Historical Events1904 - The Japanese Army capture the City of Dairen after landing troops along the south coast of Manchuria1946 - United flight 521 crashes on takeoff at LaGuardia Airport (NY) 42 die1959 - Indianapolis 500: Rodger Ward earns first of 2 career Indy 500 victories as a record 16 cars complete full 500 miles; for the first time all cars required to have roll bars1972 - 3 Japanese PFL terrorists kills 24, wound 72 at Tel Aviv's Lod Intl airport2010 - Indianapolis 500: Scotsman Dario Franchitti driving for Target Chip Ganassi Racing wins his 2nd Indy title ahead of Dan Wheldon and Marco AndrettiMore Historical Events Famous Birthdays1812 - John Alexander McClernand, American politician and Major General (Union Army), born in Breckinridge County, Kentucky (d. 1900)1938 - Lone Koppel, Danish operatic soprano (Danish Royal Theatre, 1962-93) and avant garde rock singer (Savage Garden), born in Copenhagen, Denmark1949 - P.J. Carlesimo, American basketball coach (Seton Hall University; Portland TBs, GS Warriors, OKC), born in Scranton, Pennsylvania1950 - Paresh Rawal, Indian Bollywood actor (Woh Chokri, Woh Chokri), born in Bombay, India1984 - Matt Maguire, Australian rules footballer (St Kilda Football Club, Brisbane Lions), born in Victoria, AustraliaMore Famous Birthdays Famous Deaths1770 - Franois Boucher, French painter (b. 1703)1923 - Camille Chevillard, French composer, dies at 631978 - Jean Deslauriers, Canadian violin prodigy, conductor (CBC, 1935-78), and composer, dies at 681989 - Claude Pepper, American politician (Rep-D-FL, 1963-89), dies at 882006 - David Lloyd, New Zealand botanist, dies from apparent poisoning by acrylamide, a common laboratory chemical, at 68More Famous Deaths

British LibraryThe woman in this photograph from the 1920s has often been identified as Queen Genepil, but it seems to be a different Mongolian noblewoman. In 1923, Mongolia celebrated a royal wedding. The emperor Bogd Khan had married Queen Genepil. But neither the groom nor the bride wanted the union. The emperor, blind, ill, and near the end of his life, was still mourning the loss of his beloved wife. Meanwhile, Genepil had been selected to be queen without her consent, abducted from her village, and brought to the royal court. Whats more, serving as Mongolias last queen consort would put a target on Genepils back. Ultimately, it would cost the queen her life. The Changing Political Forces In MongoliaGenepil, the future queen consort of Mongolia, was born as Tseyenpil in 1905. When she was around the age of six, her future husband Bogd Khan declared Mongolia independent from Chinas Qing Dynasty. Bogd Khan was more than Mongolias last emperor. He was also considered to be the 8th Jebtsundamba Khutuktu, the third most important person in Tibetan Buddhism. But the political and religious landscape changed rapidly during his life.Public DomainBogd Khan, the last ruler of Mongolia.Though Mongolia had declared independence, China still sought to retain its influence. Meanwhile, the Soviet Union also sought to exert its influence. Though Chinese forces overthrew Bogd Khan in 1919, Soviet forces drove out the Chinese in 1921 and restored Bogd Khan to the throne in a limited monarchy. As the Soviet Union exerted more and more influence over the country, Bogd Khan became more of a symbolic leader. But he was still emperor. And when his wife Tsendiin Dondogdulam died, this advisors pressured him to remarry.Thats where Queen Genepil came in.How Tseyenpil Became Queen GenepilRoyal officials began searching for a woman from the Khalkha ethnic group who shared a birthday with Bogd Khan. They soon gathered a group of 15 women between the ages of 18 and 20 and, from this group, selected 19-year-old Tseyenpil.But Tseyenpil had little choice in the matter. In fact, National Geographic reports that she was already married at the time. This made little difference to Bogd Khans advisors. Tseyenpil was abducted, informed of her new role, and dubbed Queen Genepil. But the advisors assured Genepil that she would probably only have to serve as queen for a short time, as Bogd Khan was ill and unlikely to live long. Once he died, she could return to her previous life and her previous husband. Wikimedia CommonsWomen at the court of Bogd Khan.In the end, Bogd Khans royal advisors were right. Queen Genepil had been in the royal court for only about a year when Bogd Khan died on May 20, 1924, at the age of 54.In the aftermath of his death, Queen Genepil returned to her village. Some accounts claim she went back to her husband; others say she married a warrior and had five children. But her role as Mongolias last queen consort would haunt Genepil. And it made her a target as the Soviets tightened their control over the country. The Execution of Queen Genepil In 1938Around the same time of the Stalinist purges in the Soviet Union, Mongolia suffered from Stalinist purges of its own. Between 1937 and 1939, as many as 35,000 enemies of the revolution were executed. They included soldiers, citizens, state leaders, Buddhists, nationalists, intelligentsia, and one former queen: Genepil. By 1938, Queen Genepil had been out of power for more than a decade. She was seemingly living a quiet life far from the circles of power with her family. Yet Mongolias government accused her of treason. Specifically, she was accused of attempting to organize a rebellion to overthrow the Soviets and return the khans to power. These were serious charges, and Genepil was arrested and tortured to try to wrest a confession. They took her away at night, Genepils daughter remembered. She did not wake us, only left a piece of sugar on our pillows. I still remember the joy of a sudden discovery of that rare delicacy in the morning.YouTubeIdentified online as a photograph of the execution of Queen Genepil, this image actually comes from a movie made decades after Genepils death.Though its unknown whether or not she confessed to anything, National Geographic reports that Genepil was brutally tortured and forced to spend hours in the freezing cold as a special commission decided her fate. She was ultimately found guilty of conspiring with Japan to restore Mongolias monarchy and executed at the age of 33. Mongolias reluctant queen, the countrys last queen consort, was five months pregnant at the time of her death.Today, her story is not well-known outside Mongolia. Indeed, Queen Genepil left few traces of herself behind. But she may have left one lasting impact on popular culture. The Inspiration for Padm Amidala?Despite being the last queen consort of Mongolia, verified photos of Genepil are difficult to find. Alleged photos of Genepil that have circulated on the Internet are actually other Mongolian noblewomen. Similarly, a photo that claimed to depict Genepils execution was found to be false. As Reuters fact checkers noted in 2022, the image actually came from a Mongolian movie released in 2000.But the real-life Queen Genepil does have an alleged connection to the movies. Her elaborate, traditional Khalkha dress purportedly inspired Star Wars costume designers as they created the Senate gown worn by Queen Padm Amidala in Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace. Lucasfilms Ltd/20th Century FoxQueen Amidalas formal robes were seemingly inspired by Mongolian noblewomen like Queen Genepil.The costume closely mirrored images of early 20th century Mongolian noblewomen. Amidalas gown had long, wide sleeves like a Mongolian deel. And her striking headdress resembled the headdresses worn by Khalkha women. As explained in the Secret History of the Mongols, written after the death of Genghis Khan, the headdress was meant to represent cow horns. According to tradition, the Khalkha Mongols traced their heritage back to a love affair between a nature spirit and a cow.But while Queen Genepils direct connection to Queen Padm Amidala is somewhat tenuous, her own story is very real. Swept into royal life at a young age, Genepil became the last queen consort of Mongolia. Though she had never sought power, and though she had returned to her simple life after the death of Bogd Khan, her brush with royalty haunted her. In the end, she became a Soviet scapegoat, and many details of her life are lost to time. Queen Genepil of Mongolia is just one of many queens in history who suffered tragic ends. Next, learn about the fate of Russias last queen, Alexandra Feodorovna, and then read about the overthrow of Hawaiis last queen, Queen Liliuokalani. The post The Tragic Story Of Genepil, The Queen Consort Of Mongolia Who Was Tortured And Executed While Five Months Pregnant appeared first on All That's Interesting.

