How Famous Feuds In History Finally Ended

The Medici bankers in 15th-century Florence held the city's top wealth, power, and popularity. Their art patronage made them especially famous. Other wealthy, ambitious families, such as the second-wealthy and powerful Pazzi family, looked to them.

By the 1470s, Lorenzo and his brother Giuliano led the Medici family; both were in their twenties. Despite Lorenzo's youth, he got a spot in Florence’s ruling body, the Signoria. This allowed him to stop the Pazzis and their allies, including the Salviati family and Pope Sixtus IV.

The Pope was as ambitious as the Florentine families. Lorenzo stopped him from appointing relatives to power roles. Thus, the Pazzis had little trouble getting the Pope’s permission to kill the brothers.

The Pazzi conspiracyculminated onApril 26, 1478They tried to murder Lorenzo and Giuliano Medici while they attended high mass at Florence’s Duomo, facing 10,000 people. Only Lorenzo escaped, badly hurt. The Pazzis misjudged their plan, failing to see the Medicis' popularity. Angry Florentines attacked and executed about 80 conspirators that day.

During the feudal period, Scotland, like many European regions, had a king in name and several powerful, influential families ruling.The Campbells and the MacDonaldsThese two families competed for land, cattle, and political control.

Ideologically, the MacDonalds backed Catholic King James VII of Scotland and II of England. When Protestant William of Orange took the throne from James during the 1688 Glorious Revolution, the Campbells found a new ally. Because the MacDonalds refused to swear loyalty to William, the two families set on a clash.

With William's support, the Campbells planned to destroy the MacDonalds completely. In early 1692, 120 soldiers led by Captain Robert Campbell reached the MacDonalds' villages in Glencoe valley to collect taxes. The soldiers stayed weeks under the MacDonalds' hospitality, a key Scottish custom. Finally, on February 13, 1692, Campbell received the order to kill every MacDonald under 70. Thirty-eight died inthe Glen Coe Massacreand another 40 died from exposure.

A few MacDonalds survived and returned to the Glen Coe Valley. This ended their power as a political force.

German-born Adolf (Adi) and his older brother Rudolph (Rudi)Dasslerbuilt the world’s first sports shoe business, the Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik. Athletes won 17 medals at the 1936 Berlin Olympics wearing their shoes, including four gold medals from American sprinter Jesse Owens.

Tension always existed between the brothers. Adi focused on shoe design; Rudi sold things. Rudi hated Adi's wife, Käthe, for meddling in the business, even though she was only sixteen.

World War II worsened things. Like other Germans their age, the brothers joined the Nazi party. Adi got a draft deferment to keep running the factory. Rudi went into the army and landed in a Jewish ghetto in Poland. The factory later made rocket launchers for the military; Rudi later falsely claimed Adi planned that.

Adi took over the company, naming it “Adidas.” Rudi still started his own company, first called “Ruda,” then “Puma.” Rudi built his factory right across the river from Adi’s. Most of the town worked at one factory or the other. The brothers’ fight spread to employees: Adidas workers would not marry into Puma families, and so on.

The brothers never made peace. However, Adidas and Puma employees played a soccer match in 2009 to end the feud.

The seeds of the feud betweenCicero and Mark AntonyThese seeds grew before either man was born. Marcus Tullius Cicero was born rich but not part of the ruling class. This meant he lacked political connections. Cicero started as a lawyer, then moved to government, rising through Rome’s ranks to consul. Cicero believed Rome must remain a republic.

Marcus AntoniusMark Antony, was born into the ruling class. He served on Julius Caesar’s military staff before backing him to become dictator.

In 43 BCE, after Brutus killed Caesar and his co-conspirators, Cicero and Antony became Rome's two strongest men. Cicero wanted to stop Antony's goals. Cicero gave fourteen public speeches attacking Antony. These became the Philippics. Cicero also persuaded the Senate to declare war on Antony; the Senate army beat him at the Battle of Mutina.

Cicero wrongly trusted the eighteen-year-old Octavian, Caesar's heir. Octavian first backed Cicero. Then, Octavian tried to take an open consulship by force. When the Senate said no, he marched on Rome. Octavian and Antony later formed the Second Triumvirate, allowing Octavian to become Rome's first emperor.

Payback came then. Cicero was on the tyrannical duo's hit list. Antony’s soldiers decapitated the elder statesman. They also removed his hands for criticizing Antony. They placed Cicero's remains on the senate rostrum where he gave many famous speeches.

In 1929, Chicago featured two main criminal organizations.Al Capone, known as "Scarface," was involved.controlled the South Side, and George “Bugs” Moran’s controlled the North Side. Both gangs made millions yearly from gambling, prostitution, and bootlegging. Capone eliminated anyone he saw as competition. Capone assassinated Moran’s predecessor, Earl J. Weiss, which caused Moran to rise.

In February 1929, Moran got an offer for a truckload of bootlegged whiskey. Moran’s men met at the spot. Four of Capone’s men, dressed as police, ambushed and killed them. Seven men died in what became the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre.The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre occurred.Moran narrowly avoided death, though. Capone took over the territory after Moran lost control due to many associates dying. With few good deals, Moran returned to small-time crime, like robbery.

