of the United States. Born into a modest family, Jung's early exposure to the world of narcotics set the stage for what would become a legendary career in the drug trade.

By Desiree Bowie

Before she was the tallest woman in the world, she was the world's tallest teenager. In 2021, Guinness World Records named Rumeysa Gelgi, who is 7 ft and 0.7 in (215.16 cm) in height, the tallest woman living.

By Yara Simón

Coretta Scott King and numerous other women who stood with Martin Luther King Jr. were committed activists in their own right during the Civil Rights Movement.

By Vicki Crawford

History has taught us that Harriet Tubman was a conductor for slaves on the Underground Railroad to freedom. But she had a second career as a Union spy and was also a champion for the elderly.

By Patrick J. Kiger

Harry Belafonte died today at age 96. A shining star in his own right, Belafonte was a key supporter of Martin Luther King Jr., the civil rights movement and other humanitarian missions.

By Patty Rasmussen

In 1812, she boarded a ship bound for New York, but never arrived. What happened to the daughter of Aaron Burr, the man who killed Alexander Hamilton?

By Patrick J. Kiger

One of the most quoted (and misquoted) African American women, Maya Angelou's words and works resound with people of all ages and stages in life. Here are five quotes that explain why.

By Yves Jeffcoat

Mildred Harnack was the only American in the leadership of German underground resistance to Hitler. And Hitler personally ordered her executed for it.

By Dave Roos

Frances Willard and her followers believed that alcohol abstinence would lead to better health, but they also saw it as a way to create a just society.

By Christopher H. Evans