Birth Locations – Page 157 – The Exasperated Historian

12) Hedy Lamarr

“Any girl can be glamorous, all you have to do is stand still and look stupid."

12) Hedy Lamarr

Beauty and Brains

Born: 9 November 1914, Vienna, Austria

Died: 19 January 2000, Casselberry, Florida, United States of America

Original Name: Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler

Hedy was an actress and inventor.

She filmed her first movie at the age of seventeen. Hedy's first husband basically had her under house arrest and she had to escape to make it to Hollywood in the early 1930’s. She signed a contract with MGM and made her first Hollywood movie in 1938.

In 1942 she co-invented the Secret Communications System which she and her co-inventor hoped would be utilized during World War II (It wasn’t—the Navy basically laughed at her). The device helped change radio frequencies while sending coded messages and therefore prevent enemies from decoding those radio messages.

She wasn’t immediately recognized for her invention but in 1977 she was the first woman awarded the BULBIE Gnass Spirit Award which is basically the Oscar of Inventions.

Hedy made her last film in 1958, after that she sued the publisher of her autobiography because she thought the ghostwriter made egregious errors. She was arrested for shoplifting twice but was never convicted. In all she was married six times and she had three children—one adopted and two biological. She became a naturalized US Citizen in 1953.

Hedy's story is featured in an episode of Monumental Mysteries entitled "Chrysler Building; Stanford Mausoleum; Hedy Lamarr."

Badges Earned:

Find a Grave Marked

Located In My Personal Library:

The Hollywood Book of Death by James Robert Parish

Women in Science by Rachel Ignotofsky

Who Knew? Women in History: Questions That Will Make You Think Again by Sarah Herman

Backwards and In Heels by Alicia Malone

History of Cinema: A Very Short Introduction by Geoffrey Nowell-Smith

Sources:

https://www.biography.com/actor/hedy-lamarr

https://www.hedylamarr.com/

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/20841/hedy-lamarr

12) Colonel Lewis W Washington

12) Colonel Lewis W Washington

Great-Grandnephew of President George Washington Whose Life Story Might Surprise Some

Born: 30 November 1812, Washington D.C. (His Google Page wrongfully states Washington State), United States of America

Died: 1 October 1871, Jefferson County, West Virginia, United States of America

Besides being tied to our nation's first president, Major Washington is principally remembered for being a hostage during John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry. After the raid ultimately failed, Major Washington would go on to testify against John Brown.

After the failed raid, Major Washington would go on to serve in the army of the Confederate States of America. He was twice married and had at least four children according to Find a Grave.

Badges Earned:

Find a Grave Marked

Sources:

http://www.wvculture.org/history/jbexhibit/washingtonmasontestimony.html

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/78560616/lewis-william-washington

12) Rear Admiral Grace Hopper

11) Rear Admiral Grace Hopper

She was more than just a Dazzling Daughter

Born: 9 December 1906, Manhattan, New York, United States of America

Died: 1 January 1992, Arlington, Virginia, United States of America

Computer technician and admiral in the US Navy, Grace helped create UNIVAC 1 which was the first commercial electronic computer. She also helped create the naval applications for COBOL or Common Business Oriented Language.

Grace received her bachelor’s degree from Vassar College in 1928, and then received her bachelors from Yale in 1934.

In 1943 she joined the Naval Reserve and in 1944 she became a lieutenant and was sent to join the Bureau of Ordnance’s Computation Project located at Harvard. While there she worked on Mark I which was the first large-scale automatic calculator and the precursor to modern computers. She would coin the term "bug" in referencing computer issues after a moth flew into the Mark I’s inner workings. Grace retired from the Navy in 1966 before being recalled to active duty in 1967 to help standardize the navy’s computer languages. She retired again in 1986 at the age of 79—making her the oldest active duty officer in the navy (and she didn’t retire willingly—the Navy made her go).

Grace had attained the rank of Rear Admiral and was often referred to as Amazing Grace. She was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016.

Grace was also a member of NSDAR (The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution) and was buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery.

The US Navy’s official website refers to her as the Mother of Computing, and by the time she passed she had thirty honorary degrees from various universities.

She once said, "If you do something once, people will call it an accident. If you do it twice, they call it a coincidence. But do it a third time and you've just proven a natural law!"

