Nancy Wake (#55)

Background

Nancy Grace Augusta Wake was born on August 30th, 1912 in Roseneath, Wellington, New Zealand. She was the youngest of six children in her family. Her family moved to North Sydney, Australia soon after her birth, but her father returned to New Zealand soon after that, leaving Nancy's mother to raise the six children.

While in Sydney, Wake attended the North Sydney Household Arts School, but at the age of 16, Wake ran away from and went to work as a nurse. Using 200 she inherited from her aunt, Wake travelled to New York and then to London, where she trained herself to be a journalist. Wake moved to Paris where she worked as a European correspondent for Heart newspapers. She experienced and reported on the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party. In 1937, Wake met Henri Edmond Fiocca, whom she married in 1939.

World War Two

When Germany invaded France, Wake was living with her husband in Marseilles, and when France fell in 1940, Wake became a courier for the French Resistance and later joined the escape network of Captain Ian Garrow. Wake became so good at avoiding capture that the Gestapo referred to her as the White Mouse. The Resistance had to be careful when giving Wake missions because she was constantly in danger. The Gestapo had begun to tap her phone and intercept her male, and by 1943, Wake had become the Gestapo's most wanted person with a price of 5 million francs on her head. 

The escape network was betrayed by a spy in 1943 and Wake had to flee Marseille. Her husband remained behind and was captured, tortured, and executed. Wake was able to escape into Spain and return to Britain. Wake joined the Special Operations Executive in Britain and in 1944, she parachuted into the Auvergne, becominga liaison between London and a group of guerrilla fighters led by Henri Tardivat. She became instrumental in recruiting members to the guerrilla groups, and soon, Tardivat's army was 7,500 strong. Tardivat and Wake led missions throughout the war, taking on 22,000 soldiers with their 7,500. In the process, they caused 1,400 casualties while losing only 100 of their own men.

After the war, Wake recieved the George Medal, the United States Medal of Freedom, the Medaille de la Resistance, and the Croix de Guerre. It wasn't until after the war that she learned about her husbands capture and death. She worked at the British Air Ministry for several years before moving back to Australia to run for the 1949 federal election. She lost and moved back to London and resumed work for the Air Ministry. In 1957, she resigned and married RAF officer John Forward and the two moved to Australia.

The End

In 1997, Forward died and in 2001, Wake moved back to London. She stayed at several hotels where, although she did pay for her stay, much of her living costs were absorbed by the hotel. Wake died on August 7, 2011 of a chest infection at the age of 98. Nancy Wake is on our list because of her efforts in World War II and for making it to the top of the Gestapo's most wanted list.

Dimitri Mendeleev (#59)

Background

Dimitri Ivanovich Mendeleev was born on February 8, 1834 near Tobolsk in Siberia. There is no consensus on how many siblings Mendeleev had, but all sources agree that the number was at least eleven. Dimitri's father supported the family by teaching fine arts, politics, and philosophy, but after some time, Mendeleev's father became blind and lost his teaching position. Mendeleev's mother was forced to restart her family's abandoned glass factory, but when he was thirteen, Mendeleev's father died and the glass factory was destroyed in a fire, so Mendeleev was sent to study at the Gymnasium in Tobolsk.

In 1850, Mendeleev's family moved to St. Petersburg and Mendeleev began to attend the Main Pedagogical Institute. After graduation in 1855, Mendeleev contracted tuberculosis and moved to the Crimean Peninsula to recover his health. While away, Mendeleev became the science master of the Simferopol gymnasium No. 1, but returned to St. Petersburg in 1857.

On April 27, 1862, Mendeleev married Feozva Nikitichna Lescheva with whom he was married to until 1882, when he became obsessed with Anna Ivanova Popova. Mendeleev divorced Lescheva and married Popova.

Career in Science

Mendeleev studied several areas in science including the capillarity of liquids and the science behind spectroscopes. In 1864, Mendeleev became a professor at Saint Petersburg Technological Institute and at Saint Petersburg State University. In 1865, Mendeleev became a Doctor of Science and achieved tenure two years later. Mendeleev is widely credited as being the man who helped Saint Petersburg become an internationally recognized center of chemistry. He is also said to have been the man who brought the metric system to Russia.

In 1869, Mendeleev was writing a book on chemistry and, while doing so, organized a table of  the 56 known elements based on atomic mass, weight, and chemical properties. This was the first periodic table ever created. Mendeleev also predicted the existence of three chemicals that would make his table make more sense. These predicted elements did exist as gallium, germanium, and scandium. The periodic table was widely expanded upon as more knowledge came in concerning the elements and their properties.

Mendeleev went on to formulate new state standards for the production of vodka in 1893 while working as the Director of the Bureau of Weights and Measures. He also helped to investigate the properties of petroleum and found the first oil refinery in Russia. He was also nominated several times for the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, but was not chosen for the award due to Svante Arrhenius, who discouraged his selection due to Mendeleev's critiques on Arrhenius's work.

The End

Before he died, Mendeleev received the Copley Medal from the Royal Society of London. He also was elected as a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Science. Mendeleev died in 1907 at the age of 72 in Saint Petersburg due to influenza. Mendeleev has been honored by having both a crater on the moon and an element named after him. Mendeleev is on our list because he developed a table that is known world wide and can be found in almost every university and high school science classroom. Also, anyone with a moon crater named after them is pretty awesome.

