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History is full of big moments and famous figures, but sometimes it's the strange little overlaps that really make you scratch your head. You know, those moments where events line up in ways that seem just too bizarre to be mere chance. From the eerie parallels between presidents Lincoln and Kennedy to Mark Twain practically predicting the exact year of his own death (tied to Halley's Comet, no less!), some historical connections are downright spooky. We've collected 21 fascinating instances where history served up coincidences so weird, they almost make you wonder if someone's pulling the strings behind the scenes.

#1

A woman pulling a cart in an old illustration, symbolizing historical coincidences in a rural setting.

1720 there was the plague, 1820 had cholera, 1920 was the Spanish flu and in 2020 the Coronavirus outbreak start.

Doc_of_derp , John Everett Millais Report

Libstak
Community Member
7 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

So we good for another 95 years now? Good to know.

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    #2

    Two men in suits with boutonnieres, smiling at the camera, capturing a historical coincidence moment.

    1970's The Jim twins. Two identical twins separated and adopted to different families at birth. Both were named James, married and divorced women named Linda, remarried women named Betty, and each had a dog named Toy. They even both named their sons James Allan. They reunited at age 39.

    dennismarr , history defined Report

    Inigo Montoya
    Community Member
    7 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    In yet another coincidence, they both shared the same birthday.

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    #3

    A historical coincidence: a large ship on the ocean and a nurse in uniform, evoking an eerie sense of history.

    Violet Constance Jessop was an Irish-Argentine ocean liner stewardess and Voluntary Aid Detachment nurse in the early 20th century. Jessop is best known for having survived the sinking of both RMS Titanic in 1912 and her sister ship HMHS Britannic in 1916, as well as having been aboard the eldest of the three sister ships, RMS Olympic, when it collided with the British warship HMS Hawke in 1911.

    wikipedia , HefePine23 , Francis Godolphin Osbourne Stuart Report

    Libstak
    Community Member
    7 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I would personally bar her from any other ship ever.

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    #4

    Book cover of "Futility" and portrait of its author, associated with historical coincidences.

    14 years before the Titanic sank, in 1898, Morgan Robertson, a fantasy writer from the US, write about a ship sinking in a novella called Futility. The ship in the book was called the Titan, but that's not the end of the similarities. For example, like the real Titanic, the Titan was described as unsinkable. They also both had insufficient lifeboats and they both collided with icebergs in the North Atlantic.

    cruiselinehistory , George G. Rockwood , wikimedia commons Report

    Lee Gilliland
    Community Member
    Premium
    7 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    They also were described within a few feet and tons of each other.

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    #5

    Aerial view of a nuclear power plant; a notable coincidence in history, showing cooling towers and surrounding facilities.

    Nuclear reactor accident at Three Mile Island happened 12 days after "China Syndrome" was released. "China Syndrome" was a movie about a nuclear meltdown.

    wikipedia , United States Department of Energy Report

    Mark Serbian, PK&RG,W
    Community Member
    7 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    It also happened on a Saturday: 1 day AFTER Terry Pratchett was hired by the British Equivalent of the US Atomic Energy Commission (He was hired in the PR department). Monday was a great day for him...

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    #6

    Two historical portraits depicting notable figures, highlighting unbelievable coincidences from history.

    In 1726 Jonathan Swift mentioned Mars having 2 moons and their approximate orbital periods in Gulliver's Travels 151 years before they were discovered in 1877.

    American Astronomical Society , Charles Jervas , Jonathan Swift Report

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    #7

    A historical coincidence featuring a comet and a distinguished man with white hair and suit.

    Samuel Clemens, better known by his pen name of Mark Twain, predicted his own passing. His prediction was based on the astronomical phenomenon that marked his birth - Halley's Comet in 1835. Halley's Comet is visible from Earth every 75 or 76 years. Twain was born shortly after the comet was visible in 1835. He made the above prediction in 1909. He was right: he passed away from a heart attack just as Halley's Comet was again visible on April 21, 1910.

    americanliteraryblog , A.F. Bradley, New York , Edward Emerson Barnard Report

    Uncle Panda
    Community Member
    7 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    According to the Internet Death Clock, I will die on Wednesday 24th August 2044. So I put a note in my calendar the week before that to get a haircut and have the suit cleaned.

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    #8

    Two historical figures, side by side, highlighting intriguing coincidences from history.

    Two of America's presidents Abraham Lincoln and John F Kennedy, share a multitude of barely believable coincidences. Both were shot and passed away on Friday, both passed away before a celebration (Kennedy was assassinated on the eve of Thanksgiving, Lincoln was killed right before Easter), and each one of them were accompanied by their wife and another couple. Also both had a friend called Billy Graham, both had four children, both had secretaries named after the other (Kennedy's secretary was called Mrs. Lincoln, while Lincoln's secretary was called John), and both of their successors were vice presidents called Johnson.

    historynews network , Alexander Gardner , Library of Congress Report

    UKGrandad
    Community Member
    7 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    And Kennedy was shot while riding in a Lincoln car.

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    #9

    Historic coincidence: a ship trapped in ice next to a black-and-white portrait of a man in formal attire.

    The Endurance ship was found at the bottom of the Weddell Sea 100 years to the day after Ernest Shackleton, the Endurance's captain, was buried (March 5, 1922 and March 5, 2022).

    bbc , National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London , Nadar Report

    Inigo Montoya
    Community Member
    7 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    The most incredible survival tale in history, and one of history's greatest leaders. If you haven't read a detailed account of the Shackleton expedition before, find one of the several books on it at your nearest library.

