15 Dark Figures From History Who Emerged From Ordinary Origins - History Collection

3. Pol Pot

Saloth Sar, known as Pol Pot, was born on May 19, 1925, in Prek Sbauv, Cambodia. He was the eighth of nine children in a relatively prosperous family. After studying at a Buddhist monastery and a French Catholic school, he pursued carpentry before receiving a scholarship to study radio technology in Paris in 1949. In Paris, he became involved with the Communist Party, adopting the name Pol Pot. Returning to Cambodia in 1953, he joined the Khmer People’s Revolutionary Party, which later became the Communist Party of Kampuchea (history.com). As the leader of the Khmer Rouge, Pol Pot orchestrated the Cambodian genocide from 1975 to 1979, resulting in the deaths of an estimated 1.5 to 2 million people.

4. Idi Amin

Born in 1924 in Koboko, Uganda, Idi Amin was the son of a Kakwa father and a Lugbara mother. After his parents’ separation, he was raised by his mother, a herbalist and diviner. In 1946, Amin joined the King’s African Rifles of the British colonial army as an assistant cook. He quickly rose through the ranks, serving in British actions against Somali rebels and the Mau Mau Uprising in Kenya. In 1966, he was appointed commander of the armed forces. In 1971, Amin seized power in a military coup, declaring himself president of Uganda. His regime was marked by brutal repression, including the expulsion of Asians in 1972, leading to economic collapse. Amin’s rule ended in 1979 when Tanzanian troops and Ugandan exiles captured Kampala, forcing him into exile in Saudi Arabia, where he died in 2003 (history.com).

5. Charles Manson

Born Charles Milles Manson on November 12, 1934, in Cincinnati, Ohio, he was the son of a 16-year-old mother and an absent father. Raised in foster homes and reform schools, Manson’s early life was marked by instability. In 1967, he formed the “Manson Family,” a cult that gained notoriety for a series of murders in 1969, including the death of actress Sharon Tate. Manson was convicted of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder in 1971 (britannica.com).

6. Mao Zedong

Born on December 26, 1893, in Shaoshan, Hunan Province, China, Mao Zedong was the son of a prosperous farmer. From 1958 to 1962, Mao oversaw the Great Leap Forward, a campaign that aimed to rapidly collectivize agriculture and industrialize the country. It failed and resulted in the Great Chinese Famine. In 1966, Mao launched the Cultural Revolution, which was marked by violent class struggle, destruction of historical artifacts, and Mao’s cult of personality. From the late 1950s, Mao’s foreign policy was dominated by a political split with the Soviet Union, and in the 1970s he began establishing relations with the United States. In 1976, Mao died of a heart attack.

7. Saddam Hussein

Saddam Hussein was born on April 28, 1937, in Al-ʿAwjah, Iraq, to a Sunni Arab family. His father, Hussein Abd al-Majid, was from the Al-Majid branch of the Al-Bejat clan, while his mother Subha Tulfah al-Mussalat was granddaughter of Mussallat bin Omar Al-Nasiri, a tribal leader of the Al-Bu Nasir tribe and an opponent of the Ottoman rule in Iraq. Saddam’s name means “the fighter who stands steadfast”. His father died before his birth. This made Saddam’s mother, Subha, so depressed that she unsuccessfully attempted to abort her pregnancy and commit suicide. Saddam’s mother did not want anything to do with him, and Saddam was eventually taken in by an uncle. His stepfather, Ibrahim al-Hassan, treated Saddam harshly after his return, and (according to a psychological profile created by the CIA) beat him regularly, sometimes to wake him up.

