Birth Locations – Page 159 – The Exasperated Historian

2) Corporal Thomas W Bennett

2) Corporal Thomas Bennett

Conscientious Objector and Medal of Honor Recipient

Born: 7 April 1947, Morgantown, West Virginia, United States of America

Died: 11 February 1969, Pleiku, Vietnam

The Second Conscientious Objector to receive the Medal of Honor.

He enlisted into the Army in 1968 as a Conscientious Objector. Because he was raised Baptist, Thomas did not believe in doing harm to another person, but knew he would be drafted in any case. When he reached Vietnam he served as a medic and on what he referred to as "Listening Patrols" because he was sent out at night to watch and listen for anything odd that might be the enemy coming. In February of 1969 Thomas was mortally wounded and killed in action after going into the line of fire to rescue multiple men. Because of his brave actions, he was posthumously raised to the rank of corporal and his family accepted the Medal of Honor from President Nixon on his birthday in 1970.

Thomas wrote numerous letters and recorded various audiotapes recounting his time in both basic training and once he arrived in Vietnam, and those accounts are still available today.

Badges Earned:

Find a Grave Marked

Sources:

http://www.wvculture.org/history/wvmemory/vets/bennettthomas/bennettthomas.html

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/7028471/thomas-william-bennett

2) Mary Anning

"The world has used me so unkindly, I fear it has made me suspicious of everyone."

2) Mary Anning

Paleontologist and Fossil Collector

Born: 21 May 1799, Lyme Regis, United Kingdom

Died: 9 March 1847, Lyme Regis, United Kingdom

Growing up her family survived in part by selling fossils they collected from the cliffs near their seaside home. Her brother and she found the first ichthyosaurus specimen. Mary would later also discover the first intact plesiosaurus skeleton. She also uncovered the first pterosaur fossil ever located outside of Germany. Mary taught herself anatomy, paleontology, geology, and scientific illustration techniques.

She passed away after battling breast cancer and she was eulogized by the president of the Royal Geological Society even though the first woman would not be admitted into their ranks until 1904.

In 2020, a "Biopic" starring Kate Winslet in the role of Mary will be released, however the film has already come under fire for straying from confirmed history. Mary never married nor has any direct descendants, and her true sexuality may never be known, however the director of the film decided to portray her as a lesbian and her relationship is set to be a central theme of the film. Just remember, not everything you see in Hollywood is confirmed fact!

Badges Earned:

Find a Grave Marked

Rejected Princess

Located In My Personal Library:

Uppity Women Speak Their Minds by Vicki León

Rejected Princesses by Jason Porath

Women in Science by Rachel Ignotofsky

Hypatia's Heritage: A History of Women in Science from Antiquity to the Late Nineteenth Century by Margaret Alic

National Geographic History Magazine Article, "Mary Anning: The Lady Who Built Dinosaurs" by Erin Blakemore (March/April 2025 Edition)

Sources:

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/34949489/mary-anning

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Mary-Anning

https://www.rejectedprincesses.com/princesses/mary-anning

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7983894/

1) Private First-Class Desmond Doss

1: Private First Class Desmond Doss

The First Conscientious Objector to be Awarded the Medal of Honor

Born: 7 February 1919, Lynchburg, Virginia, United States of America

Died: 23 March 2006, Piedmont, Alabama, United States of America

For a year, I only had my women's list of people to remember from history. That all changed after going to see Hacksaw Ridge in the local movie theatre. After that day I knew there were special men out there who deserved just as much praise and accommodation as women. Private Doss received the first spot on my Men's List that day.

Desmond was a World War II Medic and Medal of Honor Recipient who served as a Conscientious Objector. That meant Desmond was willing to serve but was unwilling to touch a weapon like a gun. He was also unwilling to handle duties on Saturdays which was his sabbath day (Desmond was a Seventh Day Adventist).

Desmond served in the United States Army in the Pacific Theatre of the war and is primarily remembered for carrying out his duty on what would become known as Hacksaw Ridge on the island Okinawa. Desmond would single-handedly save around seventy-five soldiers after he became the only medic left on the field of battle, leading to his Medal of Honor commendation. Desmond also received the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star. Through it all, he never harmed another human being.