    #10

    Workers mixing concrete during construction, showcasing historical coincidences in architecture.

    112 fatal accidents were associated with the building of the Hoover Dam, but there's a strange coincidence between the first and last men to lose their lives during its construction. The first man to pass away was a surveyor called George Tierney, who drowned in the Colorado on December 20, 1922, while looking for an ideal place for the dam and the last man to pass away was Patrick Tierney, George's son, who also passed away on December 20 in 1935.

    Bureau of Reclamation , Bureau of Reclamation photographer Report

    LakotaWolf (she/her)
    Community Member
    7 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Oh, how tragic for their family members to lose father and son to the same project :(

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    #11

    Two historical figures with strikingly similar appearances, emphasizing unbelievable historical coincidences.

    Bobby Farrell singer in pop and Eurodisco group Boney M who had a song named 'Rasputin' about Grigori Rasputin, passed away in same city - St. Petersburg, Russia on 30th of December the same date and place that Grigori Rasputin passed away too.

    wikipedia , reneekelly5352 , wikimedia commons Report

    Apatheist Account2
    Community Member
    7 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    He wasn't actually a singer, he was hired as a dancer - all the records were sung by someone else. There is footage of him singing live, and it's nothing like the original.

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    #12

    Historical coincidences image featuring two renowned scientists in sepia tones.

    Theoretical physicist and cosmologist Stephen Hawking's passing occurred on fairly significant day which correlated with theoretical physicist Albert's Einstein’s 139th birthday, Galileo’s 300th passing-day and Pi day - March 14, with date read as 3.14. 

    usa today , Photograph by Oren Jack Turner, Princeton, N.J. , NASA Report

    Apatheist Account2
    Community Member
    7 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Hawking would have written the date as 14/3, because he was English, not American.

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    #13

    Mushroom cloud from an atomic explosion, illustrating historical coincidences and their impact.

    Tsutomu Yamaguchi was a Japanese marine engineer who survived both the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings. Even that at least 160 people are known to have been affected by both bombings, he is the only person to have been officially recognized by the government of Japan as surviving both explosions.

    wikipedia , National Archives and Records Administration Report

    #14

    Two historical figures in side-by-side portraits, illustrating an unbelievable coincidence from history.

    John Adams, the 2nd US President, and Thomas Jefferson, the 3rd US President, both died on July 4, 1826. That day was the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

    history.com , Library of Congress , Library of Congress Report

    Enlee Jones
    Community Member
    7 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    John Adams last words were "Thomas Jefferson still survives", unaware that Jefferson had died hours earlier.

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    #15

    Historic skyline of New York City shrouded in fog, reflecting eerie coincidences from history.

    The Moldy Peaches released an album on September 11, 2001 with a song on it called NYC’s Like a Graveyard.

    wikipedia , Jack Delano Report

    Sunny Day
    Community Member
    7 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    But was it released before 8am or after 10am?

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    #16

    Historical tanks moving through a rural village road.

    On June 20, 1940, Soviet archaeologists uncovered the tomb of Tamerlane in what is now Uzbekistan. Tamerlane, who saw himself as Genghis Khan's heir, was a Turco-Mongol conqueror and the founder of the Timurid Empire in Persia and Central Asia. A warning inscription on his tomb read "Whomsoever opens my tomb will unleash an invader more terrible than I." Clearly not superstitious, the Soviet archaeologists ignored the warning and opened the tomb anyway. 3 days later, Germany launched Operation Barbarossa, the largest military invasion of all time, upon the Soviet Union.

    wikipedia , pbsthisdayinhistory Report

    Michael Largey
    Community Member
    7 months ago (edited) Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Germany invaded Russia in June 22 1941, not June 23 1940.

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    #17

    Man in 19th-century attire posing for a formal portrait, symbolizing historical coincidences.

    Presidents Abrahams Lincoln's son Robert Todd Lincoln was coincidentally either present or nearby when three presidential assassinations occurred.

    wikipedia , Library of Congress Report

    superfluous
    Community Member
    7 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Coincidence, yeah, that's it 😉

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    #18

    Astronaut walking on the moon's surface, showcasing historical coincidences in space exploration.

    Buzz Aldrin’s Apollo 11 astronaut and engineer mother’s maiden name was Marion Moon.

    history.com , NASA Report

    UKGrandad
    Community Member
    7 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Jesus! Who wrote that mess of a sentence? "The maiden name of the mother of Apollo 11 astronaut, Buzz Aldrin, was Moon'.

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    #19

    Historic figures side by side, illustrating fascinating coincidences in history.

    Writer Miguel de Cervantes and playwright and poet William Shakespeare both passed away on the same date (23rd April 1616).

    dw.com , 19th Century lithograph, unsigned , John Taylor Report

    Apatheist Account2
    Community Member
    7 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    23rd April is also credited as Shakespeare's birthday and St George's day - yet we, the English, don't celebrate it at all.

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    #20

    Two similar-looking men, one in historical attire, the other in a modern sports jersey, illustrating a historical coincidence.

    The founder of the Ferrari company, Enzo Ferrari, died on August 14, 1988. Just a month later, on October 15, Arsenal footballer Mesut Ozil was born. Take a look at their pictures side by side. Massive coincidence? Or proof of reincarnation?

    Unknown author , Steindy Report

    Ace
    Community Member
    7 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Err, what? They look nothing like each other!

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