227 - Joaquin Murrieta - The Real Zorro

03/11/20 • 18 min

Nearly everyone has grown up hearing the stories of the masked vigilante named Zorro. He was dressed all in black, and fought with a sword to defeat his enemies. Instead of superpowers, he used his wits and strength to take down the bad guys. He took from the rich to give to the poor, just like Robin Hood. This is a fictional character, of course, but Zorro was inspired by the real Mexican-American man named Joaquin Murrieta. On today’s Biographics, we are going to uncover the life and the legend of this bandit who became a hero.

Previous Episode

226 - Mad Jack Churchill - A Life Too Unbelievable For Fiction

"Mad Jack" was born John Malcolm Thorpe Fleming Churchill on September 16, 1906, in Surrey, England. His father, Alec Fleming Churchill, worked as an engineer and, later, Director of Public Works, which meant that he moved the family around a lot for his job. Churchill first grew up in the former British colony of Ceylon, now Sri Lanka, and then Hong Kong before relocating again to England. Jack had two younger brothers who would also go on to have distinguished careers in the military, although not nearly as colorful.

Next Episode

228 - Sir Charles Kingsford Smith - A Pioneer of Flight

During the late 19th century, a German man named Otto Lilienthal achieved some of the first successful, repeated flights using gliders. Regrettably, he suffered a crash on August 9, 1896, and died the next day. Reportedly, his last words were "Sacrifices must be made!"