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History / World History

A facial reconstruction of King Richard III, based on an analysis of his recently identified remains and artist portrayals over the years, was unveiled by an eponymous historical society on Tuesday.

The Battle Over Richard III’s Bones…And His Reputation

Rival towns are vying for the king’s remains and his legacy now that his skeleton has been found 500 years after his death

“All the works of man have their origin in creative fantasy.” – Carl Jung

The History of Rocket Science

When was the first-ever rocket built?

The funeral of James Idle in the village of Hullavington, on August 29, 1914

“The Grave Looked So Miserable”

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Romans Did All Sorts of Weird Things in The Public Baths—Like Getting Their Teeth Cleaned

For ancient Romans enjoying a day at the bathhouse, the list of items lost to drains includes jewelry, scalpels, teeth, needles and plates

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The Candor and Lies of Nazi Officer Albert Speer

The minister of armaments was happy to tell his captors about the war machine he had built. But it was a different story when he was asked about the Holocaust

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The History of Foosball

How did the tabletop game get from parlor halls in 19th century Europe to the basements of American homes?

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What’s Inside a 2,000-Year-Old, Shipwreck-Preserved Roman Pill?

Ancient Roman pills, preserved in sealed tin containers on the seafloor, may have been used as eye medicine

A group of young Parisians playing foosball at a cafe in 1958.

The Murky History of Foosball

How did the tabletop game get from parlor halls in 19th-century Europe to the basements of American homes?

The burial ground to what some claim is Jesus' final resting place.

The Little-Known Legend of Jesus in Japan

A mountain hamlet in northern Japan claims Jesus Christ was buried there

Motopia as illustrated in 1960 by Arthur Radebaugh for “Closer Than We Think”

Motopia: A Pedestrian Paradise

Visit the futuristic town where drivers and non-drivers live in perfect harmony

Cartoon poster which hung outside Martin’s Lunch Room circa 1929

In the 1920s, Shoppers Got Punk’d By Fake Televisions

Don’t touch that dial….really, don’t

William Crockford—identified here as “Crockford the Shark”—sketched by the great British caricaturist Thomas Rowlandson in about 1825. Rowlandson, himself an inveterate gambler who blew his way through a $10.5 million family fortune, knew the former fishmonger before he opened the club that would make his name.

Crockford’s Club: How a Fishmonger Built a Gambling Hall and Bankrupted the British Aristocracy

A working-class Londoner operated the most exclusive gambling club the world has ever seen

The "Mary" in the controversial text, King says, may be Mary Magdalene, who was present at the Crucifixion.

UPDATE: The Reaction to Karen King’s Gospel Discovery

When a divinity scholar unveiled a papyrus fragment that she says refers to Jesus’ “wife,” our reporter was there in Rome amidst the firestorm of criticism

The United Nations in New York City.

The Surprisingly Colorful Spaces Where the World’s Biggest Decisions Get Made (PHOTOS)

Photographer Luca Zanier looks at the view from where the decision-makers sit

The helper robot brings the child of the future something to drink in bed (1981)

My Robot Helper of Tomorrow

Forget flying cars and jetbacks, whatever happened to my cereal-serving robot?

Inside the volcano's round chamber, Jonas Lohmann and two other graduate students from the Brandenburg Technical University doused fires with lighter fluid and smoke powder to create the columns of smoke that streamed from the volcano all afternoon and evening.

That Time a German Prince Built an Artificial Volcano

A 18th century German prince visited Mt. Vesuvius and built a replica of it. 200 years later, a chemistry professor brings it back to life

Hugo Gernsback’s 1922 proposal for a monument to Alexander Graham Bell

Crowdfunding a Museum for Alexander Graham Bell in 1922

Long before the age of Kickstarter, Hugo Gernsback used his magazine to garner interest for a monument devoted to the inventor of the telephone

At Dorney Lake, scullers try out for Britain’s Olympic women’s rowing team.

300 Years of Rowing on the Thames

There must be something in the water at Eton, where rowing rules as the sport of choice

Kayakers on the Thames in London go with the flow near Parliament and Big Ben.

The Long and Winding History of the Thames

Float down England’s longest river, from its origin in the Cotswolds to its ramble through London, a journey through centuries of “liquid history”

J. Allyn Rosser is an American poet and currently teaches at Ohio University.

Summer Olympics Look, a Poem

Poet J. Allyn Rosser’s new piece on watching the Olympic Games

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