Annie Oakley (#60)

Background

Phoebe Ann Moses was born on August 13, 1860 near Woodland, Ohio. She was the daughter of Susan Wise and Jacob Moses, the sixth child in a family of Quaker farmers. In 1866, Jacob Moses died of pneumonia and overexposure to freezing weather, leaving his family in a state of poverty.

Phoebe Ann, or Annie, began to hunt at the age of eight to support her mother and her sibling and became known for her hunting skills, but in 1870, Annie was sent to the Darke County Infirmary where she was taught to sew and decorate. She was then sent to a local family to help care for their infant son. Instead of this, Annie was forced to do many of the chores around the house and was put through both mental and physical abuse. This family, known by Annie referred to as "the wolves", didn't even give any the money she was due for her services.

In 1872, Annie returned to her family and continued to hunt for money and by the age of 15, she had paid off the mortgage on her mother's farm.

Shooting Career

On Thanksgiving Day 1875, the Baughman and Butler shooting act was being performed in Cincinnati. Marksman Francis E. Butler placed a $100 bet with hotel owner Jack Frost that he, Butler, could beat any local shooter in a competition. Frost arranged for Butler to compete with the then 15-year-old Annie. On the 25th shot of the match, Butler missed his shot, losing the match and the bet. He began courting Annie soon afterwards and married her on August 23, 1876.

Annie and Butler began to perform together, and Annie took the name "Oakley" after the neighborhood that they lived in. In 1885, Annie and Butler joined Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. Because she was an excellent shooter but only stood 5 feet tall, Sitting Bull referred to her as "Watanya Cicilla", or Little Sure Shot, which would become her name in public advertisements. When the show went to Europe, Annie performed for Queen Victoria, King Umberto I of Italy, PResident Marie Francois Sadi Carnot of France. She had such good aim that, at his request, Annie was able to shoot the ashes off a cigarette held by Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany. Some say that if Annie had missed and hit Wilhelm instead, she might have stopped WWI from happening.

During her time as a sharpshooter, Annie fought for women's rights, saying that women should be allowed in the military and should be taught how to use a gun. It is estimated that in her lifetime, Annie taught 15,000 women how to use a gun.

The End

In 1901, Annie was hurt in a train accident which left her in temporary paralysis that was fixed after five spinal operations. In 1902, Annie left the Wild West Show and began a career in acting, though she continued to set records in shooting until 1922. On November 3,1926, Annie died of pernicious anemia. Annie is on our list for overcoming both height and gender barriers and becoming one of the greatest sharpshooters the world has ever scene.

Jack the Ripper (#62, August 31st)

Background

In the mid-1800s, many immigrants were flooding into London, mainly into London's East End. Irish immigrants were coming from the West, and Jewish Immigrants were coming from the East. The sudden jump in population led to worsening of conditions in London. On April 3rd, 1888, the first of eleven "Whitechapel Murders" took place in London's East End.

Murders

During the investigation process of these eleven murders, at least five are assumed to have been committed by the same person, who became known as Jack the Ripper. On August 31st, 1888, the body of Mary Ann Nichols was found, with her throat cut and her abdomen ripped open. From that date to November 9th, 1888, there were four more murders, each similar to the one described above. Each murder victim was a poor women, and each body was mutilated, some even having organs missing. 

As the police investigated the Whitechapel murders, it was assumed that the Ripper was a man who lived in London and worked during the week. This was assumed because the Ripper struck around a certain area of town each time, yet only struck during the weekend. The police first investigated surgeons, butchers, other workers who handled knives, believing that people of these occupations were more likely to kill victims by cutting them with knives. Unfortunately, all the main suspects had alibis that checked out.

There were hundreds of letters sent to the police and the newspapers whose authors claimed to be Jack the Ripper. In the letter known as the "Dear Boss" letter, the author became the first to use the name Jack the Ripper, which became a world famous name. In another letter, known as the "From Hell" letter, the author sent half a kidney, which the author claimed was the kidney of Catherine Eddowes, who had had her kidney stolen during her murder by the Ripper. The author also claimed that he had cooked and eaten the other half of the kidney. Though most letters were immediately thrown out as hoaxes, the "From Hell" letter was kept, though it was never discovered whether the kidney was indeed Eddowes's.

As the murder investigation progressed, the media caught onto the story. Tax reforms had made printing newspapers much cheaper than before, and Jack the Ripper's story was one of the first to be widely distributed throughout the city and the country. 

The End

The true identity of Jack the Ripper was never discovered, though policemen investigated the murders until 1931. Jack the Ripper became a legend, a fairy tale to scare children into being good. The Ripper's appearance also helped to bring media attention to the poor living conditions of London's East End. Jack the Ripper is on our list for being one of the few people who remain famous (or infamous) without actually having a face to put with their name.

"I Have a Dream" (August 28th)

Martin Luther King Jr. found himself in the middle in the center of what would become known as the American Civil Rights Movement. King was one of the leaders of the African American civil disobedience protests. In these protests, African Americans would disobey laws while not violently protesting. This disobedience included going into whites-only restaurants, refusing to give up seats for white people on buses, and protesting discriminatory businesses altogether.

