15 of History’s Strangest Coincidences

A coincidence is when two or more things happen that, at a glance, seem like they should be connected in some way or form, when in reality they’re not. Just because each time you wash the car it rains, doesn’t mean that you’re making it rain by washing the car.

Throughout the long history of humankind, there have been many coincidences documented by historians. And while we’re all tempted to consider them as signs of fate, they’re nothing more than fun facts to share around. And we do love fun facts, so here are some of the strangest coincidences we know of.

Jefferson and Adams Die on Independence Day

Former presidents Thomas Jefferson and John Adams died within hours of each other on July 4, 1826, also known as the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Five years later, another early president, James Monroe, also died on July 4.

Edwin Booth Saves Robert Lincoln

Months before John Wilkes Booth assassinated Abraham Lincoln, his brother Edwin rescued Lincoln’s son Robert from a dangerous fall between a train and a platform. Neither man initially knew the other’s extraordinary family connection.

Robert Lincoln and Three Assassinations

Robert Todd Lincoln was closely connected to three presidential assassinations. He attended his father’s deathbed, was nearby when James Garfield was shot, and was present at the Pan-American Exposition when William McKinley was assassinated.

Mark Twain and Halley’s Comet

Mark Twain was born in 1835 during Halley’s Comet’s appearance. Decades later, he predicted he would leave the world with the comet; he died in 1910, one day after it emerged from behind the Sun.

Violet Jessop’s Three Maritime Disasters

Violet Jessop was aboard Olympic when it collided with another ship, survived Titanic’s sinking in 1912, and Britannic’s sinking in 1916. Her extraordinary run through three major maritime disasters earned her the nickname “Miss Unsinkable.”

The First and Last Hoover Dam Fatalities

Ninety-six men died during Hoover Dam’s construction. The first was an original surveyor who drowned in 1922; the final worker fatality in 1935 was his son, an eerie connection spanning the entire project.

Lincoln and Kennedy’s Real Parallels

Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy were elected president exactly 100 years apart, in 1860 and 1960. Both were assassinated on Fridays and succeeded by presidents named Johnson, although many popular similarities are exaggerated or false.

Anthony Hopkins Finds the Author’s Lost Book

Anthony Hopkins searched unsuccessfully for The Girl from Petrovka before finding a discarded copy on a London Underground seat. Later, he learned it was the author’s own annotated copy, which had been loaned out and lost.

Mongols Defeated by Nature

The Mongols had ample opportunity to conquer Japan, but the two times they tried, their fleets were turned back by a typhoon.

Complicated Spy Network

During the Cold War, a Russian spy mistakenly used a hollow coin with an encoded message as currency. The authorities got hold of that coin but couldn’t crack the code, until a defecting spy decoded it for them. It said “Welcome to America,” and the message was meant for the spy before their defection.

Sacagawea Finds Her Brother

While Lewis and Clark negotiated with the Lemhi Shoshone for desperately needed horses in 1805, Sacagawea recognized Chief Cameahwait as her long-lost brother. Their emotional reunion helped transform negotiations and secured crucial assistance for the expedition.

King Umberto’s Alleged Double

A famous Italian story claims King Umberto I met a restaurant owner who looked identical to him and supposedly shared his birthday, birthplace, and other remarkable similarities. They even died in a similar manner.

The Choir That Wasn’t There

On March 1, 1950, the West Side Baptist Church in Beatrice, Nebraska, exploded shortly before choir practice. Remarkably, all 15 expected choir members were late for unrelated reasons, leaving nobody inside when disaster struck.

The Alleged Curse of Timur

Soviet researchers opened Timur’s tomb in Samarkand shortly before Germany invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941. Legends claim the tomb contained a warning about unleashing a terrible invader, though the inscription’s authenticity remains disputed.

Ohio’s Two-Car Crash

A popular story claims that Ohio had only two registered automobiles in 1910 and that they somehow collided. Versions of the story circulate widely, but what remains is that driving has been dangerous since its inception.