# Famous people we don't know the identities of **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 8, 2013, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-we-dont-know-the-identities-of/652386 "2013-03-08T15:18:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-we-dont-know-the-identities-of/652386/21 "2013-03-08T17:09:41Z")
The Battle of Cynoscephalae (Dog’s Head) in 197 BC where the Roman legion met the Macedonian phalanx. It was decided when an unknown Roman tribune took the initiative and attacked the Macedonian rear, proving the flexibility of the legions were superior to the brute strength of the phalanx. My understanding is no one knows who decided it baseball to have the batters run to first base (right side of the diamond) instead of third on left. James Michener in his book “Sports in America” said no one in the NFL remembered who came up with the idea of a “wild card” team making the playoffs, increasing fan interest in their teams and other teams chances. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-we-dont-know-the-identities-of/652386/22 "2013-03-08T17:11:18Z")
Beethoven’s [Immortal Beloved](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immortal_Beloved), although it’s down to a few candidates. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-we-dont-know-the-identities-of/652386/23 "2013-03-08T17:13:46Z")
> [@Jim\_s\_Son](#): > > …no one in the NFL remembered who came up with the idea of a “wild card” team making the playoffs… A fear of mob assassination, I presume. (Don’t care about other sports, but the multiplying wild card in baseball is about to drive me away from the game forever.) ---
**Author:** ![Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Living_Well_Is_Best_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-we-dont-know-the-identities-of/652386/24 "2013-03-08T17:15:35Z")
Zodiac Killer ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-we-dont-know-the-identities-of/652386/25 "2013-03-08T17:21:45Z")
> [@NitroPress](#): > > I’ll nominate the perpetrators of the “Max Headroom” video hijacking, who have remained unknown despite every reason to come forward by now. A documentary maker and I have a theory about why they have not, but it’s his to tell. Damn, you beat me to that one. That’s the one that makes me go ‘wah…?’ with questions about motivation, execution and all the other bizzareness. That they kept silent for so long tells me they have incredible discipline or have passed on. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-we-dont-know-the-identities-of/652386/26 "2013-03-08T17:25:04Z")
> [@Mr.Miskatonic](#): > > Damn, you beat me to that one. That’s the one that makes me go ‘wah…?’ with questions about motivation, execution and all the other bizzareness. That they kept silent for so long tells me they have incredible discipline or have passed on. Something of a specialty for me. Without giving away too much that’s not mine to give, the working theory is that the pranksters became too famous to fess up - they were likely electronic journalism or communications students, obviously had their share of brass balls and self-promotion, and thus may be seen by thousands or millions every week… ETA: Execution was trivial for anyone with the right engineering skills… in those days. Near-impossible now, BECAUSE of this event. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-we-dont-know-the-identities-of/652386/27 "2013-03-08T17:31:24Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Most notably, there was Alfred Eisenstaedt’s photo of a sailor kissing a nurse in the middle of Times Square on VJ Day. Several people have come forward CLAIMING to be the subjects of the photos, but their faces aren’t clearly visible and Eisenstaedt never too down anyone’s names. So, we’ll never know who the kissing couple were. I think it’s pretty much established that the sailor is George Mendonsa. He was one of the men who stepped forward to claim it was him. He has scars and tattoos that matches the sailor’s in the photograph. And more importantly, Mendonsa says he was on a date with his girlfriend, Rita, and had had a few drinks when they heard about the Japanese surrender and Mendonsa kissed a nurse he saw on the street - and in the photo you can see Mendonsa’s girlfriend standing a few feet away from the kissing couple. (Happily for Mendonsa, Rita wasn’t too upset about George’s behavior and they later married.) So unlike the other claimants, Mendonsa has some objective evidence to support his claim. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-we-dont-know-the-identities-of/652386/28 "2013-03-08T17:40:29Z")