Martin Luther King also helped organize marches to bring awareness to the cause. The largest march that King helped organized was the March on Washington, in which over 200,000 people, both black and white, marched to the Lincoln Memorial in Washington to rally support for the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

On August 28th, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. delivered a speech to the hundreds of thousands of people who showed up to the March on Washington. Standing in front of the Lincoln Memorial, King spoke the immortal words "I have a dream." The speech, which became known as the "I Have A Dream" speech, showed King's hope of a world with full equality for all men. That speech became one of the most famous speeches of the 20th century, and that moment came to represent the entire Civil Rights Movement.

The Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act both passed, and King became the TIME magazine Person of the Year. In 1964, King became the youngest person ever to win a Nobel Peace Prize.

The Nineteenth Amendment (August 26th)

In 1789, when the United States Constitution was adopted, only white males were allowed to vote for representatives. The 15th amendment was passed in 1869, giving men of all races the right to vote. The next group to rise up for their right to vote was the women.

Though many smaller organizations existed before this point, the beginning of the Women's Suffrage Movement is traditionally said to be the 1848 Seneca Falls Convention in New York.  The movement had grown, but during the Civil War, the Women's Rights movement faded into the background while the nation turned its head to a more pressing issue, slavery. When the reconstruction amendments were passed, granting 'universal suffrage', women pushed to be included, but were denied.

As Americans moved West, though, the Women's Suffrage Movement gained ground. Women's suffrage was soon established in the Wyoming Territory, Utah, and the Washington Territory. The 19th amendment was originally created by Susan B. Anthony with the help of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who gave the bill to California Senator Aaron A. Sargent. The bill was first introduced to congress in 1878. The first vote taken on the amendment was taken in 1887, when it failed with a 16 to 34 vote. For the next three decades, the amendment was voted on several times, yet failed each time. In a 1919 vote, the amendment failed by only one vote. The bill was brought back to vote on May 19th, 1919, where it passed with 42 more votes than necessary.

The amendment was then sent to the states to be ratified. Wisconsin, Illinois, and Michigan were the first states to ratify the amendment, doing so on June 10th, 1919. Over the next year, the other states began to ratify the amendment. On August 18th, 1920, Tennessee was the 36th of 48 states to ratify the amendment, giving the amendment the two-thirds majority it needed to become part of the U.S. Constitution. On August 26th, 2013, the Secretary of State proclaimed the 19th Amendment of the United States, giving women the right to vote in America.

The Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact (August 23rd)

In 1939, Adolf Hitler was preparing Germany for war. Hitler's first target was Poland. Unfortunately, Poland was protected by both France and Britain, and if the two powers of Western Europe entered the war, the Soviet Union, the major power of the East, might also enter the war. In World War I, Germany had also learned the consequences of fighting a two-front war, so Hitler sought to keep the U.S.S.R. from fighting.

On August 14, 1939, Joachim von Ribbentrop and Vyaaheslav Molotov, the Foreighn Ministers of Germany and the U.S.S.R., respectively, met in Moscow to arrange the Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact.

Publicly, the Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact was an agreement that Germany and Germany would not attack each other, but Ribbentrop and Molotov also included a secret protocol to the pact.

In the secret protocol, the Soviet Union would not attack when Germany invaded Poland, and in return, Germany would give the Baltic States and part of Poland to the Soviet Union. Even after World War II ended, the very existence of the protocol was denied by the Soviet Union until 1989.

On September 1, 1939, Nazi Germany attacked Poland, and the Soviet Union did nothing. Britain declared war on Germany two days later. The Non-Aggression Pact allowed Hitler to take Poland and fight the France and Britain without Stalin's intervention. The pact stayed in effect until June 22, 1941, when Hitler made a surprise attack on the Soviet Union, bringing Stalin into World War II.

The Theft of the Mona Lisa (August 21st)

The Mona Lisa is one of the most famous pieces of artwork in history. It was painted by Leonardo da Vinci around the year 1503. Ever since the Franco-Prussian War ended in 1871, the painting has been on display in the Louvre in France.

On August 21, 1911, the painting was stolen from the museum. Louis Beroud, a painter, noticed the missing painting and asked the head of the guards. The guards believed the painting was being photographed, but when it turned out that the photographers did not have the paintings, the Louvre shut down for a week and an investigation was begun.

Guillaume Apollinaire was arrested after coming under suspicion. Apollinaire, a French poet, had called for the Louvre to be burnt down. Apollinaire implicated that his friend, Pablo Picasso, had committed the crime, but both were later released. The painting was missing for almost two years before the thief was discovered.

Vincenzo Peruggia, an Italian waiter working in Paris, had entered the Louvre during regular hours and hidden in a broom closet until the museum closed. He then took the painting and smuggled it out underneath his jacket. Peruggia was an Italian patriot and wanted the Mona Lisa, an Italian piece of art, to be displayed in an Italian museum. He was working with other to create forgeries of the painting to be sold in America, but Peruggia, who had been storing the painting in his apartment, got impatient and tried to sell the painting to the Uffizi Gallery in Florence in 1913. Peruggia was caught soon afterwards, and though he was sent to jail for six monthes, Peruggia was praised for his patriotism in Italy. The painting was exhibited throughout Italy and then was brought back to the Louvre, where it still resides today.

Leon Trotsky (#65, August 20th)

Background

Lev Davidovich Bronstein was born on Nobember 7, 1879, the son of a Jewish Farmer in what is now Ukraine. When Bronstein was eight, his parents sent him to school in Odessa. Bronstein stayed in Odessa until 1896, when he moved to Nikolayev for his final year of school. It was in Nickolayev that Bronstein learned the ideas of Marxism. Bronstein began meeting with political exiles and surrounding himself with other men with revolutionary ideas.

