- 5 months ago
Their lives were ordinary, but their legacies proved extraordinary. Join us as we explore the stories of everyday individuals whose deaths sparked significant change across society. From inspiring new laws and emergency systems to igniting social movements and medical breakthroughs, these seemingly average people left an indelible mark on history that continues to impact our world today.
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00:00Members of the U.S. Congress have nominated Henrietta Lacks for a posthumous Congressional Gold Medal for her contributions to modern science.
00:09Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're looking at people who lived normal lives for the most part, but their deaths would leave a lasting impact on the world.
00:16I didn't forget it, because Anna wrote in one of her diaries, I want to go on living after my death.
00:24Mohamed Bouazizi. For two years, the Arab world found itself at the center of widespread government protests and rebellions known as the Arab Spring.
00:33The Tunisian Revolution is viewed as one of the more successful movements, ignited by the self-immolation of vendor Mohamed Bouazizi.
00:40A poor 23-year-old Tunisian vegetable seller, probably the person who changed the world the most in 2011.
00:49On December 17, 2010, an officer confiscated a produce cart from Bouazizi, who had no other source of income.
00:56It wasn't the first time the authorities had harassed Bouazizi, who'd take his grievances to the government.
01:01After being turned away, Bouazizi returned, covered in gasoline, and set himself ablaze.
01:06His cousin, in the meantime, used his mobile phone to start filming the protests which developed outside the governor's office.
01:14By January 4th, Bouazizi succumbed to his injuries.
01:17His death was a driving force behind the revolt against President Zin al-Abaddin Ben Ali, who fled the country after over 20 years in power.
01:25He had ambitions that he never achieved.
01:27He wanted to get married and have some money to take care of his mother and family.
01:31Megan Kenka.
01:32She was just a normal five-year-old.
01:34The whole country would know her name two years later.
01:37We're told from a young age never to talk to strangers.
01:40Of course, even the person who lives across the street isn't always what they seem.
01:44In July 1994, Jesse Temendekwaz inquired if young Megan Kenka would like to see his puppy.
01:49Kenka entered Temendekwaz's home and was never seen alive again.
01:53It wasn't until after Kenka's murder that her parents learned Temendekwaz was a predator with two convictions already on his record.
02:00Temendekwaz pled guilty and received the death penalty, although his sentence was changed to life without parole amid new legislation.
02:06He was convicted and sentenced to death.
02:08New Jersey abolished the death penalty in 2007.
02:12He's serving a life sentence.
02:13To help ensure nothing like this could happen again, Kenka's parents championed what became Megan's law,
02:18acquiring information about registered sex offenders to be available to the public, specifically those living nearby.
02:24It was Megan's legacy.
02:25It's what she left behind.
02:27Amber Hagerman.
02:28In January 1996, Ricky Hagerman returned to his grandfather's home while his sister Amber continued to ride her bike in a parking lot.
02:35When Ricky and his grandfather went looking for Amber, all they found was her bike.
02:39Please, he's just an innocent child.
02:42Please.
02:43Amber's body was discovered four days later, although the person behind her murder was never captured.
02:48Distraught by this news story, a Texas mother named Deanna Simone suggested creating an emergency system specifically for locating lost children.
02:56By the following year, authorities and broadcasters officially started implementing America's Missing Broadcast Emergency Response, or Amber Alerts.
03:04Amber's legacy lives on through the Amber Alert named after her.
03:08Amber Hagerman is one of several children whose names have been dedicated to such alerts,
03:12which include Levi Frady of Levi's Call in Georgia and Rachel Runyon of Rachel Alert in Utah.
03:18I'm super, super, super proud of the Amber Alert.
03:21Emmett Till.
03:23A young African-American from Chicago, Emmett Till was visiting family in Mississippi, where he encountered a white female store clerk.
03:30Till was later taken in the middle of the night and lynched.
03:32It was from this shack the state alleges Emmett Till was taken by Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam.
03:39Although some of those responsible for Till's murder were brought to trial, it was clear they would never face punishment.
03:44Despite the court's biased ruling, Emmett's mother, Mamie Till Mobley, showed the world what they did to her son with an open casket.
03:52Everybody knew we were under attack, and that attack was symbolized by the attack on a 14-year-old boy.
04:01Till Mobley dedicated the rest of her life to activism.
04:04Five years after her death, the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act was signed into law in 2008.
04:10It wasn't until 2022 that lynching became a federal hate crime in the form of the Emmett Till Anti-Lynching Act.
04:17But his murder and the trial and acquittal of his killers sent a powerful message.
04:22If change was going to come, people would have to put themselves on the line.
04:27Terry Schiavo.
04:28In 1990, Terry Schiavo endured a heart attack that resulted in brain damage.
04:33She entered a persistent vegetative state, requiring a feeding tube to survive.
04:37When she finally opened her eyes, doctors said she was not conscious.
04:41After eight years with no signs of significant improvement,
04:44her husband and legal guardian Michael Schiavo petitioned to have Terry's feeding tube extracted.
04:49This was met with resistance from Terry's parents, who entered a lengthy legal standoff with Michael.
04:54Please, please, please save my little girl.
04:59The tube was briefly disconnected in 2001, only to be put back in.
05:04The tube was removed again in 2005, this time ending Terry Schiavo's life.
05:09The case captivated the world, with both sides of the argument still intensely divided.
