In the late Ottoman Empire, palace deaf-mutes were employed in sensitive roles because their inability to speak was believed to reduce the risk of political leakage. Some also served as execution assistants.

In 1977, Charlie Chaplin (16 April 1889 – 25 December 1977) was buried in Switzerland. Two months later, his coffin was stolen by grave robbers attempting to extort his family. It was recovered after a police investigation.

In 897, Pope Stephen VI (c. 855 – 897) put the corpse of his predecessor on trial in what became known as the Cadaver Synod. The body was dressed in papal robes, interrogated in court, convicted, and thrown into the Tiber River.

In 1566, Tycho Brahe (14 December 1546 – 24 October 1601) lost most of his nose in a duel over a mathematical dispute. He wore a prosthetic nose for the rest of his life while producing some of the most precise astronomical data of the pre-telescope era.

In 221 BCE, Qin Shi Huang (259 BCE – 210 BCE) unified warring Chinese states under a single imperial system. He standardized writing, currency, and measurements, while ruling through centralized authority enforced by law.

In 1610, Galileo Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642) published observations made with a telescope, including Jupiter’s moons. The findings challenged Earth-centered cosmology and altered how astronomical evidence was evaluated.

In 1864, stage actor John Wilkes Booth (10 May 1838 – 26 April 1865) planned to abduct U.S. President Abraham Lincoln (12 February 1809 – 15 April 1865) and deliver him to the Confederacy. The plot was abandoned on 11–12 April 1865. Days later, Booth assassinated Lincoln.

Ludwig Wittgenstein (April 26, 1889 to April 29, 1951) wrote Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus while serving in World War I. The book argues that meaningful language must logically represent facts, a view he later rejected.

In 1215, the Magna Carta established that even the king of England was subject to the law, introducing the principle that governmental power must be constrained by legal rules rather than personal authority.

Did you know: A Roman legionary typically carried 30–40 kg of equipment, built a fortified camp every night, and could march over 30 km a day. Rome’s military power was built on logistics and routine, not spectacle.