Mind Blowing Coincidences from History (That Actually Happened)

Mind Blowing Coincidences from History (That Actually Happened)

Share incredible coincidences in history that sound so crazy they have to be made up - but they actually happened! From presidents to disasters, these historical coincidences will amaze you.

Introduction

History is often known for wars, inventions, or revolutions, but sometimes the most interesting parts are the details – the strange coincidences that are impossible to reason. These are the stories that sound like fiction - but happened every time.

From two U.S. presidents having jaw-dropping similarities, to shipwrecks that foreshadowed one another, to twins living identical lives without knowing each other — history has sculptures some of the strangest coincidences imaginable.

Below are 10 of the most unbelievable historical coincidences, which will make you realize that sometimes truth is stranger than fiction.

1. The Titanic Tragedy and the Book That Predicted It

In 1898, Morgan Robertson wrote a novella called Futility, or the Wreck of the Titan. The central story was about a luxury ship, called the Titan, which sank in the north Atlantic after hitting an iceberg.

Fourteen years later, the Titanic sank in almost the same spot — and the parallels were eerie:

Both were described as "unsinkable."

Both had too few lifeboats.

Both ships hit icebergs in April.

And even their names, Titan and Titanic, were almost identical.

👉 Why It's Unbelievable: Robertson had no way of knowing, yet his story nearly predicted one of history's most notable tragedies.

2. The Lincoln–Kennedy Coincidences

One of the most famous coincidences in American history is that of Presidents Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy.

There are some stunning similarities:

Lincoln was elected in 1860 and Kennedy was elected in 1960.

Both were succeeded by men with the last name Johnson.

Both were assassinated on a Friday, and both were in the presence of their wives.

Lincoln was shot at Ford's Theatre and Kennedy was shot in a Ford car.

Lincoln had a secretary named Kennedy and Kennedy had a secretary named Lincoln.

3. The Twins Who Lived Identical Lives

Jim Lewis and Jim Springer are twin brothers in Ohio, separated at birth, were raised apart by a different family. For 39 years, they did not know the other existed.

Upon reuniting, their lives were virtually identical:

Both adopted parents named them Jim.

Both married women named Linda, divorced and remarried women named Betty.

Both had a son named James Alan.

Both drove the same type of car and smoked the same brand of cigarettes.

👉 Why It's unbelievable: Their lived life nearly like mirror images of each other despite being raised apart - completely strange coincidence, genetics or some fateful force at play.

4. Mark Twain's Birth and Death Followed Halley's Comet

Famous author Mark Twain, once predicted his own death stemming from Halley's Comet.

As a child he was born in 1835 when Halley's Comet introduced itself into the world; however, in 1909 he stated, "I came in with Halley's Comet in 1835. It is coming again next year, and I expect I will exit with it."

In April of 1910 Twain died; just a day after Halley's Comet was seen again.

👉 Why it is unbelievable: Twain's prediction came incredibly true, based on the timeline of his life linked with a comet.

5. The First and Last Soldiers of the First World War

The first British soldier to die in the First World War was John Parr. The last British soldier to die in that conflict was George Ellison.

Interestingly, they are now both interns at their-exact graves in Belgium, about few yards apart from each other, facing in opposition.

👉 Why It’s Unbelievable: How incredibly improbable is it out of millions of soldiers and endless battlefields, that the first and last victims would end up memorialized beside each other?

6. The Two Erskine Bridges

In 1975 in Scotland, a man named Erskine Lawrence Ebbin died, while riding his moped when he was struck by a taxi. The odd part?

The previous year, his brother, Neville Ebbin was also killed, in the same location, at exactly the same moment, on the same moped, by the same taxi driver – carrying exactly the same passenger.

👉 Why It’s Unbelievable: The chances of such a sequence of events occurring in the same conditions is almost impossible to fathom.

7. The King who saved his own assassins

In 1835, U.S. President Andrew Jackson survived an assassination attempt because the would-be assassin's guns both failed to fire. He learned something astounding, however: the assassin had been hired by rich adversaries, many of whom Jackson himself pardoned long before when they were convicted of murder.

👉 Why it is unbelievable: Jackson was somehow able to grant a price on the lives of two men that he himself gave the second chance to take their lives from.

8. Edgar Allan Poe's Predictive Story

In 1838, author Edgar Allan Poe published The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket. In the novel, shipwrecked sailors resort to cannibalism, and the unfortunate victim's name is Richard Parker.

Forty-six years later, in 1884, a real ship sank, and the survivors had to resort to cannibalism, and the young cabin boy they ate had — astonishingly — also been named Richard Parker.

👉 Why it is unbelievable: Poe's fictionalized account eerily mirrored a real tragedy decades later.

9. The Unusual Coincidences of Napoleon and Hitler

Historians have long noted extraordinary coincidences between Napoleon Bonaparte and Adolf Hitler:

Napoleon rose to power in 1804, and Hitler in 1933 (129 years apart).

Napoleon invaded Russia in 1812, and Hitler invaded Russia in 1941 (again, 129 years apart).

Both were defeated in the midst of Russia's brutal winter.

👉 Why It Is Unbelievable: The timeline accuracy is so precise that it appears as if history is simply repeating itself.

10. The Hoover Dam Curse

In August of 1922, the first worker to die on the construction of the Hoover Dam was J.G. Tierney (who drowned while surveying the site). Exactly 13 years later, on the same day, the last worker to die on the construction of the Hoover Dam was Patrick Tierney - his son.

👉 Why It is Unbelievable: The father and son were the first and last two victims of the same monumental endeavor, on the same day of the year.

Why Are Coincidences So Engaging to Us?

Coincidences seem to fascinate us because they feel like small glimpses into a larger hidden pattern within the universe. Some people look at coincidences as fate, while others recognize them as good, or bad, luck.

Scientists suggest coincidences stand out in our memory because our brains are programmed to identify connections. That said, with stories as these, it is enough to make one think differently about whether history has its own perplexing rhythm.

Conclusion

From the Titanic's ominous foreshadowing to identical twins living the exact same life apart, these 10 incredible moments of history remind us that sometimes reality is stranger than fiction.

Some of these accounts may seem plausible, while other cases and coincidences are a mystery that raise the question between chance and fate.

The next time you pick up on a strange coincidence in life, just remember there are thousands throughout history and that sometimes, the most peculiar of coincidences and stories stem from the simplest details.