Curated playlist
Leaders ousted by a coup
- Nikita KhrushchevNikita Khrushchev spent four hours in 1956 tearing down Stalin's reputation. He had helped carry out Stalin's purges.
- Nicholas IINicholas II, the last Emperor of Russia, carried a large dragon tattooed on his right forearm. The artist was Hori Chiyo, and the tattoo was a souvenir of the young heir's visit to Japan. That same journey nearly ended in disaster. At…
- Ferdinand MarcosFerdinand Marcos was convicted of murder as a law student, then rose to president.
- Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of SomersetA king's marriage to his sister made Edward Seymour ruler of England. He governed for a nine-year-old king.
- Benito MussoliniBenito Mussolini was named after a Mexican president. His socialist father chose the name to honor Benito Juárez.
- Joseph Kasa-VubuJoseph Kasa-Vubu got his name from a poison test his father survived. He became Congo's first president.
- Louis XVIOn the morning of his execution, Louis XVI asked, "Any news of La Pérouse?"
- Maximilien RobespierreRobespierre was executed without trial in 1794 by the movement he had helped build.
- Carol II of RomaniaCarol II of Romania fled in 1940 as gunmen fired on his train. It carried 30 truckloads of his fortune.
- Ion AntonescuHitler's ally Ion Antonescu at times refused to hand Romanian Jews to German death camps.
- Jacobo ÁrbenzGuatemala's president Jacobo Árbenz gave up 1,700 acres of his own land under his land reform.
- Olof SkötkonungA Swedish lawspeaker once threatened to kill King Olof Skötkonung at a public assembly. Olof then gave in.
- Mohammad MosaddeghIran's popular prime minister Mohammad Mosaddegh was buried in his own living room. He died in 1967 under house arrest.
- Patrice LumumbaPatrice Lumumba was not scheduled to speak at Congo's independence ceremony, but he rose anyway.
- SukarnoYouth leaders took Sukarno from his house by force to make him declare independence.
- Paul BarrasPaul Barras helped rule France as a Director, then Napoleon interned him in Montpellier.
- Efraín Ríos MonttEfraín Ríos Montt was sentenced to 80 years for genocide, and the ruling collapsed within days.
- Haile SelassieIn 1992, the bones of Haile Selassie I were found beneath a concrete slab on the grounds of a palace. The man buried there had been born Tafari Makonnen. He had ruled Ethiopia as emperor from 1930 to 1974. How does a ruler of such rank end…