#1
More info: Reddit Image source: Mathgent45 Alan Turing, a mathematician who saved 2 million lives in WWII just by doing math.
#2
Image source: Cheshire_Cat8888 Nellie Bly . Went undercover and endured abuse to cover neglect and abuse in Blackwell’s asylum, went to Mexico and called out the dictator for going after the press and oppressing his people and then fleed/was exiled out of Mexico because of that, traveled the world in 70-something days to prove you could travel the world in 80 days or less (based off the the Jules Verne novel) , also did reporting on the Eastern European front in World War One and also was arrested after she was mistaken for a British Spy, and she did so much more ! Such a bad ass and one of my historical heroes.
#3
Image source: [deleted] Welles Crowther, aka The Man In The Red Bandana. I’m sure most of us have thought about what it must have been like in the World Trade Center on 9/11 and it must have been debilitatingly petrifying. He was 24 years old working on the 104th floor as an equities trader. Made his way down to the sky lobby of the South Tower and found a badly burned woman, carried her down 17 floors, then went back upstairs to help guide others to the only passable stairwell. Stayed up there helping others and working with the fire department until the towers collapsed. He’s responsible for saving around 20 lives and [passed away] a damn hero.
#4
Image source: kerhofani Vasily Arkhipov. Quite litetally stopped WW3 by deciding not to launch a nuclear strike.
#5
Image source: pocajohntas Michael Collins. Showed up 7 minutes late to negotiations for the Anglo-Irish Treaty in 1922, and when he was corrected said “You’ve had 700 years, I’ll take my 7 minutes”
#6
Image source: Mega_Septile Tony Iommi. On the very day he was about to quit his job, he got the tips of two of his fingers on his right hand cut off. Thought he would never play guitar again, but he went on the essentially invent heavy metal. That’s pretty badass imo.
#7
Image source: Supernormal92 I always felt Jonas Salk was pretty bad-ass. The dude created the first successful polio vaccine and gave away the cure for free.
#8
Image source: hellandhoney Maime Till-Mobley Her son (Emmett Till) was lynched because he wolf whistled at a white woman named Carolyn Bryant. Carolyn’s husband and his step brother kidnapped Emmett and had tortured and Murdered him. His body was found in the Tallahatchie River and it was beyond recognizable. When his mother received the body in Chicago she held an open casket to show the world what racism does to black children. Today is actually her birthday so… Happy Birthday Mrs.Mobley. In my eyes she is the most bad-ass person in history.
#9
Image source: plantainoid Nikola Tesla, for inventing basically everything we use in the modern age.
#10
Image source: MattHoppe1 Joe Medicine Crow. The last legit Native American to earn the War Chief Title. In World War II he was a scout and wore traditional Crow Nation war paint and feathers. To become a war chief he had to touch an enemy without [unaliving] him, take an enemy’s weapon, lead a successful war party, and steal an enemy’s horse. He stole over 50 horses from the SS and earned a Bronze Star. Medicine Crow [passed away] at 102 years old. He was born with Woodrow Wilson in office and met Barack Obama before he [passed away].
#11
Image source: democritusparadise Witold Pilecki, a man so badass that he voluntarily and secretly went into Auschwitz as a prisoner and spy to gather information; while there he regularly made reports on conditions and also organised resistance. As the the war dragged on and conditions became worse, he then successfully broke out of Auschwitz so that he could personally convince his superiors of the truth, as they found his reports too ghastly to be real.
#12
Image source: schwing_it Tiananmen Square Tank Man Armed only with a grocery bag he fearlessly stood down a column of tanks to protest the brutal suppression of peaceful protest by the corrupt and morally bankrupt government of the People’s Republic of China. He dared to openly defy the leadership of China, a feat most modern world leaders who have militaries behind them don’t have the spine to do.
#13
Image source: SoupmanBob Simo Häyhä, known as the White Death. Hero of the Finland-Russia Winter War, and the single greatest sniper to ever live. With a confirmed kill count of 300, but likely number probably over 1000. He got his jaw shot off, had it fixed and still lived to the age of 94. He used Iron sights so people couldn’t see the glare of a lens. Put snow in his mouth so his breath didn’t reveal his position. The dude systematically hunted the soviets. Silent, deadly. There’s a reason he is the White Death.
#14
Image source: bigmanmac14 Christopher Lee, the actor behind Count Dooku, Saruman and many others was a certified bad a**. Spy and Nazi killer in WWII. Had a couple heavy metal albums as well.
#15
Image source: honorableglove Olga of Kiev This lady lost her husband and when it was proposed she marry his murderer, she was like ‘sure, send a delegation over so we can talk this out’ and they came. She had them dropped in a pit and buried them alive. Then she had another party of men sent to talk about the marriage, and they came. She said, ‘hey, it was a long journey, why not come relax in this bathhouse’ and they did. She set the bathhouse on fire when they were in it. Then Olga went and sent the Drevilians another message, ‘hey bring out the booze i’m coming to mourn my husband’s death in your city’. She came, she mourned, she got the Drevilians drunk, and she had them [taken out] by her followers while they were drunk off their asses. Olga went and got her army, laid siege to the place where her husband was [unalived] for a year, then told them ‘I’m willing to forgive and forget if you guys give me a bunch of birds’ and the Drevilians did. They turned the birds into mini matches by attaching sulphur to their legs, and then released them. Set the city on fire. Freaking savage.
#16
Image source: CoolBee22 Hedy Lamarr. She became a Hollywood movie star, then went on to pioneer technology used in bluetooth and Wi-Fi.
#17
Image source: LancasterWiddershins The clear answer is Julia Child. This superwoman was a WWII spy, invented shark repellent, singlehandedly brought French cuisine to America, was over 6 feet tall, was a bestselling author, was a champion woman’s basketball player, regularly went small game hunting, was known as an avid prankster, the recipient of multiple Emmys, the French Legion of Honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and honorary doctorates from several universities including Harvard, was a dedicated wife, and is beloved worldwide to this day. Honestly, her Wikipedia page is an absolute roller coaster ride if anyone is interested.
#18
Image source: DeathSpiral321 Andre the Giant. The guy could drink a case full of beer, then go out in the ring and throw his opponent around like a rag doll.
#19
Image source: LawVol99 Sgt. Dipprasad Pun of the royal Gurkha Rifles He took out 30 Taliban by himself and was awarded the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross.
#20
Image source: Nate4800 Lyudmila Mikhailovna Pavlichenko (née Belova; 12 June [O.S. 30 May] 1916 – 10 October 1974) was a Soviet sniper in the Red Army during World War II, credited with 309 confirmed [take outs], making her the most successful female sniper in history.
