Great Rivalries
The feuds that drove invention, politics, exploration, and war
Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier: Boxing's Bitterest Trilogy
Three fights, one shattered friendship: how Ali's cruelty toward Joe Frazier turned a boxing rivalry into the sport's deepest wound.
Elizabeth I vs. Mary Queen of Scots: The Rival Queens Who Never Met
One throne, two queens, a rivalry fought entirely by letter. How Elizabeth I and Mary Queen of Scots destroyed each other without ever meeting.
Alexander Hamilton vs. Aaron Burr: The Duel That Ended a Founding Father
Two brilliant New York lawyers, one grudge over a decade in the making, and a pistol duel at Weehawken that killed a Founding Father and ruined a Vice President.
Michelangelo vs. Leonardo da Vinci: Florence's Bitter Rivalry
In 1504 Florence set its two greatest artists on facing walls in the same room. Neither finished. Here is how the rivalry played out, and who actually won.
Scott vs. Amundsen: The Race to the South Pole
Two expeditions raced for the South Pole in 1911. Amundsen's Norwegians won and came home. Scott's British party arrived a month late and never returned.
Tesla vs. Edison: The War of the Currents
Edison's Pearl Street DC lit New York first, but Tesla's AC, bankrolled by George Westinghouse, ultimately won the War of the Currents.