Joseph Smith

On 27 June 1844, Joseph Smith was shot dead at Carthage Jail while running for President of the United States. The mob that killed him made the same mistake as everyone who has ever underestimated what a martyr story can do for a new religion.

On 26 March 1830, a bookshop in Palmyra, New York, put 5,000 copies of the Book of Mormon on sale. The religion it spawned has 17 million members. The text's historical claims have not fared as well.