Sometimes, you can create a miracle that others cannot imagine by yourself, and many people in history have done it. Of course, there are people you have learned about in textbooks and people you have never learned about. They are a special breed of people who do something crazy or spectacular but get little public recognition.
Imagine you were a top sniper who wiped out 300 German soldiers in World War , or a pantomime actor who saved numerous people during the Holocaust and was never mentioned in the history books. There are so many people here who deserve more recognition, but this article can only introduce you to some of them.
Leo Major liberated the entire town
In the spring of 1945, this Canadian World War II soldier single-handedly liberated the Dutch town of Zwolle. At that time, Major entered the German-occupied city on a reconnaissance mission, accompanied by only one other soldier, Corporal Willie Arsenault. After being discovered, Corporal Willy Arsenault was killed in a firefight with the Germans. Major, on the other hand, successfully killed the gunman and then made his way to the town, where he succeeded in getting a German officer to surrender to him.
Major told the officer in French that the city was surrounded and would be taken the next morning, but that he would allow them to escape if they evacuated immediately. He later released the officer, and then performed machine gun fire on the street, detonated hand grenades, and captured several more German prisoners. When he encountered local resistance fighters, they set fire to the Gestapo headquarters. At 9 a.m. the next morning, he returned to his troops and announced that the town had been liberated.
Boudicca led the uprising against the Roman Empire
Boudicca was a Celtic queen who was born around AD 30 and was trained as a warrior. When her husband Prasatagus died, he left his wealth to his two daughters and the emperor Nero in an attempt to gain favor with the empire for his family. But instead, the Romans annexed his entire kingdom and humiliated his family. Seeking revenge, Boudicca led a revolt against the empire and massacred 70,000 Romans.
Later, Boudicca was considered a national hero in Britain.
In World War I, sniper Frans Pickhangleton killed 378 German soldiers
Canadian Aboriginal soldier Frans Pickhangleton will forever be revered as a legendary sniper and trailblazer. Before the start of World War I, the Canadian government discouraged Aboriginal people from joining the military. However, they became increasingly desperate for soldiers and began accepting and encouraging applications. Frans Pichangleton longed to be a warrior and joined the army as soon as war was declared.
Frans Pickhangleton was famous as a deadly sniper, having killed 378 people. Not only that, he is also credited with capturing around 300 prisoners of war during the war. His medal with two bars made him one of only 38 soldiers recorded in Canadian military history.
Actor Sir Christopher Lee, who fought in World War II and released the heavy metal album
The great Sir Christopher Lee, who died in June 2015, was a famous actor but also had a very amazing background. During World War II, he fought for the British Army's SAS (Special Air Service). In an interview before his death, he spoke in depth about his experience.
"I witnessed very, very terrible things and said nothing," he recalled in an interview.
"I've seen so many people die right in front of me - so many, in fact, that I've almost become desensitized. After witnessing the most brutal things humans can do to each other, the results of torture, mutilation, and seeing someone being blown to pieces by a bomb, you become You have to do it, otherwise we'll never win."
Sir Christopher Lee has also been fascinated by heavy metal music for a long time, and he has released several albums that feature his unique, deep voice and foreboding lyrics.
Marcel Marceau was a mime in a French underground band
The legendary Marcel Marceau was not only a famous mime, he also participated in saving the Jews during the Holocaust and had an incredible impact on world history. The French mime's father died in Auschwitz in 1944, and Marceau soon began helping the French underground. Together with his brother, he helped Jews forge documents to avoid capture by the Third Reich and escorted children into the neutral country of Switzerland. He went on to become an iconic performer and died in 2007.
Eva Mozes Kohl survived the Holocaust and spread a message of hope
Eva Mozes Kohl not only survived the Holocaust, but she spent her life educating people about the history of the Holocaust and even taught the value of forgiveness. Cole often talks about having to come to terms with what she went through and that her parents and two older siblings died. Both Cole and her sister were selected as experimental subjects by the Nazis and tortured for several months.
"I discovered I had a power," she later said. "What I tell everyone is that you, any victim, anyone who is hurt, you have the same power: the power of forgiveness. The forgiveness it does, has nothing to do with the perpetrator and everything to do with how the victim feels."
Cole died in 2019 in Poland , just a few miles from Auschwitz.
Claudette Colvin was the real beginning of the bus boycott in Alabama
Nearly everyone knows the story of Rosa Parks, one of the most iconic figures in American history. But six months before Rosa Parks refused to sit in the back of the bus, 15-year-old Claudette Colvin did the same thing. On her way home from school, the bus driver asked her to stand up, but she refused, insisting that she had paid her fare and had the right to sit wherever she wanted.
Colvin later recalled: "All I remember is that I wouldn't step out of the car of my own accord." She was eventually arrested and forced out of the car. Colvin, who lives in New York City, said the reason she's not as well known as Parks is because "she's an adult. They think teenagers are unreliable." Grace O'Malley Fights for Ireland's Freedom The encounter between Irish warrior Grace O'Malley and Queen Elizabeth I is a legend in itself, with O'Malley serving as a role model for fighting bravery. O'Malley was initially captured by the British governor, Sir Richard Bingham, and eventually learned that her brother and son had also been arrested. She petitioned for their release and met with Queen Elizabeth I in 1593.
Surprisingly, the Queen was so impressed with O'Malley that she agreed to all her demands on the condition that she stop rebelling against the British government.
