History Captain

History Captain History Captain aims to entertain and educate its audience about history's great figures.
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12/31/2024

Relics of the Past King Carlo Alberto’s vintage Italian writing desk, 1840

Dutch King William III was widely regarded as a harsh and domineering figure, earning the nickname "King Gorilla" due to...
12/30/2024

Dutch King William III was widely regarded as a harsh and domineering figure, earning the nickname "King Gorilla" due to his towering height of 6'5", his notorious temper, physical aggression, and numerous affairs that resulted in many illegitimate children.

William's scandalous reputation created a tense situation when his eldest son, also named William, planned to marry. King William III was eager to learn the identity of his son's fiancée, concerned about a potential family connection due to his own past indiscretions.

As it happened, the young woman’s mother had once been a mistress of the King. Fearing that his son's fiancée might be his own daughter, and therefore the prince's half-sister, King William III forbade the marriage.

Crown Prince William, devastated by the cancellation of his engagement, moved to Paris, where he succumbed to alcoholism and a life of excess. He died in 1879 at the age of 38, leaving no legitimate heirs. His younger brother also died unmarried, leaving King William III without a male successor.

This predicament forced King William III to confront the possibility of the Dutch crown passing to a distant German relative, potentially leading to the annexation of the Netherlands. In response, he altered the law to allow a daughter to inherit the throne. Subsequently, in his old age, King William III married a much younger foreign princess, as no Dutch woman was willing to marry him. This union produced a daughter, Wilhelmina, who eventually succeeded him as queen, despite being just a child when her father passed away.

In 1942, at the age of just twelve, Calvin Leon Graham, an early bloomer, lied about his age to enlist in the United Sta...
12/30/2024

In 1942, at the age of just twelve, Calvin Leon Graham, an early bloomer, lied about his age to enlist in the United States Navy. Despite his youth, he served his country with remarkable bravery, successfully avoiding detection for some time.

In October 1942, Graham participated in the Battle of Guadalcanal, where he distinguished himself in combat. During the battle, he was wounded by shrapnel while carrying an urgent message to his commanding officer. Despite his injuries, Graham continued to perform his duties, even assisting wounded fellow sailors to safety. His courage and dedication did not go unnoticed, and he was awarded eight medals for his service.

However, in 1943, Graham’s military career took a difficult turn when he traveled to Texas for his grandmother’s funeral without obtaining permission from the Navy. As a result, he was placed in military prison. It was during this time that his mother revealed his true age, leading to his release from prison. Subsequently, Graham was discharged from the Navy and stripped of his medals.

Despite these hardships, Graham continued to live a challenging life. He married at fourteen, became a father at fifteen, and by seventeen, was divorced. His Purple Heart medal, a symbol of his bravery, was not returned to him during his lifetime. It was only after his death that the medal was presented to his widow, a posthumous recognition of his service and sacrifice.

In 2013, Jocelyn Rojas, a 5-year-old, was kidnapped from her yard by a man offering ice cream from his car. Temar Boggs,...
12/30/2024

In 2013, Jocelyn Rojas, a 5-year-old, was kidnapped from her yard by a man offering ice cream from his car. Temar Boggs, 15, and his friend saw what happened and sprang into action, chasing the car on their bicycles.

They followed the car for 15 minutes, until the kidnapper, aware he was being followed, released the girl and drove away.

The quick thinking and courage of these two boys led to the safe return of the young girl, likely saving her life.

In 1971, engineers from the Soviet Union ignited a fire in a gas-filled hole in the Turkmenistan desert. Anticipating th...
12/30/2024

In 1971, engineers from the Soviet Union ignited a fire in a gas-filled hole in the Turkmenistan desert. Anticipating that the flames would extinguish within days, they were surprised when the fire continued to burn. Now, 52 years later, this site, known as “The Door to Hell,” is still ablaze.

Legendary basketball player Wilt Chamberlain was renowned not only for his remarkable achievements on the court but also...
12/30/2024

Legendary basketball player Wilt Chamberlain was renowned not only for his remarkable achievements on the court but also for his reputation off it, particularly in matters of personal relationships. Over his sixty-three years, Chamberlain reportedly engaged in intimate relations with as many as 20,000 women. His lifestyle included instances where he would be with one partner in a day, while on other occasions, he participated in multiple-partner encounters and other indulgent activities.

Chamberlain was a hedonist in the truest sense, living with two primary goals: excelling in the sport he dominated and deriving as much pleasure from life as possible. Concepts like responsibility, marriage, and fatherhood were not pursuits he valued; in fact, he feared and avoided them. His efforts to prevent fatherhood were reportedly as skillful as his handling of a basketball, and for most of his life, he believed he had successfully evaded any such commitments.

