History

What are the largest empires in history?&nbsp;That question is much more loaded than it may first appear to be. There's no single metric by which the size or influence of <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/historical-empires-collapse/michael-muir">any empire</a> is measured. As a result, there can be several answers to such a question. It's all in how you look at it.The biggest empires in terms of land is generally considered to be<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/what-it-was-like-to-live-british-empire-farthest-reaches/melissa-sartore"> the British Empire</a>. But, when the population enters the conversation, several dynastic lines from Asia truly reign supreme.&nbsp;Then, there's influence. If one were to assess which empire left the biggest genetic imprint on history, Genghis Khan and his <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/how-many-people-are-related-to-genghis-khan/melissa-sartore">Mongolian legacy</a> are still very much among us. Leadership, like that of Genghis Khan or someone like Alexander the Great in his vast Macedonian Empire, are also fair to consider.&nbsp;Culturally, groups like the Umayyads and the Persians made their own contributions, muddying the waters even more when trying to decipher which empire was the biggest. And, what about timespan? Egyptians ruled for thousands of years and, arguably, the Roman Empire continued through the Byzantine Empire and well into the 14th century.Collectively, these factors make determining the biggest world empires a challenge. But, by looking at land and population at an empire's peak, it's possible to get clarity about just how much influence an empire really had. Below you will find the dates each of the largest empires existed, when they peaked, and the <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.space.com/17638-how-big-is-earth.html#:~:text=The%20surface%20area%20of%20Earth,%25%2C%20is%20covered%20by%20water.">amount of land</a> they controlled (out of the 57 million square miles on Earth) when they were at their biggest. Then, you'll find out exactly why they ultimately came to an end.&nbsp;

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The Largest Empires In History, By The Numbers

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The 9 Largest Empires In History, By The Numbers

Melissa Sartore

Before the invention of photography (1822), the wealthy donned their fanciest duds, sat perfectly still for hours on end, and let artists do their best to make them look attractive. Let's rank.

Portrait Gallery

Weird History

In 2013, the unveiling of <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2260655/Kate-Middleton-Rotten-official-portrait-Duchess-Cambridge-artist-Paul-Emsley-unveiled.html">the first official&nbsp;portrait of the Duchess of Cambridge</a> caused an international response fit for, say, an actual important international event. People all over the world&nbsp;went crazy with&nbsp;judgment and jeers, critiquing every aspect of the painting. But Kate Middleton's portrait looks like a Rembrandt compared to some of the heinously ugly royal portraits&nbsp;that came before it. The&nbsp;historical artists who&nbsp;crafted many of these horrendously unflattering <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/portraits-of-historical-royals-vs-real-life/alby-thompson">royal portraits</a>&nbsp;are lucky they aren't alive to experience the wrath of the Twitterverse. If they were, their paintings, and they themselves, would probably be torn to shreds for the travesties they committed to canvas.&nbsp;To be fair, it isn't always the fault of the artist that a&nbsp;painting comes out looking like the stuff of nightmares.&nbsp;Sometimes, a royal just doesn't measure up to the day's beauty standards, and an artist has to grit his teeth and muscle his way through. Perhaps that's why a few monarchs&nbsp;make their way onto the list numerous times, painted by different artists.There are also artists throughout history who created intentionally&nbsp;bad portraits, as a means of criticizing&nbsp;a royal individual or family.&nbsp;Ultimately, whether the result of bad artistry&nbsp;or <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.ranker.com/list/weird-royals-in-history/danielle-ownbey">royal inbreeding</a>, these royal&nbsp;embarrassments are our enjoyment. Want more?&nbsp;Take a look at <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/firsthand-descriptions-what-royals-really-looked-like/setareh-janda">our roundup of written, firsthand descriptions of historical royals</a>.

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23 Of The Most Heinously Unflattering Royal Portraits In History

23 of the Most Heinously Unflattering Royal Portraits in History

Danielle Ownbey

World History

Throughout history, wealthy&nbsp;people &ndash;&nbsp;like many <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/notable-monarch_s)/reference" target="_blank">notable kings</a>&nbsp;&ndash;&nbsp;had extravagant weddings. For these inestimably costly ceremonies,&nbsp;pre-celebration festivities often&nbsp;included very lavish dowries on behalf of the new brides. Sometimes, these nuptials that involved famous dowries took place between <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/weird-royals-in-history/danielle-ownbey" target="_blank">weird royals</a>&nbsp;&ndash;&nbsp;like uncles and nieces and already closely related cousins.&nbsp;But who had the&nbsp;biggest&nbsp;dowry&nbsp;in&nbsp;history?