Badges Earned:

Find a Grave Marked

Located In My Personal Library:

Time Magazine's 100 Women of the Year (Grace appears in the 1959 article, "Grace Hopper”)

Women in Science by Rachel Ignotofsky

Sources:

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/1784/grace-brewster-hopper

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Grace-Hopper

https://www.public.navy.mil/surfor/ddg70/Pages/namesake.aspx

NSDAR's List of "Dazzling Daughters"

11) Heyward Shepherd

11) Heyward Shepherd

Sadly, the Monument Erected to His Life is More Famous Than the Man Himself Today

Born: c. 1825

Died: 17 October 1859, Harper's Ferry, Virginia, United States of America (Present-day Harper's Ferry, West Virginia, United States of America)

Heyward was the first person killed in John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry (whose ultimate goal was to free all the slaves across America). One problem--Heyward was actually a free African American man. At the time Heyward was living in Winchester with his wife and five children and worked as a baggage handler on the local railroad. Heyward was shot and killed after being ordered to halt by two of John Brown's raiders. He refused to stop and after being mortally wounded lingered for several hours before mercifully passing away.

News of his death outraged those who lived in Winchester with him and his family. A relief fund was set up to care for his wife and children, and the local militia carried his body to his final resting place.

The raid on Harper's Ferry was such a failure that John Brown would be hanged for his crimes, but the raid is also cited as one of the leading causes of the War Between the States.

Badges Earned:

Find a Grave Marked

Sources:

https://www.shenandoahatwar.org/history/heyward-shepherd/

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/123489179/heyward-shepherd

10) Father Damien

He was one of the few people who didn't treat those afflicted with Leprosy like they were, well, lepers.

Born: 3 January 1840, Tremelo, Belgium

Died: 15 April 1889, Kalaupapa, Hawaii

Born Name: Jozef De Veuster

Father Damien arrived in Hawaii early in the history of those afflicted with Hansen's Disease (or more commonly known as Leprosy) being isolated on the island of Moloka'i.

He and his brother both entered the Congregation of Sacred Hearts as priests. His brother was supposed to serve a mission in the "Sandwich Islands" (Hawaii), but when his brother fell ill, Father Damien went in his place. Father Damien arrived in Honolulu in 1864, and he spent eight years on the big island of Hawai'i. In 1873, Father Damien was the first of four priests to volunteer to minister to those suffering from Hansen's Disease on Moloka'i.

Damien was successful not only because he built houses, planted trees, and constructed a water system, but also because he spoke the native language. He also provided medical care and helped bury the dead.

He lived on the island for twelve years before it was confirmed that he had contracted Hansen's Disease. Leprosy is not highly contagious as it used to be believed, but Father Damien didn't put hygiene high up on the list of his concerns and so he did fall ill with it. He died when he was forty-nine years old.

In 2009, Father Damien was made a saint in the Catholic Church.

To learn more about the Leprosy Colony, I highly recommend the video from Ask a Mortician I have linked in this article.

Badges Earned:

Find a Grave Marked

Sources:

https://www.nps.gov/kala/learn/historyculture/damien.htm

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/10963/father_damien

10) Rosa Carmichael

10) Rosa Carmichael

She's Proof that not all the ladies on this list will be Disney Princesses

Birth and Death Dates Unknown, as is Place of Origin

Rosa ran the Gettysburg Orphanage during the mid-19th Century.

Rosa is remembered for chaining the kids to the wall, beating them, and generally being a horrific human being.

A twelve-year-old wrote an essay about her experiences in the Orphanage during a ghost tour and said her EVP recorded a woman screaming to “Get Back!” and when they asked if anyone was in the “pit” where Rosa would put kids after beating them someone said “yes”.

According to local legend Rosa left town after a young boy died in her care and the authorities realized no doctors had ever been to attend the child—Rosa had killed him. The orphanage operated from 1866 to 1877 and could hold up to sixty children at a time. Rosa ran the place from the early 1870’s until she left in 1877.

Nothing is known of her before she arrived and according to one source, she was convicted of abuse in 1876 but I have yet to prove that definitively.

Its telling that one of the few sources about her online is the Ghost Adventures Wiki.

Sources:

http://www.pennsylvania-mountains-of-attractions.com/gettysburg-orphanage-with-rosa-carmichael.html

https://noordinarytravelblog.com/new-blog/rosa-carmichael-and-the-orphanage-of-gettysburgy2018/9/4

https://ghostadventures.fandom.com/wiki/Rosa_Carmichael

9) Jean Laborde

His Story is Inextricably Tied to a Certain Queen From Madagascar

Born: 16 October 1805, Auch, France

Died: 27 December 1878, Kingdom of Madagascar (Present-day Madagascar)

Adventurer and industrialist originally from France. After getting shipwrecked on the coast of Madagascar he was taken captive by Queen Ranavalona I and was basically responsible for bringing the Industrial Revolution to her country.

In 1857 he was involved in a failed coup to dethrone the queen and she banished him from the island. He would later serve as French Consul to the Island after Napoleon III decided to use him to try and influence the island with French culture after Radama II allowed him to return.

