Everyone Knows These Famous Historical Figures, But Some Experts Doubt They Ever Existed

“To be, or not to be? That is the question.” These words are almost as famous as the man who wrote them: William Shakespeare. But what if we told you that there are experts out there who doubt the English playwright’s very existence? And he’s not alone. There are, in fact, numerous massively important historical figures who may never have actually walked this earth. Read on and prepare to be shocked!

20. Mulan

Thanks to the 1998 cartoon movie and recent live-action adaptation, millions of us are familiar with the story of Mulan. Yet the character’s origins tend to be less well-known for those of us outside China. In fact, she can be traced back to a poem written around 1,500 years ago!

Just another folk story?

According to Time, The Ballad of Mulan emerged as a folk story in northern China – back when the region was ruled by the Wei dynasty. It’s been theorized that this poem may have been formulated as a reaction to the increasing autonomy that women were experiencing at the time. So, the character of Mulan wasn’t necessarily real and instead may have been a representation of females from that era and place. Pretty neat, right?

19. William Tell

William Tell is a hugely important figure in Switzerland. Why? Well, he assassinated the brutal Austrian leader Albrecht Gessler in the 14th century and a resulting rebellion led to the Swiss Confederacy’s foundation. Details of the story vary, but it’s believed that Tell had refused to honor Gessler’s rule. And as a result, he was forced to fire an arrow at an apple placed on top of his child’s head.

The famous shot

Tell didn’t miss the apple shot, but he would later go on to murder Gessler and helped inspire the movement for Swiss independence. Naturally, his influence on the national psyche is quite profound. Yet in reality there’s no solid evidence that the apple incident ever happened! And we don’t even know if William Tell ever existed.