Some historical figures seem to crop up at every major cultural or political turn. Roy Cohn was one of those players who was strangely present at numerous key events of the mid-20th century like a real-life Forrest Gump.Roy Cohns big break came in the 1950s, though his legacy spanned well into the 2010s. He first made a name for himself, albeit a rather shady one, as a prosecutor in the Rosenberg trial.Later, as chief counsel to Senator Joseph McCarthy, he was instrumental in ramping up the fear and bullying linked to the Red Scare. The registered Democrat strategically tied himself closely to the Republican Party moving forward, showcasing his opportunism.Bettmann/Getty ImagesRoy Cohn at the Army-McCarthy hearings in 1954.Cohn was a closeted gay man one who would fall victim to the AIDS epidemic in 1986. Nonetheless, he used his fear-mongering ways and inquisitory methods to purge any suspected homosexual employees from the government.From McCarthyism to mob ties and the tutelage of Donald Trump, Roy Cohn was an unscrupulous bastard by any objective measure. To understand how he so deftly navigated American politics throughout the decades, an in-depth look is imperative.The Early Years Of Roy CohnBorn Roy Marcus Cohn on February 20, 1927, in New York City, the future lawyer was raised on Park Avenue. His father, Albert Cohn, was a judge in the Appellate Division of the State Supreme Court and wielded quite a bit of power.His mother, Dora, doted on her gifted young son, who admittedly showed a strong intellect for his age. By the time he was 20, Cohn had graduated from both Columbia University and Columbia Law School.He was a precocious, brilliant, arrogant young man, one of his peers later recalled, as reported by The New York Times in 1986, but he performed ably and energetically on such cases as the William Remington perjury trial, the Rosenberg spy trial, and the big New York trial of top Communist leaders.Arthur Schatz/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty ImagesRoy Cohn sits in his 1961 Chevrolet Impala convertible while talking on the phone with a client in front of his Madison Avenue office. 1963.Cohn was admitted to the New York bar at 21 and immediately used his familial connections to snag a job as an Assistant U.S. Attorney. He quickly established himself as a sharp prosecutor focused on subversive activities. This would soon cement his legacy.It was during the trial of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, two American citizens accused of Soviet espionage and selling atomic secrets, that Cohn emerged as a fearsome force to be reckoned with.The Espionage Trial Of Julius And Ethel RosenbergIn March 1951, the Rosenbergs went to trial on federal espionage charges. Cohn was one of the prosecutors on the case.With the Red Scare in full effect, the trial became a political flashpoint. During the Cold War, the hysteria over Communist subversives infiltrating U.S. positions of power was at its peak.Hal Mathewson/NY Daily News Archive/Getty ImagesRoy Cohn is surrounded by autograph seekers in the Astor Ballroom after a dinner held in his honor by the Joint Committee against Communism. July 28, 1954.There was no direct physical evidence that the Rosenbergs were guilty, so the prosecution relied heavily on testimony from alleged co-conspirators to secure a conviction. And it was Roy Cohns direction examination of Ethel Rosenbergs brother, David Greenglass, that secured the couples conviction and subsequent execution.Greenglass had worked as a machinist at the secret Los Alamos Laboratory in New Mexico, which was established by the Manhattan Project to build the first atomic bomb.He testified that Julius Rosenberg had asked him to hand over classified documents and sketches about the weapon that later made it into the hands of the Soviets. Greenglass also incriminated Ethel, claiming that she was the one who typed up the handwritten notes before they were passed on.The U.S.S.R. detonated its first atomic bomb in 1949 supposedly based on information obtained from spies. As such, Greenglass testimony sealed the fates of the Rosenbergs. It was only in 2003 that the story changed.Public DomainDavid Greenglass was sentenced to 15 years in prison. He later claimed that Roy Cohn had pressured him to incriminate his sister as a Soviet spy.In an interview with 60 Minutes, Greenglass admitted that he lied under oath. He never saw his sister type or share any such notes. He also revealed that it was Roy Cohn who convinced him to commit perjury if he wanted to protect his wife and children.The famous trial revealed Cohns nefarious methods for the first time. His tactics were justified by their efficacy, even if they sent people who may not have been guilty to die in the electric chair. Hot off the Rosenberg trial, 26-year-old Roy Cohn was hired as chief counsel for Joseph McCarthy. It was then that the mask really came off.Roy Cohns Role In The McCarthy HearingsAs part of McCarthys Subcommittee on Investigations, Cohn aggressively questioned suspected Communist sympathizers, particularly during the Lavender Scare. This panic stemmed from allegations that Soviet agents were blackmailing closeted U.S. government employees by threatening to reveal their homosexuality if they didnt commit espionage.Cohn and McCarthy supported these claims with little evidence, and their fear-mongering campaign was so successful that President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed an executive order in April 1953 that essentially banned homosexuals from working for the federal government. During this time, Cohn also became friends with G. David Schine, an anti-Communist propagandist who joined McCarthys staff as a consultant.When Schine was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1953, Cohn made every effort to secure him preferential treatment. According to a 1954 report in The New York Times, Cohn even threatened to wreck the Army if they didnt follow his demands.George Skadding/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesG. David Schine (left) and Roy Cohn (right) share a laugh as Senator Joseph McCarthy questions U.S. information officer Theodore Kaghan. 1953.It was this belligerence and aggression as well as McCarthys stunning claim that Communists had infiltrated the Defense Department that led to the Army-McCarthy hearings of 1954. What should have been a major accomplishment for Cohn and McCarthy quickly turned against them, and they instead found themselves on the defensive.Both men were accused of improperly pressuring the Army regarding Schine. McCarthy and Cohn, in turn, charged that the Army was holding Schine hostage to quell McCarthys investigation of suspected Communists in the force.One of the more egregious moments came when the Armys special counsel, Joseph N. Welch, credibly accused Cohn of falsifying a photograph depicting Schine with Army Secretary Robert T. Stevens. Then, there was McCarthys bullying of a young prosecutor hired by Welch. Welch couldnt help but respond in defense: Until this moment, Senator, I think I never really gauged your cruelty or your recklessness.Bettmann/Getty ImagesRoy Cohn watches as Senator McCarthy holds up a letter purportedly written by FBI director J. Edgar Hoover warning that a Fort Monmouth employee had a direct connection with an espionage agent.An estimated 20 million Americans were watching this broadcast, and up until that day, most citizens werent familiar with McCarthys personality or tactics. They simply believed he was fighting the dangers of Communism. Cohn motioned for McCarthy to pull back, but he failed to stop McCarthys aggressive questioning. Welch finally interrupted, cutting down McCarthy with his now-famous words: Let us not assassinate this lad further, Senator. Youve done enough. Have you no sense of decency?Public opinion shifted dramatically at this juncture, and the Senate quickly pivoted back. McCarthys colleagues censured him by the end of the year not for destroying lives, but for jeopardizing the reputation of the Senate and faith in the democratic process.Bettmann/Getty ImagesRoy Cohn (right) covers both microphones and whispers to Senator McCarthy while Army Secretary Robert Stevens testifies on the second day of the Army-McCarthy hearings in 1954.Roy Cohn, meanwhile, slipped through the cracks. He left Washington, D.C., and returned to New York City to continue his work as a lawyer. During this next phase in his legal career, he represented everyone from the Catholic Church and George Steinbrenner to the owners of Studio 54, mob bosses, Rupert Murdoch, and perhaps most famously Donald Trump.Becoming The Single Greatest Influence In Donald Trumps LifeThough Cohn was trained as a lawyer, his true skill was as a fixer for anyone worth befriending in the long term. The web of people he counted as clients was remarkable.For instance, he acted as a mentor for political consultant and lobbyist Roger Stone, who in turn became a highly resourceful advisor for Richard Nixon before working to get Donald Trump elected president. Sonia Moskowitz/Getty ImagesRoy Cohn and Donald Trump attend the Trump Tower opening in New York City in October 1983.Trump first met Roy Cohn at a New York City nightclub in 1973. At the time, Trump was in his 20s and battling lawsuits for his alleged violation of Fair Housing Act laws. In one interview, as reported by The Atlantic in 2019, Cohn