Determined to alleviate his father's arthritis, Felix Hoffmann made a pain reliever that was safe for everyday use. But then he synthesized something far more potent.Wikimedia Commons Scientist Felix Hoffmann. If not for Felix Hoffmann modern medicine, might be without one of its most well-known over the counter drugs, Aspirin. But without Hoffman, society would also be without heroin, one of its most dangerous illegal drugs. Felix Hoffmann’s Background Felix Hoffmann was born into an industrial family in 1868.

These are the most fascinating history news stories and anniversaries of the month, from a Viking warrior's grave in Norway to a thrift store vase that proved to be a valuable relic.It’s the end of July and we have, as always, put together a collection of our favorite history news stories that we featured on the site this month, as well as several historic July anniversaries. History never sleeps, and we covered a number of remarkable history stories in July.

The story of how Witold Pilecki volunteered to enter Auschwitz, exposed its horrors to the world, and then actually managed to escape.Wikimedia CommonsWitold Pilecki in Polish military uniform sometime before 1939. Upon entering the gates of the Auschwitz concentration camp, Witold Pilecki said that he “bade farewell to everything I had hitherto known on this earth and entered something seemingly no longer of it.” There are people who volunteer to serve soup at homeless shelters or answer phones.

In 1966, Bobby Seale and Huey Newton created the Black Panther Party, a revolutionary black socialist movement that would take America by storm. The Historical Context Of The Black Panther PartyAt the onset of the civil rights movement, African-Americans were subjected to consistent acts of police brutality — brutality which, thanks to the advent of TV, helped shine a national spotlight on an all-too common event for African-Americans. Pictured, a moment from the 1964 Harlem race riot.

In one fell swoop, 22-year-old Olga Hepnarová killed eight people and injured dozens more in Prague. Here's her chilling story.One summer day in 1973, a large group of elderly people were waiting at a Prague tram stop for their morning ride. Around 11 AM, a pick-up truck suddenly came hurtling down the road, swerved violently onto the pavement and slammed into them. Screams filled the air, dead bodies lined the streets, and a few meters down the road, sitting calmly in the driver’s seat, was the 22-year-old girl who had decided to kill them all.