A fair number of medieval and early modern princesses and archduchesses were given lots of land as their dowries, and their husbands wed them for the promise&nbsp;of significant revenue&nbsp;from these properties. Sometimes, these territories were so vast they&#39;re nearly unthinkable. For example, Eleanor of Aquitaine&nbsp;brought the rulership of most of southwestern France &ndash;&nbsp;her duchy of Aquitaine&nbsp;&ndash;&nbsp;to both of her husbands. Anne of Denmark wed Eleanor&#39;s descendant, James VI of Scotland/I of England, and brought the Orkney Isles with her. But was this the&nbsp;biggest&nbsp;dowry&nbsp;in&nbsp;the&nbsp;world?

Other wives have brought a ton of cash with them to their newly minted husbands. Modern-day royal Marie-Chantal, Crown Princess of Greece, apparently brought $200 million to her husband, while Portuguese princess Catherine of Braganza&nbsp;gave her spouse, Charles II of England, trading rights all over the world.

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The Most Lavish Dowries In History

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Carly Silver

Since the dawn of civilization, a lot of important things have happened. Here are lists of about the many winding routes we took to get where we are today.

Historical Contexts

If you weren't living in the 21st century, when and where would you live? There are many advantages to living in the 21st century, but there are also&nbsp;forgotten <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/which-era-would-you-want-to-live-in/jacob-shelton?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">eras of history</a> full of peace, rapid cultural&nbsp;building, and prosperity.&nbsp;Some people choose their&nbsp;<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/which-era-would-you-want-to-live-in/jacob-shelton">favorite historical era</a> based on their personality - but what was really the&nbsp;best time to be alive? And could the perks of a bygone era&nbsp;convince you to hop into&nbsp;a time machine?&nbsp;It is important to note that while an era might have brought amazing experiences to some people, those opportunities often came with&nbsp;pain and persecution for&nbsp;others. Still, there are surprising times and places where certain groups, like women, may have had even more rights than they do in Western society today.So, what was the best time in history to live in?

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The 12 Best Times In Human History To Be Alive

What Were The Best Times To Be Alive In History?

Susanna Olson

History is a murky concept at best, and it gets murkier the further back one goes. That’s why it’s often so surprising to learn about <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/the-most-influential-people-of-all-time?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">famous historical figures</a> who lived at the same time, let alone <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/historical-events-happening-at-the-same-time/kellen-perry" target="_blank">historical moments that happened at the same time</a>. Sometimes, it’s even more surprising to learn about historical figures who were born at the same time, which, rude as it may sound, often gives one a true sense of just how damn old some people are!History is full of amazing paths that crossed. Thanks to all the <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/the-most-important-leaders-in-world-history?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">famous world leaders</a> who were alive at the same time, humanity&nbsp;has had some&nbsp;<a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/unlikely-friendships-throughout-history-v1/katherine-ripley" target="_blank">unlikely friendships throughout history</a>, like the one between&nbsp;Elvis and <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/how-and-why-richard-nixon-invented-the-war-on-drugs/stephanroget" target="_blank">Nixon, who invented the&nbsp;war on drugs</a>. As they say, it’s a small world, after all,&nbsp;and it also happens to be a world filled with interesting people -&nbsp;many of whom walked the Earth at the exact same time.

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Famous Historical Figures Most People Have No Idea Lived At The Same Time

Historical Figures You Never Realized Lived At The Same Time

Stephan Roget

"Clothes make a man. Naked people have little or no influence on society." - Mark Twain

Past Fashion

Old Stuff

Crazy fashion trends from history teach contemporary clothes horses&nbsp;a few things. One, people will go to ridiculous lengths to prove their station in society. They&rsquo;ll nearly break their necks by teetering on towering platform shoes, hobble themselves with skirts, and bind themselves up in an organ-shifting corset, all in the name of style. And two, exaggeration is key. From hugely padded sleeves to large embroidered codpieces, true devotes of trends believed that bigger was better. Some films <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/things-movies-get-wrong-about-historical-clothing/genevieve-carlton/" target="_blank">get historical fashion wrong</a>, but others are pretty accurate, no matter how ridiculous the clothes seem.&nbsp;

<a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/deadly-fatal-victorian-beauty-trends-and-treatments/amandasedlakhevener">Weird fashion trends</a> from history were frequently dangerous as well. Vivid dyes could be made with toxic arsenic, while voluminous&nbsp;crinolines could easily catch on fire. Even if the clothing wasn&#39;t fatal, a&nbsp;lot of these crazy fashion trends from history seriously impaired&nbsp;a person&rsquo;s ability to live a normal life. People who wore bliauts couldn&rsquo;t really use their arms. Men who donned&nbsp;crakowes found walking a bit problematic. And extra wide panniers kept women from fitting through narrow doors.

