His father commanded an army division. His teachers called him "Razor" — not for intelligence, but for being cold, methodical, humorless even as a child. Hideki Tojo graduated military academy near the bottom of his class in tactics but top in discipline. He'd wake at 4 AM to practice kendo alone. No friends, no hobbies, no books except military manuals. By 1941, this man who couldn't think flexibly became Prime Minister and ordered Pearl Harbor. After Japan's surrender, he shot himself in the chest — but American doctors saved him so he could hang instead.
December 30, 1884
142 years ago
What Else Happened on December 30
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