You never know whose infamous acts will endure the test of time, and whose will fall victim to the tick of the clock. We decided these scoundrels deserve a second chance at fame, since their stories earn high marks for quirkiness, creativity and impact. Revel in these naughty characters of yesteryear.
Fox Sisters—Faux Mediums
After honing their skills at fake communication with the dead (on their poor old mother) at the family’s New York farmhouse in 1848 (channeling the victims of a supposed murder in the house, no less), sisters Maggie, Kate and Margaret Fox decided to take their scam across the country. They must have been convincing in conjuring the dearly departed, because the sisters became the most famous mediums in the U.S.
As they garnered upper-class supporters (the best kind, right?), the sisters developed the movement of Spiritualism, which centers on spirits’ lives after the death of their bodies, in addition to, of course, communication with the dead. And although the Fox sisters ultimately admitted their phony practices and died in abject poverty, Spiritualism had serious a heyday, boasting devotees in the millions and has lived on to inspire various other quacks to build their own followings. #payingitforward
Hetty Green—Tax-Evading Tycoon
The tale of Hetty Green is an inspirational story of female success in a man’s world. Yay! And then a story of being a terrible person with said success. Sigh.
Green was the first woman to earn a multimillion dollar fortune by making shrewd Wall Street investments with her inheritance in the late 1880s. And then she went ahead and Scrooged it up. Basically she lived like a miserable pauper, not only requiring her husband’s agreement to a harsh prenup renouncing all rights to her money, but dressing her son in rags in an attempt to get free medical treatment.
Green moved from one New York flophouse to another in order to 1. save her money for apparently no purpose and 2. avoid establishing a permanent resident wherein she would have to pay taxes. It seems dear Hetty wanted to keep her money squirreled away from the broader economy and removed from the government. (A pre Ron Paul capitalism-hating, libertarian perhaps?) But Uncle Sam got wise to the scheme: Her dramatic tax evasion antics reportedly helped the passage both of the federal income tax in 1894, and a federal estate tax in 1916.
Thanks for nothin' Hetty!
John Brinkley—Medical Fraudster
After attending Bennet Medical College in Chicago—an unaccredited school that focused on what was then called “Eclectic medicine” (analogous to herbal holistic practices today)—and ultimately buying a certificate from a reported diploma mill (Kansas City’s Eclectic Medical University), John Brinkley started a series of medical racquets. The most lucrative and high profile one? Implanting goat testicles in men (and some women!) to supposedly restore virility. About 50 patients a week traveled to Brinkley’s clinic in Kansas to pay $750 (about $8,800 in current value) for this useless, unsafe and dare-we-say disgusting operation. Between 1917 to the 1930s he made millions, buoyed by the placebo effect which often convinced patients their sexual potency had indeed been restored. More clever still, he targeted the wealthy (and arrogant) by claiming that the operation worked best for the “intelligent” (wink wink). Ultimately the derelict doctor was exposed and racked up numerous wrongful death lawsuits from his haphazard surgeries. He died in bankruptcy at the relatively young age of 56.
So there ya have it: a new crop of anti-heroes for your worshipping pleasure. Don't say we never did anything for you.
Image: commons.wikimedia.org