Whether they&#39;re deadly or just plain nuts, you can be thankful these fashion trends are in the past and are not <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/old-fashion-trends-that-deserve-a-comeback/brenden-donnelly" target="_blank">deserving of a comeback</a>.

The 17 Dumbest Fashion Trends in History

The 17 Craziest Fashion Trends In History

Lisa Waugh

Fascinating and valuable things found in unexpected places.

Strange Discoveries

Artifacts

There have been some seriously strange things found at construction sites. While some&nbsp;people have spent their entire lives searching for buried riches or lost holy relics only to come up short, others have just sort of stumbled upon historical artifacts found at construction sites. The weird stuff found on construction jobs&nbsp;ranges from priceless treasures to tangible evidence of civilizations thought lost forever. Truly, a few of these accidental <a href="/list/archaeology-that-changed-history/nathan-gibson" target="_blank">archaeological&nbsp;finds changed what we know about history</a>.&nbsp;

In all cases, the stories of those lucky (or unlucky) enough to find a mummy or a trove of <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/tudor-artifacts-found-in-rat-nest/garri-chaverst" target="_blank">Tudor artifacts in their floorboards</a> are fascinating and often creepier than fiction.&nbsp;These discoveries are by turns heartwarming, stomach-churning, and awe-inspiring. Be careful, or these&nbsp;serendipitous moments may inspire&nbsp;you to&nbsp;start digging in your backyard, combing the beach, or putting holes in your wall. But then again, who knows? You might get lucky. &nbsp; &nbsp;

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The 16 Most Bizarre Historical Artifacts Ever Discovered On Construction Sites

The 16 Strangest Things Ever Found on Construction Sites

Dave Smith

Exploring the backstories and nuances of famous historical photos that will change the way you think about the past—and the future.

Photographic Memories

Wild Facts

The history of the Congo Free State is one of devastating&nbsp;genocide, ruthless colonialism, and massive greed, all on the part of one man. Leopold II served as King of Belgium from 1865 to 1909, during which time he managed to <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20160524201829/http://www.nationalgeographic.org/thisday/feb5/belgian-king-establishes-congo-free-state/">create a colony</a> in the Congo over 70 times the size of his Belgian kingdom. Leopold's hunger for power <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.ranker.com/list/congo-free-state-belgian-atrocities/hugh-landman">led to devastation</a> in the Congo, a humanitarian disaster&nbsp;that included mutilation, psychological torture, and murder.&nbsp;Leopold created the <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Congo-Free-State">Belgian Congo slave trade</a> in order to collect rubber, ivory, and palm oil, and it was quotas of these items that led to brutal treatment of the enslaved Congolese people forced to fulfill them. This particular photo depicts an enslaved Congolese man staring dejectedly at the severed hands and feet of his five-year-old daughter, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://rarehistoricalphotos.com/father-hand-belgian-congo-1904/">his punishment</a> for failing to fulfill a rubber quota. But the dark&nbsp;truth behind this photo is much more gruesome than you would ever imagine. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

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This Image Of A Slave Father Looking At His Daughter's Severed Hand And Foot Has Haunted Generations

This Image of A Slave Father Looking At His Daughter's Severed Hand And Foot Has Haunted Generations

Cleo Egnal

The ancient world may not have had access to computers, indoor plumbing, or the most reliable healthcare, but it was populated by the same kinds of people that exist today. Some were good, some were strange, and some of them told the same dirty jokes we&#39;ve been telling for centuries.

Redditors interested in facts about the ancient world love to share what they&#39;ve learned, especially when it concerns topics History teachers usually don&#39;t touch on. For example, ever heard of the &quot;Osterby Head&quot;? It&#39;s&nbsp;a nearly 2,000-year-old skull with a perfectly preserved hairdo. Or how about this: ancient&nbsp;Persians living in the desert had a nifty refrigeration system already figured out by the year 400 BC.

Here are some other cool facts about the ancient world&nbsp;you may never have heard before. Want more? <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/whoa-ancient-greece-facts/mallory-weiler" target="_blank">Here are some remarkable facts just about Ancient Greece</a>.

