10 People Who Were Made Famous By Tragedies
10 People Who Became Famous for Tragic Reasons
Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re exploring the most famous instances in history where a person became famous due to experiencing a tragedy that turned them into a legend of humanity.
Tank Man
In 1989, a day after the Chinese government forced protestors to leave Tiananmen Square in Beijing after being stationed there for six weeks, which led to hundreds of deaths and thousands of injuries over that time, the army sent tanks in. However, holding shopping bags was the unidentified person known as Tank Man, who’d seen enough and stood in the tanks' path. The iconic photo of him would become a symbol of rebellion when it was published. Tank Man then climbed on the first tank to talk to the crew. Shortly after, people in blue appeared and dragged the hero away. The fate of the demonstrator is unknown. Some accounts believe he was jailed, while others claim he was executed.
Henry Gunther
After four years and millions dead, the Armistice was signed to end World War I. The document, which dealt with the Allied Powers’ victory over the Central Powers and the progression towards peace, was set to come into effect at 11:00 a.m. on November 11th, 1918, after being signed at 05:00. At 10:59 in the French commune of Chaumont-devant-Damvillers, a US army squad, which had Gunter within its ranks, discovered a group of German soldiers. Not knowing about the end of the war, he charged at the platoon. The Germans, who were unsuccessful in informing Gunther about the Armistice, were forced to fatally shoot him, making him the last American, and possibly the final soldier, fatality of the war.
Madeleine McCann
In 2007, the McCann family from the UK was vacationing in Portugal. One night, Gerry and Kate left their three children in the apartment while they dined with friends at a nearby restaurant, checking on the kids often. Yet when the parents returned for the night, Madeleine was missing. Described as one of the most heavily publicized missing persons cases in modern times, to this day, Madeleine’s whereabouts and what happened to her remain a mystery. Over the years, there have been reported sightings of her across several nations. Yet none of which have been confirmed to be accurate. There have been multiple suspects in determining who was responsible. However, at the time of writing, no one has been formally charged.
Elizabeth Short
In 1947, the remains of Short were found in a vacant lot in Los Angeles, California. Working as a server at the time, reports soon emerged with claims Short had wanted to be an actor, leading to additional interest in the case. As a possible nod to this, the press immediately began nicknaming her “Black Dahlia,” seemingly in reference to the noir film “The Blue Dahlia.” While the police developed a list of over 150 suspects, no one was formally charged in relation to Short’s murder, leaving it still unsolved to this day. Yet that hasn’t stopped people from theorizing who was responsible, making Short better known in pop culture for her sad demise rather than the life she led.
Joan of Arc
Born to a peasant family in France around 1412, life for Joan changed as a teenager when she claimed to have experienced visions featuring Christian figures. With her country fighting the Hundred Years' War against England, Joan believed she was sent to save France. In 1429, Charles VII handed Joan armor and a horse and sent her to Orléans, which was under siege. The French were inspired by Joan, resulting in their victory and turning the tide in the war. However, in 1430, Joan was captured during the Siege of Compiègne. During an infamous trial in 1431, Joan was found guilty of heresy and was burned at the stake. Rather than causing her name to be lost to history, this turned Joan’s story into legend.
Emmett Till
In 1955, Till, who lived in Chicago, Illinois, went to visit family in Money, Mississippi. One night, the Black teenager was abducted from his great uncle’s house by Roy Bryant and his half-brother J. W. Milam, who were both White. They accused Till of making a pass at Roy’s wife, Carolyn, who owned a local store. A few days later, Till’s body was found in the river. Bryant and Milam were found not guilty of the murder by an all-White jury. Shortly afterwards, they admitted to killing Till publicly but faced no repercussions. His murder drew attention to racism within the US and Black people losing their lives at the hands of White people, turning Till's story into a catalyst for the Civil Rights Movement.
Henrietta Lacks
In 1951, Lacks arrived at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, after experiencing pain in her abdomen. Unfortunately, the cause was found to be cancer. During the treatments, the mass was biopsied by her doctor, Howard W. Jones, who sent the samples to George Otto Gey. However, Lacks neither knew nor agreed to this. Gey found the cancerous cells were unusual in that they continued to double in size, rather than dying out like typical ones, giving them the perception of being immortal. Dubbed the HeLa cell line, the material became a vital part of medical research, including being used in the polio vaccine. Sadly, Lacks passed away in 1951. It wasn’t until after Gey’s death in 1970 that the deception became known.
Maximilian Kolbe
After Poland was invaded by Germany during World War II, Catholic priest Kolbe helped shelter thousands of persecuted people. This led to his arrest by the Gestapo in 1941, eventually arriving at the Auschwitz concentration camp. After being subjected to abuse from guards, everything changed when someone escaped Auschwitz. Karl Fritzsch, one of the leaders of the camp, sought revenge and told his guards to select 10 prisoners to execute. One of those chosen was Franciszek Gajowniczek, who begged for his life for his family. Seeing this, Kolbe volunteered to take his place. After surviving without food and water for two weeks, Kolbe was executed. Due to his incredible sacrifice, he was canonized in 1982. Gajowniczek spent the rest of his life spreading Kolbe’s legacy.
Rick Rescorla
Born in England before moving to the US and rising to the rank of colonel in the military, Rescorla eventually became director of security at Morgan Stanley at their offices in New York City’s World Trade Center. Rescorla had long suspected an extremist attack was imminent at the places he worked. So, he instigated strict drills with employees just in case. On September 11th, 2001, Rescorla was proved right. He ignored calls from higher-ups for employees to stay at their desks and directed 2,700 of them outside while singing childhood folk songs to keep morale up. After getting them to safety, Rescorla went back inside to make sure it was clear. Sadly, the South Tower collapsed with him inside, taking his life.
Anne Frank
Born in Frankfurt, Germany, in 1929, life was forever altered for Anne and her family when Adolf Hitler rose to power. With the rise of his deplorable methods, the Franks, who were Jewish, relocated to Amsterdam, Netherlands. In 1942, following Germany’s invasion and continuing persecution, the Franks hid in a secret annex within an office building, later joined by the Van Pels family and Fritz Pfeffer. During this time, Anne wrote in her diary, which would become a vital historical account of the life of a teenage girl during this horrific time. In 1944, those hiding and those who helped were arrested and sent to concentration camps. A few weeks before their camp was liberated, Anne and her sister Margot died in 1945.
Did we miss anyone from the video who became famous due to a tragedy? Let us know below.
