History’s Biggest Badasses

Biggest Badasses: Agustina of Aragon

Many consider Agustina de Aragón the Spanish “Joan of Arc” for her defense of Spain during the Spanish War of Independence in the 1800s. When the war first broke out in 1808, she would take apples to feed the gunners. But after the Spanish suffered heavy losses as the war dragged on, Agustina directly involved herself in the war when she ran to the cannons and began to defend Zaragoza—one of the last Spanish towns that hadn’t fallen to Napoleon—on her own.

Other Spaniards came to help, and after a lengthy and bloody struggle, the French retreated. They eventually returned a few weeks later and captured the town and Agustina, but she escaped and began working as a low-level rebel leader for the guerrilleros, assisting in organizing raids and attacks against the French. On June 21, 1813, she worked with the army as a front line battery commander at the Battle of Vitoria, the battle that eventually drove the French out of Spain for good.

Biggest Badasses: Leonid Ivanovich Rogozov

Born in Bihar, India, in 340 BC, Chandragupta Maurya rose up from rather humble beginnings and created the expansive Mauryan Empire that ruled throughout an expanding and united India. He commanded nine thousand war elephants, fifty million people and an army of thirty-six thousand – including a personal bodyguard of over five hundred Greek and Indian warrior women. As legend has it, Maurya stormed the palace of the Nanda empire with a bronze sword in hand, but was caught and jailed, only to escape and ultimately establishing his own dynasty in its stead.

Biggest Badasses: Charles Martel

Considered a founding father of the Middle Ages, Frenchman Charles The Hammer – also known as Charles Martel – gets his badass street cred for stopping the Islamic invasion of Western Europe. He was a Frankish statesman and military leader and de facto ruler of Francia from 718 until 741. As Mayor of the Palace under the Frankish kings, he attained the position to lead the army against the invading Islamic armies that ensued. His crowning victory in the field was the triumph at the Battle of Tours on October 10, 732.

The Battle of Tours is considered one of the most decisive battles in history in which two French towns fought against the armies of the Umayyad Caliphate near the Pyrenees. Charles received the moniker “Martel” (“hammer” in French) for the way he hammered his enemies and, with his flanks of Frenchmen fighting on foot, pushed back Islamic advances and defeated their attempted conquest of Europe. Historians agree that had things gone differently during this battle, a Muslim France might actually be reality, not a hyperbolic fear on behalf of the French right.

Biggest Badasses: Bhanbhagta Gurung

Bhanbhagta Gurung was a Nepalese civilian whose bravery and general badassery during World War II garnered him the Victoria Cross – the highest honor available to British and Commonwealth soldiers. Gurung singlehandedly attacked enemy foxholes with bayonets and grenades, at times coming in point-blank range of machine guns. The account of his deeds encapsulated by the British press:

“Without waiting for orders Bhanbhagta dashed forward alone and attacked the first enemy foxhole and, hurling grenades, he killed the two occupants. He then ran at the next foxhole, killing two of the enemy with his bayonet. Nearby, two other enemy foxholes were inflicting casualties on his section. Showing raw courage he attacked both positions, clearing them with grenades and finishing off the enemy with his bayonet.

Throughout these attacks Bhanbhagta was fired on continuously from a machine-gun situated on the tip of the objective. Realising this was holding up the advance of two of the battalion’s platoons, Bhanbhagta again edged forward and – keeping low – he made the top of the bunker only to find he had run out of hand grenades, so he flung two No 72 smoke grenades into the bunker slit. Two of the Japanese ran out, blinded, with their clothes aflame. Bhanbhagta killed them with his kukri. One foolishly brave Japanese remained inside, still firing the machine gun. Bhanbhagta crawled inside the bunker and, prevented by the cramped space from using his bayonet or kukri, beat the gunner to death with a rock.

With most objectives now taken and the enemy driven off, Bhanbhagta ordered a Bren gunner and two riflemen to hold the captured bunker with him. Under Bhanbhagta’s command, the small party in the bunker repelled with heavy losses the enemy counter-attack. Bhanbhagta’s extraordinary courage was contagious and inspired his fellow Gurkhas to fight like tigers. Snowden was held.”

Biggest Badasses: Nikola Tesla


The eponymous “mad scientist”, Nikola Tesla was known for all his badass inventions and eccentric lifestyle. The electromagnetic genius hailed from Serbia, and was responsible for creating an alternating current system that provides electricity over long distances, and now powers houses and business all over the world. Tesla avidly pursued technical innovation, particularly wireless lighting and electricity distribution with his high-voltage, high-frequency power experiments across the States.

Outside of lab settings Tesla avoided any kind of physical chemistry and spent his life celibate, flitting like a pigeon (the birds for which he had a major affinity) from different hotel rooms, refusing billion dollar contracts for his inventions. Tesla’s contemporaries regarded him as mad, and he had a well known rivalry with Thomas Edison, who he initially worked for. On his deathbed, Edison cracked and admitted that Tesla’s alternating current was ridiculously genius. Tesla eventually died in a Manhattan hotel room, flat broke.

Biggest Badasses: Grigori Rasputin

The beard. The mysticism. The political power and the repeated—and failed—attempts of murder. Indeed, Rasputin qualifies as one of the 20th centuries biggest badasses. Believed to be able to heal their hemophiliac son, Alexei, the Romanovs commissioned Rasputin to be their supreme mystic. His influence grew to the point where Rasputin personally advised Tsar Nicholas’ ill-fated rule.

Many within the court cast a questioning eye toward the unorthodox mystic, and eventually tried to assassinate him. Unfortunately for them, though, Rasputin proved to be a hard man to kill. Despite stabbings, poisoning, being shot and clubbed, Rasputin didn’t die. His eventual demise came from drowning. And even then, evidence suggested that Rasputin may have tried to claw his way out of the icy riverbed before he met his maker.

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