World History

In Japan, violence has faded as its population has aged.

The Age of Peace

Maturing populations may mean a less violent future for many societies torn by internal conflict

The United States, not China, will dominate world affairs, George Friedman believes.

George Friedman on World War III

The geopolitical scientist predicts which nations will be fighting for world power in 2050

The Obamas worship at African Methodist Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C.

Anticipation

We salute the basic human urge to remember the future

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Ten Infamous Islands of Exile

Established to banish dissidents and criminals, these islands are known for their one-time prisoners, from Napoleon to Nelson Mandela

Dame Margot Fonteyn's role in a plot to overthrow the pro-U.S. government of Panama in 1959 was all but forgotten until now.

The Great Ballerina Was Not the Greatest Revolutionary

A 1959 failed coup of the Panamanian government had a shocking participant – the world-famous dancer Dame Margot Fonteyn

Two centuries after Shakespeare's death, a lowly law clerk named William Henry Ireland forged the Bard's signature and a seal that convinced skeptics.

To Be...Or Not: The Greatest Shakespeare Forgery

William-Henry Ireland committed a scheme so grand that he fooled even himself into believing he was William Shakespeare's true literary heir

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June Anniversaries

Momentous or Merely Memorable

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Top Five U.S. Events of the Last 40 Years

What events, ideas or developments have had the most significant impact in our lives since 1970?

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May Anniversaries

Momentous or Merely Memorable

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

April Anniversaries

Momentous or Merely Memorable

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

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 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

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

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

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

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February Anniversaries

Momentous or Merely Memorable

A focal point for visitors today, the gateway sign says "Work Will Set You Free," a monstrous lie told to the men, women and children imprisoned there.

Can Auschwitz Be Saved?

Liberated in 1945, the Nazi concentration camp is one of Eastern Europe's most visited sites—and most fragile

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January Anniversaries

Momentous or Merely Memorable

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