In the 19th century, Manuelita Sáenz shirked convention for noblewomen of her time by becoming a colonel in the fight for South American independence.

Though Jesus is often portrayed as a light-skinned man with long hair and a beard, the real face of the Son of God was probably very different.

Also known as La Maupin, Julie D'Aubigny was famous for her beautiful voice in the world of French opera, but she was also a formidable fencing master.

The wife of American traitor Benedict Arnold, Peggy Shippen played a crucial role in her husband’s espionage ring during the Revolutionary War.

Dorothy Gibson's career as a silent film actress was in full swing when she survived the Titanic sinking in April 1912. Then, just a month later, she played herself in "Saved From The Titanic."

In the 1950s, a Japanese woman named Masako Katsura took the billiards world by storm — and made a name for herself in the traditionally male-dominated sport.

After Ryan Wayne White of Kokomo, Indiana was diagnosed with AIDS on December 17, 1984, his case sparked widespread discussion about this stigmatized disease.

When Secret Service agent Clint Hill heard the first gunshot in Dallas on November 22, 1963, he raced toward John F. Kennedy's limo to throw his body over Jackie and the president, but he was a second too late.

When C.P. Ellis was tasked with working with Ann Atwater to desegregate Durham, North Carolina schools, he was an "Exalted Cyclops" of the KKK. Ten days later, he was a strong supporter of the civil rights movement.

Uncovered in New York in 1869, the Cardiff Giant was a 10-foot-tall "petrified man" that countless Christians believed was proof of the existence of Biblical giants.

Wilhelm Adalbert Hosenfeld was a German schoolteacher turned army officer who helped save a number of Polish Jews from the Holocaust before dying tragically in a Soviet prison.