25 Online Nominations For The Ultimate Badass Person In History

Throughout history, there have been individuals whose lives and actions have left an indelible mark on the world. Some of these extraordinary people have been characterized as true badasses, inspiring awe and admiration for their exceptional feats of courage and determination.

#1 Witold Pilecki

Image source: IloveZaki, Wikipedia

Rotmistrz Witold Pilecki. He purposely made himself be caught and thrown into death camp in Auschwitz to infiltrate it and organize underground resistance and do general recon. He then escaped with another prisoner to fight in Warsaw uprising.

#2 Nicholas Winton

Image source: magrilo2, Hynek Moravec

Nicholas Winton helped 669 children escape the death camp. His efforts went unrecognized for 50 years. In 1988, while sitting as a member of a TV audience, he suddenly found himself surrounded by the kids he’d rescued.

#3 Any enslaved person who ran for freedom

Image source: Hidanas, Roslin & C

Any enslaved person who said f**k this and ran for freedom.

#4 Princess Khutulun

Image source: CorruptRiche, Maître de la Mazarine

Khutulun, a Mongolian Princess, insisted that any man who wished to marry her must defeat her in wrestling, forfeiting horses to her if they lost.

She gained 10,000 horses defeating prospective suitors.

#5 Someone’s grandma

Image source: Joseph_Bloggins, Yogendra Singh

My grandmother. Her husband died of heart disease in 1948, leaving her to raise 8 children between the ages of 9 months and 13 years old. She was a saint.

#6 Léo Major

Image source: ComfortableOk5003, Wikipedia

Léo Major.

Canadian sniper/reconnaissance, lost an eye, was told you’re going home..replied with why? I only need 1 eye to snipe…liberated an entire town in holland, took over a dozen prisoners, all single handedly after his fire team partner was killed

#7 Jack Churchill

Image source: SoLetsReddit, Wikipedia

Jack Churchill. Went into battle armed with a broadsword, a bow and arrow, and bag pipes. In WW2.

#8 Theodore Roosevelt

Image source: RapedByCheese, Pach Bros

Teddy Roosevelt was a bada**

#9 Someone’s grandpa named Liberatus

Image source: LOUDCO-HD, Pixabay

My Grandpa Liberatus,

Was working solo on his farm in the 1950’s, when both hands were sucked into an auger slicing them up right to the shoulders. Was able to kick the controls to reverse the blades and get himself out, then drove himself in a grainery truck 45 minutes to the hospital, steering and shifting gears with his knees. Doctors were able to save one arm above the elbow but none of the other.

Still worked another 40 years with hooks for arms, Fathered 9 children, 6 after his accident and harvested 1000 acres on a hundred year old family farm. Smoked like a chimney, drank like a fish, ate red meat 3 times a day, passed away in his sleep 2 days before his 99th birthday.

He was a hard man, but absolutely devoted to his family and was a great Grandfather to over 20 grandkids. He taught me about resiliency, resourcefulness and mental toughness. Every grandkid, on their first birthday, got a rocking horse that he built in his workshop using hand tools that he built custom attachments for his prosthetics. I still have mine, from 56 years ago, as a reminder of him when times are tough.

#10 Daniel Inouye

Image source: charging_chinchilla, Wikipedia

Daniel Inouye

During a WWII assault on a fortified German position in Italy, gets shot in the stomach, shrugs it off and takes out two machine gun nests. As he’s about to lob a grenade to take out a third, his right arm gets nearly amputated at the elbow by enemy fire. Now he’s staring at his useless, dangling arm still reflexively clutching a live grenade. Shouts at his platoon to stay back for fear of the grenade going off, pries the live grenade out of his useless hand and throws it with his other hand, taking out the German in the bunker. Continues to move forward killing at least one more German before getting shot, for the fifth time that day, before falling unconscious. Wakes up to members of his platoon hovering over him. Proceeds to tell them to get back to their positions because “nobody called off the war!”. Has to have his arm amputated without anesthesia at the field hospital. Comes back home, gets awarded a purple heart (and eventually a medal of honor), yet still gets refused service by a barber because they “don’t cut J*p hair”. Serves his country for 50 more years as a US senator.

While I don’t necessarily agree with his politics, I respect the life of service he led.