recalled Trump telling him, Ive spent two days with these establishment law firms, and theyre all telling us, Give up, do this, sign a decree and all of that. Ive followed your career and you seem youre a little bit crazy like I am, and you stand up to the establishment. Can I come see you?Cohns response won Trump over immediately. My view is tell them to go to Hell, said Cohn. And fight the thing in court.Cohn was an excellent charmer of the elite and amassed a wide circle of celebrity friends-turned-clients. For them, his no-holds-barred behavior in the courtroom was the catch they wanted a pit bull on their side. Charles Ruppmann/NY Daily News Archive/Getty ImagesStudio 54 co-owner Steve Rubell (right) and Roy Cohn (left) casually read the Daily News coverage of the nightclubs raid by federal agents in December 1978.Roy would always be for an offensive strategy, said Stone. These were the rules of war. You dont fight on the other guys ground; you define what the debate is going to be about. I think Trump would learn that from Roy. I learned that from Roy.Cohns FBI files, released in 2019, revealed that Donald Trump once reportedly uttered Wheres my Roy Cohn? when he needed legal assistance.The files also showed just how corrupt Cohn really was. From representing mobsters Carmine Galante and Fat Tony Salerno to being disbarred in 1986 for defrauding his clients, he seemingly had no limits. His homosexuality, perhaps, was the only thing he was ashamed of.Bettmann/Getty ImagesDonald Trump, then owner of the New Jersey Generals of the U.S. Football League, with Roy Cohn. October 1984.My cousin Roy Marcus Cohn counsel to Senator Joe McCarthy, consigliere to Mafia bosses, mentor to Donald Trump had almost no principles, David Marcus wrote for Politico in 2019. He smeared Jews even though he was Jewish. He tarred Democrats even though he was a Democrat. He persecuted gay people even though he was gay.In 2008, Roger Stone stated in an interview with the New Yorker, Roy was not gay. He was a man who liked having sex with men. Gays were weak, effeminate. He always seemed to have these young blond boys around He was interested in power and access.Even after Cohn was diagnosed with AIDS, he insisted that he was actually suffering from liver cancer. He died from the disease on August 2, 1986, at age 59. He had been disbarred for unethical conduct just weeks earlier.Roy Cohn left behind a legacy of uninhibited opportunism. His thoughts on Donald Trump, shared in a 1984 interview, are eerily prescient:Donald Trump is probably one of the most important names in America today, Cohn said. What started off as a meteor mounting from New York and going upward is going to touch this country and parts of the world. Donald just wants to be the biggest winner of all.After learning about the controversial life and career of Roy Cohn, read about Donald Trumps mother, Mary Anne MacLeod Trump. Then, go inside the immigrant history of the presidents grandfather, Frederick Trump.The post Americas Fixer: How Roy Cohn Worked With Joseph McCarthy, The Mob, And Donald Trump appeared first on All That's Interesting.

Deborah Bradley/Wikimedia CommonsWhen Lisa Irwins father came home from his night shift, his wife was asleep and baby Lisa was nowhere to be found.Lisa Irwin was only 10 months old when she disappeared without a trace from her home in Kansas City, Missouri, in 2011. And despite her tragic story making national headlines as police frantically searched for Baby Lisa, after more than a decade, no one has been able to find her.Although the police initially suspected her mother, Deborah Bradley, of being involved with her disappearance, they have not found evidence to charge her formally. Bradley believes that a random intruder quietly slipped baby Lisa out of her crib and absconded into the night, never to be seen again.There are more questions than answers surrounding the disappearance of Lisa Irwin. But the main question remains: where is baby Lisa Irwin?How Lisa Irwin Disappeared Without A TraceFind Baby Lisa Irwin/FacebookJeremy Irwin holds baby Lisa Irwin.Lisa Rene Irwin was born in Kansas City, Missouri, on November 11, 2010, to Jeremy Irwin and Deborah Bradley. They described her as a sweet and happy baby who loved being with her five- and eight-year-old brothers. Then one night, just weeks before her first birthday, Lisa Irwin disappeared.According to Jeremy Irwin, he returned home from work at about 4:00 a.m. on Oct. 4, 2011, to find his door wide open and all the lights on. When detectives questioned Lisas mother, Deborah Bradley, she initially claimed that she checked on the baby at about 10:30 p.m. the night before. However, Bradley later admitted that she had been drinking with a friend and couldnt remember exactly when she last saw Lisa. The only time she could recall definitively seeing baby Lisa was around 6:30 p.m., before she started drinking. Bradley said that little Lisa was then in the crib and sound asleep.But by the time Jeremy Irwin went to check on Lisa before joining his wife in bed, she was gone. We just got up and started screaming for her, looking everywhere, she wasnt there, Bradley said to news reporters.Initially, investigators ran with the theory that a stranger kidnapped her. FBI investigators worked overtime to test the idea but couldnt prove it one way or another. And it was the uncertainty surrounding her disappearance that began sparking the theories that persist to this day.Inside The Theory That Baby Lisa Was KilledOn Oct. 19, 2011, cadaver dogs were dispatched to the house. There, the dogs came up with a hit that is, the dogs picked up the scent of a dead body in Bradleys bedroom, near the bed. Google MapsThe home of Deborah Bradley and Jeremy Irwin in Kansas City where baby Lisa Irwin was last seen.When confronted with this evidence, Bradley claimed she initially didnt look for her daughter because she was afraid of what she might find.Investigators also accused Deborah Bradley of failing a lie detector test, though she claims they never showed her the results. At one point, investigators claimed that they knew Bradley was guilty but that they didnt have enough evidence to arrest her for the crime. They said I failed, Bradley told the Associated Press. And I continued to say thats not possible because I dont know where shes at and I did not do this.Then, Deborah Bradleys former friend, Shirley Pfaff, began speaking to the press. According to Pfaff, Bradley had a dark side, one that could be predisposed to murder under the right circumstances. When the story broke, it was a normal morning in my house. I got up, put on a pot of coffee and turned on Good Morning America like usual and I heard Deborah Bradley.' Pfaff told The Huffington Post. I immediately thought, This cant be the Debbie I know. It just seemed unreal until I walked back into the living room after hearing her voice. I just about collapsed. It just made me sick because I just wouldnt put this girl Debbie past anything crazy.Further Investigations Into Baby Lisa Irwins DisappearanceDespite her ex-best friends proclamations and accusations from law enforcement, Deborah Bradley has never been formally charged with the disappearance or the murder of her daughter, Lisa Irwin. Whats more, the most popular theory today is that baby Lisa was kidnapped by someone who wasnt related to her or her family which means that shes most likely still alive. Indeed, in the week after Lisa Irwins disappearance, two witnesses came forward and said they had seen a man carrying a baby down the street where Lisa Irwin lived. And surveillance video shows a man dressed in white leaving a wooded area nearby at 2:30 a.m. Find Lisa IrwinEvery three years, the Center for Missing and Exploited Children releases an age progression image of what Lisa Irwin might look like.But when investigators found someone they believed matched the witnesses descriptions, only one of them said it could be him. However, when the police looked into it further, his alibi held up, and they have never been able to identify another possible suspect.Another lead came when Jeremy Irwin discovered that three cell phones were missing from the house. He believes whoever took the cell phones has Lisa. And one of the phones made a mysterious 50-second call around midnight on the night of her disappearance. Both Irwin and Bradley deny making it. When investigators looked into it, they discovered that the call was made to a Kansas City woman named Megan Wright, although she denied that she was the one who answered the phone. But Wright was the ex-girlfriend of a person of interest in the case, a local transient who lived in a nearby halfway house.This whole case hinges on who made that call and why, Bill Stanton, a private investigator hired by Lisas parents, told Good Morning America. We firmly believe that the person who had that cell phone also had Lisa.Today, Lisa Irwin is still classified as a missing person, and the case is still open and active.After reading about the mysterious disappearance of Lisa Irwin, learn about Emanuela Orlandi, the 15-year-old who vanished from the Vatican. Then read about Kyron Horman, the seven-year-old whose disappearance sparked the largest manhunt in Oregon history.The post The Disappearance Of Baby Lisa Irwin, The Infant Who Vanished From Her Crib While Her Mother Slept Down The Hall appeared first on All That's Interesting.

