# 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:** 8
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2013, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-we-dont-know-the-identities-of/652386/141 "2013-03-14T19:43:25Z")
Another famous unknown serial killer is The Mad Butcher of Kingsbury Run/The Cleveland Torso Murderer. > **[Cleveland Torso Murderer](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleveland_torso_murderer)** > > The Cleveland Torso Murderer, also known as the Mad Butcher of Kingsbury Run, was an unidentified serial killer who was active in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, in the 1930s. The killings were characterized by the dismemberment of thirteen known victims and the disposal of their remains in the impoverished neighborhood of Kingsbury Run. Most victims came from an area east of Kingsbury Run called "The Roaring Third" or "Hobo Jungle", known for its bars, gambling dens, brothels, and vagrants. D Th... ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2013, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-we-dont-know-the-identities-of/652386/142 "2013-03-14T21:24:23Z")
Bob Ducca: > [@](#): > > Two of those anyway. Assuming you are excluding Simpson, are you of the opinion that Lizzie Borden’s acquittal was more realistic than O.J. Simpson’s? Or do you exclude him because of the later wrongful death verdict, which didn’t apply to Lizzie? ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2013, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-we-dont-know-the-identities-of/652386/143 "2013-03-14T21:26:20Z")
> [@cmkeller](#): > > Bob Ducca: > > Assuming you are excluding Simpson, are you of the opinion that Lizzie Borden’s acquittal was more realistic than O.J. Simpson’s? Or do you exclude him because of the later wrongful death verdict, which didn’t apply to Lizzie? I’d say that we know enough about the Simpson case to surmise that he most likely killed those two people. I don’t know enough about the Borden case to say one way or the other. ---
**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 14, 2013, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-we-dont-know-the-identities-of/652386/144 "2013-03-14T21:35:51Z")
> [@BlankSlate](#): > > From [here](http://militarytimes.com/blogs/scoopdeck/2012/10/09/blogger-calls-kissing-sailor-sexual-assault/): > > She has said that she wasn’t really bothered by it, but that it was a complete surprise. > > Technically, yes, it was some form of assault or battery (I don’t know the exact legal term). Which strikes me funny because it’s such an iconic photo. I had seen that picture all my life and just assumed they were a couple. Not technically or any other way. Not round these parts. (Your jurisdiction may vary) > [@](#): > > . Simple Assault. A person is guilty of assault if he: > > (1) Attempts to cause or purposely, knowingly, or recklessly causes \*\*bodily injury \*\*to another; or > > (2) negligently causes \*\*bodily injury \*\*to another with a deadly weapon; or > > (3) Attempts by physical menace to put another in **fear of imminent serious bodily injury**. Not Criminal Sexual Contact either: > [@](#): > > An individual is guilty of criminal sexual contact if commits an act of intentional touching of \*\*intimate parts \*\*by either the victim or the defendant **for the purposes of sexual gratification or degradation.** Intimate parts include the genital or anal areas, sexual organs, inner thigh, buttock, groin, or breast. At best it could be considered harassment. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2013, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-we-dont-know-the-identities-of/652386/145 "2013-03-15T00:48:54Z")
Let me re-phrase then: This seemingly innocent photo of joyous celebration is actually a depiction of a man forcing himself on a woman. And it’s not assault in Appalachia, or where the fuck ever. ---
**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 15, 2013, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-we-dont-know-the-identities-of/652386/146 "2013-03-15T01:23:15Z")
> [@BlankSlate](#): > > Let me re-phrase then: > > This seemingly innocent photo of joyous celebration is actually a depiction of a man forcing himself on a woman. > > And it’s not assault in Appalachia, or where the fuck ever. New Jersey. But I looked at the laws in New York where it happened and the wording is almost exactly the same. So yeah, only in the sticks with the hicks.:rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2013, 8:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-we-dont-know-the-identities-of/652386/147 "2013-03-15T08:43:46Z")
[Bella, and whoever put her in the Wych Elm.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Who_put_Bella_in_the_Wych_Elm%3F) ---
**Author:** ![Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ce7236/32.png) [@Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mona_Lisa_Simpson)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2013, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-we-dont-know-the-identities-of/652386/148 "2013-03-17T05:46:41Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > How about the subject of “Mona Lisa”? We don’t even know if she’s a real person, right? I am so a real person. I however am both and neither a famous painting or a character from The Simpsons. ---
**Author:** ![Vicullum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/6de8d8/32.png) [@Vicullum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vicullum)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2013, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-we-dont-know-the-identities-of/652386/149 "2013-03-17T20:45:10Z")
[Orange Socks,](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orange_Socks#Orange_Socks_murder) another famous victim. [The Leatherman](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leatherman_(vagabond)) (no relation to Leatherface) Before Jack the Ripper, there was the [Servant Girl Annihilator.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Servant_girl_annihilator) ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2013, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-we-dont-know-the-identities-of/652386/150 "2013-03-17T23:46:26Z")
