18 Hero Historical Figures That Are Cooler Than Us All
No matter how cooler you are, these guys are cooler than you.
Published 9 months ago in Wow
Despite history's reputation as being a "boring" subject defined by jargon-filled treaties, lengthy battles and monarchy, this notion couldn't be further from the truth. Case in point? All of these historically cool kids, whose bravery, fearlessness and willingness to flip anyone who got in their way a well-warranted bird cemented their status as some of the world's most iconic individuals.
From the man who performed an emergency appendectomy on himself in the middle of Antarctica to actress-by-day, STEM trailblazer by night Hedy Lamarr, here are 21 metal historical figures that are cooler than any of us.
2
Ferdinand West
“[Ferdinand West, a] British pilot in World War 1 was flying a scouting mission when he was attacked by 7 German planes. On the first pass, his leg was blown off by the German planes, but he managed to move the plane so his rear gunner could fire on the German fighters. They managed to drive off all 7. The pilot managed to land the plane despite rapidly losing blood and insisted that he delivered his reconnaissance report before receiving medical attention. His back gunner had no idea he'd lost his leg until they landed. The pilot won the Victoria Cross for his actions.” [medals]
3
Franz Stigler,
“Franz Stigler, who upon coming upon a defenseless and battered B-17, not only couldn't bring himself to shoot them down, but escorted the American crew all the way to the English channel. Along the way he warded off other German fighters and flew close enough to the aircraft that German AA wouldn't open fire on it. The crew survived the encounter and Stigler turned around and returned to his base once they left German airspace.”
4
Teddy Roosevelt
“In 1912 Teddy Roosevelt was shot on his way to his presidential campaign. Instead of seeking medical attention he continued on to give his speech, starting by saying ‘Friends, I shall ask you to be as quiet as possible. I don’t know whether you fully understand that I have just been shot.’”
5
Cassius Marcellus Clay
“Cassius Marcellus Clay was a farmer, politician and abolitionist from Kentucky. After being shot in an assassination attempt, Clay killed his would-be assassin with a Bowie knife. Clay would later successfully fight off six attackers at once following a speech for the abolition of slavery.”
6
Joe Medicine Crow
“He was the last war chief of the Crow Tribe and the last Plains Indian war chief. During WWII, Joe Medicine Crow completed all four tasks required to become a war chief: touching an enemy without killing him (counting coup), taking an enemy's weapon, leading a successful war party, and stealing an enemy's horse.”
7
Léo Major
“Léo Major [was] a French-Canadian soldier in WW2 that single-handedly liberated the entire Dutch city of Zwolle. He captured the German commanding officer, forced their surrender, marched him and all his troops to Canadian lines, and declined a medal for this as his commander was ‘incompetent.’”
10
Josip Broz Tito
“After multiple failed assassination attempts by the Soviets, Josip Broz Tito sent a letter to Stalin saying: ‘Stop sending people to kill me. We've already captured five of them, one of them with a bomb and another with a rifle (. . .) If you don't stop sending killers, I'll send one to Moscow, and I won't have to send a second one.’ There was no further attempts.”
15
Desmond Doss
“Desmond Doss was a medic who, due to his religious beliefs, refused to wield a weapon and take someone's life. He served his country by saving and giving aid to his fellow men. His most notable deed was done on the Battle of Okinawa, where he spent several hours saving the lives of around 75 wounded soldiers by lowering them down a cliff known as the Hacksaw Ridge, while under heavy fire.”
16
Roy Benavidez
“Roy Benavidez, armed with a knife, went to assist a 12 man SF team who were surrounded by 1,000 NVA soldiers, and provided cover fire . After the battle he was evacuated, having 37 bayonet, bullet and shrapnel wounds, was presumed dead, and placed in a body bag, but was later found to be alive.”
18
Bass Reeves
"When I did research on him for my podcast it blew my mind that I'd never heard of him. Escaped slavery, served as a US Marshal in the most dangerous territories for over 30 years, had over 3,000 arrests and only had to kill 14 people in the process, was never once wounded, was the inspiration for the Lone Ranger."
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