05:14Yet it opened everyone's eyes to how any of us could be Terry Schiavo,
05:17prompting a substantial increase in living wills.
05:20Most of the protesters are gone tonight, now that that bitter fight has ended with Terry Schiavo's death.
05:26George Floyd.
05:27Two months into the COVID-19 pandemic, authorities forcibly removed African-American George Floyd from a vehicle
05:33under suspicion of paying a clerk with a fake $20 bill.
05:37Officer Derek Chauvin knelt on Floyd's neck for almost 10 minutes, despite his pleas that he couldn't breathe.
05:42Floyd's dying words were heard across the nation.
05:45Although Floyd was far from the first victim of police brutality,
05:49his death was recorded for the world to witness.
05:51Social unrest was already at a high.
05:53Floyd's murder was a tipping point, leading to tributes, protests, and riots.
05:58Black lives matter! Black lives matter!
06:01Say his name!
06:03George Floyd!
06:04Say his name!
06:05George Floyd!
06:06Say his name!
06:07Chauvin was ultimately convicted of murder and manslaughter,
06:10while the other three officers involved also faced legal consequences.
06:14Chauvin showed no emotion as the judge told him his fate.
06:17Floyd's death has led to numerous policy changes and an ongoing push for police reform.
06:22I think it's extremely important for people, you know, to not forget.
06:25Elizabeth Short
06:26To those who knew her, Elizabeth Short was a young woman originally from Massachusetts.
06:31To history, she'll forever be remembered as the Black Dahlia.
06:34A vibrant young woman growing up in a dark, drab time.
06:39Short received this moniker after her butchered body was discovered in a Los Angeles vacant lot.
06:44She had recently moved to California, where her estranged father lived.
06:47Short reportedly had aspirations to be an actress, but only in death would she achieve the role of a lifetime.
06:53This was a huge story in 1947. It was headlines for 30 days straight.
06:58Even decades later, Short's unsolved murder remains one of the most infamous stories in Hollywood,
07:03inspiring various dramatic works.
07:05Her death could be seen as a forerunner to the modern true crime genre,
07:08dominating headlines and sparking conspiracy theories long before the internet,
07:12podcasts, documentaries, or cable news spotlighted the public's fascination with murder.
07:17She was a very nice person. She was not just beautiful outside. She was beautiful inside.
07:23Anne Frank
07:24In the background of Anne Frank's childhood, Nazi evil was rising and spreading.
07:29Frank's life with her loving family was intermittent in 1942,
07:32forcing them into hiding for almost two years.
07:35The Franks were discovered and arrested in 1944.
07:38Only the family patriarch, Otto Frank, emerged from the Holocaust alive.
07:42In the aftermath of World War II,
07:44Otto retrieved one of the few remaining pieces of his youngest daughter, her diary.
07:48Outside, things are terrible, day and night, she wrote in January 1943.
07:53He published the diary, which not only serves as a tribute to Anne,
07:57but the roughly 6 million Jewish people who were murdered.
08:00I only learned to know her, really, through her diary.
08:04At a time when many were indifferent or ignorant of the atrocities taking place in Europe,
08:09Frank left behind an eye-opening personal account that echoes throughout history.
08:12Anne Frank's diary remains one of the most widely read books across the globe.
08:17Henrietta Lacks
08:18In October 1951, cervical cancer claimed the life of Henrietta Lacks,
08:23who, like many people of color at the time, had limited healthcare options.
08:27Lacks' gravestone describes her as, quote,
08:29a phenomenal woman, wife, and mother who touched the lives of many.
08:32For decades, though, Lacks' grave was unmarked,
08:35and her contributions to medicine were largely unrecognized.
08:38This included her family, who were not aware that Lacks' tumor had been biopsied.
08:43Before treating her tumor, her doctor just cut a little piece and put it in a dish.
08:49Unbeknownst even to Lacks, her cancer cells were used to create an immortalized cell line
08:53that came to be known as HeLa.
08:55This paved the way for medical breakthroughs that continue to save lives.
08:58Basically, almost all of the vaccines we take today can be traced back to research with their cells.
09:03Yet Lacks' treatment has triggered a wider discussion about discrimination,
09:07a lack of consent, and a legacy nearly lost.
09:10Henrietta died never knowing how important her cells would be.
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09:29Kitty Genovese, 911.
09:31It's a three-digit number that saved countless lives.
09:34Up until the 60s, though, Americans had to either dial a seven-digit number
09:38or call an operator to report an emergency.
09:41Kitty Genovese became a catalyst for change when she was murdered at the hands of Winston Mosley,
09:46who had followed her back to her apartment.
09:47The fact that she was able to walk after the initial attack
09:50probably led people to believe they didn't have to call the cops.
09:55After almost 30 minutes of torment, Genovese was discovered by her neighbor,
09:59although she died before making it to the hospital.
10:01While there were conflicting reports on how many people heard Genovese and alerted the authorities,
10:06the slow response to her attacks and subsequent death served as a wake-up call.
10:10Four years later, 911 was introduced,
10:13soon becoming the new standard for emergencies, and not just in the U.S.
10:17She will always be remembered for what people didn't do to help her.
10:22Can you think of any other normal people who changed the world in death?
10:25Let us know in the comments.
10:26We are so happy that finally the world is getting to know all about Henrietta Lacks.
10:33You
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