The entire history of humanity is mostly the history of incredibly brave people. Starting from the very prehistoric human who first lit a fire, and ending, for example, with Neil Armstrong walking on the Moon. In fact, if people didn’t have such a mentality, we would still live in caves and dress in skins. Daredevils are the ones who actually move civilization forward.

Our selection today, made for you by Bored Panda , tells about such people from different countries and ages. It’s about historical figures who, despite all fears and obstacles, did something incredible. And even if it didn’t end well for them… at least we remember them.

More info: Reddit

39 Of The Most Famous ‘Fine, I’ll Do It Myself’ Moments That Changed History Forever - 1 Abandoned industrial site at sunset, symbolizing moments of bravery that changed the course of history. - 2

The people who volunteered to go into the reactor at Chernobyl to stem the damage as it went critical, knowing they would die. Their sacrifice prevented much worse damage and radiation.

xenomorphs_at_disney , EyeEm Report

Vintage Hewlett-Packard computer with green text on screen, symbolizing people's bravery changing history moments. - 3

Stanislav Petrov, manning a Soviet missile defense system during a very tense period of the Cold War, looked at an alert from the computer that claimed that the US had just launched nukes at the USSR, said “f**k it, this computer is wrong, I’ll decide if we’re being attacked, and I decide no”, and didn’t sound the alarm for a counter attack, against his standing orders. He was correct , and singlehandedly stopped the Cold War from becoming a nuclear war.

samiratmidnight , FlipFlopFlorida Report

View looking up through a narrow ice crevice with a blue sky, symbolizing people's bravery changing the course of history. - 4

Dashrath Manjhi is a man who single handedly cut a mountain in half in order to make a passage between his tiny village and the city on the other side of the mountain. He did this because you would have to ethier climb or go around the mountain to get to the doctor. His wife was wounded and died while he was trying to fetch the doctor. He vowed to not rest until he could make a passage way for the doctor to easily reach the village. It took him 22 years but he turned a 55km journey into a 15km journey. He had help from time to time but many thought him insane but it worked! Unfortunately it was only after his death in 2007 that the government got it’s a*s together and built more roads and made the pass safer. In 2016 he was honored with a set of stamps bearing his personage. He sacrificed so much too help the village he loved.

MugglebornSlytherin2 , EyeEm Report

Sailor on an old wooden ship braving the open sea, showcasing people's bravery that changed the course of history. - 5

Ancient seafaring people, for sure. Sailing off into the unknown just hoping to find something.

anon , freepik Report

Black and white portrait of a bearded man wearing glasses, symbolizing bravery that changed the course of history. - 6

Juan Pujol García was a Spaniard who created his own counter-intelligence operation for the Allies during WW2. Initially he approached British and American intelligence offering them his services, but both countries rebuffed him. Undeterred Garcia created a fictional persona as a pro-ft Spanish official and got himself recruited by the Ns who directed him to travel to Britain to recruit agents. Instead Garcia created a network of fictitious agents and sub-agents using publicly available information like newspapers and travel brochures. It was at this point that he again contacted Allied intelligence, and was finally recruited. Garcia continued his work throughout the war, and received both a knighthood from the British and the Iron Cross for the same operation. The N*s never realized that he was a double agent.

indecisiveshrub , wiki Report

Illuminated Tower Bridge in London at dusk, symbolizing moments of bravery that changed the course of history. - 7

The Hunter Tower Bridge Incident, not as spectacular as others here but fits the whole “f**k it” theme. RAF pilot Alan Pollock was rather annoyed that the government was doing nothing to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the RAF, so he took things into his own hands. Immediately after takeoff on a routine transit flight he peeled off course in his Hawker Hunter fighter jet. He preceded to fly a low pass over the airfield, then using a borrowed AA map he found his way to London where he circled the houses of parliament a few times, dipped his wings over the RAF memorial and began flying down the river Thames at low level. Tower Bridge came up so he decided to fly through the gap between the road and top of the bridge (apparently causing a cyclist to fall off his bike in shock at the sudden noise and the fighter jet passing over his head. Realising that he was going to be in a world of trouble when he landed he decided he may well buzz a few more RAF based on his way to his destination. Upon landing he was promptly arrested. He received a lot of support with hundreds of letters of support, and a barrel of beer being sent by his RAF colleagues and members of the public. He even had an all-party motion of support, tabled in the House of Commons. In the end the RAF chose to quietly discharge him on medical grounds than take him to court and give him a chance to explain himself. And that’s the story of the only person to fly a jet aircraft through tower bridge.

