History has had enough strange timing to make a fiction writer jealous. Two people who would change the 19th century were born on exactly the same day, two former presidents died hours apart on a particularly meaningful anniversary, and one family somehow ended up connected to Abraham Lincoln in two completely opposite ways. Then there are coincidences that only become apparent when separate timelines are placed next to each other. Some famous examples floating around online have been exaggerated over the years, but the real ones don’t need much help. These 15 historical coincidences are documented, even if a few sound suspiciously like somebody added them to the story later.©RedditJohn Adams and Thomas Jefferson Died on the Same Historic DayFormer presidents John Adams and Thomas Jefferson both died on July 4, 1826. That alone would be remarkable, but the date was also exactly the 50th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence.©RedditThe Civil War Followed Wilmer McLean HomeWilmer McLean owned property near the First Battle of Bull Run and later moved to Appomattox. Four years after the war began near his former home, Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant in McLean’s new parlor.©RedditA Booth Saved a Lincoln Before Another Booth Killed OneShortly before Abraham Lincoln’s assassination, his son Robert fell into the gap beside a moving train. Actor Edwin Booth pulled him to safety. Edwin’s younger brother, John Wilkes Booth, would later assassinate Robert’s father.©RedditA Novel Invented the Titan Before the TitanicMorgan Robertson’s 1898 novella featured a huge ocean liner called the Titan that struck an iceberg in the North Atlantic and lacked enough lifeboats. Fourteen years later, the Titanic disaster produced some eerily similar details.©RedditAbraham Lincoln and Charles Darwin Shared a BirthdayAbraham Lincoln and Charles Darwin came into the world on the exact same day: February 12, 1809. They were born on opposite sides of the Atlantic and went on to become two of the most consequential figures of their century.©RedditMark Twain’s Life Was Bookended by Halley’s CometMark Twain was born in 1835, shortly after Halley’s Comet passed the sun. Knowing it would return in 1910, Twain predicted that he would “go out” with it. He died on April 21, 1910, during its next appearance.©RedditJames Monroe Made July 4 Even StrangerApparently two presidential deaths on Independence Day weren’t enough. Five years after Adams and Jefferson both died on July 4, former President James Monroe died on July 4, 1831, becoming the third U.S. president to die on that date.©RedditStephen Hawking Was Born 300 Years After Galileo DiedStephen Hawking was born on January 8, 1942. Galileo Galilei had died on January 8, 1642, exactly 300 years earlier. For a physicist who would spend his career studying the universe, it was a strangely appropriate date to arrive.©RedditOne Man Survived Hiroshima and Then NagasakiTsutomu Yamaguchi survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima while there on a business trip. He returned home to Nagasaki, only to experience the second bombing three days later. Japan eventually officially recognized him as a survivor of both.©RedditViolet Jessop Was on All Three Unlucky Sister ShipsViolet Jessop was aboard the Olympic when it collided with another ship in 1911. She then survived the Titanic sinking in 1912 and the sinking of its other sister ship, Britannic, in 1916. Somehow, she continued working at sea.©RedditCharlie Chaplin and Adolf Hitler Were Born Four Days ApartCharlie Chaplin was born on April 16, 1889, while Adolf Hitler arrived four days later on April 20. Decades later, their physical resemblance helped inspire Chaplin’s The Great Dictator, which directly satirized Hitler.©RedditOxford Was Teaching Students Before the Aztec Empire ExistedTeaching was taking place at Oxford by the late 11th century, centuries before the Aztec Empire rose in Mesoamerica. Our mental timelines tend to place the Aztecs much further in the past, making the overlap feel completely backward.©RedditHawking’s Death Had Another Scientific CoincidenceHawking’s birth already lined up remarkably with Galileo’s death, but his own death added another oddity. He died on March 14, 2018, a date celebrated as Pi Day and also the birthday of Albert Einstein.©RedditThe Eiffel Tower and Nintendo Are the Same AgeThe Eiffel Tower was completed in 1889 for that year’s Paris exposition. That same year, Nintendo was founded in Kyoto as a company producing traditional playing cards. Somehow, Nintendo and one of Europe’s most famous landmarks belong to the same historical moment.©RedditLincoln’s Son Was Connected to Three Presidential AssassinationsRobert Todd Lincoln’s strange presidential connections didn’t end with his father’s assassination. He was present when President James Garfield was shot in 1881 and arrived in Buffalo shortly after President William McKinley was shot in 1901. After three such connections, Lincoln himself reportedly noticed the pattern.The post 15 Real Historical Coincidences That Sound Completely Made Up appeared first on Den of Geek.