Just a list of some of the world’s most controversial figures (in no particular order) born in the Year of the Rabbit!
Lee Harvey Oswald
Lee Harvey Oswald assassinated US President John F. Kennedy (or did he?!) on November 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas. Oswald was in turn murdered by Jack Ruby two days later – live on television.
Wang Qiang
Wang Qiang was a Chinese serial killer from Budayuan Town, Kuandian Manchu Autonomous County, Liaoning Province, and one of the most notorious murderers in Chinese history.
Wang killed his first victim in 1995 and was arrested in 2003. He was sentenced to death in 2005 after being convicted of 45 murders and 10 sex crimes.
Pope Benedict XVI
In 2022 an independent report by the Munich archdiocese found that retired Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI mishandled several cases of sexual abuse by priests when he was the archbishop.
Although Pope Benedict XVI himself vowed to purge the “filth” from the Vatican, he has since come under much scrutiny for not holding priests accountable for their actions.
Ethel Rosenberg
American citizen Ethel Rosenberg was executed alongside her husband on June 19, 1953, for treason and conspiracy to commit espionage, relating to passing information about the atomic bomb to the Soviet Union.
P.W. Botha
Also known as the Great Crocodile, Pieter Willem Botha was one of the most notorious leaders and proponents of South Africa’s apartheid system.
Botha campaigned for ‘No’ in the 1992 referendum on ending apartheid and attacked F. W. de Klerk’s administration for negotiating and releasing Nelson Mandela.
Pretty Boy Floyd
Charles ‘Pretty Boy’ Arthur Floyd was an American bank robber who gained widespread press coverage in the 1930s because he would burn mortgage documents during heists to rid people of their debts.
Floyd was named ‘Public Enemy No. 1’ on July 23, 1934, and was arrested soon after, only to escape despite suffering from gunshot wounds. Floyd was shot dead by FBI agents not long after.
John Dillinger
John Dillinger, like Pretty Boy Floyd, was an American gangster and bank robber during The Great Depression. Dillinger and his gang robbed two dozen banks and four police stations, while Dillinger escaped from prison twice.
Augusto Pinochet
After being helped to power by the CIA, Augusto Pinochet ruled Chile under a military dictatorship between 1973-1990.
His rule was characterized by repression, torture and disappearances, before he stepped down in 1990.
[Images via Wikipedia]