Moran lost control of his territory after many associates died, letting Capone take it. Moran later returned to small-time criminal work, such as robbery, because he had few good prospects.

Capone was in Florida during the killings, letting him avoid charges. He went to jail two years later for tax evasion.

English history shows feuding noble families fighting for the throne. Few conflicts were as long and bloody as the fight betweenThe Houses of York and Lancaster faced conflict. - this conflict is known as the War of the Roses. This war began again because people questioned who would succeed a king without an heir.

King Henry VI of House Lancaster had no heir. He was called “simple minded” and “subject to spells of madness.” The two closest claimants were his second cousins once removed: Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset (a grandson of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster); and Richard, Duke of York.

On Christmas Eve 1446, Edmund took a key political and military post, Lieutenant-General of France, from Richard. This started a war with France, which Edmund lost. Edmund surrendered Caen, which belonged to Richard. Then, Edmund became King Henry’s top advisor. After Edmund spread rumors to discredit Richard, the Duke of York raised an army of 23,000, demanding Edmund’s arrest. The king first agreed, but Edmund convinced him to arrest Richard instead.

Bad blood existed before the king suffered mental illness in 1453. Richard became Protector of the Realm; he ordered Edmund's arrest. The king recovered and freed Edmund. No return was possible. Richard raised an army against the king and his top advisor. Richard's forces killed Edmund at the Battle of St. Albans in 1455, marking the start of the War of the Roses.The war lasted years. Both sides attacked and killed each other without mercy. Edward Duke of York defeated the Lancasters at Mortimer's Cross in 1461. He became King Edward IV. After many years fighting the remaining Lancasters and their leader, the Earl of Warwick, Edward IV died in 1483. Richard III succeeded Edward IV, but Henry Tudor, who became King Henry VII, took the throne from him.

The war dragged on for years. Both sides attacked and killed each other without mercy. Edward Duke of York defeated the Lancasters at Mortimer's Cross in 1461. He became King Edward IV. After many years fighting the remaining Lancasters and their leader, the Earl of Warwick, Edward IV died in 1483. Richard III succeeded Edward IV, but Henry Tudor, who became King Henry VII, took the throne from him.

Everyone who has seen HamiltonHamiltonPeople know why the two early American leaders clashed. Those who missed that cultural force:

Alexander Hamilton and Aaron BurrThe two men stood on opposite political sides. Hamilton, a Federalist, supported a strong central government. Burr, a Republican, favored states holding more power. They fought repeatedly through the 1790s and 1800s. In 1791, Burr beat Hamilton's father-in-law Philip Schuyler in a senate race, taking away an ally from the then-Treasury Secretary Hamilton. In 1800, Burr published a pamphlet about Hamilton that criticized Federalist John Adams, though it was meant to stay private. In 1804, Burr ran for New York governor as an independent, and Hamilton supported his opponent Morgan Lewis.

Dr. Charles Cooper attended a dinner party with Hamilton, whosaid that Burr was“a dangerous man, and one who ought not to be trusted with the reins of government.” The doctor apparently doubled down by sharing an opinion of Burr that the doctor could not repeat. He wrote about the incident in a letter to Schuyler, which a newspaper later printed.

Burr felt his honor was hurt and challenged Hamilton to a duel. Hamilton got wounded in the duel and died the next day. Burr's victory over Hamilton was overshadowed by losing his political standing. After his vice-presidency ended, Burr never held public office again.

Ideologically, Nikola Tesla and Thomas EdisonTesla and Edison were opposites. Tesla focused on new ideas. Edison wanted to adjust current technology to make more money. Their fight began over how to best light city streets.

Edison started his famouslaboratory at Menlo Park in 1876Edison invented the phonograph first. Among other inventions, Edison planned to improve city lighting next. During the 1870s, earlyarc lampsCity streets used dangerous power generators that exploded and burned. Edison proposed direct current, or DC, which offered safer power but limited travel distance. Other scientists tested alternating current, or AC, which carried more risk but offered greater power.

One AC supporter was Nikola TeslaTesla, a Serbian genius, worked at Edison's European branch in his twenties before moving to New York City and joining the inventor's firm. After Tesla succeeded with designs like redesigning circuits on the first electrically powered boat, Edison tasked him with fixing arc lights. Tesla pursued an AC design. Edison, who favored DC, rejected the plan.

Tesla took his designs to Westinghouse, Edison's main rival. Edison tried to damage AC's reputation, but this failed because AC proved useful for modern power. Tesla did not gain from this; he died broke from poor investments.

This feud likely began over competition for resources.The Hatfields and McCoysThese two Appalachian families lived on opposite sides of the Tug Fork stream. This stream borders West Virginia and Kentucky. One theory suggests a Hatfield stole a McCoy's pig. Another idea is that the families' hate came from the American Civil War, where they fought on different sides.

