173) William Alden Smith United States Senator who Presided Over the US Enquiry Into the Sinking of the RMS Titanic Born: 5 May 1859, Dowagiac, Michigan, United States of America Died: 11 October 1932, Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States of America As a child he started his own Popcorn selling business where he earned twice…
172) Helmuth Hübener The Youngest Opponent of the Third Reich to be Sentenced and Executed by the Volksgerichtshof (People’s Court) Born: 8 January 1925, Hamburg, Germany Died: 27 October 1942, Berlin, Germany Helmuth was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day-Saints (more commonly known as Mormons). When he was seventeen years old,…
171) Nathan “Nearest” Green The Former Slave Turned Master Distiller Born: c.1820, Maryland, United States of America (I’m trusting the Nearest Green Foundation when they say Maryland, other sources claim Tennessee with no documentation to back it up) Died: 1890 He was the first African American master distiller in United States History. According to his…
170) Sergeant Sylvester Antolak Medal of Honor Recipient who was Awarded the Honor After Charging 200 Yards Through Open Terrain to Destroy a German Machine Gun Nest Born: 10 September 1916, Saint Clairsville, Ohio, United States of America Died: 24 May 1944, Cisterna di Latina, Italy Sylvester ran thirty yards ahead of the rest of…
169) Israel Putnam “Don’t Shoot Till You See the Whites of Their Eyes!” Born: 7 January 1718, Salem Village, the Colony of Massachusetts (Present-day Danvers, Massachusetts, United States of America) Died: 29 May 1790, Brooklyn, Connecticut, United States of America He was the great-grandson of one of the prominent families in the Salem Witch Trials…
168) Kevyn Aucoin Before James, Jeffree, and Manny, there was Kevyn Born: 14 February 1962, Shreveport, Louisiana, United States of America Died: 7 May 2002, Valhalla, New York, United States of America He was One of, if not the First Famous Make-up Artist to ever achieve fame and celebrity (before YouTube was a thing—crazy right?…
167) Walter Knott Created Knott’s Berry Farm Born: 11 December 1889, San Bernadino, California, United States of America Died: 3 December 1981, Buena Park, California, United States of America Walter sold Knott’s Berry Farm Preserves and introduced the Boysenberry. Walter had always dreamed of being a farmer and left high school in his sophomore year…
166) Jason Everman Musician who turned from Rock and Roll to Special Forces Training Born: 16 October 1967, Ouzinkie, Alaska, United States of America Jason performed for Nirvana, Soundgarden, Mindfunk, OLD, and several others. He holds the distinction of being the only person kicked out of both Nirvana and Soundgarden. Before leaving Nirvana, he paid…
165) Commander Charles “Chick” Parsons The Man who Made General MacArthur’s Triumphant Return Possible Born: 22 April 1902, Shelbyville, Tennessee, United States of America Died: 12 May 1988, Manila, Philippines Chick first arrived in Manila at the age of five when his mother sent him there for a better life. However, he returned stateside for…
164) Benjamin Lay The Dwarf, Vegan, Abolitionist Quaker Born: 27 November 1682, Colchester, Essex, England (Present-day United Kingdom) Died: 3 February 1759, Abington, the Colony of Pennsylvania (Present Day Pennsylvania, United States of America) In later history, the Quakers were known for their anti-slavery point of view, but in Benjamin’s time, that was a radical…