236: Mary Somerville Astronomer and Mathematician Born: 26 December 1780, Jedburgh, Scotland (Present-day United Kingdom) Died: 29 November 1872, Naples, Italy Mary grew up with a minimal education in which she was taught how to read but not write. She spent one year in boarding school but then had to read from her family’s library…
235: Bonnie Parker American Outlaw Better Known With Her Boyfriend as Bonnie and Clyde Born: 1 October 1910, Rowena, Texas, United States of America Died: 23 May 1934, Gibsland, Louisiana, United States of America She, Clyde, and several other accomplices spent months traveling around Texas and other Southern states robbing and shooting places up, killing…
234: Cleopatra I Syra Queen and Vizier to Ptolemy V Epiphanes Born: c.204 BC Died: 176 BC, Ancient Egypt Mother to Cleopatra II, Ptolemy VI, and Ptolemy VIII and daughter of King Antiochus III The Great and Queen Leodice. Cleopatra would also rule as regent for her son Ptolemy VI. She married Ptolemy V as…
233: Arizona Barker American Outlaw Known Better as “Ma Barker” or “Kate Barker” Born: 8 October 1873, Ash Grove, Missouri, United States of America Died: 16 January 1935, Ocklawaha, Florida, United States of America She and her sons joined several other criminals to lead a life of crime. Ma liked to live well and bought…
232: Lizzie Borden More Famous for the Children’s Rhyme Lizzie Borden took an axe…Than Anything Else Born: 19 July 1860, Fall River, Massachusetts, United States of America Died: 1 June 1927, Fall River, Massachusetts, United States of America Lizzie was alleged to have murdered her father and stepmother with an ax but was tried and…
231: Calamity Jane American Frontierswoman who Exaggerated Practically Every Story of Everything That Ever Happened to Her Born: 1 May 1852, Princeton, Missouri, United States of America Died: 1 August 1903, Terry, South Dakota, United States of America Original Name: Martha Jane Canary Calamity was known for dressing like a man, shooting like a man,…
230: Belle Starr American Outlaw Given the Nickname “Bandit Queen” Born: 5 February 1848, Carthage, Missouri, United States of America Died: 3 February 1889, Briartown, Oklahoma, United States of America Born Name: Myra Belle Shirley (Don’t confuse her with the other Bandit Queen—Phoolan Devi, they are completely different women!) Belle knew other famous outlaws like…
“Men, I have come to save you from a drunkard’s fate!” 229: Carry Nation Professional Vandalizer Born: 25 November 1846, Garrard County, Kentucky, United States of America Died: 9 June 1911, Leavenworth, Kentucky, United States of America Alternate Name: Carrie Nation Carry was a temperance advocate famous for using a hatchet to smash up saloons…
228: Lola Montez Professional Liar Born: 17 February 1821, Grange, County Sligo, Ireland (Present-day Republic of Ireland) Died: 17 January 1861, Brooklyn, New York, United States of America Original Name: Elizabeth Rosanna Gilbert She pretended to be Spanish so she would be a more “exotic” dancer (she was from Ireland). Lola is most known for…
227: Lavinia Fisher Reportedly the First Female Serial Killer in the United States Born: 1793, South Carolina, United States of America Died: 18 February 1820, Charleston, South Carolina, United States of America Lavinia may have been from Charleston, South Carolina but that remains unclear. What is known is that she lived six miles from Charleston…