15. Elizabeth Bathory
Cited to be the inspiration for Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Elizabeth Bathory is considered to be one of the most vile and evil women in history. Believing that the blood of young virgins was the key to eternal youth, Bathory maintained a horrific skin regime that involved bathing in the blood of young girls. It is speculated over 650 girls were killed in order to keep up with Bathory’s blood demands and some rumors have swirled throughout the decades that she actually ate her servants.
14. Talat Pasha
In the 1910’s, Talat Pasha served the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire as the Grand Vizier. Considered to be a cruel man who lacked all empathy, he is responsible for the death of over 1.5 million Armenian citizens during the country’s genocide. On November 3, 1918, Pasha fled the Ottoman Empire due to the backlash for his heinous crimes. He would eventually be assassinated in Berlin in 1921.
13. Josef Mengele
Josef Mengele is best known for running the Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz and sending over 400,000 innocent Jews to the gas chambers. Mengele helped select which Jews were able to work and which would be put to death upon their arrival to the camp. He also oversaw the horrific human experimentation program. Shortly before the Red Army liberated the camp, Mengele fled to South Africa where he evaded capture until his death in 1979.
12. Reinhard Heydrich
Historians considered Heydrich to be one of the darkest figures within the Nazi elite during World War II. Even Adolf Hitler called Heydrich “the man with the iron heart” due to his lack of empathy and blatant disregard for human life. He was most known for being in charge of relocating over 60,000 Jews from Germany to Poland where they were forced to live in poverty-stricken ghettos before being relocated to death camps. Historians believe he was directly responsible for the deaths of 1.3 million Jews due to his command over the special task forces. He would be wounded by the British Armed Forces during an assassination attempt in Prague, dying from said wounds a week later.
11. Osama bin Laden
One of the most evil people in more recent times is Osama bin Laden. Responsible for founding the Islamic extremist group Al-Qaeda, he was directly responsible for the attack on the Twin Towers in New York City on September 11, 2001. This attack would cause the deaths of over 3,000 people with over 6,000 more injured. After years of eluding capture, U.S. troops were able to shoot and kill bin Laden on May 2, 2011 in a covert operation under the direct order of President Obama.
10. Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein was pure evil. There is no other way to describe a man who oversaw the deaths of his own citizens, orchestrating a genocide as the president of Iraq that killed over 2 million people. People close to Hussein have revealed he would record the brutal killings and then re-watch them at home for his own personal amusement. On November 5, 2006 Hussein was convicted of crimes against humanity due to the killings and executed.
9. Maximilien Robespierre
Robespierre was one of the prominent leaders during the French Revolution, who allowed his rise to power to overtake his better judgment. Named as a member of the Committee of Public Safety, he took overly extreme measures to control political activity in France. Over a ten-month period known as the Reign of Terror, Robespierre carried out some of the most disgusting executions in history. He killed indiscriminately and even murdered some of his closest friends. Believing killing was better than forgiveness, his lack of empathy and cruel motives have earned him a spot on our list of most evil people. Robespierre was executed on July 28, 1794 after being shot during an attack.
8. Kim Il Sung
Kim Il Sung was directly responsible for the Korean War and creating the Democratic Republic of North Korea, separating the country from its southern brethren. He instituted many of the oppressive policies that continue to terrorize the North Korean population to this day and caused the deaths of over 3 million people when he invaded South Korea in 1950. Despite the evil he reigned down on his own people, Sung remained the leader of North Korea until his death on July 8, 1994.
7. Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini
The man behind the religious coupe in Iran, Khomeini was directly responsible for the murders of his religious and political rivals. Considered to be a Shia Muslim, he was the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran and was responsible for the Iranian Revolution, overthrowing the monarchy and Mohammad Reza Phalavi. Once he came into power, he imposed strict religious laws on his people and imprisoned and tortured many Iranian citizens.
6. Emperor Hirohito
The heart doesn’t get darker than this. Emperor Hirohito was the ruler of the Japanese Empire and was responsible for the genocide of millions of Chinese, Indonesian, Korean, Filipino and Indochinese citizens. Some of his heinous acts include ordering Chinese war prisoners to be killed over capture and forcing husbands to rape their wives. Historians uncovered that Hirohito was also responsible for the sexual assault of over 200,000 women during World War II.
5. Attila the Hun
Considered to be the greatest enemy of the Western and Eastern Roman Empire, Attila the Hun was a barbaric leader who enjoyed battles over mercy. He’s most known for the murder of the virgin Saint Ursula and 11,000 of her companions after she denied his marriage request. He obviously needed some serious anger management if he went that crazy over a failed marriage proposal. After terrorizing millions, he would eventually die of a severe nosebleed.
4. Leopold II of Belgium
Leopold II was the king of Belgium and helped found the African nation Congo Free State. While the rest of the world thought he was helping the people of the Congo, behind the scenes he was carrying out some truly evil acts. According to historians, Leopold ordered his men to torture the people of the Congo, which resulted in him slaughtering over 50% of the population in his desire to harvest ivory from the country. It has been determined over 15 million people were killed while under his control. Thankfully, Belgium forced him to relinquish the colony in 1908.
3. Tomas de Torquemada
This Spanish Dominican friar rose to power as the first Grand Inquisitor during the Spanish Inquisition. He led the movement to restore Christianity to the country between 1483-1498. Creating a climate of terror among the Spanish people, Torquemada tortured innocents in an effort to convert them to Christianity with many being burned alive.
2. Ivan the Terrible
With a name like Ivan the Terrible, it comes as no surprise that this guy was really the definition of pure evil. After rising to power as the Grand Prince of Moscow in 1533, Ivan fell into a state of extreme paranoia. In an effort to protect his power, he demanded thousands of citizens move from their homes, as well as commanded they be executed. Ivan also imposed unspeakable acts of torture on his citizens with some being impaled, blinded and even fried alive.
1. Idi Amin
Idi Amin was the president of Uganda from 1971-1979 and is considered to be one of the most ruthless dictators of all time. He murdered hundreds of thousands of his own people on live television and invented a new method of torture involving sledgehammers. It is believed he killed over 500,000 Ugandans during his reign of terror.