Historical Events

Sometimes, history can seem to pivot on a single event. While the underlying causes were numerous, historians generally accept that the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand was the most significant single inciting act of World War I.

By Zach Taras

Spite is not just for kids with broken toys. Many adults have gone to unbelievable lengths to pay back someone who did 'em wrong. Here are 10 classic examples.

By Patrick J. Kiger

Learn how the Industrial Revolution factory system revolutionized mass production and technology in the late 18th century and transformed manufacturing.

By Desiree Bowie

After Prohibition, Al Capone's mobsters seized control of the milk market, which led to conflict between the mob and unions known as the "Chicago milk wars."

By Sharise Cunningham

Nuclear power plant accidents are rare, but when they happen, there can be lasting effects from the radiation. Here are the five most horrific accidents in history.

By Dave Roos

No doubt the coronation of King Charles III will be full of pomp and circumstance. But it also will include priceless pieces of the royal crown jewels.

By Dave Roos

This sensational scandal involved sex, torture, witchcraft and poisoning. And the court of King Louis XIV, sending shockwaves through the aristocracy.

By Dave Roos

It seems like a plot from a spy novel: British spies (including Ian Fleming) left fake "secret" plans for an invasion on a dead man's body hoping to fool the Nazis. And it worked.

By Dave Roos

For enslaved Americans, insurrection was often the only path to freedom. Are we misusing the term today?

By Deion Scott Hawkins

The Netflix docuseries "Harry & Meghan" has revived memories of other royal scandals. Which ones really rocked the monarchy?

By Dave Roos

The sad story of the Radium Girls is one that details how human strength can overcome corporate greed, even in the most dire of circumstances.

By Kate Morgan

The White House is often called the most haunted house in America and it's known to be rife with the unquiet spirits of past presidents and residents.

By Kate Morgan

It may sound like the name of a '90s indie band, but Acoustic Kitty was a CIA program to train housecats to be spies. Imagine how that turned out.

By Dave Roos

The Anglo-Zanzibar War lasted less than an hour, involving two countries very unevenly matched. But what was the conflict about?

By Dave Roos

In 1983, the worst-ever diving accident occurred. Five people working on an oil rig experienced explosive decompression, which caused them to die in horrific ways.

By Dave Roos

The Battle of Stalingrad was one of the bloodiest in all of World War II. More Soviet troops died there than did American soldiers in the entire war. What made this battle so deadly?

By Dave Roos

In a truly historic vote, the U.S. Senate has confirmed Ketanji Brown Jackson as the next U.S. Supreme Court justice — the first Black woman to sit on the highest court in the land.

By Matt Williams

In the early 1930s, Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin's brutal policies starved to death millions of people in Ukraine, helping to fuel Ukrainians' fierce resistance against Putin's Russian invaders today.

By Patrick J. Kiger

The meeting of a group of abolitionist activist women at Seneca Falls, New York, in 1848 became the starting point for the women's rights movement in the U.S., but what brought these women together in the first place?

By Patty Rasmussen

More than 50 years after Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated by a lone bullet while standing on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel, questions still remain. Was James Earl Ray the sole gunman, or was it a conspiracy?

By John Donovan

Conspiracy theories are part of a dangerous misinformation crisis that has been building for years in the U.S., warping the cultural and political landscape in ways we can't yet even imagine.

By Amanda J. Crawford

The French and Indian War, also called the Seven Years' War, was not the French against the 'Indians,' but a massive French and British land grab that indirectly led to the American Revolution.

By Patty Rasmussen

Transcendentalism was a 19th century philosophical movement with adherents like Thoreau, Emerson and Fuller, based on principles of freedom, feminism, abolition and the idea that people had divine truth within them.

By Patrick J. Kiger

These pioneering women bring new meaning to the phrase, "girl power!" Test your IQ of some of the baddest women in history with our quiz.

By Alia Hoyt

A little-known research facility in South Carolina housed thousands of monkeys and was key to developing the polio vaccine.

By Caroline Eubanks