American Counterculture Icon, Abbie Hoffman

Abbot Howard "Abbie" Hoffman (November 30, 1936–April 12, 1989), was an American social activist of the 60s counterculture who first came to national attention in 1967 during the infamous New York Stock Exchange "money-burning" incident, which was followed by his arrest for conspiracy and inciting to riot during anti-Vietnam War protests at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago.  A member of the infamous Chicago Seven ([originally, Eight], which included Jerry Rubin, David Dellinger, Rennie Davis, John Froines, Lee Weiner, and future California state senator Tom Hayden), and co-founded of the Youth International Party ("Yippies"), Abbie’s legendary disruptive exploits have come to characterize the clash between American politics and the 60’s youth counterculture.  Read more . . .

America's First Serial Killer: H. H. Holmes (Herman Webster Mudgett)

Herman Webster Mudgett was born in 1861 in Gilmanton, New Hampshire, to an affluent family that was the first White settlers in the township.  Although Herman enjoyed a privileged childhood, he was ruled by a mother with strict religious ideologies and an authoritarian father who routinely administered harsh discipline.  And while Herman excelled in school–a boy of unusual intelligence, ambition, and drive–he was constantly bullied and abused by his classmates, causing him to spend his boyhood friendless, isolated, and alone.  Showing an interest in human anatomy from about the age of ten, Herman naturally gravitated toward the study of medicine after high school, and was accepted at the prestigious University of Michigan Medical school in 1882, the first university-owned hospital in America.  Read more . . .

American Gangsters: Public Enemies of the 20th Century

At the turn of the Twentieth Century, a number of societal and economic changes in America led to the rise of wide-spread gang-related crime, especially across the Midwest part of the country.  Lack of work, a prohibition against the sale of alcohol, followed by the devastation of the Great Depression, notorious criminals like “Legs” Diamond, Bonnie and Clyde, and John Dillinger rose to fame, often dominating the headlines, and often deemed modern-day Robin Hoods for their willingness to fight back against what many saw as unjust laws and a government that seemed to have abandoned the American people.  Bootlegging, bank robbery, and crimes sprees that left many lying dead in their wake were common as the FBI’s Most Wanted American gangsters took what they wanted and lived by the gun.  Here are seven such individuals who dominated the 1930’s, each a legend in their own time.  Read More . . .