Born in Indianapolis, John Dillinger, the
Tommy gun-wielding gangster, robbed at least a dozen banks and led
police and federal agents on a yearlong chase across the Midwest before
being gunned down outside a Chicago movie theater in July 1934. Below,
learn 10 surprising facts about the short and infamous life of the man
the authorities branded “Public Enemy No. 1.”
Tuesday 2 September 2014
6 Infamous Impostors
Throughout history, people have taken on new
identities and pretended to be someone they’re not. Some do it live a
more exciting life and attract attention, while others have more
sinister motives, such as pulling off a crime. Find out more about six
of history’s most fascinating phonies, including a murderer who claimed
to be a member of a famous American family, a woman who passed as a male
soldier during the U.S. Civil War, and a charlatan who invented an
entire history and language for a country he’d never even laid eyes on.
1. Christian Gerhartsreiter: A murderer who pretended to be a Rockefeller
Civil War Week 2013 Preview
All this week HISTORY commemorates the 150th anniversary of two of
the most significant clashes of the American Civil War–the battles of
Gettysburg and Vicksburg—with a fresh slate of daily articles, original
videos, interactive features, a great deal on our award-winning mobile app and more.
Each day we’ll feature new, original articles and exclusive video
examining various aspects of the battles and their impact on both the
war and American history.
10 Famous Elephants From History
Although known for millennia by many of the peoples of Africa and
Asia, elephants’ introduction to the classical West came around 331
B.C., when Alexander the Great encountered war elephants as his army
swept from Persia into India. At the river Jhelum, in present-day
Pakistan, Alexander defeated the Indian ruler Porus, who was said to
have 100,000 war elephants in his army. Ever since, whether revered as a
divine symbol of luck and wisdom, used as unique tools of diplomacy
between leaders, deployed to intimidate opposing armies or put on
display in the service of status or science, elephants have loomed large
in the historical record. Check out 10 notable examples.
1. Pyrrhus’s Pachyderms
10 Fascinating Facts About Charles Lindbergh
On May 20, 1927, 25-year-old pilot Charles
Lindbergh strapped into his famous airplane, “The Spirit of St. Louis,”
and took off on the first ever non-stop flight from New York to Paris.
The 33.5-hour crossing vaulted Lindbergh to international stardom, but
he was later visited by tragedy in 1932, when his 20-month-old son was
kidnapped and murdered in what was dubbed “the Crime of the Century.”
Below, learn 10 surprising facts about the heroic and controversial life
of the aviator known as “The Lone Eagle.”
1. His father was a U.S. Congressman.
7 Presidential War Stories
More than two thirds of U.S. presidents did
some form of military service before becoming Commander in Chief, and
many left with some truly harrowing combat stories. From James Monroe’s
Revolutionary War heroics to George H.W. Bush’s brush with death during
World War II, get the facts on the wartime experiences of seven American
chief executives.
1. James Monroe
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