15 of The Most Bizarre Coincidences in American History
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Did you know that according to a Gallup survey, only 42% of Americans believe some historical events are guided by fate? It is a tribute to history that coincidences, which normally blur the line between the bizarre and the incredible, have rarely done so in this instance.
Imagine this: Born in 1835 in Hawaii during Halley’s Comet, Mark Twain predicted he’d die when it returned, and he did in 1910. Or the eerie parallels of a century between the assassinations of Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy.
These 15 stunning coincidences of American history will either be fodder for the skeptic or give the believer pause. Are they just random, or is there something more? Read on and wonder!
The Great Adams and Jefferson Coincidence
Two Founding Fathers, political opponents when alive, and two Americans with an extraordinary connection, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, shared a connection when they shaped the United States and also in death. Both men died on July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of adopting the Declaration of Independence.
Their intertwined destinies are summed up in Adams’ reported last words, “Thomas Jefferson survives,” unaware Jefferson had died hours earlier. Historians have more than once wondered if this is proof of their indelible stamp on American history or if it is simply a whim of the cosmos.
The Lincoln-Kennedy Link
One of America’s oldest and most famous coincidences is the eerie similarities between Abraham Lincoln’s and John F. Kennedy’s assassinations. They were elected to the presidency 100 years apart—Lincoln in 1860 and Kennedy in 1960.
What’s even spookier is that both Lincoln and Kennedy were succeeded by vice presidents named Johnson (Andrew and Lyndon, in order), both born 100 years apart. If that’s not enough, both were assassinated on a Friday, sat next to their wives when they were assassinated, and have a generally unsettling historical coincidence.
The Titanic Coincidences
There were some haunting coincidences in the ill-fated Titanic. Some passengers missed out on the doomed voyage thanks to last-minute decisions. Milton S. Hershey (of Hershey Chocolate fame) canceled his trip.
At the same time, one of the great industrialists of the age, banker J.P. Morgan, gave up his first-class slot when unexpected travel changes disrupted his schedule. They saved their lives because of their decisions.
Even more uncanny, in 1898—14 years before the Titanic sank—author Morgan Robertson published Futility, a novella about a massive ship called “Titan” that hits an iceberg and sinks. The parallels are chilling.
The Twinning of Jim Lewis and Jim Springer
Identical twin brothers Jim Lewis and Jim Springer, whose parents separated at birth, are a jaw-dropping example of fate’s humor. At age 39, the two were reunited and discovered their lives were full of astounding coincidences: Both married women named Linda, divorced and then remarried to women named Betty.
They both had dogs named Toy and drove the same model of car. These similarities boggled the minds of psychologists trying to understand how nature vs. nurture was at play.
The Mysterious Deaths of the Borgias
While the Borgias were an Italian family, their deaths fit strangely with the bloodshed of the early European contact with America. When Rodrigo Borgia (Pope Alexander VI) died in 1519, the same year Ferdinand Magellan set sail to circumnavigate the world —a moment many consider the onset of the globalized world as we know it.
And some historians have wondered whether their deaths were more part of larger historical currents than their individual stories would suggest.
The Tunguska Event Coincidence
Cosmic events and the 1908 Tunguska explosion in Siberia continue to baffle researchers. Some theorize the explosion, blamed on an asteroid, coincided with odd electromagnetic disturbances picked up on far-flung continents.
Some wonder if planetary events are affecting more of Earth at the same time than we know.
The Man Who Predicted His Own Death
Abraham Lincoln’s son, Robert Lincoln, believed he was cursed because of unfortunate coincidences. Not only did he spend the final moments of his father’s life at his bedside in Ford’s Theatre, but he also watched President Garfield being murdered and was close to President McKinley when he was shot.
At one point, he even joked about being a bad omen for presidents.
The Sinking of the Vienna and the Wega
The Vienna and the Wega were ships built from the same steel set. They both sank in spectacularly similar circumstances. Experts have wondered if their fates, separated by decades, stemmed from structural flaws or recurring patterns.
The Curse of Tecumseh
The Curse of Tecumseh is the term for presidential deaths in office every 20 years. The streak kicked off following William Henry Harrison’s 1840 election (Harrison’s forces defeated Tecumseh’s) and continued until Ronald Reagan survived his assassination attempt in 1981, potentially breaking the curse.
The Twin Towers and the Number 11
11 has harrowing links to 9/11. The date (9/11)adds up to 11. Flight 11 hit the North Tower, New York City, Pennsylvania, and the Pentagon (the sites hit) all have 11 letters. But it’s an eerie association that statisticians write off as chance.
The Double Impact
In 1954, a meteorite struck Ann Hodges while she was napping in Alabama; she’s the only person who has been shown to have been hit by a meteorite and survived. When you consider that the chance of a meteorite hitting a human is 1 in 1.6 million, the coincidences pile on.
Hodges survived minor injuries and will always be associated with one of nature’s strangest phenomena.
The Phantom Time Hypothesis
While the Phantom Time Hypothesis is primarily a theory, it posits that fake history was created during the Middle Ages, about 300 years ago. Though scholars reiterate the idea, it has a tremendous pull on the curious mind, which is interested in uncovering truths we know behind the curtains of our historical understanding.
Coincidental Birthdays of Washington and Lincoln
It may be natural for February to be a presidential month, as both George Washington (Feb. 22) and Abraham Lincoln (Feb. 12) have birthdays close to each other. Eventually, they inspired Presidents’ Day, a holiday honoring their presidency and the office itself.
The Capgras Delusion
This psychological phenomenon convinces you that other identical imposters have replaced your loved ones. Although rare, the condition has social and cultural repercussions because people have wrestled with similar notions in times of upheaval or fright in history.
John Glenn and Katherine Johnson: Mathematical Precision
Lastly, computations carried out by NASA’s Katherine Johnson matched a future innovation 10 years ahead of time in Glenn’s orbital mission that implanted unexpected computational accuracies and prediction.
Disclaimer: This list is solely the author’s opinion based on research and publicly available information.
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