What are some common historical misconceptions?
08.06.2025 17:43
William Tell is more or less the William Wallace of Switzerland: a patriot who helped his countrymen defeat their overlords and bring about an age of independence.
The Russian Revolution happened in October
Roman Catholic clergy became celibates in devotion to God
Henry VIII killed all his wives
When it came to men, the story was different.
Ultimately, it was decided that members of the clergy would be ineligible to have offspring moving forward so that later generations of priests, bishops, cardinals, and even the pope, would be chosen based on merit and qualifications, and not by bloodline.
Some historians believe that Pliny the Younger may have made a mistake in his recollections, due to the types of vegetables that were found in storage from the sites of Pompeii and Herculaneum, which are said to not become ripe until much later in the season.
Ancient statues were grey
Though it was common practice to cremate a person convicted of such acts, they were almost always executed — usually by strangulation — beforehand, and this also includes the Salem Witch Trials.
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Wellington always regarded the outcome as one that could have gone either way, even with Prussian assistance, which was why he also admitted that had he not believed that Blucher would be able to assist him, he would not have risked an open battle, and would have retreated north to Brussels.
The American Civil War ended slavery in the United States
Nonetheless, this was never practiced by the peasantry, who needed women to labour in the fields, nor by Christian, Muslim, and Jewish Chinese, nor by certain ethnic groups, such as the Hakka, nor even by some aristocratic families with a disdain for the concept, who often intentionally married off their sons and daughters on condition that the latter not have bound feet.
Not only was warfare particularly mobile in Eastern Europe and the Middle East, but even on the Western Front, soldiers fought for hilltops, forests, ruined villages — all of them located in No Man’s Land.
Needless to say, the First Crusade was an attempt to stem the tide of the struggle back in favour of the Byzantines.
Robespierre had long been an opponent of capital punishment — so much so that the Arras-born lawyer was reprimanded by the courts on multiple occasions, due to his refusal to vote in favour of execution, regardless of circumstances.
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In the early centuries of the Roman Catholic Church, it was common for clergymen to give titles to their male offspring and bequeath their property.
In all probability, this realization would have been closer in the minds of the conspirators than an emergency phone number whose significance is little known outside of North America.
Even though trenches were visibly present during the First World War, it is inaccurate to see the First World War as a game of who would run out of manpower first.
Dinosaurs were killed by an asteroid
Those listening thought this meant that the Berlin Wall could be torn down.
Just like in today’s world, different countries have different laws that greatly differ.
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Males were often accused of sorcery, not only in Western Europe, but as far east as Russia, where the Slavs actually executed males accused of these sorts of offences at three times the rate of females.
Anne of Cleves was divorced shortly after marriage, but was given a private estate, a generous allowance, and she remained on good terms — even outliving Henry, as did his last wife, Katherine Parr.
World War One was trench warfare
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The American Revolutionary War was fought between the United States and the United Kingdom
Nonetheless, it must be remembered that it was not just Wellington and Napoleon who faced off at Waterloo, but also the Prussians under Blucher, who had fought Napoleon at Ligny two days beforehand, and who played a decisive role preventing the French from breaking the British lines.
In 1989, Gunter Schabowski — speaking on behalf of the East German Government — had announced the implementation of a VISA plan that would allow his citizens to travel West on a case-by-case basis.
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In actuality, the skirmish took place six buildings to the west at C.S. Fly’s photography workshop on Fremont Street.
Abraham Lincoln had allowed slavery to exist if it would preserve the Union, and even the Emancipation Proclamation of January 1, 1863, only emancipated slaves who were in territories that were in secession at the time of its enactment.
This form of blatant nepotism did not escape the attention of a monk named Cluny, who successfully convinced the Vatican to make stricter regulations pertaining to this form of malpractice.
Stalin had long dreamt of an invasion of mainland Europe even before Hitler took office in 1933.
Furthermore, not all those executed were females.
Realizing the urgency of the situation, and being well aware of the Islamic conquest of the Iberian Peninsula nearly four centuries earlier in 711, and the deadly Barbary raid on Rome a quarter of a millennium earlier in 846, Pope Urban II disclosed the situation publicly at the Council of Clermont.
