Girolamo Savonarola's denunciations of luxury during the Renaissance drew the ire of the Catholic Church, which had him excommunicated, tortured, hanged, and burned in 1498.

After a shipwreck off the coast of Papua New Guinea in 1904, Carl Emil Pettersson married the princess of Tabar Island and was eventually crowned the king.

Though Sean Flynn briefly pursued an acting career like his famous father, he realized that wartime photojournalism was his real passion — and tragically, it would also be his undoing.

From the Portrait of Madame X to Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose, John Singer Sargent's paintings and illustrations show why he's considered a virtuoso artist.

After moving to Los Angeles, Sessue Hayakawa became interested in acting and starred in his debut silent film in 1914 — and soon became the first Asian leading man in Hollywood.

From New York City's first Pride March to revolutionary groups like the Gay Liberation Front, these photos show what the early days of the gay rights movement looked like.

In 1965, 16-year-old Robin Lee Graham set out from California in his 24-foot sloop to circumnavigate the globe with just two cats for company — and he successfully completed his journey five years and more than 30,000 miles later.

According to Greek myth, three monstrous sisters named Medusa, Stheno, and Euryale lived "beyond glorious Ocean in the frontier land towards Night" — and they could turn men to stone with a single look.

From Nephthys, the ancient Egyptian deity who protected mummies, to the Aztec "Lady of the Dead," who continues to play a role in modern festivals, discover history's most fascinating goddesses of death.

Around 1533, the Ottoman sultan broke custom to marry his favorite concubine Hürrem Sultan — and she soon became the most powerful woman in the empire.