551: Tatyana McFadden Paralympic Wheelchair Racer Born: 21 April 1989, Leningrad, Soviet Union (Present-day St. Petersburg, Russia) Tatyana was born with spina bifida and spent the first six years of her life in a Russian orphanage learning to walk with her hands. She was adopted by a woman named Deborah who worked as a Commissioner…
550: Mercy Brown One of the Many Victims of Not Just Tuberculosis but Also the Vampire Hysteria Born: January 1872, Rhode Island, United States of America Died: 17 (or 19) January 1892, Exeter, Rhode Island, United States of America After Mercy died, people reported seeing her ghost walking in the cemetery and town and her…
549: Catherine ‘Kitty’ Genovese Murder Victim Born: 7 July 1935, Brooklyn, New York, United States of America Died: 13 March 1964, Kew Gardens, Queens, New York, United States of America Catherine’s tragic death led to the birth of the emergency operator system in the United States. Dialing 911 became the official number to call in…
“Trinidad & Tobago is unique in its ethnic make-up because it is a country with people of all races. I am of mixed origin, mainly Chinese, Indian and Caucasian, and although my particular mixture is a minority, I represent the unusual combination of ethnicities that defines us as a people.” 548: Anya Ayoung-Chee Project Runway…
“It took your breath away when you realized what it was that you were looking at. It was beautiful to me and very precious.” 547: Sarah Anzick Molecular Biologist at the National Institute of Health Born: c.1966, Montana, United States of America When Sarah was two years old, the remains of a 12,600-year-old male toddler…
546: Dorothy Garrod Archaeologist and The First Woman to Hold an Oxford Chair Born: 5 May 1892, London, United Kingdom Died: 18 December 1968, Cambridge, United Kingdom This meant Dorothy was the first female professor at Oxford. Almost ten years earlier, she had also become the first female professor at Cambridge. She was a pioneer…
545: Claudia Octavia Empress of Rome Born: c.40 AD, Rome, Roman Empire (Present-day Rome, Italy) Died: 62 AD, Pandateria, Roman Empire (Present-day Ventotene, Italy) Claudia was the stepsister and wife of Nero, first cousin of Caligula, and daughter of Claudius. Nero treated her like crap—trying to strangle her on numerous occasions and divorcing her after…
544: Empress Matilda Holy Roman Empress and German Queen Born: February 1102, Oxfordshire, England (Present-day Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom) Died: September 1167, Rouen, France Also Known As: Empress Maud Matilda was also Queen Regnant of England during the Anarchy and English Civil War. She was the only legitimate surviving child of Henry I, and therefore…
543: Vibia Sabina Roman Empress Born: c.83-88 AD, Rome, Roman Empire (Present-day Rome, Italy) Died: 136 AD She was the second cousin once removed and wife of Hadrian. When they married, Vibia was anywhere from twelve to seventeen, and Hadrian was six to twelve years older (depending on which birth year you believe or use…
542: Faustina the Elder Roman Empress Born: c.90-105 AD, Rome, Roman Empire (Present-day Rome, Italy) Died: 140 AD, Cappadocia, Roman Empire, (Present-day Cappadocia, Italy) Also Known As: Annia Galeria Faustina Faustina was the wife of Antoninus Pius. Unlike most Emperors and Empresses of Rome, Faustina and Antoninus really loved each other and ruled over a…