Sometimes, the most interesting actors come from eccentric parents or broken childhoods. The latter is undoubtedly the case with Woody Harrelson, whose father, Charles Harrelson, was a professional hitman who spent most of his life in prison.Houston Police DepartmentCharles Harrelson, Woody Harrelsons father, in a mugshot from 1960.Woody Harrelsons dad disappeared from Woodys life in 1968 when the future actor was just seven years old. Afterward, Charles Harrelson received a 15-year sentence for killing a Texas grain dealer. Somehow, he got out early for good behavior. That was in 1978.The hitmans freedom didnt last long.How Charles Harrelson Became A HitmanWoody Harrelsons dad, Charles Voyde Harrelson, was born in Lovelady, Texas, on July 24, 1938. Charles was the youngest of six, and many of his family members worked in law enforcement. But Charles Harrelson chose a different path for himself.According to The Houston Chronicle, Charles Harrelson briefly served in the U.S. Navy in the 1950s. But after he was discharged, he turned to a wayward life of crime. He was first charged with robbery in 1959 in Los Angeles, where he worked as an encyclopedia salesman. But it was just the beginning of his criminal career.Four years after Woody Harrelson was born in 1961 (also on July 24, the same as his father), Charles Harrelson was living in Houston and gambling full-time. According to prison memoirs he later wrote, he claimed to have been involved in dozens of murder-for-hire plots during this time before he left his family in 1968.That year, Harrelson was arrested three times, including twice for murder. He was acquitted of one murder in 1970. But in 1973, he was convicted of killing a grain dealer named Sam Degelia Jr. for $2,000 and sentenced to 15 years behind bars, though he was released after just five years for good behavior.Yet Charles Harrelsons time in prison didnt seem to affect his criminal livelihood. Within months of his release, Woody Harrelsons dad would be contracted to carry out his biggest hit ever: a sitting federal judge.Charles Harrelsons Assassinates John H. WoodIn the spring of 1979, Texas drug lord Jimmy Chagra hired Charles Harrelson to kill someone who stood in his way: U.S. District Judge John H. Wood Jr., who was scheduled to preside over Chagras drug trial. Defense attorneys nicknamed Wood Maximum John because of the harsh sentences he handed down to drug dealers. Bettmann/Getty ImagesU.S. District Judge John Wood Jr. was known as Maximum John for the extremely harsh sentences he gave to drug dealers. But the judges reputation proved to be his tragic undoing. Chagra forked over $250,000 to Harrelson because he faced a life sentence for narcotics smuggling.A single bullet to Woods back on May 29, 1979, felled the tough-as-nails judge. According to The Washington Post, Chagra was originally scheduled to go before the judge that very day in El Paso, Texas.Charles Harrelson used a high-powered rifle and a scope to kill Wood outside his San Antonio home as the judge went to get into his car. It was the first time in U.S. history that a sitting federal judge was assassinated.An intense manhunt ensued, and the FBI finally caught Charles Harrelson and arrested him in September 1980 for murder after a six-hour standoff during which Harrelson was high on cocaine and made increasingly erratic threats before surrendering.Woody Harrelson had no idea about his fathers checkered occupation until he was listening to the radio one day in 1981. The actor heard a news broadcast discussing the murder trial of Charles V. Harrelson. Curiosity got the better of the young man, and he asked his mother if the elder Harrelson was any relation.His mother confirmed that the man on trial for murdering a federal judge was indeed Woodys father. Woody followed his fathers trial intensely from that point on. Then, on December 14, 1982, a judge handed down two life sentences to Charles Harrelson, sending him away for good.How Woody Harrelsons Dad Reconnected With His SonEven though Woody Harrelson had been estranged from Charles Harrelson for most of his life, the actor said he tried to have a relationship with his father beginning in the early 1980s. Rather than see the convicted assassin as a father, Harrelson saw his elder as someone he could befriend. Bettmann/Getty ImagesCharles Harrelson (far right) in court on October 22, 1981, after his conviction for being a felon in possession of a gun. He would be convicted of murdering Judge John H. Wood Jr. a year later, in December 1982.I dont feel he was much of a father. He took no valid part in my upbringing, Woody Harrelson told People in 1988. But my father is one of the most articulate, well-read, charming people Ive ever known. Still, Im just now gauging whether he merits my loyalty or friendship. I look at him as someone who could be a friend more than someone who was a father.At least once a year after Charles Harrelsons conviction, Woody Harrelson visited him in prison. In 1987, he even stood in for Charles when he married a woman on the outside by proxy who he met while incarcerated.Perhaps more astonishing, the Hollywood A-lister said he easily spent $2 million in legal fees trying to get his father a new trial, according to The Guardian.Chagra, the drug lord, was acquitted of conspiracy charges in connection with the assassination. He supposedly entered the witness protection program after helping the feds on other drug cases. It helped that Chagras brother was a defense attorney who made a lot of money. The theory was that if Chagra himself was innocent, shouldnt Harrelson also be not guilty of murder?A judge didnt agree with Harrelsons lawyers, and Charles Harrelson spent the rest of his days behind bars.The Hitmans Final Years In PrisonAt one point during his incarceration, Charles Harrelson made the audacious claim that he assassinated President John F. Kennedy. No one believed him, and he later recanted, explaining that the confession was an effort to elongate my life, according to a 1983 Associated Press article published in The Press-Courier.However, Lois Gibson, a well-known forensic artist, identified Woody Harrelsons father as one of the three tramps, who were three mysterious men photographed shortly after the JFK assassination. Their involvement in JFKs death has often been linked to conspiracy theories. Wikimedia CommonsActor Woody Harrelson attempted to get his father a new trial after Jimmy Chagra recanted his statement that Charles Harrelson was guilty of Judge John H. Wood Jr.s murder.Charles Harrelson died of a heart attack in prison in 2007.When The Guardian asked Woody Harrelson if his father, the convicted assassin, influenced his life, he said, Quite a bit. I was born on his birthday. They have a thing in Japan where they say if youre born on your fathers birthday, youre not like your father, you are your father, and its so weird when I would sit and talk with him. It was just mind-blowing to see all the things he did just like me.In the end, Woody said he and his father got along despite his time in prison for being the first person in history to assassinate a U.S. federal judge.After learning about Woody Harrelsons dad, Charles Harrelson, check out Abe Reles, the hitman who mysteriously died in police custody. Then, read about Susan Kuhnhausen, the woman who had a hitman hired to kill her, so she killed him instead. The post The Story Of Charles Harrelson, Woody Harrelsons Dad Who Worked As A Hitman For A Texas Drug Lord appeared first on All That's Interesting.

