These intriguing stories involve a Mormon girl raised by the Mohave tribe, a Chinese pirate queen, and a sideshow performer known as "Lobster Boy" who was convicted of murder.
Throughout history, some figures have become famous for their leadership, their beauty, or their courage in battle. Others have risen to fame simply because they have interesting stories.
The people on this list didn’t invent objects that changed the world or write prize-winning novels. They weren’t renowned movie stars, industrialists, or television chefs.
Olive Oatman was a Mormon teenager who was enslaved by Native Americans after they slaughtered her family. Ignaz Semmelweis was one of the first physicians to discover that handwashing prevented infection. And Grady Stiles Jr. was a sideshow performer who was arrested for murder — and then killed in a hit arranged by his wife.
These were simply ordinary people with extraordinary stories that put their names in history books.
The Interesting Story Behind The Human Head Preserved In A Jar
City Hall of Lisbon/FacebookThe purported head of Diogo Alves on display at the University of Lisbon alongside other anatomical specimens.
Inside the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Lisbon, a wide-eyed human head floating in a jar of formaldehyde sits on display. As the story goes, it belongs to Diogo Alves, a serial killer who was arrested in Portugal and executed in 1841.
Alves was likely born in Spain around 1810, but he moved to Lisbon when he was in his 20s. Little is known about his life until October 1839, when he was arrested for murder.
While robbing the home of Dr. Pedro de Andrade, Alves killed a mother and three children who were under the physician’s care. He then murdered another man in an attempt to cover up his initial crimes. Alves was ultimately caught and put to death on Feb. 19, 1841, and his severed head was preserved, supposedly so scientists could study his delinquent tendencies.
Other legends claim that Diogo Alves was also the infamous “Aqueduct Murderer” who robbed victims and then threw them from the top of Lisbon’s Águas Livres Aqueduct. However, he was never charged with these crimes during his lifetime, and the accounts are likely fictionalized.
What’s more, the head in the jar at the University of Lisbon probably isn’t Alves’, either. Formaldehyde wasn’t used for preservation until the late 19th century, well after the criminal’s time. The head also doesn’t particularly resemble contemporary depictions of Alves.
It’s possible that Alves’ skull was kept at the university and confused with the jarred head of another man after a massive fire in 1978 destroyed the catalog for the school’s anatomy collections. Or perhaps his head was never preserved at all. Either way, it seems that the interesting story of Diogo Alves is nothing but a myth.
