Bigamy

Bigamy is the act of entering into a marriage with one person while still legally married to another

A man married to more than one woman at the same time is called a polygamist.  Polygamist comes from the Greek: poly- means "many" and gamos means "marriage." 

When John McCain Married Cindy Lou Hensley, he was still married to Carol Shepp McCain

In 285 AD, Roman Emperors Diocletian and Maximian passed laws mandating monogamy as the only legal form of marital relationship, in line with traditional Greek and Roman cultural values. This was before Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire.

In the 19th century, bigamy was more common in the United States, as many people moved westward and it was easier to remarry without the knowledge of previous marriages.

19th century Mormon polygamist Brigham Young got out of paying alimony to one of his ex-wives on the grounds that — since polygamy was illegal — they were never actually married.

Benito Mussolini married Ida Dalser sometime in 1914 at a church in Milan. She was the daughter of the mayor of Sopramonte, and had been supporting him financially. Not long after however, they became estranged, but they never divorced. This didn't stop Mussolini marrying Rachele Guidi in December 1915, with whom he was to have five children. After becoming the Italian leader Mussolini tried to erase Ida from history and she was confined to a mental hospital.

In 1922 24-year-old Theresa Vaughn was tried for bigamy in England. In five years she had accumulated 62 husbands in 50 cities throughout England, Germany, and South Africa, averaging a marriage a month. She said that she had never obtained a divorce from any of her previous husbands.

Vaughn was sentenced to 18 months in prison. She was released after serving 12 months. After her release, she disappeared from the public eye. 

Vaughn's case was a sensation at the time. She was dubbed the "Serial Bigamist" and her story was featured in newspapers and magazines around the world. Her case also raised questions about the legal definition of bigamy and the rights of women in the early 20th century.

Conman Giovanni Vigliotto had at least 104 bigamous marriages around the world before he was jailed in 1983. He used many aliases between 1949 and 1981 in 27 US states and 14 other countries. A court in Phoenix, Arizona, sentenced him to 28 years for fraud and bigamy, but he died, aged 61, in 1991.

In the United States, bigamy is considered a felony in some states and a misdemeanor in others. It carries a maximum penalty of up to five years in prison and/or a fine of up to $10,000.

In the United Kingdom, bigamy is an offence under the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 and carries a maximum sentence of 7 years in prison.

In Islamic law, bigamy is considered a serious crime and is punishable by death in some cases, especially if the person is found guilty of fraud or deception in the marriage.