The Trinh Sisters challenge the Chinese Han Dynasty in an attempt to liberate Vietnam
After the Vinh Sisters' husband is killed by a Chinese Han Dynasty general, the Vietnamese woman and her sister launch a campaign to overthrow the Chinese Han Dynasty and regain control of Vietnam. The Chinese Han Dynasty eventually retreated, and the sisters became queens of an independent nation. However, they were defeated in their subsequent efforts to preserve freedom for Vietnam and committed suicide.
Mary Read was a pirate queen who sailed the seas as a man
Mary Read and Ann Bonny were one of the two most notorious female pirates of the 18th century. Reed was disguised as a boy by his family from an early age, first to inherit an inheritance and later to join the British Army. She endured a lot of hard life before being captured by English pirates and forced to live with them. She eventually achieved long-term success in her career as a pirate by disguising herself as a man.
There has been much speculation about her relationship with Ann Bonny, as both were the protagonists of legends and historical novels. However, Reed eventually died in prison after being convicted of piracy.
Francisco de Miranda, participated in three important revolutionary wars
Few people have participated in three major historical events, but Venezuela military leader Francisco de Miranda is this person. Not only did he play an important role in the Spanish-American War of Independence to liberate the Spanish-American nation, he also participated in the French Revolution and helped in the American War of Independence. While serving in cuba, DeMiranda took part in the Siege of Pensacola when Spain became involved in the American Revolution. He later met in person with many of the Founding Fathers, including George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, and Thomas Jefferson. He also served as a French revolutionary general during the French Revolution. Although he was imprisoned on suspicion of treason, he was later acquitted.
But during the Venezuelan Revolution Miranda was eventually arrested by Spain and died in prison in 1816 at the age of 66.
Marcel Marceau was a mime in a French underground band
The legendary Marcel Marceau was not only a famous mime, he also participated in saving the Jews during the Holocaust and had an incredible impact on world history. The French mime's father died in Auschwitz in 1944, and Marceau soon began helping the French underground. Together with his brother, he helped Jews forge documents to avoid capture by the Third Reich and escorted children into the neutral country of Switzerland. He went on to become an iconic performer and died in 2007.
Eva Mozes Kohl survived the Holocaust and spread a message of hope
Eva Mozes Kohl not only survived the Holocaust, but she spent her life educating people about the history of the Holocaust and even taught the value of forgiveness. Cole often talks about having to come to terms with what she went through and that her parents and two older siblings died. Both Cole and her sister were selected as experimental subjects by the Nazis and tortured for several months.
"I discovered I had a power," she later said. "What I tell everyone is that you, any victim, anyone who is hurt, you have the same power: the power of forgiveness. The forgiveness it does, has nothing to do with the perpetrator and everything to do with how the victim feels."
Cole died in 2019 in Poland , just a few miles from Auschwitz.
Claudette Colvin was the real beginning of the bus boycott in Alabama
Nearly everyone knows the story of Rosa Parks, one of the most iconic figures in American history. But six months before Rosa Parks refused to sit in the back of the bus, 15-year-old Claudette Colvin did the same thing. On her way home from school, the bus driver asked her to stand up, but she refused, insisting that she had paid her fare and had the right to sit wherever she wanted.
Colvin later recalled: "All I remember is that I wouldn't step out of the car of my own accord." She was eventually arrested and forced out of the car. Colvin, who lives in New York City, said the reason she's not as well known as Parks is because "she's an adult. They think teenagers are unreliable." Grace O'Malley Fights for Ireland's Freedom The encounter between Irish warrior Grace O'Malley and Queen Elizabeth I is a legend in itself, with O'Malley serving as a role model for fighting bravery. O'Malley was initially captured by the British governor, Sir Richard Bingham, and eventually learned that her brother and son had also been arrested. She petitioned for their release and met with Queen Elizabeth I in 1593.
Surprisingly, the Queen was so impressed with O'Malley that she agreed to all her demands on the condition that she stop rebelling against the British government.
The Trinh Sisters challenge the Chinese Han Dynasty in an attempt to liberate Vietnam
After the Vinh Sisters' husband is killed by a Chinese Han Dynasty general, the Vietnamese woman and her sister launch a campaign to overthrow the Chinese Han Dynasty and regain control of Vietnam. The Chinese Han Dynasty eventually retreated, and the sisters became queens of an independent nation. However, they were defeated in their subsequent efforts to preserve freedom for Vietnam and committed suicide.
Mary Read was a pirate queen who sailed the seas as a man
Mary Read and Ann Bonny were one of the two most notorious female pirates of the 18th century. Reed was disguised as a boy by his family from an early age, first to inherit an inheritance and later to join the British Army. She endured a lot of hard life before being captured by English pirates and forced to live with them. She eventually achieved long-term success in her career as a pirate by disguising herself as a man.
There has been much speculation about her relationship with Ann Bonny, as both were the protagonists of legends and historical novels. However, Reed eventually died in prison after being convicted of piracy.
Francisco de Miranda, participated in three important revolutionary wars
Few people have participated in three major historical events, but Venezuela military leader Francisco de Miranda is this person. Not only did he play an important role in the Spanish-American War of Independence to liberate the Spanish-American nation, he also participated in the French Revolution and helped in the American War of Independence. While serving in cuba, DeMiranda took part in the Siege of Pensacola when Spain became involved in the American Revolution. He later met in person with many of the Founding Fathers, including George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, and Thomas Jefferson. He also served as a French revolutionary general during the French Revolution. Although he was imprisoned on suspicion of treason, he was later acquitted.
But during the Venezuelan Revolution Miranda was eventually arrested by Spain and died in prison in 1816 at the age of 66.
