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.

Kathryn "Kitty" Lutesinger told the police about a fellow Manson Family member who bragged about stabbing someone. That someone? A murder victim at Sharon Tate's house.

After 200 miles aboard a train owned by their master and a nail-biting boat ride, Ellen and William Craft made their way to Philadelphia to become free.

Giacomo Casanova's memoirs are celebrated for their thorough depiction of life in 18th-century Europe, but they also detail the escapades of a serial rapist.

Wonder Woman was first printed in December 1941 and was inspired by her creator, Dr. William Moulton Marston's, wife and lover.

The Soviet Union even went so far as to include the Katyn Massacre among the list of Nazi war crimes presented at the Nuremberg trials.

The Hays Code, inspired by Catholic dogma, attempted to — and succeeded in — censoring Hollywood films for nearly three decades.

Spetsnaz forces are revered in their countries, though not much is known about their secretive and shadowy training regimens.

In 1920, a woman was fished out of a lake claiming to be the Grand Duchess Anastasia of Russia. Did the princess really escape death or was it the ramblings of a madwoman?