Historical Figures
From Musketeers to Nazis, Archimedes to Harriet Tubman, these famous historical figures changed the course of history -- for better or worse.
Contextualizing the Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
10 Things Done Completely Out of Spite
Exploring the Impact of the Industrial Revolution Factory System
Who Is the Controversial Green Man on the Royal Coronation Invitation?
666 Meaning: Angel Number or the Devil's Digits?
Operation Midnight Climax: A CIA Sex, Drugs and Surveillance Program
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
The Longest Road in the U.S. Passes Through a National Park
The Longest Government Shutdown in American History
The Youngest President of the United States
6 Largest Empires in History
All 48 Countries of Asia, Sorted by Region
How Many Countries of South America Can You Name?
How the Ritchie Boys, Secret Refugee Infiltrators, Took on the Nazis
The French Resistance Took Many Forms During WWII
Inside Unit 731, Japan's Gruesome WWII Human Experiment Program
Learn More / Page 3
The Mad Trapper of Rat River probably wasn't a trapper, and he most likely wasn't mad, but who was he and why did he lead the Royal Canadian Mounted Police on one its greatest chases ever?
He is famous for assassinating Lee Harvey Oswald on live TV. But what was his motive, other than to rid the world of the man who killed President John F. Kennedy days before?
By John Donovan
Nietzsche's prose is playful, but its meaning is often opaque. Though perhaps we should expect nothing less from a philosopher who wrote, "I am not a man. I am dynamite."
By Dave Roos
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And he was still growing at the time of his death. But there was a lot more to Robert Wadlow than just his extraordinary height.
By Alia Hoyt
The brief and disturbing life of Tarrare is a fascinating study of perhaps the most bizarre and disgusting eating disorder ever known, and one that remains a medical mystery some 250 years later.
At 91, Dolores Huerta, the activist who inspired Barack Obama's "Yes, we can" campaign, continues to work tirelessly developing leaders and advocating for the working poor, women and children.
Brazenly ambitious, he became king of Scotland and won independence from the despised English to become a legendary figure of Scottish national pride, just like William "Braveheart" Wallace.
By Dave Roos
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Some say his IQ was 50 to 100 points higher than Albert Einstein's. So why haven't you heard his name before? We'll tell you the sad tale of why this incredible genius flamed out.
By John Donovan & Zach Taras
Muir was personally involved in the creation of Yosemite, Sequoia, Mount Rainier, Petrified Forest and Grand Canyon national parks and earned the title of "Father of Our National Park System."
The late Zofia Kielan-Jaworowska was the first woman to lead a dinosaur excavation expedition — into Mongolia's Gobi Desert no less. And her volumes of research provide most of what we know today about the evolution of modern mammals.
By Mark Mancini
Malcolm X was the leader of the Nation of Islam for more than a decade. His speeches were often militant in tone and he was labeled a firebrand. But was he simply misunderstood?
By Oisin Curran
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Bugsy — nobody called him that to his face — Siegel was a shrewd mobster whose crew was dubbed "Murder, Incorporated" by the press. But that fast life got him killed by age 41.
By John Donovan
Frédéric Chopin gave only 30 public performances of his stunning piano works during his lifetime, but his influence on the soul of classical music was immeasurable.
We may think of Thoreau as the Walden Pond hermit who penned profound books on nature and philosophy. But he was also funny and sociable and valued his friends deeply. What can we learn from some of his best quotes?
By Dave Roos
An intrepid world traveler, skilled mountaineer and noted archaeologist, Gertrude Bell broke all the rules at a time when women lived under the oppressive thumb of Victorian-era England.
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Bass Reeves was no ordinary officer of the law. Over his three-decade career, this African American arrested more than 3,000 individuals and survived countless skirmishes with armed outlaws. In short, he was a real frontier hero.
By Dave Roos
She was the first woman to ride solo on a motorcycle across the United States, and was known as the 'Motorcycle Queen of Miami.' And that's just the beginning of her story.
Sacagawea, at around 16 or 17, guided the Lewis and Clark expedition thousands of miles from North Dakota to the Pacific Ocean, and in the process became a legend.
Happy birthday to Edgar Allan Poe, master of the macabre! The story of his life and mysterious death is as fascinating as his most suspenseful work of fiction.
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Galileo Galilei made huge discoveries in physics and astronomy, helping to establish the modern scientific method of experiments and mathematics. Along the way, he fought for intellectual freedom and became the first celebrity scientist.
John Smith has been described as a tireless soldier, self-promoter and publicist. In today's speak, you might even call him an influencer.
What did these two U.S. presidents, who were also father and son, have in common beyond their first and last names?
Herodotus was a natural-born storyteller, whom scholars revere as the first historian ever, and critics dismiss as just a teller of tall tales. What's the real story?
By Dave Roos
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We'll be blunt: Mary Edwards deserves mad respect. She was a feminist and abolitionist; the first female Civil War surgeon in the U.S. Army; and a Civil War POW. Plus she wore pants!
The Founding Father was a prolific writer during his day. He wrote so much, in fact, he required a steady supply of quills.