HISTORY

The 10 Most Important Maps in U.S. History

Without these pieces of paper, the United States we know would never have existed—or else, it would look radically different today.

Here's How Kids Enjoyed Snow Days 100 Years Ago

To lucky youngsters, several entertainment options were available, including these popular pastimes.

Meet the 10 Honorary Harlem Globetrotters

Most of them aren't exactly people who can handle a basketball like Meadowlark Lemon.

National Historic Park Honoring Harriet Tubman May Soon Become a Reality

It looks as though years of lobbying efforts are finally coming to fruition.

15 Rebellious Facts About Pennsylvania Founder William Penn

15. No, the Quaker Oats guy wasn't modeled after him.

New Documentary Theorizes That a Fire Contributed to the Titanic's Demise

On April 14, 1912, a lookout on the RMS Titanic called “Iceberg, right ahead!” A blaze in the ship's boiler room may have weakened the ship's infrastructure, making it vulnerable to sinking.

Emil, Mary, and Anna Keller, 1894 murder-suicide.

“Mirrors With Memories”: Why Did Victorians Take Pictures of Dead People?

In the 19th and early 20th century, postmortem photography was as normal as prom photos.

5 Theories About Amelia Earhart's Disappearance

Did Amelia Earhart, the famous aviator, crash into the ocean and die, or did she meet another fate?

Rasputin Murdered

Erik Sass is covering the events of the war exactly 100 years after they happened. This is the 261st installment in the series.

Truman Capote at his Black and White Ball at the Plaza Hotel New York, with 'The Washington Post' publisher Katharine Graham. Photo by Harry Benson/Express/Getty Images

10 of History’s Most Lavish Parties

Forget the spinach dip and noisemakers, these parties are all about decadence and excess.

Left: NY, Morgan, MS G.24, fol. 25v / Right: British Library, Add 62925, fol. 67r

5 Very Weird Themes in Medieval Manuscripts

This list could easily read “butts butts butts butts butts.”

15 Historical Hangover Cures

As long as there has been alcohol, there have been hangovers—and dozens of bizarre ways to cure them.

Rasputin, Russian mystic and ‘holy man.’

The Murder of Rasputin: The 100-Year-Old Mystery That Won't Die

A century after the assassination of Russian mystic Grigori Rasputin, the legends surrounding him and his death have taken on a life of their own.

In 1990, Art Went on Trial in Cincinnati—and Won

Robert Mapplethorpe didn’t live long enough to see his art come under the microscope.

The Overlooked Paleontologist Who May Have Inspired 'She Sells Sea Shells'

Though Anning didn't receive her due credit from the male naturalists who reaped the benefits of her labors, word of the fossil-hunter's many achievements still managed to spread far and wide during her lifetime.

7 Old-Fashioned, Brutal Games For Boys

You won't want to try any of these at home.

WWI Centennial: Third Christmas at War

Erik Sass is covering the events of the war exactly 100 years after they happened. This is the 260th installment in the series.

39 Dishes from the First Christmas Menu, Published in 1660

If the thought of planning Christmas dinner makes you nervous, be glad you don't have to prepare 11 different types of birds.

7 Christmas Foods of Yesteryear

Over the centuries, yuletide revelers have enjoyed far different culinary fare than we do today. These historical Christmas dishes are sure to confuse—or tantalize—your taste buds.

9 Archaeological Sites of Biblical Importance

Archaeology might raise more questions about the bible than it answers, but that doesn’t stop millions of religious tourists from flocking to the Holy Land every year to walk in the footsteps of figures like Jesus and Moses.

Polymath, Mystic, and Saint Hildegard von Bingen

She was a smasher of stained-glass ceilings.

St. Nick's Real Hometown Is an Ancient City in Turkey Entombed in Mud

Welcome to Myra, where a Greek bishop became a power player in early Christianity.

The Holly Jolly History of the Santa Suit

Santa Claus didn't always wear boots and a suit of red.

William S Bruce via Wikimedia Commons // Public Domain

The Time a Scotsman Played Bagpipes for a Penguin in Antarctica

Gilbert Kerr donned full Highland dress in the Antarctic cold.

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