MSN Video

During his years revolutionizing the automotive industry, Henry Ford became a symbol of American work ethic and ingenuity. But underneath his polished image are rusted out insides: Vindictive and demanding, Ford terrorized those within his own company, played controlling and vicious inheritance games with his family—and took one horrific belief to his grave.

George of Denmark never gets talked about today, even though he was technically the King of England. Subtle, unshakeable, and happy to let his wife Queen Anne take the reins, George was a natural-born consort in a time where men were supposed to hold all the power—but that doesn’t mean his life was ordinary. Beneath his placid exterior, George lived through family backstabbing, political intrigue, and unimaginable tragedy.

Life in the 1940s was already difficult enough, but it was even worse for anyone who was openly gay, especially if they were in the spotlight. Nevertheless, Truman Capote resolved never to change himself for anyone, and possibly without even intending to, became an early icon for the gay community. Whether or not it angered the public, he freely expressed his eccentric attitude and style—but it only took one publication to spark his tragic fall from grace.

Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy went from 1990s fashion icon to American royalty when she married John F Kennedy Jr. Sadly, this golden couple would fall prey to the Kennedy family curse. Carolyn went from being the coolest girl in her circle to a high-society recluse—and her story is truly devastating.

When the executioner raised King Charles I’s head before the crowd of onlookers, they let out a moan unlike anything the country had ever heard, before or since. The King of England had been killed by his own people. How did Charles I go from an absolute monarch to a head lying at the foot of the chopping block? What went wrong? Dive into the dark history of Charles I, the doomed king.

Rosemary Kennedy’s life is one of the Kennedy family’s most devastating, least-told stories. Born into a dynasty built on ambition and public success, she was expected to fit the polished image—but she struggled behind the scenes. And one fateful medical decision, made without her true consent, would permanently alter her future and silence her for decades.

You know Alexander the Great, but he wouldn't be anything without his dear old dad, King Philip of Macedon. Born into the bloodthirsty Macedonian royal family, Philip survived the game of thrones to turn his backwater kingdom into the greatest power in Greece. But fortunes could turn quickly in Ancient Greece, and just as Philip was on top of the world, it all came tumbling down.

Most Americans are taught that Christopher Columbus was the first European to discover North America. However, the story of Leif Erikson proves that’s a lie. This hard-living Viking came from a long line of explorers before setting foot in what he called “Vinland”—and he left a trail of mysteries and tragedies in his wake.

Queen Victoria may have been the “Grandmother of Europe,” but her own mother was a titan on the home front. Believe me, just like her daughter, Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg Saalfeld was no slouch in the drama department. From her scandalous romances to her disturbingly mommie dearest ways, this is one historical figure worth knowing about.

While Lord Byron became known for his poetry, he also became known for something else: his horrible treatment of women. Byron selfishly played with the hearts of women, and it didn’t matter if they were single, married, carrying his child or, on one occasion, even a member of his own family. When a country in crisis asked for his help, Byron finally did something altruistic. Tragically, it was this selfless act that drove Byron to an early grave.

For the Japanese people, Hirohito was a god. But behind the gilded facade and the royal duty he was born to, Hirohito was just a man like any other, and a flawed one at that. While his reign as Japanese Emperor centered around the growing power of the military and a series of terrible wars, Hirohito's own life was much different behind closed doors.

For a time, no woman was feared more in the court of King Henry VIII than the radical Protestant Anne Askew—and for very good reason. With the things she knew, Askew could have toppled the kingdom. But in exchange for facing down her enemies, all Anne got back was an utterly tragic end.