History's Heroes Who Never Get the Credit They Deserve
History is much cooler than most people pretend it to be.
Published 11 months ago in Wow
History is much cooler than most people pretend it to be. We like to think of the past in terms that minimize historical events because we relate them to our world today. For example, just because we have more technology today, that doesn't mean the past was some unsophisticated series of events.
So if you think the past is drab, then you don't know history.
1
Welles Crowther, aka The Man In The Red Bandana. I’m sure most of us have thought about what it must have been like in the World Trade Center on 9/11 and it must have been debilitatingly petrifying. He was 24 years old working on the 104th floor as an equities trader.
Made his way down to the sky lobby of the South Tower and found a badly burned woman, carried her down 17 floors, then went back upstairs to help guide others to the only passable stairwell. Stayed up there helping others and working with the fire department until the towers collapsed. He’s responsible for saving around 20 lives and [passed away] a true hero.3
Unnamed Viking from the Battle Of Stamford Bridge In 1066;“ By the time the bulk of the English army had arrived, the Vikings on the west side were either slain or fleeing across the bridge. The English advance was then delayed by the need to pass through the choke-point presented by the bridge itself. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle has it that a giant Norse axeman (possibly armed with a Dane Axe) blocked the narrow crossing and single-handedly held up the entire English army. The story is that this axeman cut down up to 40 Englishmen and was defeated only when an English soldier floated under the bridge in a half-barrel and thrust his spear through the planks in the bridge, mortally wounding the axeman”
4
Tiananmen Square Tank Man. Armed only with a grocery bag he fearlessly stood down a column of tanks to protest the brutal suppression of peaceful protest by the corrupt and morally bankrupt government of the People’s Republic of China. He dared to openly defy the leadership of China, a feat most modern world leaders who have militaries behind them don’t have the spine to do.
5
Nellie Bly . Went undercover and endured abuse to cover neglect and abuse in Blackwell’s asylum, went to Mexico and called out the dictator for going after the press and oppressing his people and then fleed/was exiled out of Mexico because of that, traveled the world in 70-something days to prove you could travel the world in 80 days or less (based off the the Jules Verne novel) , also did reporting on the Eastern European front in World War One and also was arrested after she was mistaken for a British Spy, and she did so much more ! Such a tough woman and one of my historical heroes.
7
Witold Pilecki, a man so brave that he voluntarily and secretly went into Auschwitz as a prisoner and spy to gather information; while there he regularly made reports on conditions and also organized resistance.
As the war dragged on and conditions became worse, he then successfully broke out of Auschwitz so that he could personally convince his superiors of the truth, as they found his reports too ghastly to be real.10
Joe Medicine Crow. The last legit Native American to earn the War Chief Title. In World War II he was a scout and wore traditional Crow Nation war paint and feathers. To become a war chief he had to touch an enemy without [unaliving] him, take an enemy's weapon, lead a successful war party, and steal an enemy's horse. He stole over 50 horses from the SS and earned a Bronze Star.Medicine Crow [passed away] at 102 years old. He was born with Woodrow Wilson in office and met Barack Obama before he [passed away].
14
The clear answer is Julia Child. This superwoman was a WWII spy, invented shark repellent, singlehandedly brought French cuisine to America, was over 6 feet tall, was a bestselling author, was a champion woman’s basketball player, regularly went small game hunting, was known as an avid prankster, the recipient of multiple Emmys, the French Legion of Honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and honorary doctorates from several universities including Harvard, was a dedicated wife, and is beloved worldwide to this day.Honestly, her Wikipedia page is an absolute roller coaster ride if anyone is interested.
18
Theodora, Byzantine Empress. She started out as an actress, and the Emperor Justinian fell in love with her. Despite objections, they got married.During the Nike Revolts, her husband almost fled the city of Constantinople and nearly lost the empire. She stood up to him and reasoned with him, urging him not to leave. He stayed, put down the riots, and went on to lead the empire well for many years with Theodora by his side. His most lasting legacy was a massive overhaul and simplification of 1000 years of Roman/Byzantine law into what is now called the Justinian Code. It's often a model for modern systems of jurisprudence.
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