Did Edison really invent the lightbulb? Did Catherine the Great really die in a compromising position with a horse? Did Vikings really wear those silly hats? These questions, and others like them, have haunted all of us from time to time. History is a vast, complicated, and confusing subject, composed of lots of really weird stories and characters. Some of these stories are true, some are exaggerated, and some are just blatant, shameless lies. Which silly historical myths have you been buying into all this time? Prepare for your preconceptions to be brutally shattered below.
http://www.ranker.com/list/history-myths/devon-ashby,
Thomas Edison Invented the Lightbulb
Edison helped to perfect the lightbulb, but he wasn't the first person who ever came up with the idea. Other people had essentially created lightbulbs that worked the same way, but nobody else had been able to create a filament that lasted for longer than an hour or two before burning out. Even the final version he ultimately patented probably wasn't his invention alone – he ran a big laboratory staffed by scores of technicians. Though Edison ended up getting most of the credit, the filament-perfecter was likely one (or a couple) of his paid employees, not Edison himself.
Sir Isaac Newton's Discovery of Gravity
It's true that Newton developed the theory of gravity, but that anecdote about how he had an epiphany after getting hit on the head by an apple that fell from a tree is probably a pile of crap. The first known source for this story comes from the satirist Voltaire (known for being hilarious, but not necessarily for his veracity), and wasn't published until many years after Newton's death.
George Washington's Cherry Tree Fiasco
Unsurprisingly, this treacly parable about George Washington's childhood integrity is untrue and was originally drawn from an aggrandizing biography published by Parson Weems in 1809. Supposedly, as a child, Washington overzealously cut down his father's cherry tree with a hatchet, but after confessing to the deed, was forgiven with the admonition that "honestly is more valuable than a thousand trees."
This one was pretty much made up from whole cloth as a PR gimmick by Washington's hagiographer, near as we can tell.
Walt Disney Invented Mickey Mouse
Actually, it was Ub Iwerks, one of Disney's most prolific and talented animators, who invented Mickey. There's an apocryphal story about Disney doodling an original sketch of proto-Mickey character Oswald Rabbit on an envelope while riding on a train (supposedly, this is also how Lincoln came up with the Gettysburg Address – we're skeptical about that one, too) but this hasn't been verified.
Let Them Eat Cake
Marie Antoinette's famous statement is actually attributable to an anecdote in Rousseau's autobiographical Confessions, which appeared twenty years before the French Revolution. It wasn't attributed to Marie until many decades later, becoming an iconic symbol of the French nobility's naivete and indifference to the struggles of the common people.
Napoleon Bonaparte Was Inordinately Short
Napoleon Bonaparte was known during his life as "The Little Corporal." While many people erroneously assume this was a reference to his physical height, it actually began early in his career as a mocking reference to his lack of military accolades and low rank. Napoleon Bonaparte was 5'7" – not a towering giant, but certainly not a dwarf.
The Death of Catherine the Great
Like most powerful women, Catherine the Great had a lot of haters. She still has a reputation (partially true, and partially sexist confabulation) for politically strategic sexual manipulation. During her life, she was nicknamed "The Scarlet Empress" for her allegedly high volume of sexual partners (probably around 20 throughout the course of her life, which today would pretty much be no big deal).
Europe's embittered slut-shaming of Catherine reached its pinnacle following her death, when French intellectuals began circulating the 100% fabricated rumor that she had died while attempting to have sex with a horse.
In reality, Catherine died unremarkably in her bed at the age of 67, following a stroke.
Adolf Hitler Was a Socialist
People love to compare modern "Socialists" to Adolf Hitler, and some people even suffer under the delusion that Hitler was himself an avowed Socialist. Actually, Hitler was a Fascist, which is pretty much the polar opposite of being a Socialist. The word "Fascist" is now mainly used as a petulant insult by overly sensitive college freshmen, but at one time, it was an actual, real political ideology based on the theory that the allotment of power and resources in evolved societies is intrinsically merit-based, and that those balances of power should therefore never be artificially tampered with. (Nowadays, this type of political ideology is called "Libertarianism.")
Gandhi's Liberation of India
Gandhi is viewed by many as the singlehanded instigator of non-violent protests in India, which ultimately led to the country's liberation from British colonization. Actually, though, Gandhi's activities were just one small part of a much larger organized movement in India to overcome British rule.
Most historical scholars agree that India's eventual independence would have been inevitable, with or without Gandhi – he was just a bit more of a media darling than some of the nation's other key figures. (To make things even worse, Gandhi was profoundly racist, and most likely a pedophile – but we'll leave you to Google those unsavory details for yourself.)
No Irish Need Apply
A favorite caveat of many white people when confronted with historical racism is to blurt, "But the Irish were persecuted, too!" While it's certainly true that many recent Irish immigrants had trouble finding work in the United States during the early 19th century (because they were poor, uneducated, and had extremely silly accents) the degree to which these immigrants were actually discriminated against in America has been hugely exaggerated by history.
One of the most iconic representations of Irish persecution in America is the "No Irish Need Apply" sign, which according to popular legend, used to be posted all over the damn place, making it impossible for Irish people to find jobs. Actually, though, there is absolutely no record of signs like this ever being posted by business owners anywhere at any time in the nation's history, except in frat bars during the second half of the 20th century. Seriously. Get over yourself, Irish-Americans.