Anne Boleyn and Katherine Howard were executed for adultery — not for failing to deliver a son.
If we were to go by the outdated Julian Calendar, the Bolsheviks first seized power on October 25, 1917.
The First Crusade was an attempt to conquer the Middle East
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Even though it did not help in their long-term preservation, palaeontologists now believe that dinosaurs continued to live through the Cretaceous Period and into the start of the Palaeocene Period for upwards of another million years.
Historians who specialize in this period have reported that many of the grisly forms of execution we associate with medieval practices either only came near the end of the era, or during the Renaissance Period.
Hitler had no justifiable cause to invade the Soviet Union
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In the years immediately before 1095, the Byzantine Empire — known at the time as the “Roman Empire” — had suffered a series of defeats, most notably at Manzikert in 1071.
A transaction was also found inscribed within the ruins of Pompeii, with a date of October 17, leading some to believe that the volcano erupted closer to October 24.
The structures themselves required such advanced mathematical and engineering capabilities that it is very unlikely that they would have used random people for these projects.
In actuality, these objects were almost certainly well coloured in their days, but have since worn off with the passage of time, and its exposure to elements, such as oxygen.
Speaking of which…
And so, a lot of people who know of William Tell imagine him pointing a bow and arrow at an apple situated immediately above his offspring, in hopes that his feat would result in children playing his song in high school music classes centuries later.
However, there are others who strongly suggest that it was actually an abbreviation for Constable on Patrol.
This one may or may not be true.
Women and children from the upper-classes overwhelmingly survived, while the majority of steerage women and children did not.
The majority preferred to live and raise a family, and so they rarely went into an arena anticipating either themselves or their opponent would be slain.
The Pyramids of Giza were built by slaves
Though he was pleased at the tens of thousands of men and women from all walks of life — from the peasantry, to royalty — who responded to his call, it is doubtful that Pope Urban II had anticipated such a response.
A Belgian priest and professor of astronomy by the name of Georges Lemaitre even came up with the concept of the “Big Bang” long before Edwin Hubble did.
In Ottawa, a Senators Goalie by the name of Clint Benedict began wearing a mask in 1930 — almost three decades before Jacques Plante wore his.
Whereas 16% of steerage males survived, only 8% of men in Second Class did.
Starting around 1000 AD, it became common practice for Chinese aristocrats to bound their daughters’ feet by breaking their toes during their infancy so that they would fit in tiny shoes.
In medieval China and Japan, both countries had periods when capital punishment was legally outlawed — in Japan, it was abolished for over three centuries, between 818–1156 AD.
Nowadays, he is widely seen as a mere figurehead, who was not even able to convince senior authorities to not go ahead with the 1968 Ho Chi Minh Offensive — which he had firmly opposed, on the grounds of wasted manpower.
Just like the latter, the former also chose to do this after being struck in the face by a puck, though he quickly took the mask back off, because its design at the time made its usage impractical.
An epic Wild West gunfight took place in front of the OK Corral
Wellington outplayed Napoleon at Waterloo
September 11 has long been associated with Islamic setbacks, whether it be at Malta (1565), Vienna (1683) or Zenta (1697).
Had the Soviet dictator spent the same amount of resources on defensive units, the Wehrmacht would never have come close to taking Moscow — at least, not in 1941.
This is not to say that mishaps did not happen, but this was not the norm.
Native Americans were environmentalists
Union states such as Kentucky, Missouri, Delaware, and Maryland were exempt, as were certain southern cities, such as New Orleans, which had fallen to a naval assault earlier in the conflict.
Katherine of Aragon died from illness, as did Jane Seymour — who succumbed shortly after delivering a son, the future King Edward VI.
The Cold War was between Moscow and Washington and its allies
Not only were the French — and Spanish — much larger and more technologically advanced than the Revolutionaries, they also equipped Washington’s armies on multiple occasions, including at Saratoga.
Many of our modern artistic and scientific achievements can be credited to the Church.
King Louis XIV is often portrayed as an imposing figure comparable to the likes of Charlemagne, Peter the Great, and Abraham Lincoln, though in reality, the Sun King was only 163 centimetres tall — a short person even by the standards of his time.
