History

on January 20, 2020 at 9:00 am

American-Russian YouTuber Vitaly Zdorovetskiy got himself in hot water recently for climbing the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt. Zdorovetskiy, who ...

on January 20, 2020 at 8:15 am

Shaped like the pyramids, the museum features a state-of-the-art folded roof structure with rectangular panels spreading across all parts of the roof ...

on January 20, 2020 at 12:11 am

Enter: Vitaly Zdorovetskiy, the most recent influencer to run into hot water (or, rather, an Egyptian jail), for climbing one of the pyramids of Giza to get ...

by Sarah Pruitt on January 17, 2020 at 8:14 pm

As home to Project Blue Book, ground zero for government investigation of UFOs from 1951 to 1969, Wright Field (now Wright-Patterson Air Force Base) outside Dayton, Ohio, ranks up there alongside […]

by Adam Janos on January 17, 2020 at 4:31 pm

Some have called it a supernatural place. Others have deemed it “cursed.” Terry Sherman got so spooked by the happenings on his new cattle ranch that 18 months after moving his family of […]

by Christopher Klein on January 16, 2020 at 10:00 pm

If a Mount Rushmore for America’s most unpopular presidents is ever created, John Tyler would be a leading candidate to have his likeness carved into stone. “Popularity, I have always […]

by Dave Roos on January 16, 2020 at 8:39 pm

With the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, the territory of the United States doubled overnight. Months before the $15 million deal was finalized, though, President Thomas Jefferson won approval from […]

on January 16, 2020 at 4:11 am

All three of Giza's famed pyramids and their elaborate burial complexes were built during a frenetic period of construction, from roughly 2550 to 2490 B.C.

on January 16, 2020 at 1:19 am

At 10:56 p.m. EDT Neil Armstrong is ready to plant the first human foot on another world. With more than half a billion people watching on television, he climbs down the ladder and proclaims: "That's […]

by Dave Roos on January 15, 2020 at 6:55 pm

The United States Constitution is clear about which branch of government has the power to declare war. In Article I, Section 8, the Constitution states that “Congress shall have the […]

by Dave Roos on January 15, 2020 at 6:18 pm

In late September 1952, only months after a rash of “flying saucer” sightings over Washington, D.C. made headlines around the world, dozens of military officers participating in NATO […]

on January 15, 2020 at 2:20 pm

Fifty years ago, Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin made history when they became the first humans to set foot on the moon.

on January 15, 2020 at 11:29 am

The ancient pyramids of Egypt are some of the oldest and most magnificent monuments of antiquity. Of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the Great Pyramid at Giza is the only one left standing.

by Dave Roos on January 14, 2020 at 7:35 pm

Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th president of the United States, is an outsized figure in American politics. He became president in 1901 after the assassination of William McKinley, and the brash and […]

on January 14, 2020 at 5:13 pm

The pyramids of Giza were royal tombs built for three different pharaohs. The northernmost and oldest pyramid of the group was built for Khufu (Greek: Cheops), the second king of the 4th dynasty. […]

by History.com Editors on January 14, 2020 at 3:25 pm

When British General Lord Charles Cornwallis and his army surrendered to General George Washington’s American force and its French allies at the Battle of Yorktown on October 19, […]

on January 14, 2020 at 8:31 am

A pyramid is a structure or monument, usually with a quadrilateral base, which rises to a triangular point. In the popular imagination, pyramids are the three lonely structures on the Giza plateau at […]

on January 14, 2020 at 1:00 am

Apollo 11 was the spaceflight that first landed humans on the Moon.Commander Neil Armstrong and lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin formed the American crew that landed the Apollo Lunar Module Eagle on […]

by Dave Roos on January 13, 2020 at 11:52 pm

In 1950, an American B-36 bomber on a peace-time training mission crashed over British Columbia, Canada carrying a Mark IV atomic bomb, a weapon comparable in size to the nuke dropped on Nagasaki in […]

on January 12, 2020 at 1:38 am

Many moon landing conspiracy theorists go quite far in their pursuit of this line of investigation. After all, the video footage and the pictures are the most important proof we have of the veracity […]

on January 11, 2020 at 7:19 pm

Egyptian Pyramids: History and Interesting Facts. Egyptian pyramids were made around the time when Egypt was a wealthy country with a fast rate of acquisition of knowledge. Although some of the […]

