Historical Events
From the Age of Enlightenment to the Christmas Truce, learn about some of history's most pivotal events.
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The guys at Stuff They Don't Want You To Know break down some of the myths behind one of the darkest times in the colonies.
By Diana Brown
These engraved stones may hold the key to a 400-year-old American mystery, but they also might just be forgeries.
The 100-year anniversary of the end of World War I offers up a reminder — and a second chance — for us to remember the soldiers' sacrifices and to learn from our past mistakes.
By John Donovan
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Ron Stallworth was a black detective in Colorado Springs who infiltrated the Ku Klux Klan to the point that he was asked to lead a local chapter. How he pulled that off is now the subject of a major motion picture.
By Dave Roos
There's a popular story that George Washington was offered the chance to be crowned king of the U.S. but turned it down in favor of a truly republican government. But what really happened?
By Dave Roos
The trial of Sacco and Vanzetti, which involved immigrants, anarchy and chaos, is one of the 20th century's most controversial and famous.
Blackface is alive and well. HowStuffWorks explores the history behind the practice, from minstrel and Halloween costumes to Shirley Temple and Drake.
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When a shipwreck is found, who gets the loot? The case of the San Jose has got interested parties battling and legal scholars scratching their heads.
By Chris Opfer
What really happened when the late Senator Ted Kennedy's car plunged off a bridge in 1969 killing Mary Jo Kopechne?
By Diana Brown
The plague took millions of lives in the 1600s, but Parisians fought back with tart, sweet lemonade.
In 1928, Glen and Bessie Hyde embarked on an ambitious trip down the Colorado River. But their adventurous honeymoon came to an unfortunate early end. What happened?
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From 1967 to 1975, an ambulance crew recruited from a poverty-stricken black neighborhood in Pittsburgh became the first-ever set of trained EMTs in America. Here is their untold story.
By Dave Roos
The raid amplified tensions between the North and South and intensified fear of slave rebellion.
In 1789, thousands of women frustrated by good shortages marched to Versailles with some serious demands for King Louis XIV.
Getting a prescription for alcohol back was once kind of like getting a prescription for medical marijuana today.
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Most North American names are a mix of colonial and indigenous languages, so how did the Canadian province "New Scotland" end up with a moniker from a dead tongue?
Martin Luther had many grievances against the Roman Catholic Church. Including their ban on butter.
By Dave Roos
These historical images remind us that marvel and awe go hand-in-hand with science (and eclipses), and have been a part of the human experience for as long as we've been a species.
The century-plus pastry outlasted its owner Robert Falcon Scott, the explorer who took it with him on a race to the South Pole from which he never returned.
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After enduring decades of brutal physical punishment and forced religious conversion by the Spanish, the pueblo peoples of the Southwest rebelled successfully.
Local governments, newspapers and unions waged a xenophobic campaign against "un-American" eateries, hoping to protect white jobs, and women, in the early 20th century.
One of the most American spots outside of the U.S. is, surprisingly, in Brazil. How did these descendants of the Confederacy end up there?
An edict King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella issued forced Jews to emigrate, convert to Christianity or die. Unsurprisingly, it caused a wave of terrible effects.
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Brown v. Board of Education was a landmark case that advanced the fight against segregation laws, but it was a long road to get there.
The Stonewall Riots weren't the first time the LGBTQ community fought back against law enforcement, but they are a pivotal moment in the gay rights movement.