AT2512 , vwalakte Report

Sir Nicolas Winton, who was a British man during the 1900s who help saved around 669 children if mostly Jewish origin get from Czechoslovakia to Britian before the start of WW2. He was just a broker who kept up on the news from Czechoslovakiai think, but from what I remember he went all the way to Prague,and tried to figure out what he could do. I watched an interview, and it was a lot of forging of documents and blackmail that he did I think to get the children into Britian. He didnt say anything about it for the next 50 years, he served in the army as well during ww2. This is a “Fk it, if no one is going to help these kids, then I will” in my opinion. Sadly i think there was another train full of 200 more kids, but it didnt get to depart because the war started that day. Most to all the kids who he saved, their parents died in camps like Auschwitz, and that probably included those 200 kids that never got on the train. He found the kids he did save, people willing to adopt them. This was known as the Czech Kindertransport (German for “children’s transport” and he was knighted as well by the Queen, thus is why he is Sir Nicolas Winton. Theres a movie called Nicky’s Family about it, as well as a 60 Minutes on him. He died in 2015 at the age of 106, but not without meeting a lot of the children, who are now adults. There was one sad part I saw in an interview with one of the children, is that his parents had told him that he was going to go to a trip to the UK alone, and then they would join him a few months later. He never realized this was the last time he’d see his parents, and he was asked what his parents looked like, where they scared, panicked, sad? I think he said he asked this question to himself many times and I think he ultimately said they were calm, I think. But this in my opinion is one of the big, fk it I’ll do it myself.

R3ddspider Report

Man in business suit holding glasses, smiling at desk with documents and awards highlighting bravery that changed history. - 8

Barry Marshall in order to show that h. pylori plays a major role in the cause of peptic ulcers he drank a broth of it and studied the disease’s progress.

Benkei929045 , WikiEdtingProfile2021 Report

Ancient reed boat displayed in museum highlighting incredible times when people's bravery changed history. - 9

Thor Heyerdahl, a Norwegian adventurer, and ethnographer went on the Kon Tiki expedition in 1947 to prove the Norweigan embassy that it was possible the Polynesian islands were populated from ancient civilizations from South America. So he and his three friends constructed a simple raft of wooden logs and sailed from South America to the Pacific Islands only using the currents in the Pacific. Oh, and they documented the whole expedition and later won an Oscar.

kalimass , David Clay Report

Pregnant woman in white pleated dress making a heart shape on her belly, symbolizing bravery and change in history. - 10

Inés Ramírez Pérez who performed a C-section on herself with both her and her baby living to talk about it.

Kalarys , EyeEm Report

Chalkboard filled with complex math formulas and geometric figures illustrating incredible times when bravery changed history. - 11

In the Indian mathematician Ramanujans early life, he posted a question on how to solve a specific infinite equation in the Journal of the Indian Mathematical Society, after not getting a reply for 6 months he just solved it himself.

Nemen_oj , Gray StudioPro Report

Equestrian statue symbolizing bravery that changed the course of history, set in a European city park on a cloudy day. - 12

“Napolean’s Hundred Days” for sure. Already in exhile in Elba, he catches news they are gonna send him to an island in the middle of the Atlantic, so he figures “fk it” and sneaks on a ship to France. Upon landing in France, the 5th Regiment is sent to intercept him. They were mostly hos former soldiers. He dismounts his horse, walks within firing distance of them, cause fk it, and announces “Here I am! Kl your emperor, if you wish” They all join him and march on Paris. Louis the XVIII dips to Belgium and Napolean reclaims his former spot as emperor. With an amassed army over 200 000, he tries to drive a wedge between the coalition forces of Britain and Prussia, cause fk it why not? Well, Waterloo is why. They lose the battle and he is exiled to St. Helena, but f**k, what a few months that was.

Can-eh-dian_B-eh-con , Hugh Llewelyn Report

Statue of Theodore Roosevelt illustrating bravery that changed the course of history beneath a clear blue sky. - 13

Pretty much anything Teddy Roosevelt did.

anon , m01229 Report

Astronaut on the moon symbolizing incredible bravery that changed the course of history during space exploration missions. - 14

Apollo 8. Easily the most important of the Apollo missions. First time we put actual humans on the monster Saturn V rocket. First time we sent 3 humans from the safety of our orbit, to the moon, and orbited it 10 times. A marvel of scientific achievement. It’s far more deserving of a movie than 11 or 13.

