Historical Events

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.

By Melanie Radzicki McManus

Blackface is alive and well. HowStuffWorks explores the history behind the practice, from minstrel and Halloween costumes to Shirley Temple and Drake.

By Yves Jeffcoat

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.

By Laurie L. Dove

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?

By Kate Kershner

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.

By Kate Kershner

In 1789, thousands of women frustrated by good shortages marched to Versailles with some serious demands for King Louis XIV.

By Kate Kershner

Getting a prescription for alcohol back was once kind of like getting a prescription for medical marijuana today.

By Michelle Konstantinovsky

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?

By Laurie L. Dove

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.

By Christopher Hassiotis

After enduring decades of brutal physical punishment and forced religious conversion by the Spanish, the pueblo peoples of the Southwest rebelled successfully.

By Kate Kershner

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.

By Patrick J. Kiger

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?

By Melanie Radzicki McManus

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.

By Kate Kershner

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.

By Kate Kershner

The Stonewall Riots weren't the first time the LGBTQ community fought back against law enforcement, but they were a pivotal moment in the gay rights movement.

By Ed Grabianowski

In the mid-1800s, the white American establishment feared Irish immigrants would alter the country's makeup with foreign religion and customs.

By Laurie L. Dove

And people were sailing to remote islands to get it.

By Kate Kershner

Sweet, delicious honey may seem like a strange ingredient for toxic warfare, but "mad honey" was, and still is, a potent poison.

By Laurie L. Dove

You could probably give up a lot of things in this world, but could you give up your toothbrush?

By Kate Kershner

Imagine burning molten metal poured into your open mouth. That horrifying form of execution actually happened - and scientists studied what actually killed the victim.

By Laurie L. Dove