Birth Locations – Page 54 – The Exasperated Historian

741) Olga Hepnarová

I hope to one day include the names of Olga's victims here, to honor them so they will never be forgotten, however I have been unable to locate their names at this time.

741: Olga Hepnarová

Czech Mass Murderer

Born: 30 June 1951, Prague, Czechoslovakia (Present-day Prague, Czech Republic)

Died: 12 March 1975, Prague, Czechoslovakia (Present-day Prague, Czech Republic)

Olga was the last woman executed in Czechoslovakia and struggled with mental health problems throughout her life; including a yearlong psychiatric hospitalization in her teens after trying to commit suicide at thirteen. Sources differ on exactly what symptoms she possessed over the years, but she may have heard voices and suffered depressive episodes.

After leaving the hospital, where one doctor diagnosed her as schizophrenic, Olga left home and became a truck driver. She also began having relationships with both men and women.

In July of 1973, after planning the crime in advance, Olga ran over a crowd of people, killing eight and injuring twelve more. Her motive was her false belief that the world hated her and her family. Unfortunately for Olga’s victims, she had sent letters to two newspapers in the days before the attack detailing her plan to commit the crime, but because the Czech postal system was so slow, the letters didn’t arrive until two days after the crime had taken place.

Her sentence was reaffirmed by several Czech court systems, and her request to the prime minister for a pardon was denied. Though Olga was represented by a competent lawyer, she refused to work with him and also refused to plead insanity.

The street where Olga killed her victims has now been renamed after a Czech heroine, Milada Horáková, who was ironically also executed by hanging. Olga’s story was chronicled in the film, Já, Olga Hepnarová.

Badges Earned:

Find a Grave Marked

Sources:

https://murderpedia.org/female.H/h/hepnarova-olga.htm

https://allthatsinteresting.com/olga-hepnarova-murder

http://www.executedtoday.com/tag/olga-hepnarova/

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/26180441/olga-hepnarova

740) Marie Stopes

740: Marie Stopes

Author, Suffragette, Eugenicist, and Birth Control Pioneer

Born: 15 October 1880, Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Died: 2 October 1958, Dorking, United Kingdom

Marie wasn’t a medical doctor, and that was only part of the reason why the medical establishment and Catholic Church hated her. She was, in fact, a paleobotanist, and became the first female faculty member in the science division at Manchester University.

Her first marriage was annulled after five years (or three, sources differ), the cause? Non-consummation. She married for a second time, and in 1921 opened a clinic with her husband. They had a son in 1924.

Marie’s 1918 book Married Love caused a national scandal for daring to discuss sexuality and birth control in a marriage of equal partners. Churches and the medical establishment raged against it, but the book was popular with the public and sold very well.

She went on to open the first family planning clinic in North London but—importantly--it only served free services to married women. The clinic also studied contraception methods among its clients. After a few years, the clinic moved to Central London.

To keep things out in the open, I will not be eliminating Marie’s more unseemly views—i.e. eugenics, or the belief in eliminating those with inferior genes from the gene pool. The most famous victim of this movement, arguably, is Carrie Buck. Marie herself was a huge proponent of the movement and used her clinics (much like the American Margaret Sanger) as a way to use abortion and sterilization to remove those with undesirable genes from the human race (inferior people were usually anyone not upper class, white, and with no medical issues). In fact, Marie’s eugenics beliefs were so strong she disinherited her own son when he married a woman with poor eyesight.

The Marie Stopes Clinic was founded in the 1970’s to provide contraception and safe abortions in several countries across the world, continuing on their namesake’s work, again, eerily similar to Margaret Sanger and Planned Parenthood.