However, there was one exception. During a brief affair in England, Chamberlain fathered a child—a son who inherited his father’s distinctive facial features, impressive height, and lanky frame. Despite this, Chamberlain never met his son and passed away under the belief that he had avoided fatherhood just as he had avoided marriage and long-term commitment throughout his life.

As he approached the end of his life, Chamberlain reflected on the choices he had made. Despite the pleasure and numerous encounters he experienced, he expressed a deep sense of regret, lamenting that he would have preferred to have loved and been intimate with one woman a thousand times rather than with a thousand women once. His reflection revealed a poignant recognition of the emptiness that can accompany a life devoted solely to hedonistic pursuits.

Trials by jury didn’t become common until the 13th century. Without a formal way of determining someone’s guilt or innoc...
12/30/2024

Trials by jury didn’t become common until the 13th century. Without a formal way of determining someone’s guilt or innocence, the accused were subject to trial by ordeal.

There were three types of ordeals — ordeal by fire, ordeal by water, and ordeal by combat. The goal of these ordeals was to subject the accused to extreme circumstances, and if able to survive, they were seen as innocent in the eyes of God.

Ordeal by fire required the accused to carry a red hot iron 9 feet and then have their hands bandaged. After three days, they were required to show up in court and show their hands.

If the wounds had started to heal, they were considered innocent. If their condition hadn’t improved, they would be found guilty.

There were two different types of ordeal by water. If they were subjected to a cold water ordeal, their hands and feet were tied and thrown into the water. If they began to float, they were considered innocent. But if they sank, they were guilty.

For hot water ordeals, those accused had to retrieve a stone from the bottom of a kettle of boiling water. Similarly to ordeal by fire, if their hands had begun to heal after three days, they were found innocent.

Lastly, ordeal by combat was used to help two parties solve a dispute. This was mostly used when there were no witnesses or confessions to a crime. Two individuals would fight in combat, and the winner would be declared innocent.

While brutal, these ordeals were used to justify God’s will in the criminal justice system. If the accused could survive or be found innocent after their ordeals, it was believed they had been given power from God.

In 2019, in Sinaloa, Mexico, the bodies of five young men, suspected of car theft, were discovered deceased.Local report...
12/30/2024

In 2019, in Sinaloa, Mexico, the bodies of five young men, suspected of car theft, were discovered deceased.

Local reports suggest that toy cars were positioned on their bodies, allegedly symbolizing the quantity of vehicles they had stolen.

The ages of the deceased ranged from 20 to 30 years, and there were evident signs of torture on their bodies.

A Japanese man named Yasuo Takamatsu lost his wife in the 2011 earthquake and has not stopped looking for her body for m...
12/30/2024

A Japanese man named Yasuo Takamatsu lost his wife in the 2011 earthquake and has not stopped looking for her body for more than 10 years.

He has dived more than 800 times into the ocean in an attempt to retrieve her.

A 3,200-year-old tablet shows that ancient Egyptians took attendance at work and recorded absences. One type of reason c...
12/30/2024

A 3,200-year-old tablet shows that ancient Egyptians took attendance at work and recorded absences.

One type of reason cited for missing work was "wife or daughter bleeding" referring to menstruation because men were needed at home during this time to help with the housework.

A worker named Pennub missed work because his mother was ill. Other employees were absent due to their own illnesses.

One Huynefer was frequently “suffering with his eye.” Seba, meanwhile, was bit by a scorpion. Several employees also had to take time off to embalm and wrap their deceased relatives.

Some reasons may seem strange to modern ears. “Brewing beer” is a common excuse.

Beer was a daily fortifying drink in Egypt and was even associated with gods such as Hathor. As such, brewing beer was a very important activity. Fetching stones or helping the scribe also took time in the workers' lives.

The in**ed Habsburg royals are a historical curiosity that continues to baffle and amaze many. Centuries of intermarriag...
12/30/2024

The in**ed Habsburg royals are a historical curiosity that continues to baffle and amaze many. Centuries of intermarriage within their own family—cousins, uncles, aunts—resulted in severe physical and mental defects among the Habsburgs. Ferdinand I of Austria is a notable example. Despite his many health issues, he lived to the age of 82, which was remarkable given the circumstances.

Ferdinand was mentally challenged and unstable, rendering him largely incapable of fulfilling his royal duties. He was known for making unreasonable demands, such as insisting on out-of-season food simply because, in his words, “I’m the Emperor!” Suffering up to twenty seizures a day, Ferdinand was considered unlikely to produce an heir. During his first attempt to consummate his marriage, he experienced five seizures, and despite his efforts, he never succeeded in fathering a child.

