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History / Biography

Padre Pio (1887-1968), an Italian priest and stigmatic, was elevated to sainthood in 2002 as St. Pio of Pietrelcino. In the 1940s he heard the confession of the future Pope John Paul II and–John Paul recorded–told him he would one day ascend to "the highest post in the Church though further confirmation is needed." The marks of the stigmata can be seen on Pio's hands.

The Mystery of the Five Wounds

The first case of stigmata—the appearance of marks or actual wounds like those Christ received during the Crucifixion—was recorded in 1224

Marc Bloch: Historian. French Resistance leader. Hero.

History Heroes: Marc Bloch

Scholar created a whole new way of looking at history, but found time to fight in two World Wars–latterly, aged 60, as a leader of the French Resistance

Upon his arrest for murder, Roscoe Arbuckle was booked into custody and denied bail.

The Skinny on the Fatty Arbuckle Trial

When the million-dollar movie comedian faced a manslaughter charge, the jury was indeed scandalized—at how his reputation had been trashed

The "Chandos Portrait" of Shakespeare–dating to c.1600 and one of only two that may have been painted from life–is thought to be the work of the playwright's "intimate friend" John Taylor of the Painter-Stainers' Company (though it may not show Shakespeare at all). Its be-earringed playwright, pictured without the usual ruff, seems to show an altogether tougher character than the figure that appears in more familiar likenesses.

William Shakespeare, Gangster

Professor Ronald Greeley, 1939-2011

Ronald Greeley: A Gentleman and a Scholar

Some scientists are both great researchers and fine human beings. Ron Greeley was one of them

Philippa Fawcett. When she placed first in the Cambridge mathematical tripos in 1890, she forced a reassessment of nineteenth-century belief in the inferiority of the "weaker sex."

The Woman Who Bested the Men at Math

Thomas Edison circa 1914

Thomas Edison’s Brief Stint As A Homemaker

The famous inventor envisioned a future of inexpensive, prefabricated concrete homes

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Edison vs. Westinghouse: A Shocking Rivalry

The inventors’ battle over the delivery of electricity was an epic power play

Marie Curie, in Paris in 1925, was awarded a then-unprecedented second Nobel Prize 100 years ago this month.

Madame Curie’s Passion

The physicist’s dedication to science made it difficult for outsiders to understand her, but a century after her second Nobel prize, she gets a second look

Soldiers arrest Gavrilo Prinzip, assassin of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo.

World War I: 100 Years Later

The Origin of the Tale that Gavrilo Princip Was Eating a Sandwich When He Assassinated Franz Ferdinand

Was it really a lunch-hour coincidence that led to the death of the Archduke in Sarajevo in 1914—and, by extension, World War I?

Paul Robeson, in 1942, leads Oakland shipyard workers in the singing of the National Anthem

What Paul Robeson Said

Pablo Fanque: expert equestrian, tightrope walker, acrobat, showman–and Britain's first black circus owner.

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

Marm Mandelbaum, the "Queen of Fences"

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”

Charles M. Conlon was a proofreader at the New York Telegram when he began shooting pictures as a hobby. Shown here is one of his iconic photographs of Ty Cobb sliding into third base.

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

Samuel Morse consolidated Louvre masterpieces in an imaginary gallery.

Samuel Morse’s Reversal of Fortune

It wasn’t until after he failed as an artist that Morse revolutionized communications by inventing the telegraph

Ty Cobb

The Knife in Ty Cobb’s Back

Did the baseball great really confess to murder on his deathbed?

Mrs. Grace Humiston, a.k.a. "Mrs. Sherlock Holmes"

“Mrs. Sherlock Holmes” Takes on the NYPD

When an 18-year-old girl went missing, the police let the case grow cold. But Grace Humiston, a soft-spoken private investigator, wouldn’t let it lie

Anne Bonny (left) and Mary Read, as rendered in A General History of the Pyrates

If There’s a Man Among Ye: The Tale of Pirate Queens Anne Bonny and Mary Read

Renowned for their ruthlessness, these two female pirates challenged the sailors’ adage that a woman’s presence on shipboard invites bad luck

Gerda Weissmann Klein, founder of Citizenship Counts, speaks to new citizens and students at a naturalization ceremony at the Maryland School in Phoenix, Arizona.

Gerda Weissmann Klein on American Citizenship

The Holocaust survivor, author and Medal of Freedom winner discusses liberation day and cherished freedoms

Clarence Darrow was a trial attorney made famous for his defense of a Tennessee educator accused of breaking a state law banning the teaching of evolution in public schools.

Everything You Didn’t Know About Clarence Darrow

A newly released book brings new insight into the trial attorney made famous by the Scopes monkey trial

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