Woody Guthrie was a giant of Western American folk music, looming large in the American imagination. But the man who helped pioneer resistance music was also unfairly blacklisted and didn't have an easy life. Here's the tragic story of Woody Guthrie.
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Alexander Hamilton has long been renowned as one of America's Founding Fathers, but he hasn't received quite as much attention in history as fellow founders. Lin-Manuel Miranda's epic rap-musical isn't entirely historically accurate, but it's close-ish. Here's the real story of Alexander Hamilton.
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In the predawn morning of of December 4, 1969, 14 police officers surrounded 2337 W. Monroe St, the Black Panther stronghold in Chicago. The raid about to be carried out was organized specifically to kill Fred Hampton.
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As dramatic as the French Revolution was, the Tribunal had no interest in drama. Instead, they sentenced Marie Thérèse Louise to death, at the hands of the crowd.
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Many comedians have created humor that lasts for ages, and one of those comics is Mitch Hedberg, whose drug addiction would send him to an early grave. This is the tragic real-life story of Mitch Hedberg.
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When you look at Mark Twain's history, it's a wonder that he even smiled at all.
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Having faced down poverty, illness, divorce, and ever-changing public tastes, Cher continues to beat the odds, winning over generation after generation of fans with her unwavering dedication and authenticity. This is Cher's tragic real-life story.
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On the astronomically slim chance that you're not familiar with Walpurga Hausmännin, here's the inside story, which is actually horribly tragic.
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Prosecutions of homosexuals increased in England after World War II, and one of the individuals so ensnared was a mathematician -- Alan Turing.
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"When I was a kid, I never wanted to be James Bond. I wanted to be Q, because he was the guy who made all the gadgets," said Grant Imahara. Throughout his career, he did exactly that -- a career which ended with his death on Monday, July 13, of a brain aneurysm. He was just 49 years old.
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Before Tiger King captivated the world with its tale of murder, mayhem and madness, before Penn and Teller made Vegas crowds gasp with their ballistic ballet of bullets and bunkum, there were Siegfried and Roy.
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Considering modern longevity -- 78.6 years now, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention -- 60 just seems younger and younger, especially as an endpoint, as it was for Pink Floyd's Syd Barrett.
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In the face of both entrenched racism and death threats, Jackie Robinson smashed baseball's color barrier when he joined the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. This is the tragic real-life story of Jackie Robinson.
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Brian Jones, the founding guitarist of the Rolling Stones, was found at the bottom of his pool on July 3, 1969 -- at the age of 27.
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The Wright brothers -- Wilbur, born in 1867, and Orville, born in 1871 -- were best friends growing up. And they live to achieve some pretty remarkable things -- like flying. Here's how Wilbur died.
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The Ramones became of the most influential and important rock bands of all time. All the same, the Ramones' tragic real-life story is full of full of heartbreak and tragedy.
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There's a darker tragedy wrapped around the Rolling Stones' "Gimme Shelter," as well. It's one of rock and roll's most pervasive and legendary stories. It might even be true.
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'...Pyle remembered that Van Zant retrieved a pillow on his way back to his seat, stopped, and shook Pyle's hand. "Ronnie knew that he was going to die."'
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On April 3, 2015, life caught up with Bob Burns, the original drummer for the southern rock powerhouse Lynyrd Skynyrd.
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"My dad was Mr. Charisma," Carlos said in 2014. "I adored him because of the way he carried himself, the way he dressed and smelt. He knew he was magnetic."
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Harvey Milk is an icon, the first non-incumbent openly gay man to be elected to public office in the United States. Here's the tragic story of Harvey Milk.
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Scottie Pippen repeatedly rose to basketball's highest peak, but he had a very rough life. Here's the tragic story of Scottie Pippen.
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Despite Fiona Apple's stunning success, her childhood was anything but easy.
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Mark Ruffalo is no stranger to either success, or tragedy.
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Maya Angelou has become one the most influential and popular authors in American history, and she overcame more than her fair share of hardship to do so. This is the tragic real-life story of Maya Angelou.
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When people die young, it's almost always a tragedy. It becomes even worse when they died of something that may have been prevented. He is perhaps unknown to many in the West -- less so by people not mathematically-inclined -- but Srinivasa Ramanujan died of something easily curable at a young age.
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1919's Red Summer race riots are a little-known fragment of America's bloody struggle with racism that portrays yet another link in the nation's chain of systemic ignorance, oppression, and violence.
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