Buzz
Thanks to advancements in DNA testing, the era of impostors pretending to be long-lost relatives is nearly finished. Proving familial ties is now a straightforward process with just a simple blood test.
However, before DNA came into play, the process was far more subjective, particularly if a long time had passed. Identification depended on documents, which could be forged, and eyewitnesses, who could be wrong.
Or even bribed.
Here are 10 impostors who attempted to live lives that weren’t theirs.
10. Jeanne Calment
Jeanne Calment was famously recognized as the world’s oldest woman, passing away at the age of 122. However, a group of Russian researchers claim that Calment was actually only 99 years old.
According to a mathematician and a gerontologist (experts in aging), the real Jeanne Calment passed away in 1934 at the age of 59. They believe that her daughter, Yvonne, took on her mother’s identity to evade hefty inheritance taxes.
It is alleged that the mother was buried under her daughter’s name, and her death certificate was issued without a doctor’s or coroner’s confirmation. Yvonne’s husband never remarried and spent many years living with his ‘mother-in-law’. Calment certainly appeared youthful for her age, and resembled her daughter closely in the few photographs that remain. She had instructed for her personal papers to be destroyed after her death.
The researchers interviewed Jeanne Calment and asked her about her childhood. While she made some mistakes in her answers, it’s understandable given the time that had passed. By the time Jeanne passed away in 1997, she was the longest-lived human by a significant margin, outliving her nearest competitor by over 3 years.
Only a DNA test following an exhumation can definitively determine if Jeanne Calment was truly 122 when she passed away. Regardless, mother and daughter are finally buried together, and no one is willing to disturb their final resting place.
9. Roger Tichborne
Roger Tichborne was the eldest son of a wealthy Victorian family, who tragically vanished at sea when his ship sank in a storm in the middle of the Atlantic. His mother, unable to accept his death, placed advertisements in newspapers worldwide seeking information.
A decade later, Lady Tichborne received a letter from the supposed missing heir, now in Australia. The man spoke with an Australian accent instead of the expected French, but he had been away for many years. He had gained weight, likely due to a poor diet without his home-cooked meals, and was shorter than Tichborne. Normally, this would have been a major discrepancy. However, Tichborne had a very specific, though not immediately apparent, feature—deformed genitals. Upon inspection, it was revealed that, in this regard at least, the claimant was a match. Lady Tichborne accepted him as her son.
In order to secure his inheritance, Tichborne had to prove his identity in court. During the trial, several witnesses testified that Tichborne was actually Arthur Orton from Wapping. The case fell apart when Tichborne was asked about the contents of a sealed envelope that had been entrusted to his estate manager before his departure. Tichborne claimed the envelope contained provisions in case the ‘high-born lady’ he had been involved with turned out to be pregnant.
He made an incorrect guess.
The false Tichborne, whose true identity was never definitively proven as Orton or anyone else, was found guilty on 32 counts of perjury and sentenced to 14 years of hard labor.
8. Perkin Warbeck
If you're going to impersonate someone, why not aim high? This was likely Perkin Warbeck's logic when he claimed to be the rightful King of England.
Warbeck bore a striking resemblance to Edward IV, which may have been a mere coincidence, but it certainly helped to give credibility to his claim of being the Duke of York, one of the ‘Princes in the Tower,’ imprisoned by the treacherous King Richard II in the Tower, and therefore, the rightful king.
He managed to gather supporters for his cause, some of whom likely believed him. However, many were simply eager for a legitimate reason to overthrow Henry VII, who had deposed Richard to establish the new Tudor dynasty. If they could prove Warbeck’s claim before Henry solidified his rule, they might have succeeded.
In 1496, James IV of Scotland launched an invasion of England with Warbeck alongside him, but they were quickly driven back. Warbeck organized several more attempts to invade before being captured in 1497, at which point he surrendered to the King and withdrew his claim to the throne.
For a time, it appeared that Warbeck had been pardoned. He was welcomed at Henry’s court and even participated in royal banquets, though he was kept under close watch. However, when he attempted to escape, he was caught and likely sent to the Tower of London for the second time, where he was executed by hanging in 1499.
7. The False Dmitry
Dmitry, the youngest son of Tsar Ivan IV, known as Ivan the Terrible, was believed to have died in 1591 from a self-inflicted throat wound. Some, however, insisted that he had been murdered by the usurper Boris Godunov or that he had escaped.
Three other individuals came forward, claiming to be Dmitry who had escaped his assassins, but only one of the False Dmitrys, as they were known, succeeded in becoming Tsar. In 1603, this Dmitry began raising an army against Boris Godunov. Godunov declared that Dmitry was actually Grigory Otrepev, a runaway monk. Dmitry's rebellion began just as Godunov died. With little resistance, Dmitry entered Moscow and became the undisputed Tsar. He ruled for a year and was fairly popular among his people.
