Biographics: History One Life at a Time

In 1996, the FBI apprehended a man that alluded capture for nearly two decades. His homemade letter bombs struck fear across the country — mostly targeting airlines and universities — earning him the nickname, “Unabomber.” All told, he killed three people and injured 23 more. He took great care not to leave a trace of evidence and unlike other serial murderers, he didn’t seek glory and fame for his killings. If it wasn’t for his “Manifesto,” the publication that outlined his disdain of technology and modern society, he may have never been caught.

In the collective memory of the people, Diana, Princess of Wales was everything a royal should be. She was beautiful, composed, and full of compassion for those in need. And when she died in 1997, it was a horrific tragedy that shook the world. She had been robbed of a future that was looking incredibly bright, and her sons would forever be without a mother. But the dark secrets of Diana’s life prove “all that glitters is not gold.” Some people believe that her death was no accident, and that it was actually an elaborate conspiracy designed by the royal family to silence her. 

Tomas De Torquemada was the controlling force of the Spanish Inquisition. He presided over the systematic purging of so-called heretic Jews that has gone down in history as one of the worst religious persecutions of all time. But was he the monster that history has painted? In this week’s Biographics, we uncover the real story of Tomas De Torquemada.

During the Bolshevik revolution, the Romanov dynasty was killed after over a hundred-year reign in Russia. The bodies of the parents and all five children were laid on the ground. But when the corpses were later moved and given a proper burial, the bodies of the son, Alexei, and the princess Anastasia were missing. This gave the Russian people hope that at least two of these innocent children managed to play dead long enough to escape. 

Long before Kim Jong-Un became the go-to tyrant for five star absurdity, there was another dictator on the block. Muammar al-Gaddafi ruled Libya for 42 years with an iron fist wrapped in a sequined glove so garish it would’ve put Liberace to shame. His flamboyant reign was famous for its absurdity. For every headline relating to his terrorist activities, there were maybe a dozen more about his plastic surgery addiction or all-female bodyguard troupe. By the time Gaddafi was overthrown in 2011, he was less feared than he was simply mocked.