The Historical Predictions That Sounded Crazy but Came True
From assassination to war to natural calamities to space and science
Significant or not, but predictions are confusing and amusing at the same time. Fortune telling is a lot bigger industry than you would imagine —while some people do it for the thrill (experimental purpose) of it, others do it for its assuring effect or just the mere impatience and anxiety for the future.
From Marvelous Mrs Maisel to Beverly Hills’ rich housewives, the enthusiasm for knowing the unknown is a rage.
Predictions don’t give any guaranteed evidence about the future, yet they do come true in some instances. And surprising enough, ordinary men and not just prophets formulated some of the most stunning prophecies in history that came true.
Let take a glance at some of these wonders:
Jeane Dixon predicted the assassination of Martin Luther King and John F. Kennedy
Astrologer Dixon became famous after her predictions on the death of Martin Luther King and John F. Kennedy. And as a result of her accurate predictions, Ronald Reagan’s wife and US First Lady Nancy Reagan also visited her for advice during her husband’s presidency.
Mark Twain predicted his death
Mark Twain was not a prophet but amazed many people after he accurately predicted his death. In one of his books, he wrote that he was born in 1835 when Halley’s Comet was visible. He indicated that he would die when the same comet would be visible again. Sure enough, he died in 1910 when Halley’s Comet reappeared in the night sky.
In 2013 an Italian dreamed of Pope Benedict’s resignation and replacement by Pope Francis
On February 11, 2013, an Italian woman tweeted that her boyfriend had a dream where Pope Benedict resigned, and he was replaced by a man named Fransisco.
And shocking enough, 17 days later, Pope Benedict announced his retirement, and we all know what happened next.
Translating to: “My boyfriend woke up last night at 4 a.m and told me that he saw a dreamed of a new pope called ‘Francis I’ and that today Benedict will resign.”
1865: Apollo Moon landing was predicted by Jules Verne
More than 100 years before the actual Apollo 11 landing, Jules Verne inscribed humankind’s first trip to the Moon in his short story that was titled “From the Earth to the Moon.”
He even predicted that the rocket would launch from Florida, the accurate number of astronauts aboard, the name of the ship and that they would experience a feeling of weightlessness. And surprisingly enough, back in 1865, Verne had no idea about the law of gravity and its properties.
1898: A story predicted the sinking of the Titanic
Morgan Robertson, a prolific short story writer, wrote a book named Futility, or the Wreck of the Titan. This writing piece had detailed how the world's largest ship ever made would crash into an iceberg and sink. And exactly 14 years later, the RMS Titanic sank under those exact circumstances.
In 1909 Nikola Tesla predicted personal wireless devices
Nikola Tesla is one of the most underrated geniuses of modern history, but thankfully he’s getting some recognition now. Back in 1909, he nailed it by saying:
“It will shortly be possible to transfer wireless messages all over the world so plainly that any individual could own and operate such apparatus,”
— Nikola Tesla told the New York Times in 1909.
In 1914 H.G. Wells predicted atomic bombs
In his novel The World Set Free, he illustrated a city being destroyed by an “atomic bomb.” Though Wells had no idea about nuclear energy or other know-how’s of this potent bomb, it was only in 1942 the Manhattan Project designed the atomic bomb as it’s known now.
But Wells knew that if humans figured out how to blow up radioactive elements, it would result terribly.
Jonathan Swift predicted two moons on Mars
In his famous novel “Gulliver’s Travels”, published in 1726, Jonathan Swift claimed that Mars had two moons. However, this was 142 years before they were actually discovered.
The 1660s: Humans would be able to transplant organs from one body to another
Robert Boyle lived in the pre-Enlightenment era that was dominated by customs and highly orthodox minds. It was the time of superstitions, and the idea of organ transplantation was incredibly ahead of his time.
Along with suggesting a science that could cure diseases via a technique like a transplant, he also predicted GPS as a device that could find longitudes independently.
Edgar Cayce predicted the Great Depression and both World Wars (I and II)
Edgar Cayce, also known as the “sleeping prophet,” prophesized future events with startling accuracy. He rose to popularity because he predicted the start and end of World Wars I and II and the end of the Great Depression.
Bonus: He also predicted the death of Franklin Roosevelt.
1783: The Population of the USA will reach 300 million by 1983
In 1783, Ezra Stiles, the then president of Yale University, predicted that the States’ population would reach the 300 million mark in the next two hundred years. His prediction was based on the analysis of population growth in Europe. And a hundred years short, i.e. just after 200 years the population of USA crossed 300 million.
Alexis de Tocqueville predicted the USA-Russia Cold War in 1840
In layman’s terms — when the two most significant and highly driven civil societies are thirsty for power and agenda domination, a war is about to happen, cold or hot.
“There are now two giant nations globally that, starting from varied points, seem to be accelerating toward the same end goal: the Anglo-Americans and the Russians. Tho their point of deviation is unique and their routes diverse; nevertheless, both call for a secret desire of authority.”
— Alexis de Tocqueville in “Democracy in America”
It’s a journey from bipolar which will end at unipolar or no poles at all.
1863: When just 60 elements were known, a Russian chemist designed a periodic table that perfectly predicted the properties and weights of the missing 40+ elements
Dmitri Mendeleev was a Russian chemist from the late 19th century, and he perfectly predicted the modern-day periodic table in 1863. Whereas Back then, scientists only knew about 60 elements.
On organizing elements’ according to their atomic weight and various properties, he started to observe patterns. He eventually filled the gaps with predicted elements that would likely fill them.
For example, he foresaw the addition of germanium, and he named the compound “ekasilicon,” which was discovered much later in 1986.
In 1990 John Elfreth Watkins predicted high-speed trains
In his article titled “What May Happen in the Next Hundred Years,” i.e. the 21st century, he explicitly mentioned high-speed trains. Although this thought was labeled insane during those times, when his prediction came true, he established himself as a person with a futuristic vision.
Bonus:
Some famous predictions that unfolded during the recent years are:
- A psychic cephalopod named Paul (the Octopus) correctly predicted the outcomes of all six of Germany’s 2010 World Cup matches.
- In a 2006 episode of Scrubs,’ the janitor commented J.D. saying, “In my opinion, we should be looking for Bin Laden in Pakistan,” indeed, the U.S. soldiers found the terrorist hiding in a well-guarded house in Pakistan.
Thank you!
Hey, if you liked my work and would further enjoy reading more of the same — you can subscribe to my newsletter and receive the column right in your mailbox.
