When you need something to be done right, you have to do it yourself. There are many moments from history where people said “Fine, I’ll do it myself!” From single-handedly liberating towns to perform their own surgery, these people have done it all. There were many moments when people took responsibility and made history. Let’s see such cases of 10 Incredible “Fine, I’ll do it myself!” moments from history.

1 In 1961, Leonid Rogozov, a Russian surgeon, developed appendicitis during an expedition to the Antarctic. He needed an operation, so being the only doctor stationed at the Novolazarevskaya Station, he decided to perform an appendectomy on himself. 

In 1961, a Russian surgeon, Leonid Rogozov, was stationed at the Novolazarevskaya Station during an expedition to the Antarctic. As the Polar winter rolled in, 12 men were cut off from the outside world by March of that year.

On 29 April 1961, Rogozov started feeling weak and nauseous, then later started having pain in the lower right portion of the abdomen. In no time, he self-diagnosed that he had acute appendicitis and had to undergo an operation or his appendix could burst and it could certainly kill him.

Being in the middle of a Polar wasteland, there was no option to go to the hospital, and the team of 12 members was sent to build a new base at the Schirmacher Oasis, which left him alone. He was left with no option but to operate on himself. At this moment Rogozov said, “Fine, I’ll do it myself!”

The operation started at 02:00 local time on the first day of May, he enlisted the help of a driver and meteorologist to hand him instruments, position the lamp, and hold a mirror. He was in a semi-reclining position using the reflection of the mirror to see areas not directly visible.

He was taking short breaks after every 30-40 minutes because of general weakness and vertigo. He removed a severely infected appendix and applied antibiotics in his peritoneal cavity and ended the operation by closing the wound. The operation lasted an hour and 45 minutes. Rogozov’s case is an example of determination and will for life. (1, 2)

2 In 1892, Almon Strowger invented an automatic telephone exchange to take revenge on his rival’s wife. Strowger was an undertaker, and when he got to know that his rival undertaker’s wife was a telephone operator and she kept transferring his business calls to her husband, he was so frustrated from this that he was motivated to invent the automatic telephone exchange.

In 1892, Almon Strowger invented an automatic telephone exchange to take revenge on his business rival’s wife. The story goes like this: before the invention of the automatic telephone exchange, every call was processed through an operator. When you call someone, your phone call has to be answered by an operator assistant who would connect your call to the desired person.

Strowger was an undertaker from Kansas City, Missouri. In the late 1880s, he was operating a quite profitable business, but suddenly he noticed a decline in his work as people seem to prefer a new undertaker who started his business recently.

When Strowger investigated, he found out that his rival undertaker’s wife was a telephone operator, and she was constantly transferring Strowger’s business calls to her husband.

Frustrated at this, he started working on an invention to eliminate this call-operator assistance, and people will be able to talk to the person directly without any intervention. Within a few months, he invented the first automatic telephone exchange model and patented it in 1891.

He started mass production of his recent invention, and his company, Strowger Automatic Telephone Exchange Company, installed the first automatic telephone exchange in La Porte, Indiana in 1892. (1, 2)

3 In 1825, painter Samuel Morse received a letter, which stated that his wife had suddenly died. Despite rushing home, he missed her funeral. Frustrated by the sluggish way of communication, he invented the Morse code.

In 1838, Samuel Morse invented the Morse code, and in 1843, he invented the first telegraph to send messages. His inspiration behind inventing the telegraph might melt your heart. Before the invention of the telegraph, people wrote letters. In 1825, Morse worked as a painter in Washington, D.C. He moved to Washington to earn money to feed his family.

He was promised $1,000 by the city of New York to paint Marquis de Lafayette, which was his biggest break. Morse’s wife wrote him letters from their home in New Haven, Connecticut, saying that she is proud to be his wife. She also wrote that their family will be together soon to which Morse replied that “he longs to hear from her. ”

Morse’s wife was pregnant with his third child. After recovering from childbirth, she died due to a heart attack. New Haven was a four-day trip away from Washington, so when Morse received the news of the demise of his wife, she had already been buried.

Several years later, he learned about electromagnetism and how it could travel through wires. It could travel and can send information faster than anyone’s imagination. On May 24, 1844, after many struggles, he sent his first message, and his invention transformed the idea of communication. (Source)

4 In 1944 during the Battle of Saipan, an army surgeon, Ben L. Salomon, single-handedly killed 93 enemy soldiers when the Japanese started attacking his hospital. He guarded his patients without any hope of personal survival. He received the Medal of Honor in 2002.

In 1944, Benjamin Lewis Salomon, who was a United States Army dentist, was assigned as a front-line surgeon during World War II. During the Battle of Saipan, when he was working at the hospital, Japanese troops started overrunning his field hospital.

He was alone as the surgeon at that time when a Japanese soldier invaded his hospital, Salomon shot him and continued with his duties. Then two more soldiers came in, and he killed them both, then again four soldiers came. He stood as a rearguard for his patients with no hope of personal survival.

Salomon allowed the safe evacuation of his wounded patients and killed as many as 98 enemy soldiers. He was attacked by 3,000 to 5,000 Japanese soldiers, but he promised to hold off the Japanese hordes before slowly falling back with a machine gun.

At last, there was a scene of a peaceful dentist and surgeon who stood alone and single-handedly saved the lives of 33 wounded patients. He had 70 bullet wounds. In 2002, he was awarded the Medal of Honor for his bravery. (1, 2)

5 In 1941, during the attack on Pearl Harbor, an African-American US Navy cook, Doris Miller, with no training manned an anti-aircraft machine gun and shot down several Japanese planes. His bravery made him an iconic emblem for civil rights for Black Americans.

During World War II, Doris Miller, who worked as a United States Navy cook, was the first Black American who was awarded the Navy Cross, which is one of the highest decorations for courage in combat.

On December 7, 1941, during the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Miller was serving on the battleship West Virginia, which was sunk by Japanese bombers.

During the attack, Miller helped several wounded sailors and surprisingly manned an anti-aircraft machine gun without any training. He shot down several Japanese planes with a .50-caliber anti-aircraft gun.

He continued firing until he ran out of ammunition and was ordered to abandon the ship. Miller’s bravery earned him the Navy Cross, and he became an iconic emblem of Black Americans for civil rights. (Source)