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Post by Biblically Accurate Angel on Apr 12, 2017 22:27:02 GMT -5
#47: David KoreshDavid Koresh, leader of the Branch Davidians, believed himself to be the "Final Prophet" and proclaimed himself as Jesus Christ in the flesh. His religious sect ended up on national news when the US government became concerned about firearms they were holding in their building, which cause the Waco Siege, a terrible event in US history, in which the government raided the Branch Davidians' compound, but before they got anywhere, a fire broke out, killing all of the Branch Davidians, including Koresh. It was a disaster plain and simple.
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Apr 13, 2017 22:06:19 GMT -5
46) Nathan Bedford ForrestA Confederate General in the American Civil War, his claim to infamy is the Fort Pillow Massacre, where he allowed soldiers under his command to massacre surrendering Black Union troops. Though respected by Union General Sherman, General Grant referred to him as "That Devil Forrest"
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Post by Biblically Accurate Angel on Apr 13, 2017 22:12:50 GMT -5
#45: Jesse JamesJesse James may be infamous as a train robber, but he's also become an iconic American anti-hero. The leader of the James Gang, he struck fear into the hearts of train drivers before a younger member of his gang turned the trigger on him. Despite being portrayed as a "Robin Hood" figure in stories, there is no evidence that the James Gang did share their loot.
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Apr 13, 2017 22:23:03 GMT -5
44) Tsar Nicholas II of RussiaA Bloody tyrant who ruled with absolute authority, he oppressed the Russian people and treated them cruelly. Infamously, he ordered troops to fire upon peaceful petitioners, and instituted many antisemitic acts against the Jewish population in Russia. Despite being overthrown in the February revolution, he and his family were executed in July 1918 by the Bolsheveks. To this day, there are those who will argue that Lenin was a hero for overthrowing such a tyrant; pointing out that the totalitarianism and tyranny the Soviet Union was known for was Stalin's doing, and that Lenin believed in forming a "true" communist state, not the dictatorship that came to be.
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Post by Biblically Accurate Angel on Apr 13, 2017 22:32:18 GMT -5
#43: Vladimir Lenin...but no matter what anyone thinks, Lenin is still a controversial figure in the annals of history. Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, as the leader of the Bolsheviks, did not help Russia very much, instead he "began a totalitarian dictatorship responsible for massive human rights abuses." While Nicholas II was not the greatest of people even he would have been abhorred to see what would come next in the history of his country.
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Apr 13, 2017 23:54:18 GMT -5
42) Christopher ColumbusHate to break it to you, but the story you were taught as kids is quite off. We all know it by heart: In 1492 Christopher Columbus sailed the Ocean blue to prove the world was round, not flat, and to discover a trade route to India. Well, where do I start... We've known the world was round since the Ancient Greeks; the argument wasn't over if the world was round, but rather how big the world war; Columbus thought it was smaller than most scholars accepted it to be. The Vikings discovered America long before Columbus, and Columbus didn't even land on Continental America, he landed on Hispanola (Modern day Haiti/Dominican Republic). In his lifetime, in the settlements he founded he would imprison, conquer, enslave, and a lot of other terrible acts against the Native Americans, ultimately resulting in the deaths of nearly 90 percent of the Native American population over the next several decades. He has become such a polarizing figure in recent years, that throughout the United States, people have begun moving away from "Columbus Day" and instead celebrate "Native American Day" to celebrate the cultures that survived the Colonial period.
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Post by Biblically Accurate Angel on Apr 14, 2017 0:17:36 GMT -5
#41: Edward Teach (Blackbeard)If you were to think of an infamous pirate, Blackbeard instantly comes to mind. He may have sailed the seas for only about two years before being killed, but there's a reason this guy is still so well remembered. In battles with others, he would tie rope to his beard and then light it on fire, which made him a rather scary foe, and not one you'd want to mess around with.
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Apr 14, 2017 0:36:31 GMT -5
40) Timothy McVeighThe perpetrator of the Oklahoma City bombing, McVeigh wanted revenge against the government for the way it handled the Waco Siege and Ruby Ridge incident. So he set up a truck bomb in front of the Alfred P. Murrah building, and the ensuing explosion killed 168 people, including 20 children. Hoping to inspire a revolt against the government, it backfired and he was arrested, and sentenced to death. He was executed on June 11, 2001... exactly three months before 9/11 The Oklahoma City bombing remains the worst act of domestic terrorism in the United States, and the worst terrorist attack in the United States prior to 9/11
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Post by Biblically Accurate Angel on Apr 14, 2017 0:45:10 GMT -5
#39: Franรงois l'OlonnaisFranรงois l'Olonnais was a French pirate active in the Caribbean in the 1660s. Nicknamed the "Bane of Spain", he became infamous for his ferocity and cruelty, especially in the sacking of Maracaibo, where he and his pirate subordinates ransacked the city, raped and murdered the inhabitants, and eventually destroyed said city. His reign of pirate terror ended after he was torn apart and eaten by the natives of the Kuna tribe in Darien in Panama. (With thanks to Tug for the suggestion. Sorry if I messed up any facts. )
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Apr 16, 2017 22:23:08 GMT -5
38) Roger B. TaneyWhat? An American Supreme Court judge on this list? But of course, because this man's legacy is marked by one of the most infamous Supreme court cases of all time- the Dred Scott Decision. When he declared that no person of African decent could be an American Citizen, and that the right to slavery could not be infringed upon, he caused an uproar among abolitionists and the Northerners especially while the Southerners rejoiced. His short sighed, atrocious decision was a stepping stone that ultimately paved the way for the American Civil War, and is a dark mark in the history of the United States.