The aptly-designated [Anonymous IV](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anonymous_IV), famous in classical music circles. And I don’t know if this counts, but [Julian of Norwich](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian_of_Norwich). Despite her well-known writings, we don’t know her real name or much about her life. ---
**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 17, 2013, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-we-dont-know-the-identities-of/652386/151 "2013-03-17T23:57:15Z")
I don’t know if the real Boston Strangler has been listed yet in this thread. The evidence is good that Albert DeSalvo was not the killer of all, or perhaps any of the victims. ---
**Author:** ![AaronX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7bcc69/32.png) [@AaronX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AaronX)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 8:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-we-dont-know-the-identities-of/652386/152 "2013-04-22T08:47:07Z")
Cracked’s latest article has more of this type of people: > **[6 Mysterious People at the Heart of Unsolvable Mysteries](https://www.cracked.com/article_20383_6-mysterious-people-at-heart-unsolvable-mysteries.html)** > > Occasionally, people will go down in history for some great deed or misdeed without anyone ever knowing who the hell they were. ---
**Author:** ![Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 9:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-we-dont-know-the-identities-of/652386/153 "2013-04-22T09:19:15Z")
Who is Satoshi Nakamoto, the anonymous person or group that created Bitcoin, released it, and then promptly disappeared. I’ve seen estimates that whoever it is may be worth over £100 million now, based on the current value of Bitcoin. ---
**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:** [April 22, 2013, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-we-dont-know-the-identities-of/652386/154 "2013-04-22T11:01:37Z")
> [@Vicullum](#): > > Before Jack the Ripper, there was the [Servant Girl Annihilator.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Servant_girl_annihilator) That sounds like the name of the world’s most dangerous domestic appliance… ---
**Author:** ![SeldomSeen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ba0ec/32.png) [@SeldomSeen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeldomSeen)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-we-dont-know-the-identities-of/652386/155 "2013-04-22T18:12:47Z")
Shouldn’t post without reading the thread, but dammit, 4 pages is a bit much. So…has anyone mentioned \*[B. Traven](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B._Traven)\*yet? ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-we-dont-know-the-identities-of/652386/156 "2013-04-22T18:58:20Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > The sour-faced woman in the background when Mary Tyler Moore throws her hat in the air. I don’t know if this has been addressed and I missed it, but that woman was [Hazel Frederick](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mary_Tyler_Moore_Show_opening_sequence). There were a few Anasazi potters so distinctive that archaeologists can tell their work from others - I don’t know if that counts as famous, though. ---
**Author:** ![Saraya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Saraya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saraya)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-we-dont-know-the-identities-of/652386/157 "2013-04-22T19:05:19Z")
…[[Already solved]]… ---
**Author:** ![Soylent\_Juicy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@Soylent\_Juicy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soylent_Juicy)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-we-dont-know-the-identities-of/652386/158 "2013-04-22T19:31:38Z")
Not “famous” but has anybody ever ID’d “Amber Lamps”? > **[Amber Lamps](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/amber-lamps)** > > Amber Lamps is the nickname given to an unknown woman who briefly appeared in the background of Iyanna Washington’s 2010 “AC Transit Bus Fight” video that went viral on YouTube for its depiction of a brawl between two passengers, Thomas Bruso and a... ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-we-dont-know-the-identities-of/652386/159 "2013-04-22T20:30:02Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Reminds me also of Little Miss 1565, a girl whose body was found after the [Hartford circus fire](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hartford_circus_fire) of 1944, but never positively identified. It seems like it would be easy enough to look for a Sarah Graham in the 1940 census, whose family matches the anonymous info on her grave. I don’t want to join [ancestry.com](http://ancestry.com), but somebody could do it. ---
**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:** [April 22, 2013, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-we-dont-know-the-identities-of/652386/160 "2013-04-22T21:07:28Z")
> [@SeldomSeen](#): > > Shouldn’t post without reading the thread, but dammit, 4 pages is a bit much. So…has anyone mentioned \*[B. Traven](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B._Traven)\*yet? > [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > B. Traven. There’s evidence that he was a German named Ret Marut. But that doesn’t really answer the question because then you have to ask who Ret Marut really was. Being as the recent Cracked article mentions him also, I’ll add that there’s good evidence that Ret Marut was an alias just like B. Traven was. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-we-dont-know-the-identities-of/652386.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-we-dont-know-the-identities-of/652386.md?page=9)