on January 10, 2020 at 11:09 pm

History >> Ancient Egypt The Ancient Egyptian pyramids are some of the most impressive structures built by humans in ancient times. Many of the pyramids still survive today for us to see and […]

by Patrick J. Kiger on January 10, 2020 at 9:58 pm

At its peak in the 1500s, the Ottoman Empire was one of the biggest military and economic powers in the world, controlling an expanse that included not just its base in Asia Minor but also much of […]

by Hadley Meares on January 10, 2020 at 3:42 pm

When family members are also co-workers, things can get messy. This is never truer than in royal families, where the interplay of private passions and public displays of affection or dissatisfaction […]

by Colin Bertram on January 10, 2020 at 3:18 pm

The details are both grisly and strangely surgical: corpses found under the open sky with their eyes plucked out, tongues removed and private parts excised—all extracted with the utmost […]

by Becky Little on January 9, 2020 at 6:35 pm

During World War II, countries on both sides of the fight destroyed a number of important cultural sites in Europe and Asia. In 1942, the Nazi Lufwaffe leveled the Royal Opera House in Valletta, […]

by Becky Little on January 9, 2020 at 4:54 pm

Popular culture often shows cavemen as aggressive, club-wielding hunters. But what if most early humans were actually scavengers? The notion, first proposed by scholars in the second half of the 20th […]

by Greg Daugherty on January 9, 2020 at 4:41 pm

To some, he was a prophet. To others, a laughing stock. Even today, more than half a century after his death, George Adamski remains one of the most curious and controversial characters in UFO […]

on January 9, 2020 at 3:39 pm

A view of the pyramids at Giza from the plateau to the south of the complex. From left to right, the three largest are: the Pyramid of Menkaure, the Pyramid of Khafre and the Great Pyramid of Khufu. […]

on January 9, 2020 at 10:38 am

Apollo 11 was the spaceflight that first landed humans on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin formed the American crew that landed the Apollo Lunar Module Eagle ...

on January 9, 2020 at 7:54 am

Go For Landing on the Moon LunarLanding July 20, 1969 4:18 p.m. EDT Sea of Tranquillity http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/history/apollo/apollo11/index.html

on January 9, 2020 at 4:41 am

The Great Pyramid of Giza (also known as the Pyramid of Khufu or the Pyramid of Cheops) is the oldest and largest of the three pyramids in the Giza pyramid complex bordering present-day Giza in […]

by Jesse Greenspan on January 8, 2020 at 9:51 pm

Autocrats tend to stir up nationalistic fervor as a way to cement their authority. Yet a surprising number in history, including some of the most ruthless, weren’t actually from the main […]

by Erin Blakemore on January 8, 2020 at 3:12 pm

The United States and Iran have never formally been at war, but tensions between the two countries have persisted for decades. Below is an overview of the long-running conflict between Iran and […]

by Darryn King on January 7, 2020 at 8:10 pm

The night an Air Force jet mysteriously disappeared over Lake Superior—November 23, 1953—was a stormy one. Near the U.S.-Canadian border, U.S. Air Defense Command noticed a blip on the […]

by Dave Roos on January 7, 2020 at 6:25 pm

Meriwether Lewis and William Clark are known as trailblazing explorers of the American West, not pioneering scientists. But during their 8,000-mile journey from Missouri to the Pacific Ocean and back […]

by History.com Editors on January 6, 2020 at 5:04 pm

On September 22, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln issued the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, which declared that as of January 1, 1863, all slaves in the states currently engaged in rebellion […]

by Becky Little on January 6, 2020 at 4:32 am

In January 1953, the fledgling Central Intelligence Agency had a thorny situation on its hands. Reports of UFO sightings were mushrooming around the country. Press accounts were fanning public […]

by Kieran Mulvaney on January 3, 2020 at 4:12 pm

On May 19, 1845, the HMS Erebus with its sister ship HMS Terror sailed out of the River Thames, carrying 128 officers and men under the command of Sir John Franklin. Their mission: to locate and […]

by Volker Janssen on January 2, 2020 at 6:05 pm

Why are aliens so often depicted as “little green men” with bulbous heads and oversized eyes? The mythology began, in part, on the night of August 21, 1955, when a large extended farm […]