Alderon Games-Path of TitansA depiction of Tylosaurus Rex, the T. rex of the ocean.As most people know, Tyrannosaurus rex was perhaps the most fearsome dinosaur to walk the prehistoric Earth. But T. rexs reign of terror was of course limited to land. Now, a group of paleontologists have just identified a new species of aquatic reptile, Tylosaurus rex, that theyre calling the T. rex of the ocean.A massive species of mosasaur, Tylosaurus rex was a powerful and aggressive predator who ruled the seas some 80 million years ago.How Tylosaurus Rex Was Identified By PaleontologistsTo date, multiple fossils of the Tylosaurus rex have been found. But as a recent study published in the Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History explains, these were long grouped together with another species of mosasaur, T. proriger. It wasnt until paleontologists took another look at the samples that they realized they had a different species on their hands.Perot Museum of Nature and Science/American Museum of Natural HistoryA Tylosaurus rex fossil on display at the Perot Museum.According to a statement from Southern Methodist University, which collaborated on the study alongside the American Museum of Natural History and the Perot Museum of Nature and Science, the disparity between T. proriger and T. rex was first noticed by the studys lead author Amelia Zietlow. While working with a set of fossils, she noticed a mosasaur that seemed to be misidentified as T. proriger. This fossil was larger than the others and had finely serrated teeth.Whats more, paleontologists realized that a group of similarly oversized fossils had been found in Texas, whereas most of the T. proriger specimens had been found in Kansas. This Texas set was also younger than the Kansas fossils by about 4 million years.In fact, these researchers were not the first to notice the unusually-sized Texas fossils. Paleontologist John Thurmond had also suggested in the 1960s that these oddly large mosasaur fossils could in fact come from a new species, and so he nicknamed it Tylosaurus thalassotyrannus, or sea tyrant.Perot Museum of Nature and ScienceLead study author Amelia Zietlow with the Tylosaurus rex fossil.Everything is bigger in Texas and that includes the mosasaurs, apparently, Zietlow remarked in the statement.Indeed, the newly-discovered species known as Tylosaurus rex, king of the Tylosaurs, or simply T. rex could grow up to 43 feet long. Some 80 million years ago, it would have used its imposing size to terrorize the prehistoric oceans.Tylosaurus Rexs Reign Of Terror In The Seas Of Prehistoric EarthThe Tylosaurus rex was not just large. It was powerful and aggressive, with sharp teeth and strong jaw and neck muscles that would have made it one of the most fearsome predators in Earths prehistoric oceans.But while Tylosaurus rex would have targeted fish, turtles, and long-necked marine reptiles known as plesiosaurs, paleontologists also believe that its aggressive tendencies could sometimes be directed at its own species.One T. rex fossil, known as the Black Knight, has a fractured lower jaw and is missing part of its snout. Paleontologists believe that this is evidence of an attack from a fellow T. rex.Alderon Games-Path of TitansThe Tylosaurus rex could grow up to 43 feet long, or roughly as large as a school bus.Besides being huge, roughly twice the length of the largest great white sharks, T. rex appeared to be a much meaner animal than other mosasaurs, said study co-author Ron Tykoski of the Perot Museum. Through our study and examination of well-preserved fossils collected throughout the north Texas region, we have evidence of violence within this species to a degree not previously seen in other Tylosaurus specimens.Though its been extinct for millions of years, the T. rex of the ocean seems to have been just as terrifying as the T. rex on land. Monstrous in size, powerful, and aggressive, with a strong jaw and teeth, Tylosaurus rex likely dominated the Cretaceous seas.Despite this, the species went undiscovered until recently, which goes to show how much there is still to learn about the prehistoric world.After reading about the newly discovered species known as the T. rex of the ocean, discover the stories of some of Earths most fascinating prehistoric animals. Then, learn about the Terror Bird, the fearsome prehistoric predator that went extinct some 65 million years ago.The post The T. Rex Of The Ocean: Scientists Just Identified A Predator The Size Of A Bus That Ruled Earths Seas 80 Million Years Ago appeared first on All That's Interesting.

German Federal ArchivesIn their quest for total elimination of Jews, the Nazis carried out a mass pillaging operation to seize every item that once belonged to a Jewish person.After the Nazi invasion across Europe forced Jewish people out of their homes, a systematic operation called Mbel Aktion or Furniture Operation set about looting thousands of personal possessions from their abandoned houses and apartments.The seizure of these everyday items such as linens, photo frames, and even saucepans may appear banal on the surface. But it was all part of a deliberate Nazi plan to completely eliminate the Jewish population.They gutted Jewish homes and stole every last household item in an attempt to make it appear as if the Jewish owners of these objects never existed in the first place. And they didnt just steal these objects they also forced Jewish prisoners to sell them.Nazi officers could browse these stolen goods for themselves at the four-story Parisian department store Lvitan. The famous storefront not only served as an exhibit for these plunders, but it was also a Nazi labor camp housing hundreds of Jewish prisoners.Furniture Operation Of The NazisGerman Federal ArchivesA staged furniture setup made of household furnishings looted from Jewish families.A key component to the capture, torture, and mass killing of the Jewish population by the Nazis during World War II was the seizure of artwork and valuables. The looting was carried out under the name Mbel Aktion or Furniture Operation and it was exactly what it sounds like: a methodical and widespread operation to take all items found in the emptied dwellings of Jewish residents, who were either kidnapped to labor camps or had fled for their lives. German Federal ArchivesGoods that were considered of higher value like fine linens and porcelain were kept for the Nazi officers in charge of the looting operations. More than 70,000 dwellings across Europe were abandoned with belongings still inside ripe for looting. In France alone, 76,000 Jewish people were deported and less than a third of them ever made it back after the war. Roughly 38,000 Parisian apartments were emptied out by the Nazis. They stripped every residence formerly occupied by Jews and transported the stolen goods, ranging from dishware and tools to cabinets and clocks. A number of warehouses were converted into work camps where hundreds of prisoners were forced to go through the mass of plundered goods. Some prisoners in these camps even came across their own stolen items. German Federal ArchivesUnlike some of the pricey art stolen by the Nazis, these household goods remain lost to time. Some may even be sitting in plain sight in houses across Europe.The stolen goods were divided into two categories: personal belongings and damaged items, which were set on fire at a daily bonfire on Quai de la Gare by the Germans, and things deemed fit to sell, which were sorted into categories and distributed across Nazi territories.Lvitan, a famous four-story Parisian department store that once sold furniture, was taken over during the Nazi occupation of Paris. The storefront was converted into a labor camp where nearly 800 Jewish prisoners were detained and forced to organize and repair plundered goods under the Mbel Aktion.Plundered Possessions At LvitanGerman Federal ArchivesRoughly 800 Jewish men and women were forced to work at the Lvitan labor camp.Before it was occupied by Nazis, Lvitan had been a giant furniture shop owned by a Jewish entrepreneur named Wolf Lvitan.The shop became a hub for processing and showcasing stolen goods during the war. Officers browsed and picked out looted items to send home to their families as if they were shopping for manufactured goods at IKEA. The staff at Lvitan were Jewish prisoners transferred from the Drancy internment camp just outside Paris, and many of them were later sent to Auschwitz.German Federal ArchivesA Jewish prisoner assembles packets of goods at Lvitan.The first three stories of the Lvitan building were used as showrooms for the Nazis stolen goods while the top floor was the prison where Jewish laborers ate and slept. Jewish prisoners at the Lvitan labor camp who had vocational skills in sewing or handiwork were tasked with repairing items that were slightly damaged.The items sold at Lvitan were of little value; cheap items that could easily be purchased at any regular store, unlike the priceless artworks that were also famously plundered by the Nazis across Europe. But the banality of Mbel Aktion was very much the point. German Federal ArchivesThe stolen goods were stripped of their Jewish owners identities, rendering them meaningless as a way to eliminate even the memory of the Jewish population.As noted by sociologist and author of Witnessing the Robbing of the Jews: A Photographic Album, Paris, 1940-1944 Sarah Gensburger, some of Hitlers closest confidantes including Hermann Gring questioned the operation due to the cost of seizing and transporting millions of common objects. But it carried on anyway.If the project endured nonetheless, Gensburger posits, its because one of its fundamental objectives was to destroy all trace of the Jews very existence.German Federal ArchivesJewish prisoners with sewing and handiwork skills were tasked to repair items that were slightly damaged.Not much about the Furniture Operation was left after the war, except an album of 85 photographs documenting the stolen goods that were resold at Lvitan.The album was recovered by a member of the special task force called the Monuments Men, who were tasked to recover art pieces looted by the Nazis. The album of rare photographs is now kept in the German Federal Archives in Koblenz, Germany.Although the objects sold at Lvitan may not have been as valuable as the priceless artworks that were also stolen by the Nazis, they nevertheless depict the magnitude of the lives that were stolen under Hitlers regime.Today, the former labor camp storefront still stands on Rue Faubourg Saint Martin. A small plaque on the building now the office of an advertising agency is the only trace of the atrocities that took place inside.Now that youve read about the Nazis department store of stolen goods, learn about the tragic life of Czeslawa Kwoka, who died at the hands of the Nazis, though her powerful portrait at Auschwitz lives on. Then, check out the 75-year-old diary of an SS officer that could lead to 28 tons of stolen Nazi gold.The post Inside Lvitan, The Nazi Department Store Where Jewish Prisoners Were Forced To Sell Their Own Belongings appeared first on All That's Interesting.

