20 Strange Coincidences in History That Seem Almost Impossible
History books are filled with unlikely events, but some coincidences stretch the boundaries of probability. Beyond statistical chance, these moments of synchronicity have shaped world events and altered the course of human history.
Here’s a list of 20 bizarre coincidences in history which seem almost impossible.
Lincoln and Kennedy’s Parallel Deaths
The assassinations of these American presidents share uncanny similarities. Both were shot on a Friday, in the presence of their wives, by Southerners with three names. Lincoln sat in Box 7 at Ford’s Theatre; Kennedy rode in Car 7 in Dallas.
Each was succeeded by a Johnson born 100 years apart.
Halley’s Comet and Mark Twain
Samuel Clemens, better known as Mark Twain, was born during the appearance of Halley’s Comet in 1835. Throughout his life, he predicted he would “go out with the comet.”
True to his word, he died on April 21, 1910, the day of the comet’s next return.
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Titanic’s Sinking
Novel Morgan Robertson wrote “Futility” in 1898, describing an “unsinkable” luxury liner called Titan that struck an iceberg in the North Atlantic. Fourteen years later, the Titanic met the same fate.
Both ships were similar in size, speed, and passenger capacity, and both lacked sufficient lifeboats.
The First and Last World War I Casualties
Private George Price, the last Commonwealth soldier killed in WWI, died at 10:58 am on November 11, 1918, just two minutes before the armistice. He fell in Ville-sur-Haine, Belgium, mere yards from where the first British soldier had died four years earlier.
Anthony Hopkins’ Rare Book
While preparing for his role in “The Girl from Petrovka,” Hopkins couldn’t find a copy of the book anywhere in London. Later, he found a discarded book on a subway bench – it was author George Feifer’s own annotated copy, lost two years earlier.
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The Ferrari Twins
Twin brothers died on the same road in Belgium in 2002, each riding identical bikes, exactly one year apart. Even more striking, both were hit by the same truck, driven by the same driver, carrying the same cargo, while the twins were each age 65.
Dennis the Menace’s Double Birth
On March 12, 1951, two different cartoonists on opposite sides of the Atlantic published their first “Dennis the Menace” comics. Neither knew of the other’s work, yet both created mischievous boys with the same name on the same day.
Edgar Allan Poe’s Sea Survival Story
In 1838, Poe wrote “The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym,” featuring four shipwreck survivors who resort to cannibalism and eat a cabin boy named Richard Parker. In 1884, a real shipwreck occurred where the survivors were forced to eat a cabin boy – who was also named Richard Parker.
This happened in the case of the Mignonette shipwreck.
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The Separated Twins
Identical twins separated at birth and met at age 39, discovering both had been named James by their adoptive parents, both married women named Linda, both had sons named James Alan, and both had dogs named Toy.
The Three Strangers
In 1975, three men named separately met at a hospital in Bermuda. Not only did they share the same name, but they also discovered they were born on the same day, in the same hospital, to mothers with the same name.
Violet Jessop’s Triple Survival
This ocean liner stewardess survived the sinking of three sister ships: the Olympic (1911), the Titanic (1912), and the Britannic (1916). She became known as “Miss Unsinkable,” surviving each disaster through different circumstances.
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King Umberto’s Double Life
King Umberto I of Italy met a restaurant owner who looked exactly like him and shared his name. They discovered they were born on the same day, married women with the same name, and opened their establishments on the same day.
The restaurant owner died on the same day Umberto was assassinated.
The Dutch Twins’ Final Ride
Seventy-year-old twin brothers died in separate bicycle accidents on the same road in Holland in 2002. They died within hours of each other, neither knowing about the other’s accident.
Hitler’s Jewish Rescuer
In 1894, a Jewish doctor named Eduard Bloch treated a young Adolf Hitler’s mother for breast cancer. Hitler later called him a “noble Jew” and granted him special protection during the Holocaust, allowing him to sell his house and emigrate safely.
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The Lincoln-Hitler Connection
Booth shot Lincoln in Ford’s Theatre. Years later, Henry Ford, founder of the car company, purchased the original chair Lincoln sat in when he was assassinated. Later still, Ford became the only American mentioned by name in Hitler’s “Mein Kampf.”
The Hoover Dam Deaths
The first person to die during the Hoover Dam’s construction was J.G. Tierney on December 20, 1922. The last person to die during construction was his son, Patrick Tierney, who died on December 20, 1935 – exactly 13 years later.
The Presidential Bullet
In 1950, President Harry Truman’s bedroom underwent renovation. Workers discovered a failed assassination plot against Andrew Jackson from 1835 – a bullet that had misfired was still lodged in the wall where Truman now slept.
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The Liberty Bell Seven’s Return
When astronaut Gus Grissom’s Mercury capsule sank in 1961, skeptics suggested he had panicked and blown the hatch early. The capsule was recovered 38 years later, and forensic evidence proved the hatch explosion had been caused by mechanical failure, exactly as Grissom had claimed.
The Revolutionary Twins
On July 4, 1826, both John Adams and Thomas Jefferson died within hours of each other, exactly 50 years after they helped create the Declaration of Independence. Adams’ last words were, “Thomas Jefferson survives,” unaware that Jefferson had died five hours earlier.
The Circus Train Tragedy
In 1915, a circus train crashed in Tyrone, New Mexico, killing several performers. One hundred years later to the day, another circus train derailed at the same spot.
Both accidents occurred at the same time of day, involved the same number of railcars, and resulted in identical casualty counts. Local historians discovered that even the weather conditions were eerily similar during both accidents.
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Coincidence or Cosmic Design?
History’s Remarkable Pattern
These extraordinary coincidences challenge our understanding of probability and fate. While skeptics might dismiss them as selective observation or confirmation bias, these events remind us that reality often proves stranger than fiction.
Perhaps some coincidences simply defy explanation, leaving us to wonder at the mysterious patterns woven through human history.
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