There have been some epic falls from grace throughout our history. People who were pioneers in their fields, heroes in the eyes of the public, or even super-athletes compared to us mortal weaklings, can still fall victim to the pitfalls of being human and essentially become villains.

We've gone ahead and collected 20 of the most brutal downfalls from first to worst.

Joe Paterno. He basically ran State College and 100% could’ve and should’ve done more after his reporting went nowhere. Instead, he chose to not make more noise and let it go. -c-williams88

Benedict Arnold. Hero general of the American Revolution. One of George Washington's best assets. Felt slighted and overlooked by his contemporaries. Switched sides to the British, made no difference to the war effort. Died in disgrace in England. His name is now a synonym for traitor. -GonnaGoFar

Fred Phelps. Started his career as a celebrated civil rights lawyer in Kansas. Followed up Brown vs Board of Education 20 years later and ended up forcing them to implement more fair educational conditions for students of color.

Went on to form the Westboro Baptist Church which became one of the most despicable hate groups in the US. Notorious for their homophobia and protesting at military funerals. -MercutioMan

Bernie Madoff. His entire family thought he was some rich finance guy. Then they find out not only do they have nothing, but their dad stole (and destroyed) more money than just about any individual in the history of the world. Bernie and his wife tried to commit suicide, and one of his sons was successful in doing so. -Radrezzz

Mary I of England came to my mind first. Overcame huge threats & obstacles to her right to the throne … because she had the support and love of the people. She defeated the attempted coup, ascended to the throne, showed mercy to the traitors, etc.

Then promptly married an unpopular foreigner and tried to force everyone to follow her religion. If they didn’t, they got burned alive. -Adjectivenounnumb

Hansie Cronje. Post Apartheid cricket captain in South Africa. He united a divided nation through so many sports victories. In 2000 however, he was found guilty of match fixing.

He died mysteriously in a plane crash in 2002, soon after being exposed. -pensy

Fritz Haber. A German Chemist and Nobel prize winner, he helped pioneer the Haber process for synthesizing Ammonia. This is important, because it was a key ingredient in artificial fertiliser. He has saved countless lives from hunger. Untold millions. Unlocking a piece of science that changed the face of organic chemistry forever.

Then came the first world war. If he were a sorcerer, it would be as if he turned to the darkest of arts. After saving the world, and gifting such an innovation to humanity, he then turned his mind to destroying it. He invented chemical warfare. -Dawningrider

Aaron Burr. He was Vice President of the United States when he shot and killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel. The duel killed Burr's political career—he was dropped from Thomas Jefferson's ticket in the 1804 election, and he couldn't even win an election for governor of New York. -gerhudire

Henry VIII has to be up there. He was a famously handsome, pious, and noble young king, very in love with Katherine when they were married, and over time he became the wife-killing tyrant we know today. -SmunkTheLesser

John Edwards. Ran for VP, getting ready to run for Prez, find out he had an affair and a kid while his wife was dying of cancer. -imnotsoho

Rudy Giuliani. After the attacks of 9/11 he brought NYC together as mayor was on SNL and threw out the first pitch at Yankee stadium was really well liked by everyone. Then he was Trump's lawyer and held a press conference at the wrong four seasons and is seeing as a bumbling idiot yes man who does whatever trump wants. -hilldo75

Phil Spector. The guy was a revolutionary music producer, creating the Wall of Sound formula. He produced music for some of the top musicians in the 60s and 70s and retired very young to his mansion in the Hollywood Hills.

In 2003 he murders actress Lana Clarkson, then spends the rest of his life in prison. I forgot he died in 2021. -steve-d

Maximilien Robespierre. From the "incorruptible", fighting for the rights of the common man (as well as Jews and people of colour, which was pretty unheard of at the time) to the man who sent tens of thousands to their deaths during the reign of terror.

His fall from grace from a savior of the people to villain who got himself beheaded by the mob is still a tale of caution for every revolutionary. -ZC3rr0r

Chris Benoit. He was famous as a pro wrestler until he murdered his wife and child (murder suicide.) -SuvenPan

Sam Bankman-Fried's fall has been both impressive and sudden. The story isn't nearly over, but that was one heck of a Ponzi scheme he created. -Crypt0Nihilist

Oscar Pistorius. He was shaping up to be the next "feel good story" of recent global memory, as he was the first double-amputee to play in the Summer Olympics (2012).

And then there was that whole "murdering his girlfriend because he thought she was a home intruder" thing. -PinaColada112

Tonya Harding. US champion figure skater but then tried to 86 Nancy Kerrigan's knees and is now a joke. -Broncotron