Did you know that Nostradamus famous prophecies are contained in the book, Les Prophéties which was published in 1555 and contained a collection of 942 poetic quatrains allegedly predicting future events?

Michel de Nostredame was born on December 1503. He was a French astrologer, physician and reputed seer. His father's family had originally been Jewish, but had converted to Catholic Christianity a generation before Nostradamus was born. He studied at the University of Avignon, but was forced to leave after just over a year when the university closed due to an outbreak of the plague. He worked as an apothecary for several years before entering the University of Montpellier, hoping to earn a doctorate, but was almost immediately expelled after his work as an apothecary (a manual trade forbidden by university statutes) was discovered.

Nostradamus first married in 1531, but his wife and two children died in 1534 during another plague outbreak. He fought alongside doctors against the plague before remarrying to Anne Ponsarde, with whom he had six children.

He wrote an almanac for 1550 and, as a result of its success, continued writing them for future years as he began working as an astrologer for various wealthy patrons. Catherine de' Medici became one of his foremost supporters. His Les Prophéties, published in 1555, relied heavily on historical and literary precedent, and initially received mixed reception. He suffered from severe gout toward the end of his life, which eventually developed into edema. He died on 1 or 2 July 1566. Many popular authors have retold apocryphal legends about his life.

In the years since the publication of his Les Prophéties, Nostradamus has attracted many supporters, who, along with some of the popular press, credit him with having accurately predicted many major world events. Academic sources reject the notion that Nostradamus had any genuine supernatural prophetic abilities and maintain that the associations made between world events and Nostradamus's quatrains are the result of (sometimes deliberate) misinterpretations or mistranslations. These academics also argue that Nostradamus's predictions are characteristically vague, meaning they could be applied to virtually anything, and are useless for determining whether their author had any real prophetic powers.

Nostradamus became famous in his own lifetime for publishing a long series of prophecies which continue to mystify, intrigue and (frankly) exasperate many to this day. The fact that he wrote in enigmatic poems, or quatrains, means that his words can be endlessly reinterpreted to fit historical events. This makes trying to assess his 'accuracy' a notoriously tricky thing to do. But here are some notable historical events that passed as some of his prophecies.

1 THE DEATH OF HENRY II
The death of Henry II of France was believed by many to have been foretold by Nostradamus. The quatrain in question tells us 'the young lion will overcome the older one', that he will 'pierce his eyes through a golden cage', and that 'two wounds' will ensure a 'cruel death'. Uncanny? Perhaps. Henry II of France was a personal acquaintance of Nostradamus, who once addressed him in a letter as 'The most invincible Henry King of France'. Unfortunately, Henry actually turned out to be very vincible indeed, and came to a horribly painful end aged just 40. A passionate sportsman fond of hunting and jousting, Henry’s active nature proved his undoing when, in the summer of 1559, he held a tournament to celebrate a recent peace treaty. During a joust with one of his young soldiers, the latter’s lance shattered, driving splinters into the king’s eye and skull. A slow and painful death from sepsis followed. Although critics have pointed out the quatrain also says the killing occurs 'on the field of combat in a single battle', while Henry was accidentally slain during a playful joust.

2 THE GREAT FIRE OF LONDON
It’s worth quoting the alleged Great Fire of London quatrain in full, because it’s one of the most mysterious prophecies of all. It says: 'The blood of the just will commit a fault at London, Burnt through lightning of twenty threes the six: The ancient lady will fall from her high place, Several of the same sect will be killed.' It’s tantalising if you interpret, as some do, “twenty threes the six” as 66 (20 x 3 + 6). Add to that the mention of London and references to deaths, and you can see why it’s believed to be a prophecy of the Great Fire of London in 1666. As ever with Nostradamus, ambiguities make it hard to be definitive. The Great Fire was set off by a flame in a bakery, not by 'lightning', and what does the 'ancient lady' signify? Perhaps London itself? This is one to puzzle over, even by Nostradamus’ standards.

3 THE COMING OF ADOLF HITLER
Nostradamus has been credited with quite a few 20th Century predictions, and the rise of Adolf Hitler is often cited as one of them. And, to be fair, his writings do provoke a slight chill of recognition. It says: 'From the depths of the West of Europe, a young child will be born of poor people. He will 'by his tongue… seduce a great troop', and his fame will spread far beyond Europe. Another quatrain of possible significance mentions fighting 'close by the Hister' – which is either a loose reference to Hitler, or a more mundane mention of the old name of the Danube river. Depending on your point of view.

4 THE HIROSHIMA AND NAGASAKI BOMBS
Nostradamus wrote, 'Within two cities, there will be scourges the like of which was never seen.'  That description would certainly apply to what occurred in the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which were devastated by atomic bombs at the end of World War Two. The quatrain paints an increasingly bleak picture, foretelling 'famine within plague' (potentially a reference to radiation sickness and the lasting disruption of war) and 'people put out by steel', which may point to the planes which dropped the bombs. Of course, this may well have been Nostradamus talking about a literal plague affecting any potential cities, given that the man himself had first hand experience of treating plague patients. But, again, it depends on how much you really want to believe.

5 THE KENNEDY ASSASSINATION
The killing of President John F. Kennedy was one of the pivotal moments of the 20th Century, so it’s not surprising that many have scoured the works of Nostradamus for any hint of a prophecy. A commonly quoted contender is the bit that reads: 'From on high, evil will fall on the great man' – perhaps a reference to the fact he was shot from a distance by a sniper (or snipers). Tellingly, the quatrain continues with 'A dead innocent will be accused of the deed' – is this Lee Harvey Oswald, the suspected assassin who was himself shot dead soon after, and has long been regarded as an innocent fall guy? As if that wasn’t enough to convince us, Nostradamus assures us the true guilty party will 'remain in the mist' – a sentiment which countless JFK conspiracy theorists will surely agree with.

Sources: History | Wikipedia