In a four-page letter from 1919, known as the Gemlich letter, Adolf Hitler wrote down his anti-Semitic views. In the letter, Hitler stated, "Anti-Semitism -- born of purely emotional grounds -- will find an expression in the form of pogroms." He continued, "The final goal must be the removal of the Jews. To accomplish these goals, only a government of national power is capable and never a government of national weakness."

This original letter, hand typed and signed by Hitler, has recently been purchased by the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles and will be put on display in July 2011. For a history of the letter, see this New York Times article.

Henry Ford became an icon of a self-made man. He began life as a farmer's son and quickly became rich and famous. Although an industrialist, Ford remembered the common man. He designed the Model T for the masses, installed a mechanized assembly line to make production cheaper and faster, and instituted the $5 per day pay rate for his workers. Learn more about Henry Ford, from his birth to his death.

In December 1953, 27-year-old Hugh Hefner published the very first Playboy magazine. This first edition was 44-pages long and had no date on its cover because Hefner wasn't sure there would be a second edition. In that first run, Hefner sold 54,175 copies of the magazine at 50 cents each. The first edition sold so well because Marilyn Monroe was the "Sweetheart of the Month" (which was thereafter termed "playmate").

On the front cover of the first edition of Playboy, Marilyn Monroe appeared waving her hand. Inside, Marilyn Monroe bared it all in the centerfold. (Monroe did not pose nude specifically for the magazine; Hefner had purchased the picture from a local printer who made calendars.)

This first edition of the magazine is also the only Playboy that does not have Hugh Hefner's name inside.

Be sure to check out more interesting and fun history trivia.

"Better to live one year as a tiger, than a hundred as a sheep." -- Quote by Madonna