Badges Earned:

Find a Grave Marked

Located In My Personal Library:

History of Scotland: A Captivating Guide to Scottish History, the Wars of Scottish Independence, and William Wallace by Captivating History

Sources:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/stopes_marie_carmichael.shtml

http://broughttolife.sciencemuseum.org.uk/broughttolife/people/mariestopes

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Marie-Stopes

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/7564624/marie-stopes

739) Judith Exner

“I feel like I was set up to be the courier. I was a perfect choice because I could come and go without notice, and if noticed, no one would’ve believed it anyway.”

739: Judith Exner

Allegedly President John Fitzgerald Kennedy’s Mistress

Born: 11 January 1934, New York City, New York, United States of America

Died: 24 September 1999, Duarte, California, United States of America

Judith was the first woman to publicly admit to having an affair with the president.

She married for the first time at the age of eighteen, after being raised in a life of luxury thanks to her architect father in the rich Pacific Palisades in California. After her divorce, Judith began a relationship with Frank Sinatra that lasted several months in the late 1950’s.

Judith was also connected to other mafia leaders, most notably being the mistress for a short time of Sam Giancana, Chicago’s Godfather.

Supposedly, Judith also acted as a liaison between Giancana and JFK; helping ensure his election to the presidency. In all, Judith said she set up ten meetings between the two powerful men during the election cycle.

After the election, the FBI began investigating JFK’s connection to the mob, and their investigation led to the ending of Judith and the president’s relationship. It was only after their affair ended that Judith began seeing Giancana, but she ended that relationship as well after he proposed marriage.

After JFK’s death, Judith had an illegitimate son whom she gave up for adoption, fell into a severe depression, attempted suicide, and married for the second time with a professional golf player. Then in 1975, Judith was subpoenaed. Giancana was also subpoenaed but was shot seven times before he could talk. Its no surprise Judith feared for her life at this time.

Judith released a memoir in 1977 but was vilified by the press and basically called a liar by the Kennedy family; however today most historians believe her story…to a degree at least. According to her obituary in The New York Times, Giancana’s daughter claimed the mob boss disliked the president and he would have never helped get him elected. Whatever the truth is, it makes for a great story!

Judith passed away from breast cancer.

Badges Earned:

Find a Grave Marked

Located In My Personal Library:

Killing the Mob: The Fight Against Organized Crime in America by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard

Sex With Presidents: The Ins and Outs of Love and Lust in the White House by Eleanor Herman

The House of Kennedy by James Patterson and Cynthia Fagen

Sources:

https://allthatsinteresting.com/judith-exner

https://www.nytimes.com/1999/09/27/us/judith-exner-is-dead-at-65-claimed-affair-with-kennedy.html

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/7977/judith-exner

738) Angela Hutchinson Hammer

Photo Courtesy of the Arizona Women's Hall of Fame

738: Angela Hutchinson Hammer

Arizona’s First Female Publisher

Born: 30 November 1870, Virginia City, Nevada, United States of America

Died: 9 April 1952, Arizona, United States of America

In 1905, a recently divorced Angela was desperate to earn a living so she could feed her children. Her industrious attitude led Angela to purchasing the necessary supplies in order to begin printing the Wickenburg Miner. Little did she know this venture would prove the adventure of a lifetime.

Before she became the first female publisher in the Arizona Territory, Angela was born in a small mining town in Nevada. When she was twelve, Angela moved to the then-Arizona Territory with her sisters. Angela's only brother drowned when they were young.

Before becoming a printer, Angela and one of her sisters folded newspapers to earn money; this was Angie’s first step into the world of printing. Angela went on to print in both the Wickenburg and Casa Grande areas. In 1925, Angela founded the Messenger Printing Company in order to move all her publications under one label. By 1951, the company was merged with Arizona Printers Incorporated, and Angela was given a place on their board.

Before becoming a printer, Angela worked as a teacher at various territorial schools, this despite the fact that there was a movement to prevent Catholics from becoming teachers in the fledgling school system. Angela also ran for public office, long before women had the right to vote, and raised three sons. She even served as Immigration Commissioner for Pinal County. Angela’s career didn’t end there though; she went on to become a water conservationist and continued to defy gender expectations. And that’s not even all of the jobs and titles she held in her lifetime.

