Famous historical figures who vanished without a trace
“To be a Gringo in Mexico — ah, that is euthanasia!”
Ambrose Bierce wrote that in 1913, at 71, on his way to the Mexican Revolution, TIME recounts. A few weeks later, he was gone.
Six famous people follow, each of whom vanished and never came back. For each, we separate what’s known from what’s guessed. A few have long been “solved” in popular legend. They aren’t.
Louis Le Prince shot the oldest surviving film, then boarded a train
October 14, 1888, Leeds. Le Prince filmed his family in a garden. The result, “Roundhay Garden Scene,” is the earliest surviving film, per the Guinness Book of Records.
On September 16, 1890, he boarded a train in Dijon, at about 2:42 p.m., bound for Paris, TrueCrimeLover reports. He never arrived. Neither did his luggage.
Years later, a researcher found a photo in Paris police archives of a man drowned in the Seine in 1890, one podcast notes. Nobody can say it’s him. We don’t know what happened between Dijon and Paris.
Ambrose Bierce told friends exactly where he was going
Bierce, 71, was a Civil War veteran and the author of “The Devil’s Dictionary.” In 1913, he joined Pancho Villa’s forces in Mexico as an observer, Explorersweb reports.
He mailed his last letter from Chihuahua on December 26, 1913. He expected to leave for Ojinaga.
The most common theory: he died in the siege of Ojinaga in January 1914, Quill reports. Others say Villa’s men killed him as a spy, or that he took his own life. Nobody has proven any of them, Today I Found Out notes.
Percy Fawcett’s last letter said they were in good spirits
Fawcett, a British explorer, was looking for a city he called “Z.” In April 1925, he set out from Cuiabá, Brazil, with his son Jack and Jack’s friend Raleigh Rimell, Missed History reports.
The last letter came from Dead Horse Camp on May 29, 1925. Fawcett had given out false coordinates to throw off rivals, Discovery UK notes.
In the 1950s, explorer Orlando Villas-Bôas obtained bones said to be Fawcett’s. Forensic examination showed they weren’t, Historiqly reports. Later, Europeans found the Kuhikugu complex, HistoryHit notes.
Amelia Earhart has been searched for 20 times
She and navigator Fred Noonan left Lae, Papua New Guinea, on July 2, 1937, for Howland Island, about 2,550 miles away, Newsweek recounts. The Navy searched for 16 days.
The 20th organized search, the Taraia Object expedition, went to Nikumaroro this fall, the Spokesman-Review reported. On October 19, it said it found no conclusive evidence, per Purdue. The “plane-shaped” object was most likely a pile of big trees, Earth.com reports.
The deep-sea company Nauticos is trying to raise $8 million to $10 million for another search near Howland, CNN reports.
Glenn Miller took a seat on a plane that wasn’t his
On December 15, 1944, Miller’s flights to Paris on the 13th and 14th were canceled because of weather. Then an Army colleague, Lt. Col. Norman Baessell, offered him a seat on a small Norseman. It took off at 1:55 p.m. from RAF Twinwood Farm, Classical Music reports.
Neither the plane nor anyone on it was ever located. A 1945 Army inquiry blamed pilot error, mechanical problems, and weather, according to Kings Intel.
The popular theory is that bombs jettisoned by 138 returning Lancasters hit the plane. Former navigator Fred Shaw said so in 1984. No record of it exists before 1954, Skeptoid notes.
Harold Holt’s search lasted three weeks and found nothing
December 17, 1967. Australia’s prime minister, 59, walked into rough surf at Cheviot Beach near Portsea, Victoria. He’d been prime minister for 22 months, the Irish Times recounts.
Police divers and helicopters searched for three weeks. John McEwen was sworn in as prime minister on December 19. There was no inquest, because a coroner had no jurisdiction without a body. A Victorian coroner finally ruled in 2005 that he’d drowned, Smithsonian Magazine reports.
A Chinese submarine theory never held up. The waters were too shallow. Australia opened a swimming center in his name, Boing Boing notes.
The bottom line
Louis Le Prince’s brother watched him board the train in Dijon. Percy Fawcett’s last letter was mailed from Dead Horse Camp on May 29, 1925. (Pictured: Amelia Earhart as a child.)
Ask us! What questions do you have about content, strategy, pop culture, lifestyle, wellness, history or more? We may use your question in an upcoming article!
Related:
- Historical “discoveries” that turned out to be elaborate hoaxes
- Some of the most surprising record deals in music history
Like MediaFeed’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was syndicated by MediaFeed.co.