#11 Shih Ching

Image source: qareteryio, Wikipedia

Shih Ching. After marrying a pirate, she was a Chinese [escort] who inherited his fleet upon his death. She took no s**t, ruled her ships with an iron grip, and was so effective that the Chinese government dispatched an armada to put an end to her. She took 63 of their ships and kicked their bums. After two years of fighting, during which they even forced Dutch and British ships to surrender, they offered her and her 17,000 crew members amnesty. She lived to be 69 years old, kept ALL of her winnings, and spent her latter years operating a casino and brothel.

#12 Audie Murphy

Image source: Battleaxe0501, Wikipedia

I think Audie Murphy is up there. For those who don’t know, most decorates US Soldier including the medal of honor. Some of his actions during WW2 include 1. Holding off a German assault with the .50 mouted atop off of a destroyed tank (M10 Jackson I believe) after gaining a battlefield commision (Sgt to LT). He had his men fall back and dig in. While ontop of the tank he was calling for IDF dangerclose pretty much right on top of himself. They got so close when the guy on the other end of the radio asked how close he said something along the lines of “give me a minute, I’ll let you talk to one of the bas***ds” This would last an hour, and he would sustain an injury to the leg and he would repel the attack 2. When him and a buddy were in a crater/foxhole by themselves, two Germans surrendered. Something felt off to him, however his buddy believed them, stood up to go detain them, except they gunned him down. So in a fit of rage, he picked up a machinegun I believed it was and went on a one man rampage. After the war, I find one of his actions that speak highly of his character is how he refused to partake in cigarette and alcohol commericals despite financial difficulty as he was aware of the influence he would have on kids.

#13 One more user’s grandma

Image source: Visual-Lobster6625, Rene Asmussen

My grandmother was definitely born in the wrong generation. She was bad a*s. She was the oldest of 8, basically helped raised her siblings. Married my grandfather (an absolute man-child) and had 7 kids.

She basically had to drag my grandfather to get a job in the 50’s. She was an excellent seamstress, making clothes for quite a few well known people in her community, even some outfits for a couple of films.

She dragged my grandfather around the world for holidays for them to enjoy, and she was wicked smart! In middle school I used to go to their house for lunch and watch the Price Is Right. Almost every time she was within $500 of the final showcases. Mad skills! If she had been born in my generation she would have been some sort of CEO, Lawyer, or Doctor.

#14 ethanol713 reply

Image source: ethanol713, George Charles Beresford

Earnest Shackleton

(Famous Antarctic explorer, one of the main figures in the heroic age of Antarctic exploration. The member of four Antarctic expeditions, three of which he commanded. – BP)

#15 Joe Medicine Crow

Image source: RIPcunts, Pete Souza

Joe Medicine Crow, the last Warchief of the Crow. He completed all the ritual rights to become Warchief while fighting in WW2. Which included taking an enemies weapon, touching an enemy without killing him, leading a war party and stealing an enemies horse (he stole 50 from the SS).

#16 Galvarino

Image source: DontBuyAHorse, Wikipedia

Galvarino. He was a Mapuche warrior whose hands were amputated by Spanish conquistadors. His response? He rigged blades to his wrist stumps and led a rebellion against the Spanish.

#17 Roy Benavidez

Image source: ComesInAnOldBox, Wikipedia

Master Sergeant Roy Benavidez.

On May 2, 1968, a 12-man Special Forces patrol, which included nine Montagnard tribesmen, was surrounded by an NVA infantry battalion of about 1,000 men. Benavidez heard the radio appeal for help and boarded a helicopter to respond. Armed only with a knife, he jumped from the helicopter carrying his medical bag and ran to help the trapped patrol. Benavidez “distinguished himself by a series of daring and extremely valorous actions… and because of his gallant choice to join voluntarily his comrades who were in critical straits, to expose himself constantly to withering enemy fire, and his refusal to be stopped despite numerous severe wounds, saved the lives of at least eight men.”

At one point in the battle an NVA soldier accosted him and stabbed him with his bayonet. Benavidez pulled it out, drew his own knife, killed him and kept going, leaving his knife in the NVA soldier’s body. He later killed two more NVA soldiers with an AK-47 while providing cover fire for the people boarding the helicopter. After the battle, he was evacuated to the base camp, examined, and thought to be dead. As he was placed in a body bag among the other dead in body bags, he was suddenly recognized by a friend who called for help. A doctor came and examined him but believed Benavidez was dead. The doctor was about to zip up the body bag when Benavidez managed to spit in his face to show that he was alive. Benavidez had a total of 37 separate bullet, bayonet, and shrapnel wounds from the six-hour fight with the enemy battalion.