In the early spring of 1939, parents in a remote Peruvian village noticed that their 5-year-old daughter had an enlarged belly. Fearful that the swelling was a tumor, Tiburelo Medina and Victoria Losea took their little girl, Lina Medina, from the familys home in Ticrapo to see a doctor in Lima.Wikimedia CommonsLina Medina, the youngest mother in history, pictured with her son.To the parents shock, the doctor discovered that Lina Medina was seven months pregnant. And on May 14, 1939, Medina gave birth via C-section to a healthy baby boy. At five years, seven months, and 21 days of age, she became the youngest mother in the world.Medinas case took pediatricians by surprise and attracted international attention that she and her family never wanted. To this day, Medina has never told authorities who the father was, and she and her family still shun publicity and avoid any opportunity for a tell-all interview.Despite the mystery that continues to surround the case of the worlds youngest mother, more insight has come to light on how Lina Medina got pregnant and who the father may have been.Lina Medinas Case Of Precocious PubertyYouTube/Anondo BDThe youngest mother in the world likely had a rare condition called precocious puberty.Born on September 23, 1933, in one of the poorest villages in Peru, Lina Medina was one of nine children of Tiburelo Medina and Victoria Losea. Her pregnancy at such an early age obviously came as a disturbing shock to her loved ones and the public. But to pediatric endocrinologists, the idea that a five-year-old child could get pregnant wasnt entirely unthinkable.Its believed that Medina had a rare genetic condition called precocious puberty, which causes a childs body to change into that of an adult too soon (before age eight for girls and before age nine for boys). Boys with this condition will often experience a deepening voice, enlarged genitals, and facial hair. Girls with this condition will typically have their first period and develop breasts early on. It affects about one in every 10,000 children. Roughly 10 times more girls than boys develop this way. Oftentimes, the cause of precocious puberty cant be identified. However, recent studies have found that young girls who were sexually abused may go through puberty faster than their peers. So there are suspicions that precocious puberty might be accelerated by sexual contact at an early age.In the case of Lina Medina, Dr. Edmundo Escomel reported to a medical journal that she had her first period when she was only eight months old. However, other publications claimed that she was three years old when she began menstruating. Either way, it was a shockingly early start.Further examination of 5-year-old Medina showed that she had already developed breasts, wider-than-normal hips, and advanced (that is, post-pubescent) bone growth.But of course, even though her body was developing early, she was still very clearly a young child.Who Was The Father Of Lina Medinas Baby?Wikimedia CommonsLina Medina never told authorities who the father of the child was. Sadly, its possible that even she didnt know.Precocious puberty partially explains how Lina Medina got pregnant. But of course, it doesnt explain everything.After all, somebody else had to get her pregnant. And sadly, given the 100,000-to-1 odds against it, that person probably wasnt a little boy with the same condition that she had. Medina never told her doctors or the authorities who the father was or the circumstances of the assault that led to her pregnancy. But due to her young age, she might not have even known herself.Dr. Escomel said that she couldnt give precise responses when questioned about the father.Tiburelo, Medinas father who worked as a local silversmith, was briefly arrested for the suspected rape of his child. However, he was released and the charges against him were dropped when no evidence or witness statements could be found to hold him responsible. For his part, Tiburelo Medina strenuously denied ever raping his daughter. In the years following the birth, some news agencies speculated that Medina may have been attacked during unspecified festivities that took place near her village. However, this was never proven.The Media Swarms The Worlds Youngest MotherYouTube/Ileana FernandezAfter Gerardo Medina was born, Lina Medina and her family quickly retreated from the public eye.Once Lina Medinas pregnancy became generally known, it garnered attention from all over the world.Newspapers in Peru unsuccessfully offered the Medina family thousands of dollars for the rights to interview and to film Lina. Meanwhile, newspapers in the United States had a field day reporting on the story and they also attempted to interview the young mother.Offers were even made to pay the family to come to the United States. But Medina and her family declined to speak publicly. It was perhaps inevitable, given the astounding nature of Medinas condition and her aversion to scrutiny, that some observers would accuse her family of hoaxing the whole story. In the over 80 years that have passed, this seems unlikely to be the case. Neither Medina nor her family have tried to capitalize on the story, and medical records from the time provide ample documentation of her condition during her pregnancy. Only two photographs were known to be taken of Medina while she was pregnant. And only one of those a low-resolution profile picture was ever published outside of the medical literature.Her case file also contains numerous accounts by doctors who treated her, as well as clearly defined X-rays of her abdomen that show the bones of a developing fetus inside her body. Blood work also confirmed her pregnancy. And all papers published in the literature passed peer review without a hitch.That said, every request for an interview has been refused by Medina. And she would go on to avoid publicity for the rest of her life, refusing to sit for interviews with international wire services and local newspapers alike.Medinas aversion to the spotlight apparently continues to this day. What Happened To Lina Medina, The Youngest Person To Ever Give Birth?YouTube/The DreamerMuch of Lina Medinas later life remains a mystery. If shes still alive today, she would be in her late 80s.Lina Medina seems to have gotten good medical care, especially for the time and place in which she lived, and she gave birth to a healthy baby boy.Delivery was by Cesarean section because, despite Medinas prematurely widened hips, she probably wouldve had a difficult time passing a full-sized child through the birth canal.Lina Medinas child was named Gerardo, after the doctor who first examined Medina, and the infant went home to the familys village of Ticrapo after he was released from the hospital. Two years after the birth, a specialist in child education at Columbia University named Paul Kosak got permission to visit the Medina family. Kosak found that the youngest person to give birth was above normal intelligence and that her baby was perfectly normal. She thinks of the child as a baby brother and so does the rest of the family, Kosak reported. An obstetrician named Jose Sandoval who wrote a book about the Medina case said that Medina often preferred to play with her dolls rather than her child. As for Gerardo Medina himself, he grew up thinking that Medina was his older sister. He found out the truth when he was about 10.While Gerardo Medina was healthy for most of his life, he sadly ended up dying relatively young at age 40 in 1979. The cause of death was bone disease.As for Lina Medina, it is unclear if shes still alive today or not. After her shocking pregnancy, she went on to live a quiet life in Peru.In her young adulthood, she found work as a secretary for the doctor who attended the birth, which paid her way through school. At roughly the same time, Lina managed to put Gerardo through school as well.She later married a man named Ral Jurado in the early 1970s and gave birth to her second son when she was in her 30s. As of 2002, Medina and Jurado were still married and living in a poor neighborhood in Lima.Given her lifelong attitude toward publicity and the prying eyes of curious outsiders towards historys youngest person to give birth, it may be for the best that Lina Medinas life remains private. If shes still alive, she would be in her late 80s today.After learning about Lina Medina, the youngest mother in history, read about the 11-year-old who was forced to marry her rapist. Then, discover the story of Gisella Perl, the Angel of Auschwitz who saved the lives of hundreds of women imprisoned during the Holocaust by aborting their pregnancies.The post The Story Of Lina Medina, The Youngest Mother In The World appeared first on All That's Interesting.