by Becky Little on December 20, 2019 at 6:56 pm

The United Kingdom is made up of four constituent states: England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. But there have long been tensions between England and the other three U.K. states, in part […]

by Sarah Pruitt on December 20, 2019 at 6:29 pm

In 1955, the Central Intelligence Agency, U.S. Air Force and defense contractor Lockheed Martin chose an ultra-remote site in the Mojave Desert of southern Nevada, about 80 miles northwest of Las […]

by Natasha Frost on December 20, 2019 at 3:20 pm

There was little room for light in Theresienstadt—especially in the darkness of early December. Some 140,000 Czech Jews came through the Nazi camp-ghetto and holding pen, with almost one in […]

on December 19, 2019 at 7:54 pm

Facing the harsh conditions of the European winter, American soldiers fighting in the Battle of the Bulge faced a challenge like no other.Continue reading

on December 19, 2019 at 7:53 pm

Before salted roads and giant snowplows, one devastating storm brought New York City to a halt. But it may have changed things for the better.Continue reading

on December 19, 2019 at 7:51 pm

We all watch the ball drop on New Year's Eve, but the ball has its own history that began well before Times Square.Continue reading

on December 19, 2019 at 7:50 pm

Wooden nutcracker soldiers are staples of the holiday season, but what do they actually have to do with Christmas celebrations?Continue reading

on December 19, 2019 at 4:08 am

A Moon landing is the arrival of a spacecraft on the surface of the Moon.This includes both manned and robotic missions. The first human-made object to touch the Moon was the Soviet Union's Luna 2, […]

by History.com Editors on December 18, 2019 at 8:10 pm

At the end of World War I, during a peace conference held in Paris, France, the victorious Allies concluded a series of peace treaties that would be imposed on the defeated Central Powers. The most […]

by Adam Janos on December 18, 2019 at 3:56 am

In the annals of American UFO history, few incidents have inspired as much fascination—and speculation—as the one in Roswell, New Mexico. It began in the summer of 1947, at the dawn of […]

by Lesley Kennedy on December 17, 2019 at 9:23 pm

From its Puritan roots to complaints of rampant commercialism (“What is it you want?” Charlie Brown asks Lucy in A Charlie Brown Christmas. “Real Estate.”), Christmas in […]

by Crystal Ponti on December 16, 2019 at 4:08 pm

In the 19th century, before festive Christmas cards became the norm, Victorians put a darkly humorous and twisted spin on their seasonal greetings. Some of the more popular subjects included […]

by Linda Lacina on December 13, 2019 at 6:39 pm

Is it chasing us? That thought coursed through Betty and Barney Hill’s minds as they drove down the empty winding country road in New Hampshire’s White Mountains. It was a September night […]

by Dave Roos on December 13, 2019 at 4:42 pm

On December 14, 1944, American GIs stationed in the Belgian-German border town of Bastogne were in a jolly holiday mood. Hollywood star Marlene Dietrich was in town on a USO tour performing songs for […]

by Becky Little on December 13, 2019 at 3:44 pm

Midway through the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, three pipe bombs went off in the Centennial Olympic Park, killing two people and injuring 111. The man behind the bombing was 29-year-old […]

by Jessica Pearce Rotondi on December 11, 2019 at 5:57 pm

Secret societies have flourished throughout history and count Founding Fathers and royals among their ranks. Members (most often men) have been tapped to join The Knights Templar, the Freemasons, the […]

by Sarah Pruitt on December 11, 2019 at 3:25 pm

When it comes to mythic American figures, George Washington leads the pack. Commander in chief of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War and the first president of the United States, […]

by History.com Editors on December 10, 2019 at 9:27 pm

Robert E. Lee was a Confederate general who led the South’s attempt at secession during the Civil War. He challenged Union forces during the war’s bloodiest battles, including Antietam […]

by Christopher Klein on December 10, 2019 at 6:10 pm

Eulogized by Henry Lee as “first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen,” George Washington stood preeminent among the pantheon of American Founding Fathers. At […]

by Sarah Pruitt on December 9, 2019 at 4:08 pm

The decade began amid the chaotic wake of a global financial crisis, and ended with the impeachment of a U.S. president. The growing use of social media fueled mass protest movements, bringing […]

by History.com Editors on December 6, 2019 at 1:00 pm

Daniel Boone was an early American frontiersman who gained fame for his hunting and trailblazing expeditions through the Cumberland Gap, a natural pass through the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia, […]

