Historical Events
From the Age of Enlightenment to the Christmas Truce, learn about some of history's most pivotal events.
Remembering Marshall Brain, Founder of HowStuffWorks
22 Famous Leaders Who Changed History Forever
Heaviest Person Ever: The Legacy of Jon Brower Minnoch
The Madden Curse Debate: NFL Legends Weigh In on the Phenomenon
Most Haunted Places in the World: True Encounters and Tales
Is Santeria Considered Witchcraft? A Deep Dive into the Tradition
Exploring the Balkan States: 10 Countries on 1 Peninsula
Norland College: Where the Royals Find Their Nannies
How the CPR Doll Developed From a Famous Parisian Death Mask
Tuskegee Syphilis Study: Failing to Treat Black Men for 40 Years
15 Largest Cities in California, Ranked by Population
The Least Populated State Is One of the Largest by Land Area
What Countries Are Communist Today? Which Ones Used to Be?
The Tallest Statue in the World and 14 Others That Come Close
Most Powerful Countries in the World: 2024 Rankings
Unit 731: Inhumane Medical Experimentation During WWII
How the Ritchie Boys, Secret Refugee Infiltrators, Took on the Nazis
The French Resistance Took Many Forms During WWII
Learn More / Page 2
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.
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.
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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.
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.
Hispanics have contributed to American history since Spanish explorer Christopher Columbus stepped foot in the New World. These five events were turning points in Hispanic and American history.
By John Donovan
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Queen Elizabeth II reigned over England for a record-breaking 70 years. But with King Charles taking the throne, how does the line of succession look now?
By Alia Hoyt
In 1978, hundreds of followers of Reverend Jim Jones of the Peoples Temple died in Guyana, after being either coerced into suicide by their charismatic leader or actually murdered.
Believed to have operated between 1821 and 1861, the Saltwater Underground Railroad was the coastal escape route followed by fugitive slaves into the British-controlled Bahamas.
By Carrie Tatro
When British radio wouldn't play 1960s rock 'n' roll, a station on a ship moored off the coast of England would. For many years, pirate stations have dodged government regulators to bring outlaw radio to the world at large.Â
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The Mason-Dixon Line has ties to slavery, which often overshadows its otherwise fascinating story about one of the most significant surveying achievements in North America.
By Ray Glier & Talon Homer
"Internet cult" Heaven's Gate is seared in the memory of the '90s public for the fact that 39 members committed suicide wearing matching tracksuits and sneakers, as the Hale-Bopp comet approached Earth. But what made them do it?
During one of the most political times in papal history, Pope Formosus' corpse was dug up and put on trial for crimes of the past. Who thought this was a good idea?
The nuclear disarmament movement in the 1950s needed a logo for a political march. What it got was one of the most ubiquitous and easily recognized symbols of all time.
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The world has come a long way since we were prepping for Y2K to potentially crash computers and the economy as we know it. We've witnessed some major moments since then. Here are 20 of the biggest.
By John Donovan
The War of 1812 ended in a stalemate, which enabled the fledgling United States to escape a devastating defeat and grow into a world power.
A blinding smog enveloped London in 1952, wreaking havoc on the city, bringing life to a standstill and killing thousands.
In 1959, a group of nine Russian hikers disappeared and were later found dead in circumstances that, to this day, have mystified authorities and armchair sleuths alike. But scientists now believe an avalanche holds the solution to the mystery.
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Yep, Jimi Hendrix could have borrowed a cup of sugar from George Frederick Handel - in a manner of speaking.
Yugoslavia is no more. Prussia? Vanished from the face of the Earth. From war to political unrest to rebranding, there are all sorts of reasons that leaders rename their nations. Can you pick the former names for these countries?Â
Is graphically recounting the horrors of the Holocaust the only way to honor the dead and educate the living about this tragedy? Sociologist Arthur Shostak says no.
By John Donovan
While it's technically just a glorified shift change, the British monarchy's Changing the Guard ceremony is steeped in history and tradition.
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Magda Herzberger was just a teen when she and her family were sent to Auschwitz. It was the last time she saw her father. Now 77 years after the liberation of Auschwitz, we tell her story of survival and why we must never forget.
By John Donovan
A "trail of tears and death" is how a Choctaw leader described the experience of his people being forcibly removed from their tribal homelands and sent west of the Mississippi. How many people were affected?
By Dave Roos