Category: History
Catherine Littlefield Greene
A Rhode Island aristocrat who became a widowed plantation owner in the Reconstruction Era South may have been more instrumental to the invention of the cotton gin than Eli Whitney.
Iliodor
Pre-Revolutionary Russia was the sort of place where more than one “holy man” had a legitimate claim the title The Mad Monk. Rasputin won.
George “Bugs” Moran
In Gangland Chicago, Al Capone emerged as Public Enemy Number 1. Despite being massively outgunned, particularly on one particular Valentine’s Day, his rival Adelard Cunin, known to history as Bugs Moran, gave him a hard run for his dirty money.
Minerva Vano
A now-obscure rival piqued Harry Houdini’s ire when she stole his signature trick. Did he retaliate by trying to blind her?
Henry Wade
The man whose name represents the losing side in the landmark Supreme Court abortion decision also saw his successful prosecutions of Jack Ruby and “Thin Blue Line” convict Randall Dale Adams overturned on appeal.
William Jennings Bryan
A three-time presidential runner-up was also on the losing end of the nation’s first Trial of the Century. His accomplishments in life still outstrip those of most mortals.
Chicago
A.J. Liebling may have been unimpressed by Chicago (he popularized the nickname “Second City”) but a place with just a little less of everything than New York can still have the last laugh.
The Also-Rans 