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Facts About The Ancient World We Just Learned Today That Made Us Say ‘Whoa’

Facts About The Ancient World We Just Learned That Made Us Say ‘Whoa’

Alby Thompson

Exploring the strange and fascinating lives of rulers, royals, and royalty all around the world and throughout history.

We Will Never Be Royals

For as long as it's been in existence,&nbsp;<a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/unflattering-royal-portraits/danielle-ownbey" target="_blank">the royal world</a> has been special, elevated above the mediocrity of regular life and filled with the pleasures and privileges of divine power and influence. And even though the practical function&nbsp;of the monarchy has become mostly symbolic, the public fascination with its office certainly has not. So, for example, when&nbsp;Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge,&nbsp;gave birth to the newest members of the English monarchy, public curiosity&nbsp;about her experience was boundless. But alas, the details were not so thrilling, as she and William apparently greeted their precious new bundles much like any average citizen –&nbsp;in the privacy of a clean and well-lit room with just a few medical attendants nearby.And so it seems the<a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/weird-royals-in-history/danielle-ownbey" target="_blank"> royal rituals</a> for labor nowadays are a far cry from the darkened, smoky bedrooms of the past, when the birth of a monarch was steeped in endless tradition, superstition, and more than a little fear. The age-old practice of bringing life into the world has always varied&nbsp;widely between cultures, but when it came to the secrets of the royal bedchamber, there were none quite as strange and disturbing as those created for new mothers.

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Eye-Opening Details About What Giving Birth Was Like For Royal Mothers

Giving Birth for Royal Mothers

14 Bizarre And Insane Royal Birth Rituals Throughout History

Jen Jeffers

Taking a closer look at the prim & priggish customs, beliefs, and practices unique to the Victorian era.

In the Time of Queen Victoria

Lists about some of the most extraordinary women who made history, forever changing the world and how we see it.

Well-Behaved Women

Lists of fascinating facts and lesser-known details about the lives of people whose names you learned in History class (or should have).

Down in History

Queen Victoria

Just as the Victorian era is incorrectly portrayed as a period of demureness, misconceptions about the British&nbsp;monarchy &ndash; specifically, <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/whoa-queen-victoria-facts/mallory-weiler" target="_blank">Queen Victoria</a> &ndash; are equally persistent. In reality, crazy stories about the royal family abound from Victoria&#39;s court, the most well-known of which typically have to do with the standards Victoria set for <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/victorian-death-and-mourning-customs/lisa-waugh">Victorian mourning customs</a>. However, despite accounts of her puritanical tendencies, Victoria was actually quite fond of sex and had a deep appreciation for the naked human form. Even the <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/things-in-queen-victoria-s-coffin/cheryl-adams-richkoff">contents of her grave</a> &ndash; the things she wanted to be interred with for eternity &ndash; had some highly sexual overtones that spoke to the question of what sex was like during the Victorian era.

While she took pleasure in the joys of the flesh, her life was also marked by a great deal of loneliness, from her isolated days as a child to her many years of mourning for her late husband Albert. However, despite her darker days, she managed to lead the British monarchy during a time of great peace and prosperity (at least for the British) as the second longest-reigning English monarch &ndash; she reigned for over 60 years, spanning the decades between 1837&nbsp;and 1901.

12 Unusual Facts You Never Knew About Queen Victoria

12 Bizarre Facts You Never Knew About Queen Victoria

Tamar Altebarmakian

Who was Tycho Brahe? Even if you haven't heard his distinctive&nbsp;name, you know his work. One of history's most influential astronomers, the Danish scientist lived and worked in the mid 16th century. His contributions to the field included the discovery of supernovae and work on the properties of comets. But while Brahe’s work in astronomy is recognized, the man doesn't get enough credit for his incredible - and often ludicrous - biography.Some of the facts about Tycho Brahe&nbsp;are&nbsp;hard to believe. He led the sort of life that, if it had been lived by a fictional character, would have been deemed &quot;too unrealistic.&quot; Proving that truth is often stranger than fiction, Brahe&nbsp;walked a bizarre path from birth until his tragic death - which, coincidentally, may have inspired a famous work&nbsp;of literature. Tycho Brahe made a definite impact on the scientific world, but given the countless crazy details surrounding him, it’s a wonder he isn't discussed more often.Read on to discover more about this fascinating historical figure.

