Anna Anderson

The best known of several impostors who claimed to be Grand Duchess Anastasia of Russia. In 1920, Anderson was institutionalized in a mental hospital after a suicide attempt in Berlin. At first, she went by the name Fräulein Unbekannt (German for Miss Unknown) as she refused to reveal her identity. Later she used the name Tschaikovsky and then Anderson. In March 1922, claims that Anderson was a Russian grand duchess first received public attention. Most members of Grand Duchess Anastasia's family and those who had known her, including court tutor Pierre Gilliard, said Anderson was an impostor but others were convinced she was Anastasia. In 1927, a private investigation funded by the Tsarina's brother, Ernest Louis, Grand Duke of Hesse, identified Anderson as Franziska Schanzkowska, a Polish factory worker with a history of mental illness. After a lawsuit lasting many years, the German courts ruled that Anderson had failed to prove she was Anastasia, but through media coverage, her claim gained notoriety. Real name: Franziska Schanzkowska 16 December 1896 in Borreck Abbau/Borowilaß,West Prussia, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire Died: 12 February 1984 in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Anderson