Nostradamus

Not particularly mysterious since he started his gig as an executive producer on the History Channel.

His 'predictions' made for nice poetry, but they aren't accurate predictions of anything. He wrote hundreds and hundreds of little verses, and many of them seemed to describe (in extremely vague and figurative terms) later events such as the rise of Napoleon, the first and second world wars, even Roosevelt's presidency. I don't believe that he had any gift of prophecy. I think the true explanation lies in the imagination of his readers who knew his reputation and were able to fit his verses to historical events. The main mystery to me is whether or not he was insane, or on drugs, or just a creative poet who gained inspiration from staring into a pool of water.