GreatOrganization , yakovlev_oleg Report

Surgeon wearing gloves reaching for surgical tools on a table, showcasing bravery that changed history in medicine. - 15

In 1961, Russian surgeon Leonid Rogozov performed an appendectomy on himself. https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-32481442.

TheRealHiFiLoClass , stefamerpik Report

Scottish flag waving against a blue sky on a building, symbolizing bravery that changed the course of history. - 16
  • When the Scottish invaded England and got as far as Derby. - When somebody brewed an IPA and thought “Fk it” and just doubled down on all of the ingredients to make a DIPA. - Caesar, sitting on his horse looking at a river and saying “Fk it” and just crossing with his entire army, de facto declaring war on the Senate. - King Leonidas, his kingdom facing invasion and subjugation by rival city states and the Persian king, took 300 of his best men and blocked the road. “Fk it” lets just see how many we can kl before we get smooshed. - Napoleon, having conquered most of Europe and the Mediterannean, looks at Russia and sees an easy victory. “F**k it”, let’s march to Russia in the autumn and try and win before winter.

airwalkerdnbmusic , julien ortet Report

There was a british soldier that fought with a sword and bow…in WW2, he captured dozens of Germans by himself in a single night, in multiple positions.

MasterGenius19 Report

Long steel bridge over calm water at sunset, symbolizing moments of bravery that changed the course of history. - 17

The one time Alexander the Great built a kilometer long bridge to take over an island.

anon , EyeEm Report

Statue of a brave rider on horse by the sea, symbolizing people's bravery that changed the course of history. - 18

Alexander the Great’s entire campaign. Let’s go conquer s**t!

luckyhunterdude , Herbert Frank Report

Three vintage WWII bomber planes flying in formation over green fields demonstrating bravery in history. - 19

The Doolittle Raid. “Hey lets put a bunch of twin engine [planes] on a carrier and attack Tokyo!”.

CupofLiberTea , Robert Sullivan Report

Soldiers in vintage military uniforms outdoors, illustrating bravery moments that changed the course of history. - 20

“For Christ’s sake, men, come on! Do you want to live forever?” Dan Daly epically leading a charge in WW1.

wuop , EyeEm Report

Murcia city park with colorful flowers and palm trees under a partly cloudy sky showing bravery that changed history. - 21

By the time of the Spanish 1st Republic (~1870) a small region known as Murcia, claimed their independency from Spain and almost initiated a war against the Germany of Otto Von Bismark.

umbium , Sergei Gussev Report

This guy who committed s*****e by ingesting cyanide and quickly writing down how it tastes before dying “Doctors, potassium cyanide. I have tasted it. It burns the tongue and tastes acrid,” https://www.smh.com.au/world/s*****e-note-reveals-taste-of-cyanide-20060709-gdnx7f.html.

Vironic Report

Genghis Khan. Went from a scraping for food on the Mongolian steppes to becoming a Mongol chief, to uniting all the Mongol clans, to conquering the biggest empire ever. Oh, and fathering more children than anyone. Something like 1 in every 200 men are direct line descendants.

Mullernuller Report

Group of explorers demonstrating bravery while trekking across a vast icy glacier in challenging conditions. - 22

Let’s go to the South Pole. Naw, let’s race to the South Pole!

tarxam , wirestock Report

Guy Fawkes saw one of his fellow conspirators being hung, drawn and quartered, so he jumped off the scaffold with the noose round his neck, instantly dying. Saved himself from the t*****e.

johntaylor1986 Report

Ancient stone crypt with a sarcophagus symbolizing times when people's bravery changed the course of history. - 23

After the Great Fire of London in 1666, the tomb of the Dean of St Paul’s (who had died in 1519) broke open from the heat. Two men came across his coffin, and opened it. It was full of a brownish liquid, around the body. Apparently the two men said “f**k it” and decided to taste the liquid. They reported that it was “ironish, insipid” and the body (which they naturally poked with a stick) felt like brawn (meat jelly). WTF.

macca321 , ahmadzada Report

Historic World War II beach landing showing bravery that changed the course of history with ships and military vehicles. - 24