Tycho Brahe, The Bizarre 16th Century Astronomer Who Owned A Psychic Dwarf Slave

15 Truly Insane Things You Didn't Know About Tycho Brahe

Kings & queens, princes & princesses. They're made of blood and bones like the rest of us, but they're told they can do whatever they damn well please. Sometimes, this causes problems.

Royal Pains

Elizabeth I of England

Few feuds are as epic as the rivalry between Elizabeth I and Mary, Queen of Scots. The decades-long battle that took place between Mary&nbsp;Stuart and <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/conspiracy-theories-about-queen-elizabeth/tamar-altebarmakian">Queen Elizabeth I</a> was, surprisingly, entirely carried out through letters. Despite being cousins and two female rulers in a male-dominated world, the two queens never met. They did, however, send each other dozens of impassioned and biting letters, letting their words sting as sharply and cut as deeply as a knife in the back.The Catholic Mary, the daughter of&nbsp;James V of Scotland, grew up in&nbsp;France,&nbsp;and at age 16, she married the future King Francis II of France. After her husband died, she returned to Scotland in 1561, then fled for England after an uprising against her. She hoped to find protection from her cousin, the Protestant Queen Elizabeth I, but she couldn't have been more wrong.Not surprising for two&nbsp;powerful and stubborn rulers, the relationship between Elizabeth and Mary I of Scotland was a fiery one, starting with letters charged with passive-aggressive language and ending with words stripped of all pretense, with the two women plainly stating the deep betrayal they endured at the other’s hands.

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The Legendary Beef Between Elizabeth I And Mary Queen Of Scots, Explained

8 Altercations Between Elizabeth I And Mary Queen Of Scots

Lists and galleries of some of the most famous, interesting, and beautiful buildings around the world and throughout history.

Architectural Marvels

Taj Mahal

The Taj Mahal was designated a <a href="http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/252">UNESCO World Heritage Site</a> in 1983, recognized as a jewel of Muslim art and for being one of the most admired masterpieces of human culture and ingenuity. With more than eight million people visiting annually, the Taj Mahal -&nbsp;though relatively new compared to some of the world&rsquo;s most famous monuments such as the <a href="https://mymodernmet.com/the-parthenon-greece/" target="_blank">Parthenon</a>, the Pyramids, and the Coliseum -&nbsp;has rightfully earned a prestigious place in history for its unique architecture and art. Read on to understand just why&nbsp;this gorgeous mausoleum has been declared one of the &ldquo;<a href="https://world.new7wonders.com/wonders/taj-mahal-1630-a-d-agra-india/">New 7 Wonders of the World</a>.&rdquo;&nbsp;

14 Strange Facts People Don't Know About The Construction of The Taj Mahal

14 Crazy Facts About The Building Of The Taj Mahal

Theodoros Karasavvas

Lists about social, medical, scientific, and questionable experiments by humans on willing participants, unwitting victims, and even innocent animals.

Let's Just See What Happens

Nowadays, the ambitious and wild Biosphere&nbsp;2 experiment is only remembered&nbsp;as a footnote to the Pauly Shore film&nbsp;Bio-Dome, which is a shame. The Biosphere 2 project was ambitious, idealistic, and apocalyptic; it was some <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/funny-ig-nobel-prize-winners/rylee_en">pretty crazy science</a>&nbsp;wrought with drama, intrigue, cults, and billionaires. There&nbsp;are many&nbsp;wild Biosphere 2 stories as a testament to this fact. In short, its movie should have been a David Fincher thriller instead of a low-budget comedy.

The Biosphere 2 experiment was a closed&nbsp;artificial ecological system.&nbsp;It was three acres and five ecosystems - ocean, rainforest, desert, mangrove wetlands, and savannah grasslands - the world&#39;s largest formal experiment.&nbsp;The plan for Biosphere&nbsp;2&nbsp;was to test human interaction with the environment by sealing eight&nbsp;people in the closed Biosphere for two&nbsp;years, from September 26, 1991 to September 26, 1993. <a href="http://www.cabinetmagazine.org/issues/41/turner.php">Wearing outfits designed by Marilyn Monroe&#39;s former dressmaker</a>, the participants - called Bionauts&nbsp;- stepped into the&nbsp;closed ecosystem where they&nbsp;would be closely monitored by Mission Control. The whole project was undertaken&nbsp;in&nbsp;the hopes of proving biomes were sustainable environments that could potentially lead to Martian colonization.&nbsp;Read on to discover some crazy things you didn&#39;t know about Biosphere 2.

