The Marquise de Montespan had the heart of the king, but it was rumored that she'd used black magic to get it.

It was said Darya Saltykova flayed her young servants, poured boiling water on them, and even trampled the belly of one who was pregnant.

Constructed from scratch 30 years ago, Slavutych was intended to be a "paradise" after the infamous nuclear disaster — but it hasn't exactly worked out as planned.

In the 1700s, there were too many men and not enough women in France's Louisiana territory. So King Louis XIV devised a "solution."

In the 1920s, Pickfair was the most famous mansion in Hollywood, home to lavish parties and famous guests. But after new owners claimed the property was haunted, it met an unfortunate demise.

The Lion of the Labour Party, Harold Wilson forged a close relationship with the Crown to focus on the working class and lead Britain through its "Golden Age of the Welfare State."

Through his turbulent marriage, the unabashedly cheeky Antony Armstrong-Jones went from a common photographer to the Earl of Snowdon — and dragged the royal family into the 20th century.

Though the Groom of the Stool transported the king's portable toilet and recorded his bowel movements, the royal toilet attendant was nonetheless a coveted position.

No one thought Adolphe Sax would make it past childhood after his myriad near-death experiences. But he did — and invented an instrument that revolutionized the music world.

In stark contrast to the Hitler Youth, the Edelweiss Pirates resisted Nazism in any way they could at a time when doing so was a criminal offense.

The Knights of the Golden Circle sought to create a confederation that would encompass 2,400 square miles from the southern United States to South America — and run on the labor of slaves.