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After the Fact
The Surprising Fates of American History’s Heroes, Villains, and Supporting Characters
by Owen J. Hurd
Perigee
These are the stories of what happens after the credits roll.
History’s famous heroes and heroines have been chronicled ad nauseam for their famous deeds, but a new book “After the Fact” sets a new focus on the less-known part of their lives: the denouements.
“After all,” writes author Owen Hurd, “famous people don’t stop living after they’ve achieved their greatest triumph or committed their most notorious crimes.”
Some of the most fascinating after-stories from the book include:
HENRY HUDSON
Hudson River, Hudson County, Henry Hudson Bridge — the tri-state area is filled with reminders of the famed English sea explorer. Henry Hudson arrived in North America in 1609, mapping out significant portions of New England and venturing along the Hudson River aboard his ship, the Discovery.
But how much does the average New Yorker know about his death?
Hudson returned to the New World in 1610, in search of the fabled Northwest Passage to the Pacific. But when his ship returned to England in 1611, it arrived sans Hudson. Only eight of the original 24 members were aboard, and the ship was bloodstained. There was a mutiny.
It all started with a simple vote: return home or stay through winter. The crew voted (against Hudson) to return home. But food became scarce and the winter was harsher than they could have foreseen.
Hudson was charged with “inconsistent and deceptive” manner of doling out rations. Members of his crew became so hungry and outraged that they revolted. Hudson and eight others, including his teenage son, were placed in a small canoe-shaped boat in the frigid northern waters of the Arctic Circle, never to be seen again.
POCAHONTAS
The most famous Native American princess earned her place in history when she saved Captain John Smith’s life in 1607 by placing her head above his to stop her tribe from beating him to death, according to Smith’s autobiography.
But in the after-tale, Pocahontas ended her life neither a Native American nor a princess.
In 1613 — just six years after saving Smith’s life — Pocahontas was kidnapped by the English, who tried to use her as a bargaining chip to get back several English prisoners held hostage by her tribe.
But her father wasn’t a negotiating man. He called the bluff, and in response, Pocahontas cut all ties, spent the rest of her life among the English, and married John Rolfe, changing her name to Rebecca.
The couple moved to London, where they became a big hit in the social scene and even met King James and Queen Anne.
LEWIS AND CLARK
In 1804, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark embarked on an 8,000-mile expedition from St. Louis to the Pacific Ocean.
But after their return, Lewis, who was intent on publishing the journals he kept on his journey, “early on showed signs of erratic and defeatist behavior. He stayed out too late and drank too much.”
He had extreme writer’s block, couldn’t hold down his gig (provided to him by friend Thomas Jefferson) as governor of Louisiana and made risky financial investments, submerging him in debt.
His depression grew and he drank more. Toward the end of his life, he became addicted to opium. After yet another financial debacle, Lewis shot himself twice in 1809.
Meanwhile, Clark prospered. He was appointed governor of Missouri and published the journals that Lewis could not finish himself. He died in 1838.
JOHN SURRATT
Everyone knows the story of John Wilkes Booth — but few know of the co-conspirator who got away.
John Surratt was the son of Mary Surratt (who was hanged for plotting to kill Lincoln and was the first woman to be hanged by the US federal government) who slipped away to Europe after the killing.
There he became a member of the Vatican’s papal guards (no kidding) until a fellow soldier ratted him out. He got away again and somehow made it to Naples, where he was discovered (still in his papal uniform) and returned to the United States.
But he had one more escape planned. In the end, he was found not guilty as a conspirator and lived out the rest of his life in obscurity, working as an auditor until he died in 1916.
JACKIE ROBINSON
He’s known as equal parts great baseball player and civil-rights icon — breaking the baseball color barrier while garnering accolades like Rookie of the Year and MVP.
But the first thing Robinson did upon retiring was to accept a job as head of personnel for Chock Full o’ Nuts chain of coffee shops.
He had an interest in politics but considered himself an iconoclast: “I am neither Republican nor a Democrat,” he once declared.
In fact, he backed Richard Nixon over John F. Kennedy.
Nixon later fell out of Robinson’s favor for hiring known segregationists to his cabinet, but Robinson “seemed to harbor a personal respect for Nixon not shared by other in civil-rights circles.”
So, how did Nixon repay Robinson’s support? Nixon asked J. Edgar Hoover to open a file on Robinson. The file was never used, though. Robinson died of a heart attack in 1972 at 53.