When she was still a young woman, Angela and her sister Katie helped the victims, both living and dead, of a horrible flood in Wickenburg. Soon after, Angela also helped heal a woman who was badly burned. These actions proved Angela was just as good as a nurse as she was a teacher or publisher.

Angela was also extremely brave and faced adversity throughout her life. As previously mentioned, she raised three sons, mostly on her own. Angela suffered a miscarriage in 1900 and underwent surgery, possibly for a hysterectomy. Her marriage soon fell apart, and Angela's attitude towards her 1903 divorce was apathetic at best. For the rest of her life, Angela was single, but never complained. If anything, she thrived. All three of her sons went on to have successful careers of their own.

After her death, Angela was inducted into both the Arizona Newspaper Hall of Fame and the Arizona Women’s Hall of Fame.

In 2005, her granddaughter, Rebecca Hammer Joy, published a biography about her courageous grandmother. In 2019, Angela was also honored by the Anasazi Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution. Angela’s great-granddaughter, and the daughter of Rebecca, is a DAR member.

Badges Earned:

Located In My Personal Library:

Angela Hutchinson Hammer: Arizona's Pioneer Newspaperwoman by Betty E Hammer Joy

Levi's and Lace: Arizona Women Who Made History by Jan Cleere

Sources:

https://uapress.arizona.edu/book/angela-hutchinson-hammer

http://glendaledailyplanet.com/woman-in-history-newspaper-woman-angela-hutchinson-hammer-honored-by-anas-p1742-95.htm

https://www.dar.org/sites/default/files/members/committees/amerher/pdf/2018_2019_WAH_Honorees_ed.pdf

737) Terra Jolé

737: Terra Jolé

Actress Known for Being on Little Women: LA

Born: 25 May 1980, Comal County, Texas, United States of America

Original Name: Terra Jolé Odmark

Terra also acts as executive producer on the show.

Terra placed fifth in her season of Dancing with the Stars.

She has three children as of March 2020: Penelope (or Penny), Grayson, and Magnolia.

Terra and her daughters Penny and Magnolia all have achondroplasia, while Terra’s husband and son have pseudoachondroplasia, two different forms of dwarfism. Their newest addition Magnolia will have to be tested to see if she has pseudoachondroplasia as well, but that will come later on. Terra stands four feet two inches tall.

Sources:

https://people.com/parents/little-women-la-terra-jole-welcomes-daughter-magnolia-august-first-photos-exclusive/

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1398231/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm

https://www.terrajole.com/bio

736) Marina Raskova

736: Marina Raskova

Soviet Navigator and Pioneering Pilot

Born: 28 March 1912, Moscow, Russia

Died: 4 January 1943, Soviet Union (Present-day Saratov Oblast, Russia)

As a child, Marina hoped to be a musician and then later a chemist.

Marina was the first woman to become a navigator in the Soviet Air Force at the age of nineteen in 1934. Later that year, Marina also became the first female pilot instructor at Zhurouski Air Academy.

She was awarded the Hero of the Soviet Union Title before World War II had even kicked off. Marina was awarded the prestigious accommodation alongside two other women (one of whom was Polina Osipenko), and they were the first women to be given the award. The three women were awarded the title alongside the Order of Lenin and Gold Star Medal thanks to their record setting flight through the Siberian Wilderness.

Marina was primarily responsible for the creation of all three female Soviet Air Force regiments that fought in World War II. The regiments were created after Stalin, who was close to Marina at the time, asked her to work on creating them. The regiments were divided into three sections: night bombing (the famed Night Witches), dive bombing, and fighter regiments. Marina led the dive-bombing regiment, and secured the best fighter planes the Soviet forces had to offer for her girls. The Night Bombing regiment, however, was given only outdated and flimsy crop dusters, though today they are the best remembered and most celebrated of the three groups. Over time, the dive bombers and fighter pilots would allow men into their ranks, but the Night Witches remained exclusively female.

