20 Famous People Whose Dark Secrets History Tried To Hide

There are historical figures you consider heroes and saints, but history whispers otherwise. When you look past the polished legacies of these people, you’ll find the darkness of untold stories. Here are 20 reputable individuals whose questionable or nefarious deeds came to light after their death.

Thomas Jefferson

Jefferson wrote of freedom while profiting from slavery. He enslaved over 600 people during his lifetime, controlling around 400 at Monticello. He even marketed the beer made by the enslaved brewer, Peter Hemings, as his own. Worse still, he fathered at least six children with teenager Sally Hemings, who had no say.

King Leopold II

Millions of Congolese lost their lives under King Leopold II’s colonial regime ruling the Congo Free State (1885–1908). He exploited the people and resources of his country to enrich himself and Belgium. Thankfully, activist works like King Leopold’s Ghost exposed his atrocities; they were so inhumane that Belgium’s king issued a public apology in 2020.

Mother Teresa

Although she built her sainthood on suffering, investigations revealed her clinics often lacked proper medical care despite millions in donations, including from dictators. Carers told patients pain brought them closer to God while Teresa received elite treatment abroad. British author Christopher Hitchens famously called her “a fanatic, a fundamentalist, and a fraud.”

Walt Disney

History may remember Walt Disney as the man who made on-screen magic, but his life was a darker script. Critics always highlight his racist and anti-Semitic behavior, including early cartoons with overt racial stereotypes like Dumbo and Peter Pan. Then, in 1938, he welcomed Nazi propagandist Leni Riefenstahl to his studio.

Henry Ford

Ford’s darker influence came to light long after his cars reshaped the automobile industry. He published The International Jew, spreading anti-Semitic lies that Hitler later echoed. In 1938, Ford was awarded the Grand Cross of the German Eagle by the Nazis, illustrating how technological progress can exist alongside troubling beliefs.

Christopher Columbus

Columbus may have sailed under the banner of discovery but left behind carnage. He enslaved indigenous people, imposed violent rules, enforced quotas, and directly contributed to mass deaths through forced labor and disease. His crew even described horrific acts like mutilation and executions. Today, his name has become a national holiday. 

Mahatma Gandhi

While millions revere Gandhi for peaceful resistance, his early writings in South Africa revealed troubling views. He called Black Africans “savages” and campaigned for segregated facilities. While his civil rights work promoted nonviolence and civil rights for Indians, he largely excluded others from his activism.

Cecil Rhodes

Rhodes built his fortune primarily as a mining magnate, exploiting African labor and resources and weaponizing British imperialism across southern Africa. Additionally, he once stated that the British were “the finest race in the world” and should rule it. Despite this, the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship bears his name, but there are ongoing calls for authorities to rename it.

Winston Churchill

Despite his heroic reputation during World War II, many nations in former colonies view Churchill as a villain. His “can’t send aid” policies during the 1943 Bengal Famine caused the deaths of about 3 million Indians. He also blamed the victims and called indigenous Australians “backward people” to become a symbol of white supremacy.

Pablo Neruda

Widely celebrated for his poetry and awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, Neruda remains a complex figure. In his memoirs, he described a troubling encounter with a woman during his time in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). The account has sparked ongoing debate about how his legacy should be viewed.

Coco Chanel

Chanel No. 5 remains one of the world’s best-selling perfumes, but there’s a history most customers never learn (and they should). She may have reinvented elegance, but declassified records exposed Chanel as a Nazi agent. She even tried reclaiming her perfume empire by exploiting anti-Jewish laws. 

Wernher Von Braun

NASA may hail him a hero due to his exploits regarding America’s landing on the moon. But we remember the V-2 rocket this Nazi Party member built with enslaved labor from the Dora-Mittelbau concentration camp. Despite Von Braun helping Americans land on the moon after Operation Paperclip brought him to the US, his bloodied past is a dark legacy.

Joseph P. Kennedy

Kennedy privately expressed admiration for Hitler and supported appeasement policies even as US ambassador to the UK in the late 1930s. He also made antisemitic claims that stalled his political rise. Somehow, the accomplishments of his children, such as former President John F. Kennedy, often overshadow his controversial legacy.

Andrew Jackson

The Indian Removal Act, signed by Andrew Jackson in 1830, compelled thousands of Native Americans to leave their homes despite the Supreme Court’s ruling. The resulting Trail of Tears led to immense suffering and death. Still, his face remains on the $20 bill, sparking ongoing debate about his legacy.

Richard Nixon

Power often buries truth, but only for a while. Nixon’s secrets blew open posthumously. Discovered tapes and documents proved his deep role in Watergate. He also bombed Cambodia and Laos during the Vietnam War and sabotaged Vietnam peace talks for political gain. 

J. Edgar Hoover

Hoover, while leading the FBI, secretly spied on and harassed figures such as Martin Luther King Jr. He also authorized attempts to discredit and destabilize movements demanding racial justice. Hoover even sent MLK an anonymous letter urging suicide. He held power for nearly 50 years—through eight presidents—without election.

John Wayne

In 1971, Wayne let the mask slip to show he defended white supremacy and mocked civil rights. He also claimed Native Americans were “selfish.” He wore a uniform in movies but dodged real war. Hollywood still honors him with his name etched on airports and awards. But his words, not his roles, have aged the worst.

L. Ron Hubbard

“You don’t get rich writing science fiction. If you want to get rich, start a religion.” And he did. This statement is one of Hubbard’s several insensitive comments. He founded Scientology, claiming he’d cured blindness and cancer, but the truth leaked after his death. He had fabricated much of his biography, including military medals and scientific credentials.

Woodrow Wilson

Princeton University wasn’t wrong for renaming the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and other buildings previously honoring him. To an extent, that’s karma for someone who segregated federal offices and erased progress made during Reconstruction. He even aligned with white supremacist views and praised “The Birth of a Nation.” 

H. P. Lovecraft

Lovecraft’s private letters and published work included disturbing racist views and slurs, particularly toward Black and Jewish people. His bigotry was so extreme that even his contemporaries criticized it during his life. When the World Fantasy Award trophy once featured his face, authors rightly protested.