10 History "Facts" That Are Actually Totally Wrong

What if the facts you learned in history class were wrong? Historians dedicate their whole careers to uncovering and understanding our past, but behind every well-known fact, there is information that gets lost or buried.

Here are some common historical facts that are false.

^{10. Christopher Columbus did not discover America}

Explorer Christopher Columbus is believed by many to have discovered America when in truth Indigenous people had already been living in the Americas for thousands of years.

It was the Viking explorer Leif Erikson who first landed in the Americas, almost 400 years before Columbus. And while Columbus' voyages took him to Central and South America, he never quite made it to the present-day United States.

^{9. Marie Antoinette did not say “Let them eat cake.”}

Thomas Edison is one of America’s greatest inventors. He held more than a1,000 patents and is credited with key inventions of the 19^th century. But there is much debate as to whether Edison was the first person to invent the light bulb or not.

In the early 1800s, English chemist Humphry Davy produced the world’s first electric lamp. Subsequent inventors improved on Davy’s design, but none were able to make the lightbulb long-lasting and inexpensive.

While he may not be the first to invent it, Edison did create a lightbulb that was practical, long-lasting, and affordable.