July 21, 2026
Marie Besnard Charged with Multiple Murders (1949)
Between 1927 and 1947, 13 of Besnard's family members and friends died under mysterious circumstances, and she became a wealthy woman by inheriting their fortunes. She gave bizarre explanations for some of the deaths, such as claiming that two people had eaten lye they mistook for a dessert. Her second husband remarked that he thought she was poisoning him, prompting the police to investigate his death. When they exhumed his body, they found arsenic. Why was Besnard acquitted of murder charges?
July 20, 2026
Transylvanian Noble György Dózsa Roasted and Eaten as Punishment (1514)
Known for his wartime valor, Dózsa was tasked with leading an army for Pope Leo X's crusade in 1514. Though he assembled some 100,000 peasants, plans for the crusade were suddenly suspended. The peasants refused to disband, deciding instead to avenge mistreatment by their landlords. Rebellion quickly became full-scale revolution, with Dózsa's troops murdering nobles and burning castles. When the peasants were finally stopped at Temesvár, he was tortured in what bizarre way before being eaten?
July 19, 2026
Syngman Rhee, First President of South Korea, Dies in Exile (1965)
Born in Korea shortly before it was occupied by Japan, Rhee was condemned to life in prison in 1897 for anti-Japanese activity. Amnestied and released in 1904, he went on to become the first Korean to earn a doctorate from a US university. In 1919, he was elected president of a provisional government in exile. Following WWII, he was elected the first president of Korea, with US backing. Ruling as an anti-Communist dictator, Rhee went to war against North Korea in 1950. Why did he resign in 1960?
