This hunk, Gavrilo Princip, is known as the man who assassinated Franz Ferdinand, becoming the trigger that pulled the already-loaded gun of WWI.

Terrible, right? Depends on who you ask. Though Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie had not personally wronged Princip, they were the heirs of Franz Joseph, the Austro-Hungarian monarch who had rulled for decades with an iron fist, and did not allow the Slavic majority in the balkin peninsula many rights or any say in how they were to be governed.

A Yugoslav nationalist movement had been stirring. Young Bosnia, of which Gavrilo Princip was an involved member, was a group of radical youth who wished to unite all Yugoslavs, forming a nation independent of Austria-Hungary and free from the tyrant hand of Franz Joseph.

When Franz Ferdinand made it clear that he intended to rule the Serbs more liberally, Princip and Young Bosnia feared that their movement would lose momentum. Something had to be done. The Black Hand was formed; a no-nonsense group who’s emblem consisted of a vial of poison, a daggar, a bomb, and flag featuring the skull & crossbones.

Gavrilo Princip, a tragically passionate nationalist, shot & killed Franz Ferdinand and his newlywed wife Sophie in Sarajevo on June 28, 1914.

Here he is on trial, seated in the middle of the front row.

He died in prison on April 28, 1918.

Nicola Sacco was born in Italy on April 22nd 1891. He immigrated to the U.S when he was 17, got married, and started a family. He was involved in left wing politics and opposed the First World War. On May 5th 1920, he and his close friend Bartolomeo Vanzetti were arrested for the murders of two men at the shoe factory where they both worked. There was no evidence against them other than a witness saying the men who did the crime “looked Italian” Sacco even had an alibi. He had a formal picture taken with his family the day of the murder in Boston. (you can check out that picture on Google or something) The men were also not fluent in English which came as a disadvantage to them in court. In 1925 a Portuguese immigrant and well known criminal confessed to both murders which he committed along with 4 other gang members. Despite this, it was too late, and both men were executed for a crime they did not commit on August 23rd 1927. That day about 250,000 people showed up for a silent protest of their unfair trial. 

Ferdinando Nicola Sacco, born April 22, 1891, was an Italian anarchist who immigrated to the United States in 1908. After being convicted of murder, he was sentenced to execution and died on August 23, 1927. But seriously, anarchist murderer or not, he was adorable.

William S. Burroughs, writer, artist, counterculture icon, drug addict, cat enthusiast, and one dapper gentleman. Best known for his novel Naked Lunch, his lasting influence on literature and music, and for accidentally shooting his wife in the face in a drunken game of William Tell.

John Brown, hardcore abolitionist—arguably a murderer, arguably a martyr—with gorgeous eyes.

Gudrun Ensslin 1940-1977

She was a founder of the German urban guerrilla group The Baader-Meinhof Gang, which later became known as the Red Army Faction.  She was involved in five bomb attacks and was arrested in 1972.  She committed suicide Stammheim Prison on October 18 1977 along with Andreas Baader and Jan-Carl Raspe.  Gudrun and Andreas (the other founding member of the RAF) were madly in love, but were unable to see each other due to solitary confinement.  

EDIT: I’m being informed that this is in fact not Miss Bathory; According to “A Perfect Red” by Amy Butler Greenfield. Dr. Greenfield says her name is Lucrezia Panciatichi of Florence. THE MORE YOU KNOW. -Mod

Can we just stop everything to talk about Erzsebet Bathory? I know she’s been here once before but can we give her some more love?

This woman was so caught up in her beauty that it’s legend that she would go out of her way to find virgin girls to bathe in their blood and preserve her youth to keep herself beautiful. She did it so many times that the estimated body count is over 600. I’d be willing to bet that the Countess radiated confidence cuz she knew she was a bad bitch. She knew exactly what she wanted and how to get it. I don’t know about you but I think that’s pretty fucking hot. Almost enough to make me wish I could have been in that tower with her when she was placed on house arrest until she died.

I love everybody connected to the Romanov family, especially this fine piece o’ man. Prince Felix Yusupov. This classy dude was rich as hell, and really, really, really ridiculously good looking. Don’t deny his good looks, or I will sob. At times, he was a cross dresser and liked to hang out in bars. But most of the time, he was a gentleman. He was also the leader of the group who killed Grigori Rasputin, the holy man who was influencing the Czarina. Some say that he even was in some kind of relationship with Rasputin at one point, which is kind of interesting. D: Truly an underrated historical figure/villain/conspirator/cross dresser. Bonus points for him looking like a 1900’s Scott Disick.

Lewis Thornton Powell (aka Lewis Payne or Paine) who was one of the conspirators in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. What a hottie.

Thought this may be fitting for Valentines Day coming up! Not that any of them are crushes, but historical figures yes!