539: Emily Wilde Oscar Wilde’s Half-Sister Born: 1847, Ireland (Today Most Likely the Republic of Ireland) Died: 21 November 1871, County Monaghan, Ireland (Present-day County Monaghan, Republic of Ireland) Emily and her sister Mary died in a manor fire by complete freak accident. The girls were attending a Halloween party on the holiday night. Even…
“There is no Elvira. There’s only a pirated Vampira. Cassandra Peterson slavishly copied my product and made a fortune. America has been duped.” 538: Maila Nurmi Vampira Actress Born: 11 December 1922, Petsamo, Finland Died: 10 January 2008, Los Angeles, California, United States of America Original Name: Maila Syrjaniemi Not to be confused with Elvira…
537: Caroline Kennedy Diplomat, Author, Political Figure, and Attorney Born: 27 November 1957, New York City, New York, United States of America Caroline served as the US Ambassador to Japan from 2013 to 2017. As of 2022, she is now the US Ambassador to Australia. Caroline is the oldest and only still-surviving child of President…
536: Linda Lovelace Porn Star Who Became a Born-Again Christian Born: 10 January 1949, Bronx, New York, United States of America Died: 22 April 2002, Denver, Colorado, United States of America Original Name: Linda Boreman Linda “converted” (for lack of a better term) in later life and did lecture tours on the evils of pornography….
535: Vivian (Bullwinkel) Statham The Only Survivor of the Bangka Island Massacre Born: 18 December 1915, Kapunda, South Australia, Australia Died: 3 July 2000, Perth, Western Australia, Australia Vivian enlisted in the Australia Army Nursing Service in 1941 and was quickly posted to a hospital in Malaya. The hospital was soon moved to Singapore, before…
534: Irene Drummond The Head Nurse Killed in the Bangka Island Massacre Born: 26 July 1905, Ashfield, New South Wales, Australia Died: 16 February 1942, Bangka Island, Indonesia Before the war, Irene was a nurse in the surgical and obstetrics fields along with serving as assistant and acting matron in various hospitals. She was appointed…
533: Hannah Stilley Gorby The Oldest Person Ever Photographed Born: c.1746 Died: after 1840 This claim stems from her date of birth and not her physical age at the time the photo was taken. Hannah’s name popped up all over the internet in the mid-2010’s, explaining why she has a place here, but it should…
“Get the hell out of my race and give me those numbers!” -Jock Semple, the Race Manager Who Tried to Stop Kathrine from Finishing 532: Kathrine Switzer The First Woman to Run the Boston Marathon as a Numbered Entrant Born: 5 January 1947, Amberg, Germany Kathrine ran this historic race in 1967. She has also…
“I don’t know what her last words to me were, she had to run for the train,” Barry, Evelyn’s Fiancé 531: Evelyn McHale The Subject of One of LIFE Magazine’s Most Famous Pictures–“A Beautiful Suicide” Born: 20 September 1923, Berkeley, California, United States of America Died: 1 May 1947, Manhattan, New York, United States of…
“That morning before I left home, my father said to me, remember who you are. Remember you are inferior to no one. And remember that you can do anything you want to do and to hold your head up high.” 530: Dorothy Counts-Scoggins She Helped Integrate Charlotte, North Carolina Born: 1942, Charlotte, North Carolina, United…