In 1848, his nephew Franz-Joseph took over the throne, allowing Ferdinand to retire peacefully—a retirement he seemed to enjoy until his death in 1875.

Charles II of Spain, another Habsburg, suffered even more severe consequences of inbreeding. Known as ‘the bewitched,’ his jaw was so malformed from generations of in**st that he could barely breathe or speak. He remained childish longer than most men and became senile early. By thirty, he was completely bald, though portraits depict him wearing wigs.

A French ambassador, expressing pity for Charles’s future wife, described him as “an imbecile so ugly as to cause fear and obviously unwell.” Despite two marriages, Charles II never produced an heir. His first wife endured painful fertility treatments, wrongly blamed for their childlessness when it was likely Charles who was infertile.

The autopsy of Charles II revealed shocking details: a heart the size of a peppercorn, corroded lungs, rotten intestines, a single black testicle, and a head full of water. It’s astonishing that the Habsburgs, despite centuries of suffering, never seemed to realize that their practice of in**st was the root cause of their numerous health problems.

During the filming of the first Godfather movie, the mafia got awfully curious about what went on during filming. The mo...
12/30/2024

During the filming of the first Godfather movie, the mafia got awfully curious about what went on during filming. The mob actively followed the actors and actresses around and hovered around the sets, much to the chagrin of the actors. Marlon Brando in particular wasn’t too pleased.

At some point, Brando, Pacino, and Robert Duvall were driven off-set in a car when their driver spotted a suspicious-looking cast of characters traveling at the same speed and distance, eyeing them.

Brando said he had had enough of “those mob bastards,” rolled down the car window, pulled down his pants all the way, and mooned them! Duvall later said of the event that his famous co-star pulled his pants down just a little too much.

Not deterred, the mob sent real-life mafia enforcer, wrestler and doorman Lenny Montana to the movie set, to play the part of Luca Brasi.

Montana was a major Brando fan, as were many of the mafia guys themselves who had come to respect the wild star and his reckless ways. So in awe of his famous co-star was Montana, that he bumbled his lines. He could barely perform at all.

Until Brando put Montana at ease, helping him shine and perform his part well. The big mobster turned actor was incredibly grateful, and suddenly the mafia was totally okay with their on-screen portrayal.

Today we remember President Jimmy Carter, the Georgia-born peanut farmer, politician, U.S. Navy veteran, and lifelong hu...
12/29/2024

Today we remember President Jimmy Carter, the Georgia-born peanut farmer, politician, U.S. Navy veteran, and lifelong humanitarian. As the nation’s 39th president, he worked to ensure human rights at home and abroad. For his decades of humanitarian work, he earned a Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.

Goldie Hawn and her father at home in Maryland, 1960
12/29/2024

Goldie Hawn and her father at home in Maryland, 1960

Gillian Anderson, on the set of "The X-Files", 1990s
12/29/2024

Gillian Anderson, on the set of "The X-Files", 1990s

Ozzy Osbourne gave up taking acid while the recording of Black Sabbath's Volume 4. He said, “I took 10 tabs of aci...
12/29/2024

Ozzy Osbourne gave up taking acid while the recording of Black Sabbath's Volume 4.

He said, “I took 10 tabs of acid, then went for a walk in a field. I ended up standing there talking to this horse for about an hour. In the end, the horse turned round and told me to f**k off. That was it for me.”

Actresses Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe prepare themselves to put their hands and marks in the Chinese Theater on 26 J...
12/28/2024

Actresses Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe prepare themselves to put their hands and marks in the Chinese Theater on 26 June 1953.

Just before the start of the 544-mile Sydney to Melbourne Ultramarathon in 1983, one particular runner caught the attent...
12/28/2024

Just before the start of the 544-mile Sydney to Melbourne Ultramarathon in 1983, one particular runner caught the attention of the Australian media: a 61-year-old potato farmer named Cliff Young.

He had shown up before the race wearing overalls and work boots, telling journalists that he had trained in his large rubber boots and had spent much of his childhood chasing after sheep, sometimes for days without rest.

Soon after the race began, Cliff Young fell behind the other runners and seemed on track to finish dead last. But after getting just two hours of sleep the first night, Young got back up and started running — and didn't stop.

While the other runners stopped each night to sleep, Young kept moving continuously at his slow pace for five days straight. "I'm just an old tortoise," he said. "I have to keep going to stay in front."

In the end, Young won the race in record time, smashing the previous mark by two whole days and leaving the entire world stunned.

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