After the war he became a florist. Unfortunately, he developed tuberculosis during the war, and would be plagued with various ailments because of it for the rest of his life. Eventually, Desmond underwent surgery to remove one of his lungs along with multiple ribs. He died at the age of eighty-seven, after his only remaining lung also failed.

Desmond is the subject of the 2016 Film Hacksaw Ridge starring Andrew Garfield. The trailer is linked here in this article.

Badges Earned:

Find a Grave Marked

Located In My Personal Library:

Hacksaw Ridge: The True Story of Desmond Doss by Ronald Kruk

Sources:

https://www.army.mil/article/183328/pfc_desmond_doss_the_unlikely_hero_behind_hacksaw_ridge

https://desmonddoss.com/bio/bio-real.php

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/13711681/desmond-thomas-doss

1) Hypatia of Alexandria

1: Hypatia of Alexandria

The Woman who Inspired it All

Birth Date Unknown, Most Likely Alexandria, Roman-Controlled Egypt (Present-day Alexandria, Egypt)

Died: March 415 AD, Alexandria, Roman-Controlled Egypt (Present-day Alexandria, Egypt)

Hypatia is the woman who inspired this entire project. In 2015, I sat down to watch "Alexandria the Greatest City"; a documentary hosted by Bettany Hughes. That single decision would change the course of history: my personal history in any case.

In that documentary, Bettany spoke of a woman named Hypatia, and from there I was completely overtaken by the project you're currently looking at. One single action can change the course of a person's life. In this case, it was an amazing decision.

So, here she is, entry Number One on the Women's List: Hypatia of Alexandria.

Hypatia was a mathematician, inventor, astronomer, philosopher, and she may have been the only female teacher at the University of Alexandria in all of Antiquity. The University of Alexandria was one of a kind and unlike anything else in the world during Hypatia's lifetime. So to say she was unique and awe inspiring would be the understatement of the millennium.

Hypatia is also the earliest known female mathematician whose works survive and are well known (her main focus was geometry). This is a fancy way of saying that there may have been earlier female mathematicians, but unfortunately their works have been lost to us.

Hypatia's father was named Theon—the last known member of the Alexandria Museum. In her time Hypatia was the world’s leading mathematician and philosopher—the only woman who has ever been able to claim that title. Unlike the Hollywood Film Agora (loosely based on her life, Rachel Weisz plays Hypatia) our real life mathematician took a vow of chastity and was not romantically attached to anyone; nor did she have children.

Because her teachings were considered pagan, Hypatia was targeted and eventually murdered by a Christian Mob. I so greatly wish this story had a happier ending, but it doesn't.

The details of what the mob did to Hypatia are so gruesome and vile I will not include them here, but you can easily find those details in the source links I will include below.

To make everything that much more depressing; The Great Library of Alexandria disappeared soon after Hypatia's murder.

To watch Hypatia's story in cute, animated video format, click the link in this article to watch Ted-Ed's video explanation of Hypatia's life story.

Badges Earned:

Find a Grave Marked

Rejected Princess

Located in My Personal Library:

Hypatia: The Life and Legend of an Ancient Philosopher by Edward J Watts

Hypatia's Heritage: A History of Women in Science from Antiquity to the Late Nineteenth Century by Margaret Alic

Magic and Witchcraft: An Illustrated History by Ruth Clydesdale

National Geographic History Magazine Article "The Lost Knowledge of the Library of Alexandria" (August/September 2015 Edition)

National Geographic History Magazine Article "The Tragic End of Hypatia of Alexandria" by Clelia Martinez Maza (March/April 2024 Edition)

One Bloody Thing After Another: The World's Gruesome History by Jacob F Field

Rejected Princesses by Jason Porath

Uppity Women Speak Their Minds by Vicki León

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

Women in Science by Rachel Ignotofsky

Sources:

The Books Listed Above

Ted-Ed's Video, Also Linked in This Article

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Hypatia

https://www.rejectedprincesses.com/princesses/hypatia

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/89849740/hypatia-of_alexandria