Years
People, events and movements related to the 15th through 21st centuries
The Daredevil of Niagara Falls
Charles Blondin understood the appeal of the morbid to the masses, and reveled when gamblers took bets on whether he would plunge to a watery death.
October 18, 2011 |
By Karen Abbott
Naval Gazing: The Enigma of Étienne Bottineau
In 1782, an unknown French engineer offered an invention better than radar: the ability to detect ships hundreds of miles away
October 13, 2011 |
By Mike Dash
Edison vs. Westinghouse: A Shocking Rivalry
The inventors' battle over the delivery of electricity was an epic power play
October 11, 2011 |
By Gilbert King
In Search of Queen Victoria’s Voice
The British monarch was present when a solicitor demonstrated one of the earliest audio recording devices. But did she really say "tomatoes"?
October 06, 2011 |
By Mike Dash
Anger and Anarchy on Wall Street
In the early 20th century, resentment at the concentration of wealth took a violent turn
October 04, 2011 |
By Gilbert King
An Image of Innocence Abroad
Neither photographer Ruth Orkin nor her subject Jinx Allen realized the stir the collaboration would make
October 2011 |
By David Schonauer
Willem de Kooning Still Dazzles
A new major retrospective recounts the artist's seven-decade career and never-ending experimentation
October 2011 |
By Mark Stevens
Long Live the King
A single gunshot rang out in the king of Siam's bedroom in June 1946, ending one reign and beginning another. Uncertainty over how it happened has persisted ever since
September 28, 2011 |
By Gilbert King
Dahomey’s Women Warriors
For the better part of 200 years, thousands of female soldiers fought and died to expand the borders of their West African kingdom. Even their conquerors, the French, acknowledged their "prodigious bravery."
September 23, 2011 |
By Mike Dash
Score One for Roosevelt
"Football is on trial," President Theodore Roosevelt declared in 1905. So he launched the effort that saved the game
September 20, 2011 |
By Karen Abbott
Gavrilo Princip’s Sandwich
Was it really a lunch-hour coincidence that led to the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo in 1914—and, by extension, to the great global catastrophes of the 20th century?
September 15, 2011 |
By Mike Dash
What Paul Robeson Said
After the singer and activist spoke at a Soviet-sponsored peace conference, he was reviled in the United States. But was the most widely reported version of his remarks accurate?
September 13, 2011 |
By Gilbert King
Pablo Fanque’s Fair
The showman whom John Lennon immortalized in song was a real performer—a master horseman and Britain's first black circus owner
September 08, 2011 |
By Mike Dash
The Cowboy in Country Music
In his new book, music historian Don Cusic recounts the enduring icons of western music and their indelible mark on pop culture
September 08, 2011 |
By Katy June-Friesen
The Life and Crimes of “Old Mother” Mandelbaum
She had the eyes of a sparrow, the neck of a bear and enough business acumen to build an empire as the "Queen of Fences."
September 06, 2011 |
By Karen Abbott
Inside the Great Pyramid
No structure in the world is more mysterious than the Great Pyramid. But who first broke into its well-guarded interior, and when? And what did they find there?
September 01, 2011 |
By Mike Dash
Gene Tunney's Gloves Enter the Ring
Fans still argue about who really won the 1927 "long count" fight between Gene Tunney and Jack Dempsey
September 2011 |
By Owen Edwards
Charles Conlon: The Unheralded Baseball Photographer
Stalwarts of early 20th-century sports pages, Conlon’s photos of the national pastime have their second chance at the plate
September 01, 2011 |
By David Davis
A New Look at the Men of Baseball’s Past
Charles Conlon’s classic photographs of baseball players from the early 20th century offer a glimpse into a familiar sport at an otherworldly time
September 01, 2011 |
By David Davis
The Knife in Ty Cobb’s Back
Did the baseball great really confess to murder on his deathbed?
August 30, 2011 |
By Gilbert King