> [@NitroPress](#): > > Something of a specialty for me. > > Without giving away too much that’s not mine to give, the working theory is that the pranksters became too famous to fess up - they were likely electronic journalism or communications students, obviously had their share of brass balls and self-promotion, and thus may be seen by thousands or millions every week… > > ETA: Execution was trivial for anyone with the right engineering skills… in those days. Near-impossible now, BECAUSE of this event. My guess would be that they’re not exactly famous, but probably successful in the industry; sufficiently so that they’d stand to lose a lot if it came out, but not sufficiently so that it would just be a colorful incident in their made-for-tv biopic. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-we-dont-know-the-identities-of/652386/29 "2013-03-08T17:47:15Z")
Loach ---
**Author:** ![Cheshire\_Human](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Cheshire\_Human](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheshire_Human)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-we-dont-know-the-identities-of/652386/30 "2013-03-08T18:04:44Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > How about “J,” the unknown author (or authors) of the Book of Genesis? Not quite. “J” is one of the sources (identified by a process called “textual criticism”) of much of the Old Testament. There are others. “J” was probably an earlier version of what became the OT, before other bits and pieces were thrown in. [sub]Why, yes, I did take a few courses on the subject at a Catholic university. How did you guess?[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-we-dont-know-the-identities-of/652386/31 "2013-03-08T18:07:54Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > It’s worse - we don’t even know if it’s the same person as the one who put the Ram in the Rama Lama Ding Dong Who was that man? ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-we-dont-know-the-identities-of/652386/32 "2013-03-08T18:16:24Z")
How about the subject of “Mona Lisa”? We don’t even know if she’s a real person, right? ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-we-dont-know-the-identities-of/652386/33 "2013-03-08T18:29:10Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Loach Who? It’s supposed to be famous people. ---
**Author:** ![Cheshire\_Human](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Cheshire\_Human](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheshire_Human)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-we-dont-know-the-identities-of/652386/34 "2013-03-08T18:32:22Z")
> [@Mr.Miskatonic](#): > > That they kept silent for so long tells me they have **incredible discipline** or have passed on. [bold added] Not necessarily. I have a tale I’ll never tell (involving technological manipulation of the phone company’s equipment) because I found out later that I’d pissed off the US Secret Service. They _never_ forget or forgive. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-we-dont-know-the-identities-of/652386/35 "2013-03-08T18:35:43Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > How about the subject of “Mona Lisa”? We don’t even know if she’s a real person, right? [Lisa del Giocondo](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisa_del_Giocondo) ---
**Author:** ![Jenaroph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-we-dont-know-the-identities-of/652386/36 "2013-03-08T18:38:58Z")
The Poe Toaster, who left roses and cognac on his grave every year. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-we-dont-know-the-identities-of/652386/37 "2013-03-08T18:40:09Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Who was that man? He wrote the book of love. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-we-dont-know-the-identities-of/652386/38 "2013-03-08T18:41:16Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > The person who put the Bomp (In the bomp, bomp, bomp). > [@Mangetout](#): > > It’s worse - we don’t even know if it’s the same person as the one who put the Ram in the Rama Lama Ding Dong I’m pretty sure it was the guy who wrote the Book of Love. ETA: Blast you, **Leaffan**! ---
**Author:** ![Tess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e480ec/32.png) [@Tess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tess)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-we-dont-know-the-identities-of/652386/39 "2013-03-08T18:41:33Z")
The dead man in the [Taman Shud Case](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taman_Shud_case) ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-we-dont-know-the-identities-of/652386/40 "2013-03-08T18:52:16Z")
[Cracked.com](http://Cracked.com) had an [article](http://www.cracked.com/article_19307_6-famous-people-whose-identities-we-still-dont-know.html)with this exact title! #6: Tiananman Square Tank Man #5: The kissers in the famous V-J Day photo in Times Square #4: Zodiac Killer #3: Babushka Lady at JFK’s assassination #2: The killer of Sweden’s Prime Minister #1: Jack the Ripper [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-we-dont-know-the-identities-of/652386.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-we-dont-know-the-identities-of/652386.md?page=3)