Aaron Randle Archives ‑ History.com

5 of the Most Influential Early Video Games

Home video games may seem like a contemporary phenomenon, but they actually have roots that go back to the Truman administration. That’s when computer scientists began tinkering with electronic machines to construct basic automated games, such as the pioneering “Bertie the Brain,” an ingenious 13‑foot‑tall, tic‑tac‑toe‑playing computer showcased at a Canadian national exposition in 1950. […]

How an Enslaved Man Helped Jack Daniel Develop His Famous Whiskey

Jack Daniel’s stands as one of the most iconic American brands and most popular spirits in the world. Yet while the whiskey and its eponymous founder have become dominant names in American liquor lore, the person perhaps most responsible for its success—an enslaved man named Nathan “Nearest” Green, who taught Jack Daniel the art of […]

Abraham Lincoln’s Most Enduring Speeches and Quotes

There’s perhaps no better way to grasp Abraham Lincoln’s outsized American legacy than through his writing. From his time as a twenty‑something political hopeful to his tragic death, Lincoln was a voluminous writer, authoring hundreds of letters, speeches, debate arguments and more. Despite very little formal schooling, the 16th president was an avid reader who […]

7 Infamous Alcatraz Inmates

A list of the most renowned inmates at Alcatraz federal prison reads like a who’s who of 20th‑century criminals. They range from Prohibition‑era gangsters like Al “Scarface” Capone and George “Machine Gun” Kelly to ‘70s Boston mob boss James “Whitey” Bulger and Harlem drug kingpin Ellsworth Raymond “Bumpy” Johnson. But not all of the 15,000 prisoners […]

Alcatraz Escapes: 14 Breakout Attempts from the Island Prison

Ever since Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary opened as a maximum‑security lockup in 1934 on a desolate island in the middle of San Francisco Bay, officials touted it as “America’s most secure prison.” During its nearly 30 years of operation, inmates put that reputation to the test with a litany of escape attempts ranging from the tame to the […]

11 Roman Emperors Who Helped Mold the Ancient World

Few periods in history have had a greater impact on humankind than that of ancient Rome. While its influence on western civilization, in particular, has been ubiquitous, its remnants can be found virtually everywhere, from our calendar and political systems to our alphabet. The more‑than‑1,000‑year span of influence that began with the founding of Rome […]

History of Flight: Breakthroughs, Disasters and More

From hot‑air balloons floating over Paris to a dirigible crashing over New Jersey, here are some of the biggest moments of aviation history.

Who Invented the TV Dinner?

TV dinners—those frozen, pre‑cooked and pre‑portioned meals that can be reheated and ready to eat in minutes—became an American culinary staple in the mid 20th century. But the true origin of this quarter‑trillion‑dollar industry may never be fully unwrapped. TV dinners may not have emerged from factory ovens until the 1950s, but the industry’s pre‑heating […]

‘Black Rosies’: The Forgotten African American Heroines of the WWII Homefront

Rosie the Riveter—the steely‑eyed World War II heroine with her red bandanna, blue coveralls and flexed bicep—stands as one of America’s most indelible military images. Positioned under the maxim “We Can Do It,” the “Rosie” image has come to broadly represent the steadfast American working woman, and more specifically, the millions of female laborers who […]

America’s Only Successful Coup d’Etat Overthrew a Biracial Government in 1898

It was the only successful coup d’état in the history of the United States and a story of racial terror largely obscured from the annals of American history. In 1898, a group of white rebels—angry and fearful at the newly elected biracial local government—joined forces with area militias to rain terror on Wilmington, North Carolina, […]