Mark Twain was born in 1835, the same year Halley’s Comet was visible from Earth. In his autobiography, he predicted that he would “go out with Halley’s Comet,” since its orbit is 76 years. Amazingly, Twain died of a heart attack on April 21, 1910 – one day after the comet made its closest pass to Earth.
The true story of Mark Twain’s coincidental connection to Halley’s Comet is just one of many strange and eerie coincidences that have occurred throughout history. While some coincidences can be written off as random chance, others make us pause and wonder if there are greater forces at work that we cannot comprehend. We will examine 10 of the most astonishing coincidences that are hard to believe, but completely true.
- The Deaths of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson
One of the most astonishing coincidences in US history is the fact that both John Adams and Thomas Jefferson died on the exact same day – July 4, 1826 – which was the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Adams and Jefferson also happened to be the only two signers of the Declaration who later became presidents. Their deaths, which came within just hours of each other, occurred 567 miles apart in their respective homes.
- Booth and Lincoln
John Wilkes Booth was born in 1839, while Abraham Lincoln was born in 1809. Strangely, both men died at the young age of 56. Lincoln was assassinated by Booth in 1865, meaning their lifespans and deaths coincided perfectly.
- Titanic and The Titan
In 1898, author Morgan Robertson wrote the novel Futility, about a massive British luxury passenger liner called the Titan that sank in the North Atlantic after hitting an iceberg. The similarities to the real-life Titanic disaster 14 years later are remarkable. Both were triple-screw luxury ships about 800 feet long that could reach speeds of over 20 knots. Each carried only half the lifeboats needed for all passengers and crew. And of course, both struck an iceberg and sank, taking many lives with them.
- Lincoln and Kennedy
A list of strange parallels exists between the assassinations of Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy. Both presidents were shot in the head on a Friday, in the presence of their wives. Both assassins were murdered before going to trial, and both presidents had successors with the surname Johnson. Lincoln’s secretary was named Kennedy, while Kennedy’s secretary was named Lincoln. The list goes on and on.
- Mark Twain and Halley’s Comet
The famous author Mark Twain was born in 1835, the same year that Halley’s Comet was visible from Earth. In his autobiography, Twain predicted that he would “go out with Halley’s Comet,” since it has a 76-year orbit. Amazingly, Twain died of a heart attack on April 21, 1910 – one day after the comet made its closest pass to Earth.
- Morgan Robertson’s Futility
In 1898, Morgan Robertson penned the fictional novel Futility, about a state-of-the-art ocean liner called the Titan that strikes an iceberg and sinks in the North Atlantic, in part due to its excessive speed and lack of lifeboats. The similarities between the Titan and the real RMS Titanic, which met the same fate in 1912 in nearly the same location, are astounding.
- Tetrads and Israel
In 1493, 1494, 1949, and 1967, a series of 4 total lunar eclipses in a row (“tetrad”) coincided with major events in Israel’s history: the expulsion of its Jews in 1492, rebirth of Israel as a nation in 1948, and the Six-Day War in 1967. This pattern seems more than mere chance.
- Wilmer McLean’s houses
Wilmer McLean had the unfortunate luck of having houses at the starting and ending points of the Civil War. The First Battle of Bull Run took place on his Manassas, Virginia farm in 1861. To escape the war, he moved in 1863 to Appomattox Court House, Virginia – where Confederate General Lee surrenders to Grant in 1865, effectively ending the Civil War.
- Titanic’s Remote Connection to the Titanic Sinking
On April 15, 1912, in New Zealand, an ad for the return voyage of the Titanic was placed next to a story about the Titanic sinking. The ad was for the Titanic before the news had reached the paper’s editors about the fate of the ship. A remarkable case of coincidence bridging time and space.
- Childhood Homes of Hollywood Pairs
Strangely, the childhood homes of prominent Hollywood actor pairs like Brad Pitt/Angelina Jolie, Goldie Hawn/Kurt Russell, Paul Newman/Joanne Woodward, and Humphrey Bogart/Lauren Bacall were all within blocks or just a mile or two from each other. Pure coincidence or something more?
Coincidences like these make us question the nature of reality. Are they merely random chance, or could some deeper cosmic design or interconnectedness be at play? While they may simply represent statistical anomalies or the human tendency to seek meaning in unrelated events, some coincidences have profound implications if true. These strange occurrences remind us that there are still forces in the universe beyond our understanding. Though we may never find definitive explanations for these uncanny coincidences, they captivate our imagination and reveal the limits of our knowledge. In the end, perhaps their mystery and uncertainty is what makes them so intriguing and unforgettable.