Nostradamus For four centuries Nostradamus's prophecies have inspired fear and controversy. His followers say he predicted the French Revolution, the birth and rise of Hitler, and the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Did he, as his believers claim, predict some of history's most monumental events - from the Great Fire of London to the launch disaster of the space shuttle Challenger? Nostradamus was typical of the Renaissance time period. He made many prophecies and was a major contributor to not only the Renaissance but the 'Spirit of the Renaissance'. Michel de Nostrodame (or his more used Latin name of Nostradamus) w