Biography & Personal Stories

In 1854, an enslaved woman named Clarissa Davis orchestrated a daring escape from Virginia. Disguised as a man and aided by an ally, she spent 75 days in hiding before being nailed into a box and shipped to freedom aboard a steamship, enduring a fiery ordeal to reunite with her family.

During the French Revolution's deadly Reign of Terror, Elizabeth Monroe, wife of the U.S. Minister, staged a bold public visit to the imprisoned Adrienne de Lafayette. This single act of soft power highlighted America's interest and saved the French hero's wife from certain execution.

In 1980, Yugoslav leader Josip Broz Tito refused a life-saving leg amputation, a defiant choice that led to his death. This act created a power vacuum that hastened the unraveling of the nation he held together, ultimately contributing to its violent collapse in the following decade.