John Edwin Bull was born in England in 1836, but virtually nothing else is known about his early life—including when he first arrived in the United States. Even his name is questionable, as “John Bull” was a long-standing satirical nickname for the English everyman dating back to the early 1700s. That said, it is the … Read more
Seven years after Hitler died in Berlin, demolition teams packed the ruins of his mountain residence with explosives and blew it apart. The Berghof, where he had spent roughly a quarter of his time in power, hosted visiting prime ministers, and directed a war, was leveled, cleared, and reforested so nothing recognizable would remain. But … Read more
Julia de Medici was born in 1535 in Florence, the illegitimate daughter of Alessandro de Medici, Duke of Florence, who is widely regarded as the first ruler of African descent in Renaissance Europe. Her father was known as “Il Moro,” or “the Moor,” due to his dark complexion, and speculation about his mother’s North African … Read more
Johnny Ringo was found dead beneath a tree in southeastern Arizona on July 14, 1882, with a bullet wound to the head and his Colt revolver still grasped in his right hand. Officials leaned toward suicide, but unusual details at the scene and conflicting stories that surfaced afterward turned his death into one of the … Read more
John Ringo was found dead in West Turkey Creek Canyon in the Arizona Territory on July 14, 1882, with a single gunshot wound to his right temple and his Colt revolver still in his hand. The coroner’s jury ruled it a suicide, but no witness ever came forward and no investigation ever filled the gap … Read more
A 1967 Hollywood film turned Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow into icons of rebellious love, but the real story of the two Texas outlaws is far removed from the romantic myth. Documented records show their crimes brought misery, not charity, to working-class communities during the Great Depression. The idea that Bonnie and Clyde robbed the … Read more
Wyatt Earp claimed he killed the outlaw known as Curly Bill Brocius at Iron Springs on March 24, 1882, a moment that has been debated by historians ever since. Brocius, a gunslinger and cattle rustler active in Arizona Territory during the late 1870s and early 1880s, was a prominent figure in the Cowboys gang, a … Read more
Charlie Bowdre rode with Billy the Kid, but he was never the fastest gun or the most feared outlaw in the Lincoln County War. His loyalty to the Kid would ultimately seal his fate at a desolate stone building in New Mexico, where his final mumbled words were reportedly, “I wish. I wish. ” Born … Read more
Marcus Junius Brutus was born around 85 BC into one of Rome’s most storied families, a lineage that seemed to mark him for greatness. His ancestor, Lucius Junius Brutus, had overthrown Rome’s last king and helped establish the Republic. But that prestigious bloodline came with its own kind of peril, and young Brutus learned this … Read more
On May 13, 1944, Klaus Dönitz, a young German naval officer, persuaded friends to let him join a fast attack boat raid across the English Channel. It was his 24th birthday, and he was never supposed to be on board. The boat did not return. Klaus was the son of Karl Dönitz, the admiral who … Read more