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Laborde

https://www.rejectedprincesses.com/princesses/ranavalona-i

9) Elizabeth Magie

9) Elizabeth Magie

The Original Designer of What Would Become Monopoly

Born: 1866, Macomb, Illinois, United States of America

Died: 1948, Arlington County, Virginia, United States of America

Board game designer who created The Landlord’s Game—basically Monopoly (it was Monopoly, she just had a different name). She created the game as a way to better illustrate the economic theories of Henry George. His theory was that anyone should own anything they created or made but that land itself should belong to everyone (he also believed only wealthy people should pay property tax). She filed her patent for the game before publishing it in 1905.

When she published the game, she gave it two sets of rules: one where you try to bankrupt the other players (like Monopoly would become) and one where everyone was rewarded when wealth was created. Elizabeth had hoped the game would spur people into action after seeing how unfair the system of banking and monopolies were. The game was extremely popular especially amongst left-wing students on college campuses.

She put out a second version in 1932 with a new patent and in 1934 a man (let’s call him Dick [author's note: you'll be seeing this more often. I've noticed that many times women's names are left out when they are important to a story, so I've flipped it. If the man's name isn't central to understanding the story--and he is not that nice to say the least--we're calling him Dick]) introduced the game to Parker Brothers as Monopoly without ever mentioning Magie or her game.

After Dick sold his game to Parker Brothers they found out about Magie’s earlier version and they offered her—wait for it—$500 and no royalties. They also offered to reproduce the Landlord’s Game in its original format and two other games invented by her—so she took the deal. Her other two games were called Bargain Man and King’s Men (all three games are now considered extremely rare).

Elizabeth made national headlines after mocking how women were portrayed in the media, calling herself “not beautiful” and “full of character and strength yet truly feminine”.

When she passed away her obituary (and later headstone) did not acknowledge her role in inventing Monopoly. Her name was only brought up in 1973 after a man won a Supreme Court case to receive the right to publish an Anti-Monopoly Game.

Badges Earned:

Find a Grave Marked

Located In My Personal Library:

Who Knew? Women in History: Questions That Will Make You Think Again by Sarah Herman

Sources:

http://www.theheroinecollective.com/elizabeth-magie/

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/144724581/elizabeth-j-magie

8) Reverend Wade Watts

8) Wade Watts

He has been called "The Man Who Defined Forgiveness"

Born: 23 September 1919, Kiamichi, Oklahoma, United States of America

Died: 13 December 1998

Reverend Watts is most remembered for helping former Imperial Wizard Johnny Lee Clary leave the Ku Klux Klan. Reverend Watts was an African American man, but he told Clary he would always love him and that nothing Clary did could make him hate him. After Clary learned the error of his ways, he went on to become the first Caucasian elder in the Church of God in Christ.

Watts was a Civil Rights activist, father of fourteen children, and friend to Martin Luther King Jr. He participated in the Selma, Alabama March for equality. For sixteen years Reverend Watts served as President of the Oklahoma Chapter of the NAACP. He was also the head chaplain for the Oklahoma State Penitentiary for five years. In the 1940's and 1950's he also worked to desegregate schools in Oklahoma.

Reverend Watts was also the uncle of former Congressman JC Watts, though they disagreed on political affiliations (the reverend was a Democrat, his nephew a Republican).

Badges Earned:

Find a Grave Marked

Sources:

https://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/us/2017/may/how-a-black-man-helped-a-kkk-leader-leave-the-klan

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wade_Watts

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/18812764/wade-alexander-watts

8) Gillis Duncan

Portrayed by Lotte Verbeek, this photo is a screencap from the Starz show Outlander, courtesy of Pinterest

8) Gillis Duncan

I know what you're thinking, and no not Geillis from Outlander (though her name has been alternatively spelled that way). Gillis was an "actual" witch, and read below to find out more

She died during the North Berwick Witch Trials, which took place in Scotland between 1590 and 1592 AD

Unfortunately (seeing as I love the show and book mentioned above) when you Google Gillis's name today all the results are about the fictional character in the Outlander Series (And the photo provided is of that character).

In order to get anything on the real woman you have to include the North Berwick key words. The sleepy town of North Berwick is remembered for helping inspire Treasure Island and for being the place of horrific witch trials during the reign of James VI (later James I of England). Its estimated between seventy and two hundred witches were killed in the area alone (most dying from torture inflicted from items like the breast ripper—yeah). The king blamed a severe thunderstorm that made him late to pick up his date on witches from North Berwick (no literally, that's the gist of why he was so angry). Gillis was a healer in the area at the time making her an easy target and she was burned at the stake after being found guilty. She also unfortunately named other women while under torture and could have contributed to more deaths in the area. That is the extent of what is known about the real Gillis Duncan.

Badges Earned:

Located In My Personal Library:

Killing the Witches: The Horror of Salem Massachusetts by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard

Magic and Witchcraft: An Illustrated History by Ruth Clydesdale

Sources:

https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofScotland/North-Berwick-Witch-Trials/

https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/eascfa/dinner_party/heritage_floor/geillis_duncan