Marina has been likened as the Amelia Earhart of the Soviet Union, and like Amelia, Marina died in a plane crash. She was on her way to the front lines and flying through fog and low visibility. Marina knew the risks, and when she crashed into a riverbank, she took every member of her crew on the flight with her.

Marina was given a state funeral, and her ashes are interred in the wall of the Kremlin.

Badges Earned:

Find a Grave Marked

Located In My Personal Library:

Flying for Her Country: The American and Soviet Women Pilots of World War II by Amy Goodpaster Strebe

Sources:

https://www.museumofwomenpilots.org/women-pilots-marina-raskova-48.htm

https://medium.com/history-of-yesterday/marina-raskova-mother-of-witches-53632bc917e7

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/14595020/marina-raskova

735) Katherine Gilnagh Manning

735: Katherine Gilnagh Manning

RMS Titanic Survivor

Born: 30 October 1894, Rhine (Also Spelled Rhyne), County Longford, Ireland (Present-day Republic of Ireland)

Died: 1 March 1971, Long Island, New York, United States of America

Also Known As: Kate or Katie Gilnagh

Katherine was coming to America to join her sister who had immigrated earlier on.

Katherine was held back from entering a lifeboat several times by crew members who were trying to dissuade steerage (or third class) passengers from getting on the boats. Finally, she managed to get on board a boat after telling one of the crew members her sister was on the boat (she wasn’t—but the lie saved her life). Katherine and her three roommates all escaped on lifeboat sixteen.

At the time of the disaster, Katherine said she naively believed the ship sinking and having to get on a lifeboat was the way everyone got to America.

Katherine was eventually reunited with her sister and went on to marry and became a part of what would become the Titanic Historical Society. She had four children.

Katherine even appeared on an episode of To Tell the Truth and was also interviewed by Walter Lord when he was writing A Night to Remember.

Badges Earned:

Find a Grave Marked

Located In My Personal Library:

A Night to Remember by Walter Lord (Mentioned on the Passenger List)

How It Happened: Titanic, The Epic Story From the People Who Were There by Geoff Tibballs (Mentioned on the Passenger List)

Sources:

https://titanic.fandom.com/wiki/Kate_Gilnagh

https://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/titanic-survivor/katie-gilnagh.html

https://www.irishcentral.com/news/titanic-survivor-story-katie-gilnagh

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/195099730/katherine-manning

734) Nadezhda Popova

734: Nadezhda Popova

Night Witch and Soviet Pilot in World War II

Born: 27 December 1921, Shabanokva, Ukraine (Present-day Dolgoye, Oryol Blast, Russia)

Died: 8 July 2013, Moscow, Russia

Nadezhda was a highly decorated officer and received various honors including the Hero of the Soviet Union commendation.

By her mid-teens, she was a solo flier who also learned parachute jumping.

Nadezhda volunteered as a bomber pilot after witnessing the Nazis murder her brother and take over her home to use as a police station. She flew over eight-hundred missions and survived being shot down during the war.

Nadezhda grew through the ranks all the way to be a lieutenant colonel.

After the war she raised a family and worked as a flight instructor.

Badges Earned:

Find a Grave Marked

Rejected Princess*

*The Night Witches as a whole are given an entry in the first Rejected Princesses book.

Located In My Personal Library:

Flying for Her Country: The American and Soviet Women Pilots of World War II by Amy Goodpaster Strebe

Sources:

https://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/15/world/europe/nadezhda-popova-ww-ii-night-witch-dies-at-91.html

https://crimereads.com/nadezhda-popova-commander-of-the-night-witches/

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Nadezhda-Vasilyevna-Popova

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/113618589/nadezhda-popova

733) Vesna Vulović

"I am like a cat; I have had nine lives. But if nationalist forces in this country prevail, my heart will burst."

