Women's History
Madame Restell: The Abortionist of Fifth Avenue
Without benefit of medical training, Madame Restell spent 40 years as a "female physician"
November 27, 2012 |
By Karen Abbott
The History of Pardoning Turkeys Began With Tad Lincoln
The rambunctious boy had free rein of the White House, and used it to divert a holiday bird from the butcher's block
November 21, 2012 |
By Gilbert King
The Early History of Faking War on Film
Early filmmakers faced a dilemma: how to capture the drama of war without getting themselves killed in the process. Their solution: fake the footage
November 19, 2012 |
By Mike Dash
Geronimo’s Appeal to Theodore Roosevelt
Held captive far longer than his surrender agreement called for, the Apache warrior made his case directly to the president
November 09, 2012 |
By Gilbert King
The Fox Sisters and the Rap on Spiritualism
Their seances with the departed launched a mass religious movement—and then one of them confessed that "it was common delusion"
October 30, 2012 |
By Karen Abbott
Sophie Blanchard – The High Flying Frenchwoman Who Revealed the Thrill and Danger of Ballooning
Blanchard was said to be afraid of riding in a carriage, but she became one of the great promoters of human flight
October 18, 2012 |
By Gilbert King
What (or Who) Caused the Great Chicago Fire?
The true story behind the myth of Mrs. O'Leary and her cow and how the scapegoating ruined one woman's good name and spawned a folk song that would last for decades
October 04, 2012 |
By Karen Abbott
Are Scientists Sexist? New Study Identifies a Gender Bias
A new study indicates that the gatekeepers of science, whether male or female, are less likely to hire female applicants to work in labs
September 24, 2012 |
By Joseph Stromberg
The Copper King’s Precipitous Fall
Augustus Heinze dominated the copper fields of Montana, but his family's scheming on Wall Street set off the Panic of 1907.
September 20, 2012 |
By Gilbert King
The Unknown Story of "The Black Cyclone," the Cycling Champion Who Broke the Color Barrier
Major Taylor had to brave more than the competition to become one of the most acclaimed cyclists of the world
September 12, 2012 |
By Gilbert King
The Ugliest, Most Contentious Presidential Election Ever
Throughout the 1876 campaign, Tilden’s opposition had called him everything from a briber to a thief to a drunken syphilitic
September 07, 2012 |
By Gilbert King
The Neverending Hunt for Utopia
Through centuries of human suffering, one vision has sustained: a belief in a terrestrial arcadia that offered justice and plenty to any explorer capable of finding it
August 28, 2012 |
By Mike Dash
The Demonization of Empress Wu
"She killed her sister, butchered her elder brothers, murdered the ruler, poisoned her mother," the chronicles say. But is the empress unfairly maligned?
August 10, 2012 |
By Mike Dash
"The Flying Housewife" of the 1948 London Games
Voted female athlete of the 20th century, Fanny Blankers-Koen won four gold medals while pregnant with her third child
July 31, 2012 |
By Gilbert King
Where the Buffalo No Longer Roamed
The Transcontinental Railroad connected East and West—and accelerated the destruction of what had been in the center of North America
July 17, 2012 |
By Gilbert King
Daughters of Wealth, Sisters in Revolt
The Gore-Booth sisters, Constance and Eva, forsook their places amid Ireland's Protestant gentry to fight for the rights of the disenfranchised and the poor
July 10, 2012 |
By Gilbert King
The Woman Who Took on the Tycoon
John D. Rockefeller Sr. epitomized Gilded Age capitalism. Ida Tarbell was one of the few willing to hold him accountable.
July 05, 2012 |
By Gilbert King
Quite Likely the Worst Job Ever
The remarkable work of a pioneering British journalist provides us with a window into the lives of the men who made their living from combing for treasures in London's sewers
June 29, 2012 |
By Mike Dash
The High Priestess of Fraudulent Finance
Her claim of being "the Heiress to $15,000" was just one of the many falsehoods that carried Cassie Chadwick from city to city and bounced check to bounced check
June 27, 2012 |
By Karen Abbott
Fritz Haber’s Experiments in Life and Death
The German chemist helped feed the world. Then he developed the first chemical weapons used in battle
June 06, 2012 |
By Gilbert King