by History.com Editors on December 6, 2019 at 12:26 pm

The Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, is an independent federal regulatory agency tasked with protecting investors and capital, overseeing the stock market and proposing and […]

by History.com Editors on December 6, 2019 at 12:24 pm

Samuel Adams was a Founding Father of the United States and a political theorist who protested British taxation without representation, uniting the American colonies in the fight for independence […]

by Dave Roos on December 5, 2019 at 9:50 pm

When the Founding Fathers met in Philadelphia during the 1787 Constitutional Convention, they represented a loosely held confederacy of Atlantic states recently freed from British rule. If the […]

by Evan Andrews on December 5, 2019 at 4:18 pm

Today the terms “left wing” and “right wing” are used as symbolic labels for liberals and conservatives, but they were originally coined in reference to the physical seating […]

by Jessica Pearce Rotondi on December 5, 2019 at 2:54 pm

The U.S. bombing of Laos (1964-1973) was part of a covert attempt by the CIA to wrest power from the communist Pathet Lao, a group allied with North Vietnam and the Soviet Union during the Vietnam […]

by History.com Editors on December 5, 2019 at 2:40 pm

Born into obscurity in the British West Indies, Alexander Hamilton made his reputation during the Revolutionary War and became one of America’s most influential Founding Fathers. He was an […]

by Becky Little on December 4, 2019 at 10:26 pm

The historical people known as Vikings, who hailed from Scandinavia in Northern Europe, are well-known today for their exploits in the west. But the merchant-warriors also made their way into Eastern […]

by Christopher Klein on December 4, 2019 at 6:46 pm

Although “peace on earth” may never have seemed more elusive than during the Civil War, America’s bloodiest years actually produced our popular image of Santa Claus. Clement Clarke […]

by Lesley Kennedy on December 3, 2019 at 7:47 pm

"One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind" could have turned out dramatically different had it not been for astronaut Buzz Aldrin’s ingenuity in averting disaster with a simple […]

by Evan Andrews on December 3, 2019 at 4:10 pm

1. Samuel FuquaMissouri-born Samuel Fuqua had a front row seat to the devastation at Pearl Harbor from aboard USS Arizona, a battleship that was heavily bombed during the first wave of the attack. […]

by Lesley Kennedy on December 3, 2019 at 2:50 pm

George Washington is widely known as the first U.S. president and Revolutionary War hero who supposedly cut down a cherry tree and wore wooden teeth. But few may know the founding […]

by History.com Editors on December 2, 2019 at 11:46 pm

An arms race occurs when two or more countries increase the size and quality of military resources to gain military and political superiority over one another. The Cold War between the United States […]

by Evan Andrews on December 2, 2019 at 7:47 pm

Americans first began the custom of weekday voting in 1845, when Congress passed a federal law designating the first Tuesday following the first Monday in November as Election Day.  Before then, […]

by History.com Editors on December 2, 2019 at 5:41 pm

Protesters in Hong Kong clashed with police, fire consumed an 850-year-old cathedral in Paris, the U.S. women’s soccer team won the World Cup and President Donald Trump became the third […]

by History.com Editors on November 30, 2019 at 3:11 pm

Alexander Graham Bell, best known for his invention of the telephone, revolutionized communication as we know it. His interest in sound technology was deep-rooted and personal, as both his wife and […]

by History.com Editors on November 29, 2019 at 10:08 pm

The abolitionist movement was an organized effort to end the practice of slavery in the United States. The first leaders of the campaign, which took place from about 1830 to 1870, mimicked […]

by History.com Editors on November 27, 2019 at 9:29 pm

John Brown was a leading figure in the abolitionist movement in the pre-Civil War United States. Unlike many anti-slavery activists, he was not a pacifist and believed in aggressive action against […]

on November 27, 2019 at 4:01 pm

How one misplaced phone call led to the military keeping close tabs on Santa and his reindeer.Continue reading

by History.com Editors on November 27, 2019 at 3:05 pm

Tecumseh was a Shawnee warrior chief who organized a Native American confederacy in an effort to create an autonomous Indian state and stop white settlement in the Northwest Territory (modern-day […]

by Dave Roos on November 26, 2019 at 8:20 pm

A U.S. president is impeached when the House of Representatives votes by a simple majority to approve one or more articles of impeachment. But what happens next? The process moves to the Senate for a […]