Dmitry married in 1606, but during the wedding celebrations, a riot erupted. Rebels stormed the Kremlin and killed the Tsar.
Many people believed that Dmitry had once again escaped his assassins, and a civil war was fought in his name. This led to more hopefuls, all claiming to be either the Original Dmitry, risen from the dead, or the ‘Back From the Dead’ Dmitry, also risen from the dead.
It will never be known for certain whether the body dumped in Red Square was indeed that of Ivan the Terrible's son, but historians generally consider it unlikely.
6. Paul Tagaris
Paul Palaiologos Tagaris was a Byzantine monk who claimed to be of royal descent.
Tagaris was ordained as a priest in the Greek Orthodox church in Jerusalem as a way to escape his wife. He evidently possessed charm, and in recognition of his supposed royal lineage, was appointed to a position of authority over bishops in Jerusalem. He quickly took advantage of his new role by ousting the bishops and selling their sees.
He gave himself the title of Patriarch of Jerusalem, but before he could be arrested, he fled to Rome. There, he presented his credentials to the Pope, confessed his sins, swore allegiance to the Catholic Church, was forgiven, and granted the title of Latin Patriarch of Constantinople.
His spiritual awakening was short-lived, however, as it wasn’t long before the clergy of his new diocese began complaining about the taxes he imposed. He fled once more, this time to Avignon, where a rival pope resided, and confessed again. But it didn’t last.
He eventually returned to Constantinople, made a final dramatic confession, renounced Catholicism, and was once again forgiven. It’s unclear whether this new change of heart was sincere, but the likelihood seems slim.
5. James Reavis
James Reavis was a man of practical thinking. During the Civil War, he enlisted with the Confederacy while simultaneously making money by selling forged leave passes.
When he was on the verge of being caught, he fled and switched sides, joining the Union army.
After the war, he turned to creating fake land titles. He forged documents claiming that his ‘ancestor,’ who had worked for the King of Spain, was appointed the Baron of Arizona. Along with the title, the King allegedly granted his ancestor a large tract of land to be passed down through the generations.
Which was quite convenient.
While waiting for his claim to be processed, Reavis struck a deal with a railroad company to access the land, earning himself a considerable fortune. He also sold quitclaims, offering titles to land that he didn't actually own.
When it seemed like he might lose his claim, Reavis traveled to Spain under the guise of ‘looking for evidence’. Not long after he visited an archive, documents miraculously turned up, discovered by the archivists. Though there were suspicions he had planted them, no proof could be found.
Ultimately, his land claim was rejected, and he was convicted of forgery, receiving a two-year prison sentence and a $5,000 fine.
Which seems like a light punishment, given the fortune he made through his schemes.
4. Natalya Bilikhodze
In 2002, a press conference was held, where a video statement was made to back Natalya Bilikhodze’s claim of being Anastasia, the youngest daughter of Czar Nicholas II. Although it’s widely believed she was executed by Bolsheviks in 1918, rumors have lingered that she managed to escape.
While there have been several individuals claiming to be Anastasia, Bilikhodze’s will likely be the final such claim. By then, Anastasia would have been 101 years old.
Anastasia had been living in relative seclusion in Georgia, but a committee was formed to orchestrate her ‘return’ to Moscow. Although her whereabouts were kept confidential, the committee’s chairman stated their goal was to ‘restore the honorable name of Anastasia’.
Which is a noble pursuit, perhaps.
They also hoped that the billion-dollar Romanov fortune would be handed over once her identity was confirmed.
Ah.
While it may not be shocking that the Grand Duchess of the Romanovs was not still alive, what was unexpected was that neither was Natalya Bilikhodze. The ‘heiress’ had recorded her video testimony years earlier, but she had passed away two years prior. Her burial took place without the honor of a state funeral.
When this fact came to light, the committee appeared to disband overnight, and the chairman lost interest in the pursuit of restoring Anastasia’s honor.
3. The Countess of Derwentwater
In 1857, a woman with the rather extraordinary name of Lady Amelia Matilda Mary Tudor Radcliffe laid claim to the now-defunct Derwentwater estate. She asserted that she was the granddaughter of the 4th Earl of Derwentwater, who had passed away 120 years earlier, supposedly without an heir.
She claimed that during the Jacobite rebellion, the Earl had abandoned his family and faked his death. To substantiate her claim, the Countess presented a complete family tree. Lady Amelia, as she was known to her associates, brought along documents, portraits, and even ‘family jewels’ to strengthen her argument for the land, which by now had been transferred to the trustees of a hospital.
