9 Strange Historical Coincidences 

Strange Historical Coincidences 

We all experience certain coincidences in our lives that blow our minds. There are small coincidences, like saying the same thing at the same time as someone, and then there are some coincidences that are simply unbelievable. History is filled with fascinating events, but every now and then you come across certain coincidental chapters from the past that defy all odds. Some creepy and some absolutely uncanny, these historical coincidences are here to prove just how bizarre the world is. 

From eerie similarities in the lives of famous individuals to bizarre repetitions of events, let’s have a look at some of the most mind boggling stories and eerie coincidences in history.

9 Of The Most Remarkable Coincidences In History

Whether you are a skeptic or a believer of fate and coincidences, this list of historical coincidences will leave you with more questions than answers. These are nine of the most peculiar coincidences, each seemingly defying logic and adding a dash of mystery to history.

1. The Jim Twins

Jim Springer and Jim Lewis were identical twin brothers who were separated at birth and adopted by different families in Ohio. For 39 years, they lived completely separate lives, unaware of each other’s existence. Yet, when they finally met in 1979, they discovered their lives had followed eerily similar paths:

  • Both had the same name: James.
  • Both had childhood dogs named “Toy.”
  • They each married twice: first to women named Linda, got divorced, and later married women named Betty.
  • Both had sons named James Alan and James Allan.
  • They both pursued careers in law enforcement.
  • They both enjoyed woodworking as a hobby.
  • Both were smokers.
  • Both drove the same car – Chevies.

Sounds unbelievable, right? This extraordinary and incredible tale of the Jim Twins has to be one of the most remarkable and happy coincidences in history.

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2. Miss “Unsinkable”

Violet Jessop, a nurse and ocean liner stewardess, earned the famous nickname “Miss Unsinkable” after surviving not one, but three shipwrecks. She was aboard the RMS Olympic when it collided with the British warship HMS Hawke in 1911. A year later, she was working as a stewardess on the Titanic when it hit an iceberg and claimed the lives of man famous people as well. Miraculously, she survived.

Coincidentally, in 1916, Jessop was on yet another ship, the HMHS Britannic, a sister ship of the Titanic, when it struck a mine and sank in the Aegean Sea. Once again, Jessop lived to tell the tale. 

Surviving three major disasters at sea, all involving ships of the White Star Line, made her a living symbol of strange historical coincidences.

3. Stephen Hawking’s Death

The world is full of interesting unknown historical events and this is one of them. 

Stephen Hawking, one of the most renowned physicists of all times, passed away on March 14, 2018. Coincidentally, this date marks the 300th death anniversary of Galileo, the most famous physicist and astronomer of all time. 

What is even more interesting is that the date also coincides with the 139th birth anniversary of Albert Einstein. This alignment of dates of the death and birth of the greatest minds who changed the world with their work seems like a symbolic and meaningful coincidence in the realm of the universe.

But that’s not it. March 14 (written as 3.14) is also celebrated as Pi Day. Tell me your mind isn’t blown? 

4. The Lincoln-Kennedy Connection

The parallels between the assassinations of U.S. Presidents Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy are among the most famous historical coincidences. Despite living nearly a century apart, their lives and deaths exhibit an eerie number of similarities:

  • Lincoln was elected to Congress in 1846, and Kennedy in 1946.
  • Lincoln was elected president in 1860, and Kennedy in 1960.
  • Lincoln’s secretary’s name was Kennedy and Kennedy’s secretary was named Lincoln.
  • Both men were succeeded by a man named Johnson (Andrew Johnson for Lincoln, Lyndon B. Johnson for Kennedy).
  • Both presidents were shot on a Friday, with their wives present, and were shot in the head.
  • Both were assassinated before a major holiday- Kennedy before Thanksgiving and Lincoln before Easter. 