In 1897, Bronstein helped to found the South Russian Workers' Union, which got him arrested. To years later, Bronstein was put on trial and sent to Siberia. In Siberia, Bronstein met his first wife, Alexandra Lvovna, who was also in prison as a revolutionary. The two had two daughter's during Bronstein's stay in Siberia. Bronstein escaped prison in 1902, leaving his wife and two children behind. When forging a passport, Bronstein made a fake name, the name Leon Trotsky.

Under this name, Trotsky moved to London, where he met Vladmir Lenin, another revolutionary, and the two worked to founded the Social-Democrats' newspaper, Iskra. In 1903, Trotsky married his second wife, Natalia Ivanovna, with whom he had two more children.

Work in Russia

In 1905, when Bloody Sunday occured, Trotsk decided to return to Russia, where he wrote numerous pamphlets to encourage the overthrow of the Tsar's power. That same year, Trotsky led a revolution which failed. Trotsky was arrested and sent back to Siberia. In 1907, Trotsky escaped with a deer-pulled sleigh. Trotsky fled the country, living in cities throughout Europe and America. Trotsky was in New York when the Tsar was overthrown, and arrived back in Russia in May of 1917.

Trotsky became the leader of the 1917 Russian Revolution, officially joining the Bolshevik Party in August. Lenin would become the leader of the Soviet Union with Trotsky as his second-in-command. Trotsky negotiated the treaty with Germany to end the Soviet Union's involvement in World War I, and later, Trotsky became the leader of the Red Army.

Before Lenin died, he named Trotsky as his successor, but when Lenin died in 1924, Trotsky was politically outmaneuvered by Joseph Stalin, who pushed Trotsky out of politics and into exile, eventually forcing Trotsky to leave the Soviet Union all together.

The End

Trotsky traveled the globe, living in Turkey, France, and Norway. In 1936, Trotsky moved to Mexico. Trostky, in exile, began writing again, criticizing Stalin. Stalin accused Trotsky of a conspiracy against the Soviet Union. This began Stalin's Great Purge, where Stalin began eliminating all his political enemies. Trotsky was number one on Stalin's list. In May of 1940, Soviet agents machine-gunned Trotsky's house, but he was not killed. The Great Purge ended on August 20th, 1940, when Ramon Mercader hit Trotsky in the head with an ice pick. 

Trotsky is on our list for being one of the few leaders of the Soviet Union to stick to the Marxist ideals. Also, anybody who defies Stalin for as long as Trotsky did deserves recognition.

The Independence of Cyprus (August 16th)

After the Russo-Turkish War ended in 1878, Cyprus was leased to the British Empire from the Ottoman Empire during the Congress of Britain. Cyprus would be used as a base for the British to protect the Ottoman Empire from Russian aggression.

By 1906, Cyprus had become a strategic colonial point for Britain. When the Famagusta harbor was finished, Cyprus was a strategic naval outpost to both overlook the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean. In 1914, Britain contained full control of Cyprus from the Ottoman Empire. During World War II, Britain offered Cyprus to Greece in exchange for military aid. Though Greece refused the offer, many Greeks enlisted in the British Army in hopes that the island would be united with Greece.

On August 16th, 1960, Cyprus was given independence in the Zurich and London Agreement between the UK, Greece, and Turkey. Though there were movements to reunite with both "motherlands," Cyprus remained independent, even withstanding an Invasion from Turkey.

Bonnie and Clyde (#68 & #67)

Bonnie

Bonnie Elizabeth Parker was born on October 1, 1910 in Rowena, Texas. After her father, Charles Parker, died when she was four years old, Bonnie moved with her mother and two siblings to Cement City, a suburb in Dallas. Parker is said to have been a star student, winning prizes in spelling, writing, and public speaking. 

In her second year of high school, Bonnie met Roy Thorton. The two dropped out of school and married in 1926, six days before Bonnie's 16th birthday. Thorton was frequently gone and after Thorton had a few brushes of with the law, the two parted ways. They last saw each other in January of 1929, though they never divorced, and Bonnie was still wearing her wedding ring when she died.

After her marriage fell apart, Bonnie went to live with her mother and worked as a waitress in Dallas. She wrote many times during this period, saying she was impatient and bored with her current life. Her only escape from this was through her writing and her photography.

Clyde

Clyde Chestnut Barrow was born on March 24, 1909 in Telico, Texas. Barrow's father was a poor farmer who lived in the West Dallas slums after his farm failed. The family of nine lived under a wagon for some time while Barrow's father earned enough money to get a tent.

From 1926 to 1930, Clyde was arrested several times for everything from cracking safes, stealing cars, and robbing cars. In April of 1930, Clyde was sent to Eastham Prison Farm. It was here that Clyde killed a man for the first time after the inmate repeatedly attempted to assault Clyde sexually. When Clyde was released on parole, he focused on smaller jobs, like robbing grocery stores and gas stations. Clyde, however, was said to have been a different man, changed by prison, and many said that his goal was to seek revenge against the Texas prison system for the abuses he suffered there.