Grant at the Vicksburg Campaign. Vicksburg was the main obstacle to the Union in using the Mississippi river as a supply route. After trying for months, different ways to get past the Artillery on the h**h Vicksburg bluffs, He finally sneaks his 17,000 troops over (using ironclads and steamers snuck past the batteries at night) and says goodbye to his supply line, believing that he could feed his troops from foraging the rich Confederate countryside. His commanders believed that the next step would have been to take out Port Hudson with General Banks who would be waiting for him, down river in Louisiana so he wouldnt have them threatening his rear. But since Banks was indisposed trying to take that fort, he decided to use the momentum he had, and march inland Northeast to take out the state capitol, Jackson, as a transportation hub (where they can quickly reinforce Vicksburg with men and supplies via railway), fighting and winning 5 battles and finally surrounding the city. They surrendered a month or so later. Really fascinating. It was the largest amphibious operation in American military history until the Invasion of Normandy. Not to mention that the Union had suffered embarrassing defeats at the hands of Robert E Lee and Stonewall Jackson, and with Lincoln running for reelection, and Gettysburg was occurring right around the time they surrendered.

conspirateur79 , MIckStephenson Report

Silhouette of a soldier saluting in front of the American flag representing bravery that changed the course of history. - 25

When Teddy Roosevelt wanted to be in the army to fight in the Spanish American war, but they wouldn’t take him since he was pretty much blind so he became a volunteer for the U.S. Army and created a unit made up of rich playboys that he went to school with and a bunch of cowboys he became friends with when he went on a soul finding journey. They used a private yacht to go over seas.

Fuckme-and-Fuckyou , DC Studio Report

Chicago skyline with the river, showcasing bravery moments that changed the course of history in the cityscape. - 26

When Chicago was planning to reverse the flow of the Chicago river, but St Louis filed a complaint with the feds because that would just send all of Chicago’s waste down to them, so before the federal courts could make an official ruling Chicago just went ahead and did it anyway. Then they made the argument that it would be silly to spend a bunch of money just to re-reverse the flow so they got to keep it.

HoraceWimp81 , Mr.TinMD Report

How about Dr. Giles Brindley? >Giles Skey Brindley, MD FRS (born April 30, 1926), is a British physiologist, musicologist and composer, known for his contributions to the physiology of the retina and colour vision, treatment of erectile dysfunction, and is perhaps best known for an unusual scientific presentation at the 1983 Las Vegas meeting of the American Urological Association, where he removed his pants to show the audience his chemically induced erection and invited them to inspect it closely. He had injected phenoxybenzamine using one mL into his p***s in his hotel room before the presentation.

anon Report

Person walking alone in snowy landscape symbolizing bravery that changed the course of history. - 27

Antarctica. We sent people in this cold a*s place, they died, and we went “f**k put more out there”.

MagixShiz , freepik Report

Historic wooden ship with tall masts and rigging under a clear blue sky representing bravery changing history. - 28

John Paul Jones capturing several British ships by himself with essentially “Pirate Tactics”.

CloverUTY , freestockcenter Report

Ancient Roman ruins at sunset symbolizing incredible times when people's bravery changed history's course. - 29

Caesar stepping over the Rubicon, declaring war to Rome.

steffen2893 , wirestock Report

Henry VIII - the Pope refused to grant him a second divorce so he took England out of the Catholic church and started the Church of England, conveniently taking all the wealth in English church coffers for himself and kicking off a very bloody conflict between Catholics and Protestants.

AmazingGraces Report

Rusty abandoned shipwreck near rocky shore at sunset, symbolizing bravery that changed the course of history. - 30

General Douglass MacArthur gave a speech standing on a beach in the middle of a landing battle upon his return to the Philippines. The dude was just so incredibly angry looking, that even bullets avoided him.

WaviestMetal , EyeEm Report

Snow-capped mountain peaks at sunrise with clouds below, symbolizing bravery that changed the course of history. - 31

Climbing everest?

ooo-ooo-oooyea , wirestock Report

Literally Julius caesar entire life . Hail Caesar.

anon Report

When Cerrano said f**k you Jobu, I’ll do it myself and managed to hit a home run off a curveball to tie the game in the divisional playoff against the Yankees.

Toby_O_Notoby Report

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39 Of The Most Famous ‘Fine, I’ll Do It Myself’ Moments That Changed History Forever - 32

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