8. Kim Il-Sung

Kim Il-Sung, born on April 15, 1912, in Mangyongdae, near Pyongyang, Korea, was the son of Kim Hyong-jik, an independence activist, and Kang Pan-sok. His family was active in anti-Japanese resistance, leading them to flee to Manchuria in 1920. Raised in a Presbyterian household, Kim’s early life was marked by religious influence and resistance activities, setting the stage for his later leadership in North Korea. (britannica.com)

9. Kim Jong-Il

Kim Jong-Il, born on February 16, 1941, in Vyatskoye, Soviet Union, was the son of Kim Il-Sung, the leader of North Korea, and his first wife, Kim Jong-Suk. Raised in a politically active family, he was educated in the Soviet Union and North Korea (biography.com). In 1974, he was named his father’s successor, and upon Kim Il-Sung’s death in 1994, Kim Jong-Il assumed leadership, continuing the family’s dynastic rule.

10. Heinrich Himmler

Born on October 7, 1900, in Munich, Germany, Heinrich Himmler was the son of Joseph Gebhard Himmler, a conservative Catholic schoolmaster, and Anna Maria Himmler. Heinrich excelled academically but struggled with athletics and social interactions. After World War I, he studied agriculture at Munich Technical High School. In 1923, he joined the Nazi Party and participated in the Beer Hall Putsch. By 1929, he became head of the SS, playing a central role in orchestrating the Holocaust.

11. Benito Mussolini

Born on July 29, 1883, in Predappio, Italy, Benito Mussolini was the son of Alessandro, a blacksmith and socialist, and Rosa Maltoni, a devout Catholic schoolteacher. Initially a socialist journalist, he founded the Fasci Italiani di Combattimento in 1919, which evolved into the National Fascist Party. In 1922, Mussolini became Italy’s prime minister, establishing a totalitarian regime and leading the country into World War II (britannica.com).

12. Pablo Escobar

Pablo Escobar, born on December 1, 1949, in Rionegro, Colombia, was the son of Abel de Jesús Escobar, a farmer, and Hermilda Gaviria, a schoolteacher. Raised in a modest rural setting, Escobar’s early life was marked by poverty. He began his criminal career with petty thefts and gradually escalated to more serious offenses, eventually becoming the leader of the Medellín Cartel. Under his leadership, the cartel dominated the cocaine trade in the 1980s, leading to widespread violence and instability in Colombia (biography.com).

13. Francisco Franco

Born on December 4, 1892, in El Ferrol, Spain, Francisco Franco was the son of Nicolás Franco, a naval officer, and María del Pilar Bahamonde, a devout Catholic. He entered the Infantry Academy in Toledo in 1907, graduating in 1910 (history.com). Franco’s military career advanced rapidly; by 1926, he was promoted to brigadier general at age 33, becoming the youngest general in Europe at the time.

14. Vlad the Impaler

Vlad III, known as Vlad the Impaler, was born between 1428 and 1431 in Sighișoara, Transylvania. He was the second son of Vlad II Dracul, a member of the Order of the Dragon, and his wife, Princess Cneajna of Moldavia (britannica.com). In 1442, Vlad and his younger brother, Radu, were sent as hostages to the Ottoman Empire to secure their father’s loyalty. This experience profoundly influenced Vlad’s later reign, during which he became notorious for his brutal methods of punishing his enemies, including impalement.

15. Grigori Rasputin

Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin was born on January 22, 1869, in the village of Pokrovskoye, Siberia, to a peasant family. In 1897, he underwent a religious conversion and began wandering as a mystic and healer. His reputation for healing, particularly his ability to alleviate the symptoms of Tsar Nicholas II’s son, Alexei, who suffered from hemophilia, led to his close association with the Russian royal family. Rasputin’s influence at court, combined with his controversial behavior, contributed to the decline of the Romanov dynasty (britannica.com).

Conclusion

The journeys of these notorious figures from humble beginnings to positions of immense power underscore the unpredictable nature of history. Their stories highlight how ordinary circumstances can shape extraordinary paths, leading individuals to influence the world in profound and often unsettling ways. These narratives serve as a reminder of the complexities of human potential and the unforeseen trajectories that can emerge from modest origins.