His success as a pilot was just one of his many skills. Eddie Rickenbacker survived against all odds multiple times, founded one of America's biggest airlines, and was even asked to run for president.Sometimes, successful people rise from the ashes of tragedy. Eddie Rickenbacker was one such person. Rickenbacker lived a fascinating life highlighted by great feats of courage, dedication, and multiple brushes with death.
After becoming America’s most successful World War I flying ace, he went on to create his own automobile company, survive two plane crashes and 24 days at sea, led one of America’s major airlines, and even traveled to the Soviet Union to gather intelligence during the Second World War. Read More...
General Tom Thumb, the 25-inch man, became P.T. Barnum's most popular attraction with his unparalleled charisma and charm.Wellcome Library, London/Wikimedia CommonsTom Thumb in 1844 at the age of six.
General Tom Thumb brought unparalleled joy to at least 50 million people in his lifetime. The man, once known as Charles Stratton, rarely knew a life away from the stage thanks to P.T. Barnum’s combination of shrewd marketing and timely performances. Some would say Barnum’s action’s on behalf of Stratton were exploitative, but what is certain is the unprecedented celebrity status Stratton achieved at Barnum’s side. Read More...
Between 1926 and 1930, Elizebeth Friedman decoded 20,000 messages per year in hundreds of different code systems. Even more incredibly, she decoded them all in a time without computers. Wikimedia CommonsElizebeth Friedman with her husband.
Elizebeth Friedman would never have thought that her love of Hamlet and Macbeth would lead her to a life of fighting smugglers and Nazi spy rings. But that’s exactly what happened to the Indiana native. When she left college in 1915, she got a job at the Newberry Research Library in Chicago due knowledge of Shakespearean plays. Read More...
