Those were extracts from a letter that London’s Central News Agency received on September 27, 1888. It was then forwarded to Scotland Yard who were in the middle of investigating, perhaps, the most notorious killing spree of all time. Someone was attacking women in Whitechapel, murdering them and then cutting up their bodies in gruesome fashion. The killer went by many names - the Whitechapel Murderer, Leather Apron, Saucy Jacky, and, of course, Jack the Ripper.

Picture the scene: it’s January 24, 41 AD and Rome is in chaos. The tyrant emperor Caligula has just been stabbed to death outside the Palatine Games. In the city, his wife has been murdered and his baby daughter had her head dashed open against a wall. In this tense, bloody atmosphere, no-one knows what will happen next. Will the Republic be restored, or will a new emperor be found to take the throne? At the height of this uncertainty, a soldier in the Praetorian Guard sweeps aside a palace curtain and finds Caligula’s useless uncle cowering in fright.

Charles Ponzi allegedly once said “I went looking for trouble, and I found it.” Truer words were never spoken. From an early age, Ponzi discovered that hard work and book learning were not for him. He was always involved in one scheme after another, hoping that some day, he will find the one that would make him rich beyond his wildest dreams.

In the early 17th Century, a religious man decided he was going to uncover the architecture of the universe itself. Using observations of the Heavens and a deep understanding of geometry, this man conjectured a world of harmonious design, where the secrets of God’s creation could be deciphered by anyone willing to use mathematics to look for them. In the course of his quest, this man managed to change our understanding of astronomy forever. His name was Johannes Kepler, and he would go down as one of the greatest scientists to ever live.

Andrew Carnegie was a man of paradoxes. He was a businessman, first and foremost, and, oftentimes, this meant that someone else had to pay the price when he made his fortunes. Although publicly he championed the welfare of his employees, the working conditions in his many factories and plants didn’t exactly match up with his touted values.

Without a doubt, Robert Hooke was one of the greatest minds in British history. His scientific contributions spanned physics, astronomy, horology, microscopy, paleontology, and even architecture. And yet, he is nowhere near as well-known today as his peers.

Today’s protagonist was one of the key players on the giant chessboard that was Asia at the height of the Cold War. Born into a political family, she rose through India’s political system until she became the first and only female Prime Minister of her country. Her name was Indira Gandhi. In one of her speeches, she advised her followers to maintain a ‘bias toward action,’ or to encourage societal change, even if required painstakingly small steps.

The thought police. Big Brother. Room 101. Even if you’ve never heard the name George Orwell, you’ve heard of the concepts he created. As the legendary writer of Animal Farm, Orwell took the volatile politics of the time he lived in, and used them to create twisted dystopias and savage satires. His 1984 is a cry for freedom still banned by repressive regimes across the world. Even now, nearly 70 years after his death, barely a day goes by without some media personality describing something as “Orwellian”. Perhaps more so than any other writer of his era, Orwell’s work is still powerfully relevant today.

You are probably familiar with the musical ‘Evita,’ by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber, which tells the story of Eva Duarte and her relationship with Argentinian President Juan Perón. In the most famous number, ‘Don’t Cry for Me, Argentina’, Evita addresses the crowds after orchestrating an insurrection to free her husband, prisoner to a military Junta. A young Che Guevara witnesses the events, providing some commentary – in song form, of course.

Charles Ponzi. Bernie Madoff. Billy “Fyre Festival” McFarland. History is littered with the misdeeds of conmen who pulled the wool over the public’s eyes and made a killing. Some, like Frank Abagnale - the model for Leonardo Dicaprio’s character in Catch Me if You Can - pulled off cons so big they’ve become legendary. But not even Abagnale could compete with our subject today. Gregor MacGregor was many things: soldier, pirate, pathological liar. He was also the man who pulled off the biggest con in history.