Massachusetts holds a central place in American history as the birthplace of the American Revolution and the site of events like the Boston Tea Party. Its where the Mayflower landed, setting the stage for centuries of cultural and societal evolution. The state is home to some of the nations most historic cities, like Boston and Salem, as well as prestigious institutions such as Harvard and MIT. The states museums reflect this diversity and offer a deep dive into everything from fine arts to the story of space exploration. Whether youre a lifelong resident or just visiting, these 10 museums are worth a visit.1. Museum of Fine Arts (MFA), BostonMuseum of Fine Arts (MFA), Boston. Source: Wikimedia CommonsEstablished in 1870, the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) in Boston opened its doors on July 4, 1876, in Copley Square, initially housing 5,600 artworks. By 1909, the expanding collection necessitated a move to its current location on Huntington Avenue.The MFA boasts nearly 500,000 pieces, making it one of the worlds most comprehensive art museums. Its diverse collections span continents and eras, featuring notable works such as the largest assembly of Japanese art outside Japan, a significant compilation of Egyptian artifacts, and an impressive array of Impressionist paintings.King Menkaura (Mycerinus) and sister-wife Queen Khamerernebty II, Egypt, Old Kingdom, c. 2490-2472 BC. Source: Museum of Fine Arts, BostonYou can explore masterpieces by artists like Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, and John Singer Sargent. The museums Japanese galleries offer an intimate experience with treasures including N theater robes and the renowned Waves at Matsushima by Ogata Krin. The MFA also hosts rotating exhibitions, educational programs, and community events.The MFAs Egyptian collection is world-renowned, specifically its Old Kingdom artifacts. Many of these pieces, including the famous statue of King Menkaure and Queen, were obtained through a 40-year joint expedition with Harvard University.2. Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, BostonIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston, Massachusetts. Source: PexelsThe Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston was established in 1903 by art collector and philanthropist Isabella Stewart Gardner. It is renowned for its unique design and diverse art collection. Modeled after a 15th-century Venetian palace, the museum reflects Gardners vision of an immersive environment where architecture and art harmoniously coexist.The museums collection encompasses over 7,500 artworks, including paintings, sculptures, tapestries, and decorative arts from Europe, Asia, and the Americas. Notable masterpieces include Titians The Rape of Europa, Rembrandts Self-Portrait, Age 23, and John Singer Sargents El Jaleo.Sandro Botticelli, The Story of Lucretia, 1500. Source: Isabella Stewart Gardner MuseumWhen visiting this iconic museum, youll be able to explore the three floors of galleries surrounding a picturesque courtyard, each room meticulously arranged as per Gardners original vision. The museum also offers educational programs, concerts, and special exhibitions, continuing Gardners legacy of fostering a vibrant cultural hub.In 1990, the museum was the site of a significant art heist, with 13 pieces, including works by Vermeer and Rembrandt, stolen, a crime that remains unsolved.3. Harvard Museum of Natural History, CambridgeHarvard Museum of Natural History, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Source: Wikimedia CommonsSince its opening in 1998, the Harvard Museum of Natural History, nestled in Cambridge, has drawn visitors with its eclectic blend of artistry, science, and history. It brings together exhibits from Harvards Museum of Comparative Zoology, the Harvard University Herbaria, and the Mineralogical Museum, creating a singular experience for curious minds.A standout feature is the astonishing Glass Flowers Collection, crafted by Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka. These delicate glass creations capture the intricate details of over 800 plant species, stunning visitors with their lifelike beauty. Equally captivating is the Great Mammal Hall, where skeletons of whales and land mammals tower above, sparking awe and wonder.Triceratops skull in the Harvard Museum of Natural History. Source: Harvard Museum of Natural HistoryYou are also invited to explore the mineral and meteorite exhibits, which reveal the Earths geological secrets. Whether youre marveling at a Kronosaurus fossil or discovering ocean myths in the Sea Monsters exhibit, the museum promises an unforgettable day immersed in discovery.The museum is home to the first Triceratops skull ever discovered. Found in Wyoming in 1888, this specimen helped define the species for the entire scientific world.4. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, BostonJohn F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston. Source: Wikimedia CommonsThe John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, located on Columbia Point in Boston, Massachusetts, is dedicated to the memory of the 35th President of the United States. Designed by architect I. M. Pei, the library was dedicated in 1979 and serves as the official repository for Kennedys presidential papers and correspondence.The museum offers exhibits that showcase significant events from Kennedys presidency, including the 1960 campaign, the Peace Corps, the Space Race, and the Civil Rights Movement. Visitors can explore period settings from the White House and view 25 multimedia exhibits that provide an immersive experience of President Kennedys thousand days in office.The library and museum are open to the public, offering educational programs and access to historical materials related to President Kennedys life and legacy.The library also houses the worlds most comprehensive collection of Ernest Hemingways personal papers, drafts, and photographs. JFK had helped retrieve Hemingways belongings from Cuba after the revolution.5. Peabody Essex Museum, SalemThe Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts. Source: Wikimedia CommonsThe Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) in Salem, Massachusetts, stands as one of the nations oldest continuously operating museums, with roots tracing back to the 1799 founding of the East India Marine Society.PEMs extensive collection encompasses approximately 1.3 million pieces, including significant holdings in Asian art, maritime artifacts, and fashion textiles.Relocated Yin Yu Tang Home. Source: Peabody Essex MuseumA notable feature of the museum is the Yin Yu Tang House, a 200-year-old Chinese home meticulously relocated from Anhui Province and reassembled at PEM, offering visitors a rare glimpse into Chinese domestic architecture. It also has a new gallery dedicated to Korean art and culture.You can also explore the Phillips Library Collection, one of the oldest libraries in the United States, which inspires new journeys of learning. For those interested in maritime history, PEMs collection is among the most comprehensive in the world, offering insights into global art history.While the museum isnt a witch museum, PEM holds the worlds most important collection of original court documents and artifacts from the 1692 Salem Witch Trials, including the death warrant for Bridget Bishop.6. Norman Rockwell Museum, StockbridgeNorman Rockwell Museum, Stockbridge, Massachusetts. Source: FlickrThis museum was established in 1969 with the assistance of Norman Rockwell and his wife, Molly. Originally situated on Main Street in the Old Corner House, the museum relocated in 1993 to its current 36-acre site overlooking the Housatonic River Valley. The building was designed by architect Robert A. M. Stern.The museum houses the largest collection of original Rockwell art, including nearly 1,000 paintings and drawings. Additionally, it maintains the Norman Rockwell Archives, comprising over 100,000 items such as photographs, letters, and business documents.Girl at Mirror by Norman Rockwell, 1954. Source: Norman Rockwell MuseumIts worth seeing Rockwells Stockbridge studio, which was moved to the museum grounds and restored to its 1960 appearance, which offers visitors insight into his creative process.The museum often features items from the private collections of George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, who are two of Rockwells biggest fans and collectors.7. Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum, BostonBoston Tea Party Ship & Museum, Boston, Massachusetts. Source: Wikimedia CommonsThe Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum, located on the Congress Street Bridge in Boston, offers an immersive experience of the pivotal 1773 event that contributed to the American Revolution. Visitors can engage with interactive exhibits, live reenactments, and multimedia presentations that bring this historic protest to life.A highlight of the museum is the opportunity to board full-scale replicas of the 18th-century ships Eleanor and Beaver, where participants can reenact the iconic act of tossing tea crates into Boston Harbor.The museum also houses the Robinson Tea Chest, the only known surviving tea chest from the original Boston Tea Party, offering a tangible connection to the past.For those interested in colonial-era beverages, Abigails Tea Room provides a chance to sample the five tea blends that were thrown overboard during the protest.8. The Clark Art Institute, WilliamstownAerial view of the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Massachusetts. Source: Wikimedia CommonsThe Clark Art Institute, located in Williamstown, was established in 1955 by art collectors Sterling and Francine Clark. The museums collection features European and American paintings, sculptures, prints, drawings, photographs, and decorative arts from the Renaissance to the early twentieth century.In October 2024, the Clark received a significant donation from the Aso O. Tavitian Foundation, comprising more than 330 works of art and over $45 million to endow a new curatorial position, care for the collection, and construct a new wing.The museum also serves as a research institution, housing a library with special collections such as the Mary Ann Beinecke Decorative Art Collection, which includes over 1,200 volumes on textiles and decorative arts.Sterling Clark was an heir to the Singer Sewing Machine fortune, which he used to buy Renoirs, enjoying beating his brother to rare works.9. Salem Witch Museum, SalemSalem Witch Museum, Salem, Massachusetts. Source: Wikimedia CommonsThis museum provides an in-depth look at the infamous witch trials of 1692. Opened in 1972, the museum is located in a Gothic Revival building and focuses on this dark chapter in history through two main presentations. The first is a dramatic, narrated display featuring life-size figures that guide visitors through the events of the trials.The second exhibit, titled Witches: Evolving Perceptions, examines how the concept of witches has changed throughout history. It covers European witch hunts, the rise of stereotypes, and the lessons learned from scapegoating and persecution.Recent updates include the addition of rare artifacts, like a 1600 edition of the Malleus Maleficarum, a witch-hunting manual, which adds context to the museums educational mission.The Salem Witch Museum was one of the first major attractions to lean into the Witch City branding. Before the 1970s, Salem was a quiet maritime city; this museum helped transform it into the international Halloween destination.10. Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, AmherstEric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, Amherst, Massachusetts. Source: Wikimedia CommonsThe Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, founded in 2002 by Eric and Barbara Carle, is dedicated to celebrating picture book illustration as an art form. Located in Amherst, it offers a hands-on and educational approach to understanding the world of picture books.The museum features three main galleries. One consistently displays Carles famous works, such as The Very Hungry Caterpillar, while the others rotate exhibits showcasing international picture book illustrators. Visitors can also engage in creative projects at the Art Studio, browse the extensive library of picture books, or attend talks, workshops, and performances in the on-site theater.Very Hungry Caterpillar display. Source: Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book ArtWith over 13,000 objects in its collection, the museum serves as both a learning space for educators and an activity-filled destination for families.During trips to Japan in the 1980s and 90s, the Carles visited several museums dedicated entirely to picture book art. They were so moved by how Japan honored illustrators as fine artists, they created their museum.

