When we think of despots and dictators, it's often their notorious record of cruelty and brutality that springs to mind. But what were these people like before the evil? Some of the most infamous tyrants were well-read, highly educated individuals. Civilized, almost. Most, however, endured miserable childhoods—hardship and unhappiness that followed them into adulthood. But what really shaped them into becoming among the world's most wicked and degenerate totalitarians?
Click through this gallery and learn of the world's worst dictators as young men.