10 Insane Facts About Biosphere 2, The Largest Contained Experiment Ever

10 Insane Facts About Biosphere 2, The World's Largest Experiment

Andy Miller

Before the United States laid claim to the lovely little patch of North America, the continent was a wild, untamed place and incredible true stories of intrepid frontiersman were forged on a daily basis. Among the greatest of those rugged men and women was Robert Rogers, one of the most fascinating forgotten figures of American colonial history.There's a vast sea of important figures in colonial America, from famous people like Benjamin Franklin to obscure ones like&nbsp;<a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/badass-friedrich-wilhelm-von-steuben-facts/philgibbons">Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben</a>.&nbsp;Robert Rogers is one of the overlooked frontiersmen who had an indelible impact on the early formation of the US,&nbsp;thanks to his unflappable spirit and his penchant for success. Unfortunately, Rogers also chose to fight for Great Britain in the midst of <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/a-list-of-all-american-revolutionary-war-battles/reference">all the battles of the&nbsp;American Revolution</a>, a decision which likely contributed to the total lack of true Robert Rogers stories circulating in US History classes. This bad*ss&nbsp;frontiersman, who had earned&nbsp;a reputation as a noble explorer and soldier, was ultimately shunted off to the footnotes of American history for this lapse in judgment.But one mistake shouldn't overshadow the amazing accomplishments of Robert Rogers. Here, uncovered from various texts and footnotes, are some Robert Rogers facts, along with some of the most amazing true stories from American history.

Weird American History

The Story of the Most Influential Army Leader Ever Written Out of U.S. History

15 Rugged Stories About British Frontiersman Robert Rogers

Justin Andress

World History lists at Ranker - The ultimate source for hundreds of world history lists and rankings

World History lists on Ranker

Saving Private Ryan

Schindler's List

The Great Escape

Lists about life for soldiers and civilians alike during the Second Great War, which raged around the world from 1939-1945.

WWII

Looking closer at some of the best, most realistic, most brutal depictions of war in the history of entertainment.

Wars on Screen

Looking closer at films, TV shows, docs, and miniseries that explore, recreate, and occasionally flub up real historical events.

Watching History

All about Spielberg's epic & heartbreaking WWII drama, celebrating 25 years in 2023.

Watchworthy

The best World War II movies not only recount historical events, but also deeply resonate with audiences through powerful portrayals of courage amidst adversity. World War II, a tumultuous period marked by bravery, sacrifice, and human resilience, has long been an evocative backdrop for storytelling. Films inspired by this era delve into the complexities of war, capturing the essence of heroism and loss on both grand and intimate scales. &nbsp;These movies invite viewers to reflect upon the past while appreciating the artistry of filmmaking.Showcasing diverse perspectives during one of history's most harrowing periods, these exceptional films immerse audiences in tales that span from battles to quiet acts of defiance. Great WW2 movies reveal multifaceted aspects of humanity caught in the throes of conflict by highlighting themes such as camaraderie, betrayal, hope, and despair across different cultural contexts. These stories come alive through outstanding cinematography, gripping performances, and masterful direction that evoke poignant emotions even decades after their release.Movies like Saving Private Ryan, The Great Escape, and Schindler's List stand as prime examples of remarkable World War II cinema. In Saving Private Ryan, director Steven Spielberg throws audiences into the visceral chaos of D-Day before transitioning to a captivating mission that showcases loyalty and selflessness among soldiers. Meanwhile, The Great Escape expertly blends suspense and adventure as it follows Allied prisoners plotting against all odds to break free from a German POW camp. Lastly, the monumental impact of Schindler's List is indisputable; its stark (mostly) black-and-white visuals coupled with compelling character arcs immortalize Oskar Schindler's efforts to save Jewish lives under unimaginable circumstances. Yet these are just a few gems amid an array of incredible wartime narratives. Other famous WWII movies contending for the top spots on this list include Hacksaw Ridge, Letters from Iwo Jima, Patton, and A Bridge Too Far.As cinema continues to evolve over time, filmmakers will persistently draw inspiration from pivotal moments throughout human history - particularly when they have the potential to strike emotional chords within viewers. In this context, movies about the second World War will undoubtedly remain a significant subgenre of filmmaking as they challenge us to confront the darkest chapters of our collective past while celebrating acts of valor and resilience in trying times. The greatest World War II films serve as vital reminders that even amidst the horrors of war, there are stories worth remembering and lessons to be learned about the human spirit's remarkable capacity for survival and hope.