1815 marked the end of Frances formal relationship with Napoleon Bonaparte as its leader. Before this, Napoleon had been invincible in the minds of many French citizens for over a decade, embodying everything the Revolution had failed to give the French people, which was military glory, political stability, and territorial expansion.By the time the Allied army had rolled into Paris in March of 1814, the Grande Arme could no longer sustain its campaigns. And a year later, the French had abandoned their emperor. Not begrudgingly because of a military defeat, but because he had destroyed the economy and willfully bankrupted France of its military men, many of whom died in battle.Too Many ConscriptsBonaparte at the Bridge of Arcole by Antoine-Jean Gros, 1796. Source: Muse du Louvre, ParisSince the leve en masse of the revolution years, Napoleon had been unable to fight his wars without continuous conscriptions. And between the campaigns in Russia and Germany in 1813 and 1814, the French Empire had reached its breaking point. In 1812 alone, Napoleon had lost approximately 500,000 men in his Russian campaign. To defend the empire, he eventually called for nearly a million conscripts across the nation in 1813. Many replacements for the dead came from young French conscripts who had never been trained for war.By the time France became the battleground in the Campaign of France in 1814, even the peasantry had no stomach left to send their sons to Frances army. Men deserted at an astonishing rate in the first three months of the campaign alone. The refractories, men too scared or stubborn to even leave for their military duties, went into hiding in forests all across France and were protected by sympathetic village folk. Soon, French civilians realized that if the fighting continued, Napoleon would not and perhaps could not allow France to know peace.Rapid Economic Decline and the Continental System FailureFrench Soldiers Inspect Goods in Leipzig. Source: World History EncyclopediaFrance, already financially strapped from years of funding armies and navies, suffered serious economic woes. At the time, the Continental System, which was part of Napoleons foreign economic policy, banned all trade between the United Kingdom and any nation that paid Napoleon fealty. While it was supposed to bolster French industries by starving Britain of trade, the British blockade of French ports made trade with France difficult. Soon, the docks of Bordeaux, Nantes, and Marseille had diminished activity. The loss of trade had far-reaching economic consequences and caused the French middle class to lose a lot of money.The value of the franc also plummeted as inflation skyrocketed. During this time, Napoleon raised taxes on indirect consumption to pay for the ever-increasing costs of war. For all the money and resources he had swallowed up, Napoleon had managed to make France ungovernable. By the time the Allies reached French soil, they found more pitchforks raised against Parisian officials who were accused of theft and corruption. In some areas of France, the Allies were welcomed as liberators, and the return of the Bourbons was embraced for the simple reason that a Bourbon restoration would mean trade with Britain would resume. It also meant that civilians could work in the manufacturing industry again due to a bigger market for their products.The Realization That He Would Lead Paris to DestructionNapoleon Crossing the Alps by Jacques-Louis David, 1801-1805. Source: Wikimedia CommonsIn March 1814, when the Allies pushed past Napoleons generals and fought their way into Paris, the citys governing body, the Senate, realized that if it continued to follow Napoleons lead, the capital would burn to the ground. And so, left with no other option, the French Senate voted on 2 April 1814 to have Napoleon deposed, citing his violations of the constitution and his refusal to sign a peace treaty.But even after Paris betrayed him, Napoleon still thought he could march on the city in triumph and take his throne back by force, even after he was exiled to the island of Elba. He was wrong.The Escape from the IslandAn aerial view of Elba. Source: Wikimedia CommonsIn February 1815, he escaped the island and landed in France to try to take back his empire. The other European nations quickly gathered their armies to stop him. His final attempt to stay in power ended on 18 June 1815 at the Battle of Waterloo. Napoleon was defeated by the British and Prussian armies and was forced to give up his throne for a second time. To make sure he could never return, the British exiled him to Saint Helena, a very remote island in the Atlantic Ocean. He lived there under guard until his death in 1821.

A Bronze Age hoard with three heavy gold necklaces has been discovered near the town of Urlai, northeast of Bucharest, Romania. The three necklaces have a combined weight of more than 300 grams, thats a hair under 11 ounces. This is an exceptional find for the country and may upend current scholarship on the chronology of the Romanian Bronze Age.The hoard was found by an authorized metal detectorist on a remote hill in the Marginea Pdurii area. He dug down 10 inches and found an Iron Age ornament shaped like chariot wheel with a bird on it. Two more wheels were found flanking that one, and three massive gold spiral bangles overlapped the wheels. Two bronze axes and a bronze arm bring or bracelet were also in the grouping.The arrangement of the hoard suggests that the artifacts were not lost casually. The gold collars seem to have been deliberately rolled and deposited in a small space. The three iron wheels appear to have framed or protected the group, while a bronze bracelet lay at the bottom of the pit. Later examination found that the gold spirals were not in fact bracelets, but rather large neck rings coiled up tightly to fit them into a small space, likely a box that disintegrated over the millennia. The position the pieces were found in confirms that they were once boxed.One of the gold necklaces bears stamped decoration similar to patterns seen on Bronze Age ceramics. The style of the other pieces recalls forms known from silver objects belonging to different periods. This mixture of materials, forms and decorative traditions is one reason the hoard has caused such interest.The small axes and iron wheels add another layer to the puzzle. Their presence beside the gold ornaments may indicate symbolic meaning, ritual practice, elite status, or a carefully hidden personal or community treasure.Archaeologists are now considering two main possibilities. The hoard may have been a votive deposit, placed intentionally in a meaningful location as part of a ritual act. Another possibility is that it was hidden during a moment of danger, perhaps by a small prehistoric community trying to protect its wealth from conflict or displacement.The finder reported his discover to the Prahova County Department of Culture as required by law, benefiting from the treasure law that grants the finder 45% of assessed value. The objects were transferred to the Prahova Archaeological Museum where experts are currently analyzing their composition and decoration. They are hoping to find out where the gold was mined and worked, as if they came from far away, its evidence of a wide network of trade across the Carpathian mountain range.Dating the artifacts has proved challenging as they could range from the late Bronze Age through to the beginning of the Iron Age. Archaeologists plan to return to the hill for further excavation. The metal detectorist saw no signs of a prehistoric settlement, burial or cult sanctuary at the site that might explain why the hoard was buried there.

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