by History.com Editors on November 25, 2019 at 11:59 pm

If your holiday shopping includes a history lover, HISTORY's editors have carefully chosen gifts and experiences for fans of any era. Whether it's tickets to see two former U.S. presidents in person […]

by Brynn Holland on November 25, 2019 at 8:28 pm

Since 1972, the Iowa Caucus has been the first—and some argue most important—electoral test on the road to each party’s presidential nomination. But how did it get that way?  […]

by Erin Blakemore on November 25, 2019 at 7:57 pm

Voters for the Virginia House of Burgesses in 1758 had their choice of candidates. And one of them—a wealthy planter who had made his name in the French and Indian War—gave them their […]

by Patrick J. Kiger on November 25, 2019 at 6:47 pm

Long before the arrival of European explorers, soldiers and settlers in North America, the portion of the continent north of Mexico was inhabited by as many as 18 million native people. And contrary […]

by Jessica Pearce Rotondi on November 25, 2019 at 4:21 pm

The crown can be a heavy burden to bear, and the 1960s and 70s were challenging decades for Queen Elizabeth. From tabloid coverage of Princess Margaret’s affair to Prince Charles’s affair […]

by Becky Little on November 22, 2019 at 9:15 pm

Before European settlers arrived in North America, there were millions of wild turkeys spread across what are now 39 U.S. states. But by the 1930s, wild turkeys had disappeared from at least 20 […]

by Becky Little on November 22, 2019 at 9:15 pm

Before European settlers arrived in North America, there were millions of wild turkeys spread across what are now 39 U.S. states. But by the 1930s, wild turkeys had disappeared from at least 20 […]

by Dave Roos on November 21, 2019 at 6:56 pm

There’s no holiday that’s more quintessentially American than Thanksgiving. Learn how it has evolved from its religious roots as Spanish and English days of feasting and prayer to become […]

by History.com Editors on November 20, 2019 at 8:26 pm

The Whig Party was a political party formed in 1834 by opponents of President Andrew Jackson and his Jacksonian Democrats. Led by Henry Clay, the name “Whigs” was derived from the English […]

on November 19, 2019 at 4:25 pm

Pearl Harbor was a shocking moment in American history, but instead of cowering in fear, the country rose to the occasion.Continue reading

by Barbara Maranzani on November 19, 2019 at 4:24 pm

Secretary of State William Seward wrote it and Abraham Lincoln issued it, but much of the credit for the Thanksgiving Proclamation should probably go to a woman named Sarah Josepha Hale.  A […]

by History.com Editors on November 17, 2019 at 6:43 pm

From the moment English colonists arrived in Jamestown, Virginia, in 1607, they shared an uneasy relationship with the Native Americans (or Indians) who had thrived on the land for thousands of […]

by History.com Editors on November 17, 2019 at 6:39 pm

Oliver Cromwell was a political and military leader in 17th century England who served as Lord Protector, or head of state, of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland for a five-year-period […]

by History.com Editors on November 17, 2019 at 6:33 pm

Thurgood Marshall — perhaps best known as the first African-American Supreme Court justice — played an instrumental role in promoting racial equality during the civil rights movement. As […]

by History.com Editors on November 17, 2019 at 6:27 pm

Paul Revere was a colonial Boston silversmith, industrialist, propagandist and patriot immortalized in the Henry Wadsworth Longfellow poem describing Revere’s midnight ride to warn the […]

by History.com Editors on November 17, 2019 at 6:21 pm

Jackie Robinson was an African American professional baseball player who broke Major Leagues Baseball’s infamous “color barrier” when he started at first base for the Brooklyn […]

by History.com Editors on November 17, 2019 at 4:37 pm

Davy Crockett was a frontiersman, soldier, politician, congressman and prolific storyteller. Known as the “King of the Wild Frontier,” his adventures — both real and fictitious […]

on November 15, 2019 at 5:35 pm

The Berlin Wall created two separate cities, two sides competing to be the best. And one of their biggest points of pride? Their zoos.Continue reading

by History.com Editors on November 13, 2019 at 10:40 pm

On April 4, 2007, syndicated talk radio host Don Imus ignites a firestorm after making racially disparaging remarks about the Rutgers University women’s basketball team, insulting their […]