Her claim was swiftly dismissed.
Undeterred, Lady Amelia turned to the press, where she impressed many readers with her story’s apparent credibility. A number of people contributed financially to ‘her cause’. In 1868, she made an audacious move by breaking into the decaying Derwentwater mansion, dressed in royal-like attire, which included the ‘sabre of her sires’ slung around her waist. She raised her family flag over the fallen tower and adorned the walls with family portraits.
When the hospital evicted her, carrying her out of the building in full view of the press and public, she set up camp on the road outside, garnering sympathy as a ‘distressed gentlewoman’. Lady Amelia began collecting rent from ‘her tenants’ and even auctioned off property and livestock that rightfully belonged to the hospital. The hospital sued her, resulting in a fine of £500, and the Countess was forced to sell her family heirlooms to cover the debt.
Historians are certain that there never was a Countess of Derwentwater, and the true identity of the impostor remains a mystery. The heirlooms she sold were found to be poorly made fakes, and the family portraits had actually been painted by the ‘Countess’ herself.
2. Mary Baynton
If you happened to live in a small, remote village in 16th Century England, and a stranger showed up declaring herself as the daughter of the king, you might feel a bit uneasy. If that king happened to be Henry VIII, known for his fierce temper and his frequent use of the axe, you would probably feel very uneasy.
So, when Princess Mary appeared unexpectedly in a village in Lincolnshire, no one dared to question her identity. She claimed to be the daughter of Henry and his first wife, Katherine of Aragon. Additionally, she spoke of a prophecy foretold by the Queen of France that Mary ‘would one day face great hardship’.
She explained that she was on a journey to Spain, where she would be safe. The place she chose to rest, quite possibly by coincidence, was known to be sympathetic to Mary Tudor, whose claims to the throne were being largely ignored.
She did ask for money to fund her escape, asserting that the king had abandoned her. However, it is believed that the sums she received were relatively modest. It is likely that many people suspected that their ‘Princess Mary’ was not actually Mary Tudor, but they treated her as a sort of symbol for their cause.
Princess Mary was actually just plain Mary Baynton. In 1533, she was arrested and admitted that her claim to royal heritage was a fabrication.
After her confession, she was never heard from again. Sadly for both Mary Baynton and Mary Tudor, the prophecy her aunt made about facing great hardship proved to be accurate after all.
1. Martin Guerre
Possibly the most infamous impostor in history, Martin Guerre was a peasant from 16th century France who managed to marry into a higher social class. In 1548, he was accused of stealing from his father and vanished in the dead of night.
For six long years, his wife was left in limbo—unable to divorce him, nor prove his death, which was a troubling predicament for a woman at the time. So when Martin suddenly returned, she likely felt a mix of relief and fury.
Despite some skepticism about New Guerre’s true identity, he resembled Old Guerre in both stature and build, and appeared to recognize everyone. New Guerre lived peacefully with his family for three years until he decided to sue his uncle for an inheritance that had been denied to him during his absence.
Uncle Guerre was not easily convinced. When a passing stranger revealed that the real Guerre had lost a leg and that New Guerre was an impostor, he decided to investigate. It was soon discovered that a man named Arnaud du Tilh, who had gone missing from a nearby village, bore a striking resemblance to New Guerre. After much persuasion, he convinced Martin Guerre’s wife to press charges against him.
At the trial, Guerre’s wife hesitated to testify against him. New Guerre challenged her to expose him as a fraud, offering to accept execution if she did so. She remained silent. Despite her refusal to denounce him, the trial continued with more than 150 witnesses who were called to testify. Many insisted he was the real Guerre, including Martin Guerre’s four sisters, while others claimed he was Arnaud du Tilh. Amidst the confusion, New Guerre was found guilty and sentenced to death.
New Guerre appealed, and both his wife and uncle were arrested for perjury. New Guerre testified that his wife had been coerced by his uncle. He was interrogated in detail about his past and answered every question.
As the judges were preparing to acquit him, a man with a wooden leg arrived, claiming to be the true Martin Guerre. This man was also questioned about his history, and several inconsistencies were found in his recollections. However, when the new man, the Real Martin Guerre, was presented to his wife, uncle, and sisters, they immediately recognized him as the genuine article.
Arnaud du Tilh was found guilty of fraud and later admitted that he had been mistaken for Martin Guerre on several occasions due to their striking resemblance. Upon discovering that there was an inheritance to claim, he bribed several people who knew the Guerre family to provide him with information.
A few days after his conviction, Tilh was hanged right in front of Martin Guerre’s house.
