These 14 Historical Coincidences Can Hardly Be Believed

Whether you are superstitious or not, these 14 incredible coincidences may well shake up your beliefs. Discover how chance or fate have sometimes intervened to influence the course of history, or simply the existence of certain people.

Some of these historical facts have now become part of the common 'folklore,' made popular by the media, and sometimes even in productions made for the general public. Whether you decide to bring them up at your next family meal, to impress your friends or simply to enhance your general knowledge, these ten special cases will interest you.

Coincidences that leave you speechless

From fictional characters becoming more real than their namesakes to sportsmen performing feats in spite of themselves, there is very little chance that you will leave this article without learning something.

These 14 Historical Coincidences Can Hardly Be Believed

The founder of Ferrari, Enzo Ferrari, died August 14th, 1988.

And just one month later, German footballer Mesut Özil was born. Isn't there a familiar resemblance?

Catherine Eddowes was released on September 30th, 1888, after spending a night in prison for drunkenness. She was found dead the same evening, murdered by Jack the Ripper.

To get out of prison, Catherine Eddowes had given a false name: Mary Kelly. The same day, a woman named Mary Kelly was also found murdered by Jack the Ripper.

In 2000, the Simpsons were already predicting Donald Trump running for President of the United States.

Matt Gröning's famous series is definitely prescient!

In preparation for his role in the movie 'The Girl from Petrovka,' Anthony Hopkins was desperately trying to get his hands on the book written by George Feifer. A book that was impossible to find.

But one day while he was on a bench, the actor found a forgotten book. It was George Feifer's!

During her lifetime, Violet Jessup escaped three shipwrecks. The HMS Hawke, the HMHS Britannic and the famous Titanic. Her incredible luck earned her the nickname 'Miss Unsinkable!'

Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy have many things in common. Both were elected President of the United States, and both were assassinated in the same way: a bullet to the head.

They both died alongside their wives, both had 4 children, and both had a friend with the same name: Billy Graham.

14 years before the sinking of the Titanic, the novelist Morgan Robertson published a book entitled 'The Sinking of the Titan.' The story of a ship that sank in the North Atlantic after hitting an iceberg!

In Edgar Allan Poe's only novel, 'The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket,' the author told the story of a sinking ship and four sailors who are forced to eat one of their own to survive.

Coincidence: 46 years later, this story really happened and the man who was eaten had the same name as the hero of Poe's novel: Richard Parker.

The first and last English soldiers to die in World War I are both buried next to each other in Saint Symphorien Cemetery in Belgium. This arrangement is actually due to chance.

Separated at birth, these twins nevertheless had the same life. They were both called James, each had a wife named Linda and both became police officers. Even their children and dogs had the same names!

Did Mark Twain predict his own death?

Born in 1835, during the passage of Halley's Comet, the novelist had prophesied that he would die during its next passage in 1910. Result: Mark Twain died on April 21st, 1910.

112 people died during the construction of the Hoover Dam in the USA. The first man who died was George Tierney in 1922. In 1935, the last to die was Patrick Tierney, George's son!

Cyclist Maarten de Jonge twice escaped a plane crash. Each time, he changed flights at the last minute and escaped the worst possible outcome.

On 20th June 1940, archaeologists discovered the tomb of the Turkish-Mongolian warrior Tamerlan in Uzbekistan. On it was engraved an inscription: 'Whoever opens my tomb will bring in an invader more terrible than me...'

...three days after the discovery of the tomb, Adolf Hitler launched Operation 'Barbarossa,' the Third Reich's invasion of the Soviet Union.

The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand triggered the First World War. He was shot dead in a car bearing the number plate 'A III 118.' The war ended with an armistice on 11-11-18.