Ironically, the term, “Big Bang Theory” was originally used by atheists who wanted to mock Lemaitre’s findings as a poor excuse of trying to bring a scientific explanation to Genesis — after all, a static universe was generally accepted even by Albert Einstein, who only later acknowledged that Lemaitre was correct.
When the overlord who forced him to shoot the first arrow asked why he had taken a second, William said that had his first shot missed and killed his son, he would have used the second on the person asking him a question.
Contrary to popular belief, the K-T extinction event from 65 million years ago was not a Doomsday for the dinosaurs of Jurassic fame.
Al-Qaeda attacked on September 11, 2001 because it coincides with the emergency number 9–1–1
His word was accepted as truthful — especially among the educated classes.
That some individuals, such as Galileo, got in trouble often had more to do with how they conducted themselves than any “radical” findings.
The outcome of the American War of Independence was not just an affair between the British and ‘Patriots’, but also a war between the British and the French.
It is also quite possible that September 11 was chosen because it was the first day that members of Congress would be returning to the Capitol for the season, and nothing more.
In actuality, William was forced to do this, and he had two arrows — one was used as a spare.
Before Waterloo, Wellington had also come very close to being encircled between the forces of Napoleon and Ney near Genappe — it was due to a miscommunication on the part of the French that saved the British, otherwise, the course of the campaign, as well as modern history, would have turned out differently.
Wealthy people survived the Titanic, while poor people died
If we are to accept the modern Gregorian Calendar, the more accurate date is November 7, 1917.
“Cop” was a term used for law enforcement, due to wearing copper on their uniforms
The Soviet Union also relied heavily on bombers, T-34 tanks, long-range artillery, and a million paratroopers among other examples — all of them offensive-based units.
Maximilien Robespierre was an enthusiastic executioner
Westerners — and even contemporary Japanese — have since become captivated at the sight of a Katana sword and a Samurai wielding it, which has since made the weapon appear more important in ancient Japanese history than it actually was.
To put that into context, modern humans have only been around for 200,000 years, and the Great Pyramids of Giza were built just over 5,000 years ago.
Gladiators fought to the death
In actuality, it is now believed that Le Duan was the one calling the shots, with even General Nguyen Giap possibly outranking Ho Chi Minh.
Until recently, it was assumed that Ho Chi Minh had been the true head of state of North Vietnam.
King Louis XIV was tall
The Declaration of Independence was signed on July 4, 1776
Kievan Rus, a medieval empire that was located in Eastern Europe, not only prohibited the death penalty by constitution, but also torture and excessive fines.
Males in First Class were moderately more likely to survive, though this was in part due to them being physically stronger and better swimmers — First Class passengers such as Archibald Gracie, Algernon Henry Barkworth, Jack Thayer, and Richard Norris were rescued from the water after the ship sank.
Samurai fought with swords
Samurai often used swords for ceremonial displays, or as a last resort when forced into a melee fight.
People today often picture the Great Pyramids of Giza in Ancient Egypt as being the work of slaves.
And just as we today often change our legal system, the same was applicable in medieval times.
Other members of the National Assembly were far harsher, and it was due to Robespierre’s moderate views — as opposed to his reputed extremism — that did him in.
Some of them are still with us to this day, while others are no longer misunderstood, because they have since long faded into the sands of time.
The Siege of Yorktown in 1781 only ended as disastrously as it did for Cornwallis because the British fleet that was intended to relieve him and his men was shattered by a French naval force at Chesapeake — the victorious French then proceeded to obliterate the Yorktown garrison with mortar artillery.
When asked when this was to happen, he said “Right now”.
This did not include only Asiatic nations, such as Cambodia, but also European nations, such as Albania.
William Tell shot an apple off his son’s head for giggles
By the time Schabowski realized what this misunderstanding had caused, it was too late to put a stop.
Regardless, even if August 24 was correct, it is unlikely that it would have matched August 24 of today, due to Roman calendars being different from the modern Gregorian Calendar — not to mention, they would not have seen their year as 79 AD, since our yearly calendar did not start until it was introduced by Dionysius Exiguus, more than three centuries later.
Even President John Adams had wanted Independence Day to be celebrated on the 2nd of July for this reason — he continued doing so even after the 4th of July was adopted.