Bonnie and Clyde

Though there are several versions of how Bonnie and Clyde met, the most credible version is that Barrow was dropping off a female friend at her house, and Parker was in the kitchen when Barrow came in. The two were smitten immediately, and Bonnie and Clyde began to live and work together. The two began working together in 1932 and with others, robbing grocery stores and gastations. Once, Barrow and another of his gang, Raymond Hamilton, were drinking when a Sheriff and his deputy approached them. The two criminals opened fire, killing the deputy and wounding the Sheriff. By 1933, the gang had murdered five people.

When Buck Barrow, Clyde's brother, was released from prison, the gang began to hide out at Buck's hideout in Joplin, Missouri. After a drunk Clyde accidentally fired a rifle, neighboring houses called the Joplin Police. When discovered, the gang fought their way out of Joplin. The gang began roaming the country, from Texas to Minnesota, robbing banks and stealing cars as they went. On several occasions, the gang would kidnap lawmen our robbery victims, but they were usually release far from home, sometimes with money to get back to their home. During a car fire, Parker gained a third-degree burn on her leg, which made it so she couldn't walk near the end of her life.

While in Iowa, Buck Barrow was shot twice, once in the head and once in the back. Barrow and his wife were soon captured, and Barrow died several days later. In 1934, Barrow and Parker led the breakout of Raymond Hamilton and Henry Methvin from the Texas Department of Corrections. When the breakout succeed, a $1,000 bounty was put on both Bonnie and Clyde, and $500 for each of the escapees. This was the first time Bonnie was seen as a killer alongside Clyde and the rest of the gang.

The End

On May 23, 1934, Bonnie and Clyde were ambushed and killed in Louisiana by six officers from Texas and Louisiana who had tracked the two since February of that year. When Bonnie's husband, Roy Thorton, heard of Bonnie and Clyde's death, he is reported to have said, "I'm glad they went out like they did. It's much better than being caught." Bonnie and Clyde are on our list for being two of the most famous criminals of the 20th Century and for avoiding the law for as long as they did.

The Trans-Atlantic Balloon Flight (August 17th)

The use of hot air balloons for enjoyment has been around for hundreds of years, but hot air balloons, for the most part, have not been used for actual long-distance travel. This all changed in the year 1978.

In August of 1978, Ben Abruzzo, Maxie Anderson, and Larry Newman set out from Presque Isle, Maine in the hot air balloon, Double Eagle II. The plan was for the Double Eagle II to fly over Ireland, where Newman would hand glide out of the balloon over Shannon Airport while Abruzzo and Anderson flew the plane to France.

Unfortunately, the hand-glider was thrown overboard as ballast. The Double Eagle II still flew over Ireland, but was passed by so the group could make it to France. Authorities in France had closed Le Bourget Airfield to allow the balloon to land, but due to a lack of ballast, the pilots declined because the feared injuring anybody in the Paris suburbs if they flew too low.

On August 17th, 1978, the group landed in a barley field sixty miles from Paris. Once landed, the balloon was surrounded. The gondola was recovered, but the majority of the logs and charts were taken as souvenirs. The trip took 137 hours and six minutes to complete.

The Beginning of Alcatraz (August 11th)

Alcatraz is a small island situated in the center of San Francisco Bay, about 1.5 miles off shore. Native Americans referred to the place as the "Evil island", for they believed it was cursed. Juan Manuel de Ayala charted San Francisco Bay in 1775, naming the island La Isla de los Alcatraces, which translates to "The Island of the Pelicans". The name was eventually shortened to Alcatraz.

In 1846, John C. Fremont bought Alcatraz in the name of the United States for $5,000. In 1850, Millard Fillmore order that the land be set aside for military use. Camp Alcatraz, Alcatraz's first military garrison, was set up after the California Gold Rush began. In 1861, Alcatraz Citadel was created, which was meant to hold Civil War prisoners. Military prisoners began to be put into Alcatraz from the Civil War through the Spanish American War and First World War.

In October of 1933, Alcatraz was acquired by the United States Department of Justice, and the island became Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary. On August 11, 1934, the first 137 prisoners were brought to the Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary. Before it closed, the prison held many of the biggest criminals in American history, including Al Capon, Robert Franklin Stroud (the Birdman of Alcatraz), and George "Machine Gun" Kelly. During its 29 years of operation, the penitentiary claimed that no prisoner successfully escaped, though  a total of 36 prisoners made 14 escape attempts. The only hole in their record was made in 1962, when Frank Morris, John Anglin, and Clarence Anglin escaped, but were reported "missing and presumed drowned" because no bodies were found, yet there was no evidence that they reached the shores of San Francisco Bay.

The Resignation of Richard Nixon (August 9th)

Richard Nixon

Richard Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from the years 1969 to 1974. Throughout his presidency, Nixon used many tricks to get what he wanted and to find out information that he needed. Among these tricks was his bugging of offices of political opponents and suspicious person. He was also known to use the FBI, CIA, and IRS to harass activist groups and political figures.

Nixon's tricks were exposed when, in July of 1972, five men were caught breaking into the Democratic party headquarters in the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C. Two Washington Post reporters, Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward, got news from an informant, known as "Deep Throat", that these men were linked to the Nixon administration. Though Nixon tried to downplay the Wartergate scandal as misleading and biased, it became clear that men working for Nixon had committed crimes in order to sabotage enemies of Nixon. The scandal ended in the conviction of 46 men were convicted.