These mind blowing coincidences that sound impossible continue to fascinate historians till date

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5. The Man Who Survived Two Atomic Bombs

Tsutomu Yamaguchi’s story is one of the most unbelievable stories in history. He escaped death twice in one of the most disastrous chapters of history making him one of the most unluckiest person in history.

Yamaguchi is the only mysterious survivor of both atomic bombings in Japan during World War II. Yamaguchi was in Hiroshima for work on August 6, 1945, when the U.S. dropped the first atomic bomb. Miraculously, he survived the blast, despite suffering severe burns.

The next day, after spending the night at a bomb shelter, Yamaguchi traveled back to his home in Nagasaki. On August 9, just three days later, Nagasaki was hit by a second atomic bomb. He miraculously survived the second bombing as well! 

Despite this, he went up to live a happy life till the age of 93 making this my favorite coincidence of all times. 

6. Author Predicts Titanic Sinking

In 1898, fourteen years before the tragic sinking of the Titanic, author Morgan Robertson wrote a novella titled Futility, or The Wreck of the Titan. The plot revolves around an enormous British ship, called the Titan, which was deemed unsinkable. 

The similarities between the fictional Titan and the real-life Titanic are uncanny:

  • Both ships were the largest of their kind (around 800 feet)
  • Both lacked sufficient lifeboats.
  • Both were on their maiden voyages
  • Both hit an iceberg in the North Atlantic.
  • Both were considered to be unsinkable 
  • Both disasters claimed the lives of 2,000 people

The unexplained coincidences between the fictional Titan and the real-life Titanic are mind-boggling. While it is unlikely that Robertson could predict the Titanic disaster, his piece of literature remains a haunting prediction of one of history’s greatest maritime disasters.

7. Mark Twain’s Meteoric Birthday

Mark Twain, one of America’s most beloved authors, was born in 1835, the same year that Halley’s Comet passed close to Earth. Throughout his life, Twain became fascinated with the comet, famously predicting that he would die when it returned.

Halley’s Comet passes the Earth every 76 years where it is visible to the naked eye. In 1909, Twain said: “I came in with Halley’s Comet in 1835. It is coming again next year, and I expect to go out with it.” True to his words, Mark Twain died on April 21, 1910—just one day after Halley’s Comet made its closest approach to Earth. Cosmic coincidence? I think so. 

Strange Historical Coincidence- Mark Twain's Birthday

8. Edgar Allen Poe’s Eerie Tale

Edgar Allen Poe, the author of many historical books, published The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket in 1838. This novel, about four shipwreck survivors stranded at sea, foreshadowed real-life events of the 1884 Mignonette shipwreck.

In his novel, the survivors decide to draw lots to see who would be eaten for survival. The unfortunate crew member chosen was named Richard Parker. Several years after the novel was published, a yacht called the Mignonette sank also leaving four survivors. Three of the four survivors eventually killed and ate a cabin boy named Richard Parker. 

This freaking and bizarre similarity between Poe’s fiction and the real-life event has to be one of the most mind-boggling historical coincidences of all times. 

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9. The Hoover Dam Tragedy

The construction of the Hoover Dam, one of the great engineering feats of the 20th century, took the lives of 96 men during its development. Strangely, the first and last men to die during the project were connected in an eerie way.

The first man to die during the construction was J.G. Tierney, who lost his life on December 20, 1922, while conducting a survey. Exactly 13 years later to the day, on December 20, 1935, the last man to die during the dam’s construction was Patrick Tierney—J.G. Tierney’s son. 

This tragic coincidence, spanning over a decade, ties the lives of two family members in the most weird occurrences to one of America’s most iconic landmarks.

Conclusion: History’s Most Coincidental Occurrences

These strange historical coincidences leave us with more questions than answers. Are coincidences really based on chances, or do they suggest some underlying pattern to history?

These suspicious, bizarre and outright funny coincidences that life often follows patterns that are impossible to explain. Whether you believe in coincidences or not, these stories make us wonder whether fate, chance, or something more mysterious is at play, offering an extra layer of intrigue to everyday human events.

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