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Did You Know? 15 Incredible Coincidences in History
Throughout the annals of history, remarkable coincidences have occurred that stretch the boundaries of probability and leave us questioning the nature of chance itself. These extraordinary events, connections, and parallels demonstrate that reality can sometimes be stranger than fiction. From presidential deaths to literary predictions, from name coincidences to timing synchronicities, history is filled with moments that make us wonder if there’s more at play than mere chance. Here are fifteen of the most incredible coincidences that have occurred throughout human history.
1. The Lincoln-Kennedy Coincidences
Perhaps the most famous set of historical coincidences involves Presidents Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy. Lincoln was elected to Congress in 1846, Kennedy in 1946—exactly 100 years later. Lincoln became president in 1860, Kennedy in 1960. Both were assassinated on a Friday in the presence of their wives, both were shot in the head from behind, and both successors were named Johnson. Andrew Johnson was born in 1808, Lyndon Johnson in 1908. The parallels between these two presidential tragedies continue to fascinate historians and statisticians alike.
2. The Founding Fathers’ Deaths on July 4th
In an extraordinary coincidence, three of America’s first five presidents died on Independence Day. Both John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, the principal authors of the Declaration of Independence, died on July 4, 1826—exactly fifty years after the document was signed. Even more remarkably, James Monroe, the fifth president, also died on July 4, 1831. Adams’ last words were reportedly “Thomas Jefferson survives,” unaware that Jefferson had died just hours earlier.
3. The Titanic and the Titan
In 1898, fourteen years before the Titanic sank, author Morgan Robertson wrote a novella titled “Futility, or the Wreck of the Titan.” The book described a massive British ocean liner called the Titan that was deemed “unsinkable” and struck an iceberg in the North Atlantic in April, resulting in tremendous loss of life due to insufficient lifeboats. The parallels to the actual Titanic disaster are eerily precise, including the ship’s size, speed, and the nature of the catastrophe.
4. The Hoover Dam and the Tierney Family
The first person to die during the construction of the Hoover Dam was J.G. Tierney, a surveyor who drowned on December 20, 1922, while looking for an ideal spot for the dam. The last person to die during construction was Patrick Tierney, his son, who fell from an intake tower—exactly 13 years to the day later, on December 20, 1935.
5. Twin Brothers, Twin Deaths
In 2002, twin brothers in Finland died in identical accidents on the same day, just two hours apart. Both seventy-year-old men were struck by trucks while riding their bicycles along the same road in northern Finland. The brothers were killed in separate accidents, completely unaware of each other’s fate, demonstrating an almost impossible coincidence in timing and circumstance.
6. Edgar Allan Poe’s Only Novel
Edgar Allan Poe’s only complete novel, “The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket” (1838), tells of four survivors of a shipwreck who were forced to eat a cabin boy named Richard Parker. Forty-six years later, in 1884, a real yacht named Mignonette sank, and four survivors were left adrift. The three senior members eventually killed and ate the cabin boy to survive—his name was Richard Parker.
7. The Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
The license plate of the car in which Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated read “A III 118.” This assassination sparked World War I. The armistice ending the war was signed on November 11, 1918—or 11/11/18. The license plate seemingly predicted the end date of the war that the assassination would trigger.
8. Mark Twain and Halley’s Comet
Mark Twain was born on November 30, 1835, just two weeks after Halley’s Comet made its closest approach to Earth. In 1909, he predicted: “I came in with Halley’s Comet in 1835. It is coming again next year, and I expect to go out with it.” True to his words, Twain died on April 21, 1910, one day after the comet’s perihelion.
9. The Curse of Tamerlane
In June 1941, Soviet anthropologists exhumed the tomb of Tamerlane, the 14th-century Turco-Mongol conqueror, despite warnings inscribed on the tomb: “When I rise from the dead, the world shall tremble.” Three days after the tomb was opened, on June 22, 1941, Nazi Germany launched Operation Barbarossa, invading the Soviet Union in what would become the largest military operation in history.
10. The Falling Baby and Joseph Figlock
In Detroit during the 1930s, a man named Joseph Figlock was walking down the street when a baby fell from a fourth-story window and landed on him. Both Figlock and the baby survived with minor injuries. Exactly one year later, Figlock was walking down the same street when the same baby fell from the same window and landed on him again. Once more, both survived.
11. Anthony Hopkins and the Book
In the 1970s, actor Anthony Hopkins was cast in a film based on George Feifer’s novel “The Girl from Petrovka.” Unable to find a copy in London bookstores, Hopkins discovered one left on a bench in a train station. Later, when meeting Feifer, the author mentioned he had no copies of his own book—his last one had been loaned to a friend who lost it on a train station bench in London. It was the same book Hopkins had found.
12. The Booth Brothers
Edwin Booth, a famous actor and brother of John Wilkes Booth (who assassinated Abraham Lincoln), once saved the life of Robert Todd Lincoln—Abraham Lincoln’s son—by pulling him from the path of an oncoming train at a railroad platform in Jersey City. This occurred months before his brother would kill Robert’s father.
13. The Monastery and the Bomb
In 1944, during World War II, Allied bombers were ordered to destroy the Benedictine monastery at Monte Cassino in Italy. The bombing took place on the Feast of Saint Benedict, the monastery’s founder. The monastery was founded in the year 529 AD. It was destroyed on February 15, 1944—exactly 1,415 years later, to the day, according to the liturgical calendar.
14. The Umbrellas of Major Summerford
British Major Summerford was struck by lightning in 1918 during World War I, which knocked him off his horse and paralyzed him from the waist down. Six years later, in 1924, after moving to Vancouver, he was struck by lightning again while fishing, paralyzing his right side. Two years after that, in 1926, he was struck a third time while walking in a park, permanently paralyzing him. He died two years later. Four years after his death, his gravestone was struck by lightning, destroying it.
15. The Discovery of King Richard III
In 2012, archaeologists discovered King Richard III’s remains beneath a parking lot in Leicester, England—parking space ‘R’ for Richard. The last direct descendant of Richard’s family, Michael Ibsen, was located through genealogical research and his DNA was used to confirm the identification. Remarkably, Ibsen worked as a carpenter—and he had helped build the visitor center for the cathedral where Richard would eventually be reburied.
Conclusion
These fifteen incredible coincidences remind us that history is full of unexpected connections and improbable events. Whether viewed as mere statistical anomalies, the result of pattern-seeking human minds, or something more mysterious, these coincidences capture our imagination and add layers of intrigue to historical events. From presidential parallels to literary predictions, from familial connections to cosmic alignments, these moments demonstrate that the tapestry of history is woven with threads of chance that sometimes align in ways that defy explanation. While skeptics may dismiss these as simple probability at work across vast numbers of events, their remarkable nature continues to fascinate and inspire wonder about the mysterious workings of fate and fortune throughout human history.