In July of 1973, Alexander Butterfield, a White House aide, testified that Nixon had a secret recording system to capture all conversations and phone calls in the Oval Office. When asked for the tapes, Nixon refused, citing executive privilege. It was revealed, though, that there was an 18 and a half minute gap in the record was found just three days after the Watergate Incident.

In April of 1974, Nixon released the 1,200 page transcripts of White House conversations between him and his aides. The Supreme Court, though, unanimously ruled that all tapes, not selected transcripts, must be released. One tape that was released that was recorded a few days after the Watergate Incident had recorded Nixon planning to thwart the Watergate investigation. On August 5th, 1974, Nixon admitted to misleading the country, though he did not admit to guilt. After Republican Congressional leaders told him he faced certain impeachment, Nixon did the unheard of.

On the 9th of August, 1974, Richard Nixon resigned from his post as president. Nixon's resignation speech also contained no admission of wrongdoing. Gerald Ford, Nixon's vice president, took office as president after Nixon's resignation, and gave Nixon a full pardon, but Nixon's action made him the one and only American president to resign.

The Bombing of Hiroshima (August 6th)

In 1945, the Pacific War of World War II was in its fourth year. Before the Nazis surrendered, the United States was putting together Operation Downfall, which would have been the largest operation of the Pacific Wall. Operation Downfall laid out plans of a full on invasion of Japan.

When Germany surrendered in May of 1945, the United States was able to focus all its efforts into the Pacific War. In June of 1945, the Joint War Plans Committee estimated that Operation Downfall would result in between 25,000 and 46,000 deaths. Soon afterwards, though, the Japanese began withdrawing troops from Manchuria to defend the home islands. The Japanese military force built up to the point that there were 2.3 million Army troops, 4 million Army and Navy employees, and a civilian militia 28 million strong. This build-up of Japanese forces increased the number of Allied fatalities to between 400,000 and 800,000.

At the same time, the Manhattan Project, Tube Alloys, and Chalk River Laboratories were hard at work. These were the respective projects of the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom to design and build atomic bombs. The projects were started in 1939, and in July of 1945, the Manhattan Project had successfully detonated the first nuclear weapon at Trinity Site, though the destruction caused by the weapon was far more than anyone had expected.

Eventually, Harry Truman was forced to make a decision: to continue with Operation Downfall, and lose up to 800,000 Americans, or release atomic weaponry upon Japan. In the end, Truman chose not to risk American lives.

Aftermath of Hiroshima

On July 26th, 1945, the Allied Leaders issued the Potsdam Declaration, which stated that if the Japanese refused to surrender, it would lead to "the inevitable and complete destruction of the Japanese armed forces and just as inevitable the utter devastation of the Japanese homeland." There was no response from the Japanese, so the Allies continued with their plan to drop the atomic bomb.

For previous air raids on Japan, the United States had dropped leaflets warning citizens of the danger, but in the case of the atomic bombings, the United States decided against dropping leaflets or detonating a demonstration bomb. This decision was made due to the uncertainty of a successful detonation and to maximize psychological shock.

On August 6th, 1945, Colonel Paul W. Tibbets flew his ship, Enola Gay, over the city of Hiroshima and dropped the atomic bomb, known as Little Boy, on the city. The blast created was equivalent to 16 kilotons of TNT, leading to the destruction of an area a about one mile (1.6 km) in circumference, and resulting fires spread across 4.4 square miles (11 square kilometers) of land. 69% of Hiroshima's building were destroyed and between 70,000 and 80,000 people, 30% of the city's population, were killed.

A second bomb, known as Fat Man, was detonated three days later, and a letter of surrender was sent on the 14th of August, ending World War 2.

Typhoid Mary (#70)

Background

Mary Mallon was born on September 23rd, 1869 in Cookstown, County Tyrone in what is now Northern Ireland. Malon was what is known as an asymptomatic carrier of the pathogen which causes typhoid fever. Most likely, she was a survivor of a previous episode of typhoid fever, yet she did not get rid of the associated bacteria, known as Salmonella typhi. This meant that she could spread the disease through contact with food and water

Cooking and Investigation

Mallon moved to the United States in 1884. In 1900, she became a cook in the Mamaroneck, New York. Within two weeks of her employment, residents of the town had developed typhoid fever. In 1901, she moved to Manhattan in 1901 to work for a family, eventually all the family members for whom she worked with developed fevers and diarrhea. The laundress of the household died of the fever. Soon afterwards, Mallon went to work for a lawyer, and during this time, seven of the eight family members developed typhoid. In 1906, Mallon worked under four different families, and each family suffered from typohoid fever.

In the winter of 1906, a family hired a typhoid researcher named George Soper. He discovered that a cook was hired just weeks before the outbreak, and several weeks afterwards, she left. Soper believed there to be a connection to the cook, and when he discovered she was an single Irish woman of about forty, he was able to track Mallon to a recent outbreak of typhoid fever near a Park Avenue Penthouse. When Soper approached her, she refused to give urine and stool samples. Soper began a study on Mallon's previous work history, finding that Mallon had worked for no less than eight families that had an outbreak of typhoid fever during the same time period. 

Quarantine 

After Soper's research went out, the New York City Health Department sent Dr. Sara Baker to talk to Mallon. Mallon refused to go with Baker because she believed that she was being persecuted when she had done nothing wrong. Baker went back to Mallon several days later, this time with police officers, who took Mallon into custody. Mary attracted so much publicity, she became known as Typhoid Mary. 

