History

IMAX Cargo Bay Camera view of the Hubble Space Telescope at the moment of release, mission STS-31

April Anniversaries

Momentous or Merely Memorable

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Reorientations

Cowboy Culture and the Universe

During the era of horse-drawn railroads, workers filled in a ravine at Duffy's Cut.

Ireland's Forgotten Sons Recovered Two Centuries Later

In Pennsylvania, amateur archaeologists unearth a mass grave of immigrant railroad workers who disappeared in 1832

Gene Kranz (in vest, as Apollo 13 safely splashed down) had faith that "as a group, we were smart enough ... to get out of any problem.

How Gene Kranz's Apollo 13 Vest Boosted Morale For His Team

The NASA flight director famously wore a homemade white vest as he averted tragedy during one of Apollo's most harrowing missions

In 1948, a plane carrying Navy pilot Bobby Freeberg disappeared in the jungles of Indonesia but what happened to him after the crash remains a mystery.

An American Who Died Fighting for Indonesia's Freedom

Bobby Freeberg, a 27-year-old pilot from Kansas, disappeared while flying a supply-filled cargo plane over the Indonesian jungle

On the streets of Alexandria, Egypt, a mob led by Peter the Lector brutally murdered Hypatia, one of the last great thinkers of ancient Alexandria.

Hypatia, Ancient Alexandria’s Great Female Scholar

An avowed paganist in a time of religious strife, Hypatia was also one of the first women to study math, astronomy and philosophy

Among botanist Robert Fortune's tasks in China was to learn the procedure for manufacturing tea, as shown in this 18th century tea plantation.

The Great British Tea Heist

Botanist Robert Fortune traveled to China and stole trade secrets of the tea industry, discovering a fraud in the process

In 1903, a barge called the Harold tipped somewhere off the coast of New York City, sending most of its 7,700 silver-and-lead bars to the bottom.

The Search for the Guggenheim Treasure

Loot valued at $20 million lies off the coast of Staten Island, and Ken Hayes is on the hunt for the sunken silver bullion

In 44 B.C., dictator-for-life Julius Caesar is assassinated by conspirators led by Marcus Junius Brutus.

Top Ten Reasons to Beware the Ides of March

March 15 will live in infamy beyond the murder of Julius Caesar. Here are 10 events that occurred on that date

Capitol Records building in Hollywood.

Hollywood's Historic Buildings

Theaters and other architectural gems lined Hollywood's famous boulevards during its Golden Age and now hold restored star appeal

Paul Jennings' account amplifies the rescue of Washington's portrait; Jennings' descendants gathered to see the portrait at the White House this past August.

Witness to History

The first memoir by a White House slave recreates the events of August 23, 1814

As the British neared the White House, Dolley Madison directed that a Gilbert Stuart portrait of George Washington be removed.

When Dolley Madison Took Command of the White House

It is thanks to the first lady that the famous Stuart painting of George Washington survived the British army's invasion of D.C. in August 1814

If destruction continues unimpeded, preservationists will run out of time to save Kashgar's Uighur quarter.

Demolishing Kashgar's History

A vital stop on China's ancient Silk Road, the Uighur city of Kashgar may lose its old quarter to plans for "progress"

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March Anniversaries

Momentous or Merely Memorable

The First Human: The Race to Discover Our Earliest Ancestors

Big Digs

Excavations in Ethiopia and Lockport, New York

Researcher Angela Walton-Raji has been studying African-Native genealogy for over 20 years. The Comanche family pictured here is from the early 1900s.

An Ancestry of African-Native Americans

Using government documents, author Angela Walton-Raji traced her ancestors to the slaves owned by American Indians

Abraham Lincoln ca. 1846, photographed in Springfield Illinois by N.H. Shepherd

Abraham Lincoln, True Crime Writer

While practicing law in Illinois, Abraham Lincoln defended a man in a highly unusual case and later recounted the mystery as a short story

Yuichiro Miura set the world speed skiing record at Italy's Kilometer Lanchard in 1964, only to see it broken the next day.

The Godfather of Extreme Skiing

Meet Yuichiro Miura, the man who skied down Mt. Everest more than 50 years ago

Canadian snowboarder Ross Rebagliati won snowboarding's first gold medal at the 1998 Winter Olympics.

The Top Ten Important Moments in Snowboarding History

Since its mid-1960s inception, snowboarding has seen such a boom in popularity that it is now an event at the Winter Olympics

Carved in place from limestone, the Sphinx is among the world's largest statues.

Uncovering Secrets of the Sphinx

After decades of research, American archaeologist Mark Lehner has some answers about the mysteries of the Egyptian colossus

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