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Post by Biblically Accurate Angel on Apr 16, 2017 22:31:11 GMT -5
#37: Bonnie & ClydeThat's right, for #37 you get two people for the price of one. Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow were two American criminals from the 1930's who went around robbing small town stores, gas stations, and banks with their group. The two became outlaws, famed throughout the States before being cornered and shot by the police in 1934. Their reputation lives on, thanks to both the American public and a 1967 movie.
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Apr 16, 2017 22:45:10 GMT -5
36) Mark David ChapmanI suppose in the grand scheme of things, his name is not well known. But the man he killed is all too legendary... John Lennon of the Beatles. On December 8, 1980 he shot and killed the famous singer and peace activist outside of The Dakota in New York City, sparking an outpour of grief all over the world. Chapman did not run away and did not resist arrest when the police arrived, and when asked why he did it, he apparently said that it was because he was famous, and that "no one should be more famous than Jesus Christ." He had also said that he had considered killing other celebrities, but John Lennon was the one he settled on. (NOTE: due to a picture of him not being found; below is a police sketch of the crime as it happened)
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Post by Biblically Accurate Angel on Apr 16, 2017 22:59:20 GMT -5
#35: Fred PhelpsFred Phelps was not your normal Baptist minister. Using Westboro Baptist Church, a Topeka, Kansas, based church he founded in 1955, Phelps began crusading against things he believed were unBiblical and wrong. He disrupted funerals, hated on the LGBTQ+ community (their website is www.godhatesfags.com for Christ's sake) and just plainly gave Christians, especially Baptist a bad name which was undeserved. His son later stated that his father was an angry man, abusive, and used Westboro Baptist as a platform with which to vent his rage and anger on the world. It's since become one of the most famous hate groups in America, so it's little wonder that he makes the list.
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Apr 16, 2017 23:09:06 GMT -5
34) John Wilkes BoothA famous stage actor in his time... he also was sympathetic to the Confederacy. He was actually part of a larger conspiracy to assassinate not only Abraham Lincoln, but also Vice President Andrew Johnson and Secretary of State William Seward. Booth was the only one to succeed of the men involved in the conspiracy... and he left his mark on history as the first man to successfully assassinate the President of the United States. Ironically, the same day Lincoln was assassinated, he had formed the Secret Service... unfortunately, their duties did not include protecting the president; they were created to fight counterfeiting.
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Post by Biblically Accurate Angel on Apr 16, 2017 23:56:17 GMT -5
#33: Aileen WuornosWe're halfway through the countdown now, and I've noticed that we've been primarily focusing on men so far. Since we're all about equal rights here at 3WSR, it's time to give one to the ladies, so at the #33 spot we have Aileen Wuornos. Wuornos was a prostitute-turned-serial killer who killed seven men in Florida between 1989 and 1990 by shooting them at point-blank range. She claimed it was in self defense. No one believed her, and she was convicted and executed in 2002.
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Apr 17, 2017 0:17:41 GMT -5
32) Adolf EichmannIf there is one man who can be pinpointed as responsible for the deaths of more than 6 million Jews in the Holocaust, it is this scum right here. In charge of operations for rounding up Jews into Concentration Camps and Ghettos, and managing the day-to-day of the "Final Solution." He had said that the feeling that he had killed more than 5 million Jews filled his heart with gladness and joy, and stated that he would kill his own father if ordered to do so. Though he escaped to Argentina, in 1960 the hammer of justice fell hard on Eichmann; he was captured by Israeli Security and faced 15 charges related to his actions. He was hanged after being found guilty
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Post by Biblically Accurate Angel on Apr 17, 2017 0:31:02 GMT -5
#31: Albert FishThe Grey Man. The Werewolf of Wysteria. The Brooklyn Vampire. The Moon Maniac. The Boogey Man. All nicknames given to one of the most horrific people in history - Albert Fish. A child rapist and cannibal, he claimed to have had "children in every state", 100 according to his count. Not just killing kids, but eating them too, he was found out after killing a girl named Grace Budd, and eventually sentenced to the electric chair.
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Apr 17, 2017 21:28:38 GMT -5
30) Pol PotThe quite possibly insane dictator of Cambodia, he forced urban dwellers into the countryside to work on collective farms and forced labor camps. He also routinely killed anyone considered scholarly, and his acts lead to the deaths of 1-3 million people from the country's population of 8 million... an estimated 25 percent of the overall population.
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Post by Biblically Accurate Angel on Apr 17, 2017 21:36:47 GMT -5
#29: Dennis RadarThe BTK Killer was a terrifying serial killer, known for his signature "Blind, Torture, Kill" method of dealing with victims. Sending detailed letters to the police, it was a mystery as to who was behind it, until 2005 when he slipped up and it was discovered that Dennis Radar, a beloved husband and father, was the man behind the killings. Radar is currently serving 10 life sentences back to back in jail.
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Apr 17, 2017 21:54:51 GMT -5
28) Reinhard HeydrichYes, another Nazi makes this list. And why shouldn't he? As one of the organizers of kristallnacht attacks and an architect of the Holocaust, he is one of the most vile men in history. After he was killed in 1942, the Nazis retaliated for his death by wiping out an entire town in Czechoslovakia; killing all men and sending almost all the women and children to concentration camps. The disgusting part... this retaliation was based on faulty intelligence that his killer had come from that town.
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