When questioned, Mary said she rarely washed her hands when cooking, saying there was no need. Urine samples taken from Mallon showed that her gallbladder carried large amounts of typhoid salmonella. Mallon, however, refused to have her gallbladder extracted or give up her occupation, maintaining that she did not carry the disease at all.  Mallon was held in isolation for three years before being released by Dr. Eugene H. Porter, who said it was wrong to isolate disease carriers. She was, however, released on the promise that she would not return to her job as a cook.

Mallon was given a job as a laundress, but it paid less than cooking. Soon, Mallon decided to return to being a cook, but to avoid notice of both the public and the authorities, she changed her name to Mary Brown. For five more years, she served as a cook in a number of kitchens, followed by typhoid fever. She changed jobs quickly, though, and Dr. Soper was unable to find her. In 1915, a serious epidemic of typhoid erupted among the staff of the Sloane Hospital for Women. Two cases proved fatal. When a cook matching Mallon's description suddenly disappeared, the police were able to track her to an estate on Long Island. 

The End

Mallon was arrested and spent the rest of her life in quarantine. She was frequently interviewed by journalists, but none were allowed to even accept a glass of water from her. Eventually, she was allowed to work as a technician in the laboratory close by. In 1932,  Mallon was paralyzed due to a strok, and on November 11, 1938, she died of pneumonia. Typhoid Mary is on our list of people because she was the first person in the United States to be identified as an asymptotic carrier of typhoid fever.

The German Declaration of War on France (August 3rd)

On the August 3rd of 1914, Germany declared war on France, just two days after declaring war on Russia. Germany prepared to begin the Schlieffen plan, which mapped out Germany's actions in the two-front war against France and Russia.

Several hours later, France made its own declaration of war, and began moving troops into Alsace and Lorraine, provinces it had lost to Germany in the Franco-Prussian war.

This declaration of war on France turned Germany's war into a World War. Before declaring war on France, the war was just another conflict in the Balkans, but when France entered the arena, the world would be forced to join.

The Schlieffen plan called for German forces to invade France by passing through Belgium. Since 1939, France and Britain had guaranteed Belgium's neutrality in any wars, so when the plan to invade France was initiated, not only France would get involved, but Belgium, Britain, and any territories belonging to these nations, which, at this point, included India, Vietnam, parts of Africa, and even parts of China and the Pacific islands. At the time they were unaware, but this war would become the largest war the world had ever seen.

Gunnar Kaasen (#71)

Background

Gunnar E. Kaasen was born on March 11, 1882 in Burfjorddalen, Norway, the son of Hans and Anna Kaasen. In 1903, Kaasen headed to the United States to mine for gold, after the discovery of gold in Cape Nome in 1898. Although the gold rush was over by 1905, Kaasen was able to find work in Nome as a musher, or dog sledder. The work was profitable and in high demand because the port of Nome is usually ice locked between October and June each year.

Great Race of Mercy

In 1925, an outbreak of diphtheria spread rapidly through the city of Nome. Many of Nome's residents, especially the Inuit children of the town, had little to no immunity to diphtheria and needed medicine. Unfortunately, Nome's diphtheria antitoxin supply had run out. With no trains, no planes, and a frozen port, Alaskan Governor Scott Bone decided that the only way to get serum to Nome was to transport it from Anchorage to Nome by dogsled. The 674 mile (1,085 km) trek was divided up into twenty legs, each manned by a different musher and a different team of dogs. Gunnar Kaasen was scheduled to run the second-to-last leg of the route with his dog Balto and twelve other huskies. By the time the antitoxin reached Kaasen, the route was covered by a massive storm. It was said to be so bad that Kaasen could not see the dogs closest to the sled and that the winds almost blew the serum off of the sled. At 2am on February 2nd, Kaasen reached the end of his leg. Because Kaasen reached the end of his leg ahead of schedule, the next musher, Ed Rohn, was asleep and no one was at the transfer location to meet Kaasen,so despite the storm, the cold, and his tired dogs, Kaasen led his dogs onward to complete not just his own leg, but the remaining 25 miles (40 km) to Nome as well. Kaasen reached Nome at 5:30am. Kaasen and his dog team had traveled 54.3 miles (87 km) total. Kaasen delivered the serum to Dr. Curtis Welch, who destributed the serum. There were no further deaths from the disease in the city after that.

The End

Kaasen received a medal from the Governor of the Alaska Territory and a daily wage of $30 dollars from the government along with all other mushers. Kaasen himself became a celebrity along with his dog Balto, whose statue is now standing in Central Park in New York City. The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race commemorates the 1925 serum run. Kaasen moved to Everett, Washington in 1952, where lived until his death on November 27, 1960.

Alvin York (#72)

Background

Alvin Cullum York was born on December 13, 1887 was born in a log cabin in Pall Mall, Tennessee, the third of eleven children born to Mary Brooks and William York. William York worked as a farmer and a blacksmith, and the family collected its own wood and made their own clothing. Alvin York only attended school for nine months because his father wanted him to help run the farm and hunt game. In 1911, William York died, and because Alvin was he oldest sibling still in the country, he supported the family as a logger and as a railroad worker. During this time, he gained a reputation as an alcoholic and as a fighter. This continued until 1915, when he converted to Christianity. He joined the Church of Christ in Christian Union, which was opposed to all forms of violence.