The families frequently fought. However, the McCoys shot and killed Ellison Hatfield in an 1882 fight, escalating the conflict. Afterward, family members often ambushed and killed each other.

The conflict peaked on New Year’s Day 1888. A group of Hatfields attacked McCoy patriarch Randolph's home, killing two of his children. The McCoys responded by forming a posse (led by local police) and entered West Virginia, capturing several Hatfields and putting them on trial.

This started a legal fight between West Virginia and Kentucky about whether local and state police could cross state lines to arrest suspects. The Supreme Court ruled that Kentucky could pursue justice against the Hatfields. Eight Hatfields were jailed, and one faced execution.

Fighting continued sporadically, but the feud ended by the 1920s.2003Descendants of both families signed a truce. Neither family won the conflict decisively.

Many modern feuds focus on controlling multinational corporations, not countries, like the long-runningdisputeThe dispute between brothers Ernest and Julio Gallo, and their younger brother Joseph Jr., concerned the Gallo company.

The Gallo familyJoseph Gallo Sr., an Italian immigrant, started a successful winemaking business after picking fruit. Prohibition in the 1920s and 30s limited Joseph Sr.'s product sales. One product, vine-glo, was a jelly that became wine with water. Prohibition ended in 1933. Joseph Sr. and his wife Assunta were shot dead that year. Some thought mobsters killed them; others suspected their sons, Ernest and Julio. The ruling stated it was a murder-suicide.

Ernest and Julio quickly started a legal winery using the family name. Their younger brother, Joseph Jr., ran the family business after serving in World War II. In 1955, Joseph Jr. began his own winery and cattle company under the Gallo name. Both companies operated for thirty years until Joseph Jr. started a cheesemaking business.

By then, Ernest and Julio, who built an empire on cheap wine, sought to control the family name.They suedtheir brother to stop him from opening his cheese business with his last name. Joseph Jr. sued back, claiming he deserved a share of his brothers' winery. At that time, the Gallo wine empire was the largest in the world.

Ernest and Julio tried to let Joseph Jr. use the Gallo name without paying royalties. They required inspection of his cheese factory, which they claimed was rat infested. Joseph Jr. refused. In 1989, a judgesided with Ernest and Julio, forcing Joseph Jr. to call his company “Joseph Gallo Farms.”They sued with Ernest and Julio, forcing Joseph Jr. to rename his company "Joseph Gallo Farms."

Warning: nearly everyone in this story has a name like William or James. This is just family politics.

As mentioned in the Campbells vs. MacDonalds entry, Scotland in the Late Middle Ages was ruled by a king who fought with several clans.The House of Stewart, or Stuart, ruled Scotland starting in 1371 when Walter Stewart took the throne. Walter Stewart married Marjorie, the daughter of the first King of the Scots, Robert the Bruce. Meanwhile,Clan DouglasClan Douglas was the most powerful family in the Scottish lowlands.

The House of Stewart and Clan Douglas began as allies. Sir James Douglas joined a procession carrying the dead Robert the Bruce's heart to the Holy Land. James later became known as Black Douglas because of his hair color, which made his clan the Black Douglases.

Clan Douglas and the House of Stewart both fought for political power over the next centuries. In 1440, King James II of the House of Stewart, nicknamed “Fiery Face” for his red birthmark,conspired with James Douglas.This conspiracy involved the great-uncle of William Douglas, the 6th Earl of Douglas, who murdered the young earl and his brother, making him the 7th Earl of Douglas. This event became known as “The Black Dinner.This inspired the Red Wedding in Game of Thrones.Game of Thrones.

The alliance between the House of Stewart and the Douglases failed. The 7th Earl of Douglas died without children, passing the title to his brother William. William refused to submit to James II during a meeting at Stirling Castle.The king stabbed the earl.He did this in a rage, causing his death.

William's successor was.James Douglas, 9th Earl of Douglas.James Douglas raised an army of 40,000 against the king. The army lost at the Battle of Arkinholm in 1455. After the battle, the English parliament passed a law. This law elevated a Douglas family branch, Clan Angus, also known as “The Red Douglases,” to Earl, giving them control of the Clan. The Black Douglases and the Red Douglases fought for centuries.

Literary rivalries.Rivalries might lack the bloodshed of others on this list. They remain very vicious. Romantic poet George Gordon, AKALord Byron.Lord Byron was born into the nobility.John Keats.John Keats was born to a stable manager and got little education. Also, Byron was much taller.

Both became top poets in the Romantic movement. Both grew jealous of each other's success, often complaining in letters to friends. Keats died in 1821 from tuberculosis at age 25. His allies, like Percy Bysshe Shelley, said his death resulted partly from stress over bad reviews of his poetry, which Byron encouraged.

Byron found this absurd. He later mocked Keats' death in the poemDon Juan:

John Keats was killed by one critique.

Just as he promised something great, If not intelligible,

Without Greek contrivances to talk about the Gods later,

They might have spoken.

Poor fellow! His fate was unfortunate:

The mind is strange; that fiery particle

Allows an Article to snuff it out.