When the Terracotta Warriors were first excavated in 1974, they were also found fully colourized by the archaeologists who first entered, only for their splendid colours to quickly evaporate, thanks to being exposed to the outside world for the first time in nearly 2,200 years.
Trenches were primarily an effective means of protecting frontline soldiers from artillery, and of preventing enemy infiltration behind the lines, but were rarely the centre of the worst fights of the war.
His height was due to wearing long heels underneath his feet.
The legendary gunfight by armed bandits versus a small group of law enforcement personnel under Marshall Wyatt Earp at approximately 3 PM on October 26, 1881 has often been depicted as taking place at the OK Corral — sometimes even within its interior.
Though seldom done before 1962, the Roman Catholic Church did have one major exception to this rule.
By the 1960s, many countries within the communist world had switched allegiance from Moscow to China.
Mount Vesuvius erupted on August 24, 79 AD
Even Tennessee was given a temporary exemption on the advice of Vice President Andrew Johnson, who was concerned of the state’s lack of industries that would otherwise make immediate abolition impractical.
The Berlin Wall was torn down as a gesture of goodwill
Only females were accused of witchcraft, and they were executed by burning
In all that time, many myths and misconceptions have come and gone.
Only then did Cornwallis — who nearly defeated the Revolutionaries many times even with the French at his back — finally acquiesce and surrender his forces.
Ho Chi Minh was the leader of North Vietnam
Though they may not have been as destructive as the modern civilizations that followed — perhaps owing more to technological inability than unwillingness — it would be naive to compare an average Native American with a Park Ranger.
It must also be remembered that he was not in charge of the National Assembly throughout most of the Reign of Terror.
During the rule of Pope John VIII (872–882) he allowed the Slavonic language to be sung during a ceremony that would formally welcome the Slavs of Eastern Europe to the faith after a missionary by the name of Methods of Thessalonica requested that the Pope allow this to make the process of conversions easier.
Burning victims alive is a common stereotype when it comes to discussing the history of witchcraft, but it is mostly false.
Some gladiators fought to the death, either as punishment for a legal wrongdoing, or as part of a special ceremony.
However, if given the choice, they preferred the bow and arrow.
Today, we see Ancient Egyptian, Greek, and Roman statues and imagine they were always bland, soulless entities.
Until Vatican II, the Roman Catholic Church had never had a ceremony in the vernacular language
In fact, Egyptologists have since claimed that the earliest recorded labour strike in history was in regards to professional labourers complaining about their working conditions and wages.
Henry VIII had six wives in his lifetime.
Ironically, even Napoleon — often nicknamed as the “Little Corporal” — was slightly taller at 170 centimetres.
Science was frowned upon by the Vatican Church
History is in itself a chronologically lengthy subject with 13 billion years already in the past, with many more yet to come.
A Greek mathematician and astronomer by the name of Eratosthenes (d. 194 BCE) had already correctly calculated the circumference of the Earth two centuries before Christ walked the planet.
People believed the earth was flat
Furthermore, he was opposed to the execution of Marie Antoinette, and only reluctantly voted in favour of executing King Louis XVI of France — he refused to witness the execution in person.
Even some Chinese Emperor — including Emperor Kangxi — found this abhorrent, and he successfully outlawed it for a brief period, only to reinstate it under political pressure by those who refused to comply with his laws.
This had more to do with the wealthier passengers being closer to the lifeboats, as opposed to a deliberate policy.
The Declaration of Independence was signed on July 2, 1776, and certified two days later.
All Chinese women bound their feet
Though the first group of belligerents and their struggles are better remembered today, it was the second that proved decisive.
If there was any controversy that existed from then on, it was in regards to the size of the Earth and the accuracy of map drawing — not its physical shape.
Th VISA plan was scrapped before it ever had a chance of launching.
Medieval executions were common and brutal
There were many things that could have gone wrong throughout the Waterloo campaign.
Consequently, it was not uncommon for Moscow and Beijing to find themselves in a rivalry that was every much as intense and bitter as the more well-known theme of the Kremlin having its showdown with the White House.
Jacques Plante was the first NHL goalie to wear a face mask
Native Americans cut forests — enough to cause global cooling in medieval times — and they hunted buffalo herds by routing them off a cliff and consuming only a fraction of their kill.