733: Vesna Vulović

Record Holder for Highest Freefall Without a Parachute

Born: 3 January 1950, Belgrade, Serbia

Died: 23 December 2016, Belgrade, Serbia

Vesna earned her place in the world record books after the plane she was working on as an airline stewardess exploded at 33,000 feet, leaving Vesna to plummet to her near death—but she miraculously survived.

All twenty-seven other passengers and crew on the DC-9 died.

Vesna fell into a ten-day coma after suffering a fractured skull, two crushed vertebrae, a broken pelvis, several broken ribs, and two broken legs. She was also paralyzed from the waist down for a time. She had no memory of the flight or her miraculous descent from the heavens.

The accident occurred in 1972, and Vesna was not actually supposed to be on the flight. A different stewardess named Vesna was assigned to the flight, but our Vesna was aboard instead. Vesna had only been working a as a stewardess for eight months when the accident happened.

How the plane itself blew up has been disputed. Original accounts after the accident stated the plane was ripped apart by an explosive ordinance inside a suitcase, but in 2009, two independent reporters in Prague released a report stating the Czechoslovakian Air Force had mistakenly shot the plane down, and it was from a much lower altitude. The truth may never be revealed.

Although suffering other health issues throughout her life, Vesna eventually returned to work for the airline—but kept her feet firmly on the ground seeing as her new job was as a desk agent. She was also honored as a national hero in Serbia.

In her later years, Vesna was forcibly retired from the airline for her political leanings. She campaigned against a candidate who later died in prison before he could be tried for crimes against humanity. Vesna later also campaigned for a democratic party presidential contender. She was a firm advocate in fighting nationalism in her country. At the time of her death, she was living alone with three cats. She was divorced and had no children.

Badges Earned:

Find a Grave Marked

Sources:

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/28/world/europe/vesna-vulovic-died-flight-attendant-in-plunge.html

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-38427411

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/vesna-vulovic-serbian-flight-attendant-who-survived-1972-crash-dies-at-66/2016/12/29/92664a82-ce01-11e6-b8a2-8c2a61b0436f_story.html

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/174350084/vesna-vulovic

732) Mary Anderson

732: Mary Anderson

Invented and Patented Windshield Wipers

Born: 19 February 1866, Greene County, Alabama, United States of America

Died: 27 June 1953, Monteagle, Tennessee, United States of America

Her patent read, “Window cleaning device for electric cars and other vehicles to remove snow, ice or sleet from the window.”

However, when Mary tried to sell her device to a manufacturing company in Canada, they refused to make it, citing the product had no practical value and was worthless. She filed her patent in 1903, and never made a dime off it, despite the fact that by 1913 nearly every car had a version of them installed. Her patent expired before she could ever convince anyone to use it.

Mary and her sister were raised by their mother after Mary’s father died when she was four. Born onto a prosperous plantation, Mary’s family was able to stay afloat thanks to the money the property brought in. In 1889, her family moved to Birmingham and built an apartment building.

When Mary was twenty-seven, she left home and moved to Fresno, California. While there, Mary operated a cattle ranch and vineyard. However, only a few years later, she returned to Birmingham to help care for her ailing aunt. Mary’s aunt had a large collection of trunks no one was allowed to open until after she died. When the trunks finally were opened, gold and jewelry were discovered inside, allowing the family to live in comfort.

Mary created her windshield wipers after traveling on a snowy trolley car in New York City. Seeing the driver’s frustrations and struggles with trying to drive through the snow inspired the invention, though as stated above, it never went anywhere for Mary. She spent the rest of her life managing the family apartment complex. Mary never married nor had children.

In 2011, she was posthumously elected into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.

Badges Earned:

Find a Grave Marked

Sources:

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/mary-anderson-patents-windshield-wiper

https://lemelson.mit.edu/resources/mary-anderson

http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-2553

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/48980367/a-mary-anderson