World War I

Because of his religious views, York was worried when the United States entered World War I in 1917. York, like all other men between the ages of 21 and 31, was forced to sign up for the draft. On his draft form, there was a question that read "Do you claim exemption from draft?", and York responded by writing "Yes. Don't want to fight." His claim was denied. He was drafted into the United States Army and served in Company G, 328th Infantry Regiment, 82nd Infantry Division at Camp Gordon, Georgia. Other soldiers convinced York of the morality of the war, and York became convinced that God would keep him safe.

Medal of Honor

Under the command of Sergeant Bernard Early, Cpl. York and seventeen others went behind German lines to take out the machine guns. The group made their way to the German headquarters, capturing a large group of German soldiers, but while dealing with the prisoners, the group was showered with machine gun fire. Nine soldiers were killed, including Sergeant Early. This left York in charge of the remaining seven U.S. soldiers. He told his men to get undercover, then York worked his way to the German machine guns. The machine guns began open firing at York, who returned fire with his rifle. Even though there were over 30 Germans on duty around the machine guns, York picked them off, one by one. When six Germans charged him with bayonets, he drew his Colt automatic pistol and shot all the soldiers before they reached him. After emptying his pistol while trying to hit York, German First Lieutenant Paul Jurgen Vollmer offered to surrender the unit to York, who accepted. York and his seven men marched back to American lines with 132 German prisoners. York was honored with the American  Distinguished Service Cross, the Medal of Honor, the French Croix de Guerre and Legion of Honor, and the Italian Croce di Guerra al Merito.

The End

York's story was relatively unknown until 1919, when his story was published by George Patullo in the Saturday Evening Post, which made him an American hero. He died on September 2, 1964 of a cerebral hemorrhage. Over the course of his life, he received over fifty decorations. Alvin York is on our list because he has one of the most epic war stories of all time. He is a true hero of the battlefield.

Sydney Newman (#77)

Background

Sydney C. Newman was born on April 1, 1917 in Toronto, Canada, the son of a shoe shop owner. Though he originally went to Ogden Public School, he dropped out at the age of 13 and later studied art and design at Central Technical School. Newman originally hoped to become a photographer and artist, making money as a creator of film posters, but when this profession did not make much money, he went into the film industry itself. 

Early Work

Newman went to Hollywood in 1938, looking for work. He was offered a job by the Walt Disney Company, but he had to turn down the job because he could not obtain a work permit. Newman obtained his first major film job as an editor for the National Film Board of Canada (NFB). When WW2 began, Newman was assigned to produce documentaries and propaganda for Canada, and in 1949, the Canadian government assigned Newman to work with NBC, creating reports on film techniques of Americans. These reports helped Newman to obtain a job with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), where he helped to televise Canadian sports. Newman also oversaw several other television programs for CBC, including General Motor Theatre,  but none of which gained him much esteem. Newman did, however, make films with a fresh perspective. Instead of using normal plots, he tended to experiment with the format of a show. 

Work in England

Several of the plays produced by Newman in General Motor Theatre were purchased by Associated British Corporation, or ABC. Impressed by the production of the plays, ABC decided to hire Newman in 1958. he was soon promoted to the Head of Drama. As the Head of Drama, he helped to produce many of the shows of the time. Again, Newman used original ideas and concepts in his shows, creating everything from Armchair Theatre to The Avengers (a spy television series, not the superhero movie). His success in ABC got him noticed by the BBC, who hired him in 1962 to revive their drama department. As BBC's head of drama, Newman changed how BBC worked. He initiated several new television shows while also hiring new writers and and directors with original and unique ideas.

Doctor Who

By far, Newman's most famous creation was the television show Doctor Who. In 1963, when Newman was told that a slot between two shows on Saturday evenings needed to be filled, he decided to make a science-fiction drama. The resulting show was Doctor Who. The idea was to have a mysterious man, the Doctor, along with companions travel through time and space in a little blue box that was bigger on the inside than the outside. Newman originally hoped that Doctor Who would be a children's television show. The Doctor's two companions were teachers, one of science, the other of history. Children were to learn history when the Doctor traveled into the past and learn science when they traveled into the future. He, himself said that he wanted no "bug-eyed monsters" in the show. This hope all changed when he took on Verity Lambert as the show's producer. Although he sometimes clashed with Newman because she enjoyed putting strange monsters in the show. Newman eventually accepted her aliens when one of her creations, the Daleks, became a major success and saved the program from going off the air.

Later Work

Newman continued to work for BBC until 1967, going to work for the Associated British Picture Corporation and EMI Films. In 1970, Newman moved back to work for the Canadian Radio and Television Commission until 1975. Later on, he would work as the Special Advsor for Film to the Canadian Secretary of State and as the Chief Creative Consultant to the Canadian Film Development Corporation.

The End

On October 30, 1997, Sydney Newman died of a heart attack at the age of 80. Newman is on our list for many reasons. First, many think of him as one of the main influences on modern Canadian drama. He also revived BBC Drama, allowing it to become the success that it is today. Third, he created Doctor Who, one of the most famous television shows in history along with the longest running science fiction television show in history. Finally, he hired Verity Lambert as Doctor Who's producer, making her the first female producer to work for the BBC.