#18 Goyaałé (Geronimo)

Image source: SkunkApe7712, Ben Wittick

Also worthy of consideration: Goyaałé (Geronimo.)

“One day he came into my quarters at Fort Sill in a most peculiar mood. He told me no one could kill him, nor me either, if he willed it so. Then he bared himself to the waist. I was dumbfounded to see the number of bullet holes in his body. I knew he had been in many battles and had been fired on dozens of times, but I had never heard of anyone living with at least fifty bullet wounds on his body. Geronimo had that many scars.

Some of these bullet holes were large enough to hold small pebbles that Geronimo picked up and placed in them. Putting a pebble in a bullet wound he would make a noise like a gun, then take the pebble out and throw it on the ground. Jokingly I told him he was probably so far away that the bullets didn’t penetrate him, but that if he had been nearer they probably would have killed him. ‘No, no,’ he shouted. ‘Bullets cannot kill me!'”

– Charles F. Lummis

#19 Charles Upham

Image source: Boring_Monahan, Wikipedia

Charles Upham was a NZ soldier who won 2 Victoria Crosses. He had a reputation of carrying a flour sack full of grenades instead of a rifle. If you read the wiki, it goes through the whole saga that led to his awarding of the first VC and then casually mentions that he was suffering from Dystentary at the time.

#20 Ranulph Fiennes

Image source: jp112078, David Ward

Lookup Sir Ranulph Fiennes. Explorer and all around bada**. And only within the last generation. First to visit both north and South Pole. Crossed Antarctica by foot. War hero. During an expedition in the arctic got frostbite and cut his fingers off with a saw. Had a heart attack in 2000. But ran 7 marathons on 7 continents in 7 days 3 years later. Pure iron in my opinion

#21 Josef Broz Tito

Image source: Zadra-ICP, Wikipedia

Josef Broz Tito, leader of Post-WW2 Yugoslavia. He broke with Stalin and the USSR in the mid-1940s. Stalin repeatedly tried to have Tito killed. When Stalin died a private letter from Tito to Stalin was found in Stalin’s bedside table: “Stop sending people to kill me… If you don’t stop sending killers, I’ll send one to Moscow, and I won’t have to send a second.” By the 1960s he was an influential world leader organizing the non-aligned pact of nations against both NATO and the USSR,

#22 Harriet Tubman

Image source: Marvos79, Horatio Seymour Squyer

Harriet Tubman. When she was a slave she would do work right alongside the men. Once when she was just a child she was taken into to big house to take care of the kids, and she snuck a sugar cube. She had never had sugar before. She knew she was going to be whipped, so she ran off and hid in the pig pen for days, fighting the pigs for food, before they found her.

Later on she was struck in the head by a lead weight thrown at another slave by an angry shop owner. She suffered brain damage but was back in the fields while she was still bleeding. All her life, she would suffer from hallucinations and sleeping spells. She interpreted her visions as signs from God.

Later on, she escaped slavery and joined the underground railroad. If slaves lost their nerve and wanted to go back, she would hold them at gunpoint. During the civil war she led a naval raid on a plantation at Combahee Ferry and freed 750 enslaved people.

In the 1890s she had brain surgery, where the doctor “sawed open my skull, and raised it up, and now it feels more comfortable.”

She lived to be 90 or 91.

#23 A lot of unknown women

Image source: passurepassure, Kaye

A lot of unknown women

#24 Terry Fox

Image source: NibblersNosh, Ian Muttoo

I think that Terry Fox has to be up there. To run a marathon every day on the Marathon of Hope, on one leg (and a crappy prosthesis), while riddled with cancer is beyond anything I can understand. Imagine the courage and determination that required.

#25 Simo Hayha

Image source: Old_Man_Withers, Wikipedia

Simo Hayha

(The famous Finnish sniper who defended the independence of Finland from the USSR in 1939 – 1940. Having received a serious wound that almost deprived him of half of his face, Simo partly regained his health and returned to duty. – BP)