World History

Ann P. Rowe transferred around 88 books and 4,556 archaeological specimens from her father’s collection to Peru.

Why the Daughter of an American Archaeologist Sent Her Father's Collection to Peru

Unlike many of his peers, John Howland Rowe viewed the country as a source of partnership, not a laboratory to play in

Visitors to the Red Flat in Sofia, Bulgaria, immerse themselves in the lives of an average 1980s-era Bulgarian family.

How Museums in Central and Eastern Europe Tell the Complicated Story of Life Behind the Iron Curtain

Grassroots exhibitions popping up in Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia and Poland provide a window into ordinary lives during the communist era

“For me, [Hanuman] was also a hero that lost faith in himself,” says director and star Dev Patel. “He didn’t have courage at one point and needed to be reminded of who he was.” 

How the Hindu Deity Hanuman Inspired Dev Patel's 'Monkey Man'

The story of the half-human, half-monkey god mirrors the journey of the protagonist in Patel's directorial debut

Julianne Moore as Mary Villiers and Nicholas Galitzine as her son George Villiers in "Mary & George"

The Real Story Behind 'Mary & George'

The new mini-series dramatizes the Villiers family’s scandalous rise to power at the court of England's James I

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.

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

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.

The Thrills of Rediscovering Ancient Greece While Touring Modern Athens

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

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

Princess Dashkova (center) exchanged letters with Benjamin Franklin and befriended Catherine the Great.

This Russian Noblewoman, Beloved by Catherine the Great and Benjamin Franklin, Embodied the Age of Enlightenment

Princess Dashkova led research institutes, wrote plays and music, and embarked on a Grand Tour of 18th-century Europe

Mohammed (seated at left) with Franklin D. Roosevelt (center) and Winston Churchill (right) at a 1943 war conference near Casablanca

The Moroccan Sultan Who Protected His Country's Jews During World War II

Mohammed V defied the collaborationist Vichy regime, saving Morocco's 250,000 Jews from deportation to Nazi death camps

Rasputin with his acolytes in 1914

Russian Revolution

What Really Happened During the Murder of Rasputin, Russia's 'Mad Monk'?

Aristocrats plotted to kill the Siberian peasant, who wielded undue influence over Nicholas II and his wife, Alexandra. But the conspiracy backfired, hastening the coming Russian Revolution

Hiroyuki Sanada as Lord Yoshii Toranaga, a fictionalized version of the shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu, in FX's "Shogun"

Based on a True Story

The Real History Behind FX's 'Shogun'

A new adaptation offers a fresh take on James Clavell's 1975 novel, which fictionalizes the stories of English sailor William Adams, shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu and Japanese noblewoman Hosokawa Gracia

A diver prepares to enter the water of Malakal Harbor in Palau, where the plane flown by U.S. Navy pilot Jay Ross Manown Jr. was shot down in September 1944.

Recovering the Lost Aviators of World War II

Inside the search for a plane shot down over the Pacific—and the new effort to bring its fallen heroes home

The story of the successful mission, code-named Operation Washing, offers a masterclass in determination and daring worthy of Leonidas.

Millennia After Leonidas Made His Last Stand at Thermopylae, a Ragtag Band of Saboteurs Thwarted the Axis Powers in the Same Narrow Pass

A new book chronicles the 16-plus battles that took place in the Greek pass between the ancient era and World War II

A Lötschental Valley resident dressed as a Tschägättä strolls around the village of Wiler, in Valais, Switzerland moments before the annual Carnival Parade begins.

Discover the Beasts of Switzerland’s Lötschental Valley

During Carnival, villagers wearing wooden masks and dressing like fearsome “tschäggättä” terrorize the streets

Orly Weintraub Gilad has her grandfather's Auschwitz number, A-12599, tattooed on her arm.

Why Descendants of Holocaust Survivors Are Replicating Auschwitz Tattoos

Those who choose to put the numbers on their bodies hope the act will spark conversation about the Holocaust and pay tribute to loved ones who survived

David Wisnia in his U.S. Army uniform after being “adopted” by troops of the 101st Airborne Division in 1945

The Couple Who Fell in Love in a Nazi Death Camp

A new book chronicles the unlikely connection between Helen Spitzer and David Wisnia, both of whom survived Auschwitz

Verdun, Félix Edouard Vallotton, 1917

History of Now

As Empires Clashed During World War I, a Global Media Industry Brought the Conflict's Horrors to the Public

An exhibition at LACMA traces the roots of modern media to the Great War, when propaganda mobilized the masses, and questions whether the brutal truths of the battlefield can ever really be communicated

An illustration of Lucayan divers spearfishing for parrotfish, turtles and conch

How Archaeologists Are Unearthing the Secrets of the Bahamas' First Inhabitants

Spanish colonizers enslaved the Lucayans, putting an end to their lineage by 1530

Page 1 of 73