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History

Facsimile of an agricultural scene found in the tomb chapel of Nakht, a scribe and astronomer who probably lived during the reign of Thutmose IV

Stressed About Taxes? Blame the Ancient Egyptians

The civilization developed the world’s first known tax system around 3000 B.C.E.

The Library Company reading room on Juniper Street in Philadelphia c. 1935, one of the group’s main locations from 1880 to 1935.

How Ben Franklin Invented the Library as We Know It

Books were rare and expensive in colonial America, but the founding father had an idea

Some said the pirate king went to ground in London or Scotland, others that he died penniless and was buried in an unmarked grave in Devon. Or was he sipping fine French wine in the hills above Marseille?

The Notorious Pirate King Who Vanished With the Riches of a Mughal Treasure Ship

In the late 17th century, Henry Avery—the subject of the first global manhunt—bribed his way into the Bahamas

When Abraham Lincoln campaigned in Hartford, Connecticut, in March 1860, he was met by a new uniformed group—the Wide Awakes.

The Club of Cape-Wearing Activists Who Helped Elect Lincoln—and Spark the Civil War

The untold story of the Wide Awakes, the young Americans who took up the torch for their antislavery cause and stirred the nation

Karlya Shelton, front and center, with the swans, performing George Balanchine's choreography for a Tchaikovsky serenade in 1979.

In the Face of Prejudice, the ‘Black Swans’ Took the Ballet World by Storm

A new book shows how pioneering ballerinas captivated audiences and broke racial barriers

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How Kids Cornered the Market on Lemonade

The tangy tale of how America’s children learned to squeeze life for all it’s worth

Couriers’ duties included fetching patients from cabins, weighing babies, delivering medicine, cleaning saddles and bridles, and escorting any guests who rode the routes between FNS outposts.

Untold Stories of American History

Why Debutantes Volunteered to Be Horse-Riding Couriers in Rural Kentucky

Between the 1920s and 1940s, wealthy young women signed up to run errands and carry messages for the Frontier Nursing Service, whose nurse-midwives provided care to patients in hard-to-reach areas

John Thorn, perhaps the most knowledgeable historian of our national pastime, at home in Catskill, New York.

How Baseball’s Official Historian Dug Up the Game’s Unknown Origins

A lifelong passion for the national pastime led John Thorn to redefine the sport’s relationship with statistics and reveal the truth behind its earliest days

The steel frame of the Francis Scott Key Bridge rests atop of a container ship following the bridge's collapse on March 26, 2024.

History of Now

Seven of the Worst Bridge Disasters in World History

The collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge is shocking—but not unprecedented

2,500 years after it was built, the Parthenon is still among the first places tourists go when they arrive in Athens.

Coastal Cities of Europe

The Thrills of Rediscovering Ancient Greece While Touring Modern Athens

The Mediterranean capital city savors its connections to antiquity—while reappraising its past

In the weave room, a worker uses a classic Crompton & Knowles loom to make suitable fabric for some 18th-century furniture.

When Hollywood Needs a Historically Accurate Outfit That Looks Just Right, It Turns to Rabbit Goody

How do filmmakers get period clothing to look the part? Inside the textile workshop where the past comes to life

Heterodoxy's illustrious members included (clockwise from top right) Marie Jenney Howe, Susan Glaspell, Crystal Eastman, Rose Pastor Stokes, Doris Stevens, Charlotte Perkins Gilman and Rheta Childe Dorr.

Women Who Shaped History

The All-Woman Secret Society That Paved the Way for Modern Feminism

Based in Greenwich Village, Heterodoxy had just one requirement for membership: An applicant must “not be orthodox in her opinion”

Regina King as Shirley Chisholm in Shirley, a new film written and directed by John Ridley

Women Who Shaped History

The True History Behind Netflix’s ‘Shirley’ Movie

A new film dramatizes Shirley Chisholm’s history-making bid to become the first Black woman president in 1972

About halfway between the Greek cities of Corinth and Lechaio, the area around Corinth’s ancient port is tectonically active. That makes the area even more scientifically precious. While many archaeological sites from millennia ago have sunk beneath rising seas, centuries of tectonic uplift have preserved this spot. Parts of the ancient port now sit above sea level, including the inner harbor, where boats likely once berthed in a protected channel.

Ancient Greece’s Biggest Port Is Older Than We Thought

Archaeological discoveries add 500 years to the history of Corinth’s main harbor

Mabel Boll, nicknamed the "Queen of Diamonds" (left), failed to cross the Atlantic before Amelia Earhart (right).

Women Who Shaped History

When Amelia Earhart and the ‘Queen of Diamonds’ Raced to Become the First Woman to Fly Across the Atlantic

Mabel Boll, a wealthy New York socialite, dreamed of making aviation history. But Earhart beat her to the finish line, completing the trans-Atlantic journey as a passenger in June 1928

Lili Taylor as Mary Lincoln and Hamish Linklater as Abraham Lincoln in the AppleTV+ miniseries "Manhunt"

There's More to That

The Man Behind ‘Manhunt,’ the New Apple TV+ Show About the Lincoln Assassination

Meet James Swanson, the lifelong Abraham Lincoln obsessive who wrote the nonfiction thriller that inspired the acclaimed miniseries

An illustration of Molly Maguires on their way to the gallows in Pottsville, Pennsylvania

Untold Stories of American History

Eight Secret Societies You Probably Haven’t Heard Of

Many of these selective clubs peaked in popularity in the 18th and 19th centuries

An illuminated manuscript illustration of Marie de France, a 12th-century poet

How Medieval Women Expressed Their ‘Forbidden’ Emotions

Upper-class women used letters and embroidery to reflect on their inner lives

Religious lore suggests that God showed Patrick the entrance to purgatory, where the Irish could witness the consequences of not embracing Christianity with their own eyes.

St. Patrick Opened a Portal to Purgatory on This Little-Known Irish Island

Medieval pilgrims flocked to the site for spiritual purification

Tobias Menzies (right) as Secretary of War Edwin Stanton in "Manhunt"

Based on a True Story

The Real History Behind Apple TV+’s ‘Manhunt’ and the Search for Abraham Lincoln’s Killer

A new series dramatizes Edwin Stanton’s hunt for John Wilkes Booth and his co-conspirators in the aftermath of the president’s 1865 assassination

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