A military balloon deployed in the Civil War near Gaines Mill, Virginia (Photo by Buyenlarge/Getty Images)

Athena presides over the voting for the award of the arms of Achilles, c. 490 BC. Found in the collection of the Art History Museum, Vienne. Artist Duris (Douris), (Vase painter) (ca. 505-465 BC). (Photo by Fine Art Images/Heritage Images via Getty Images)

Dave Roos is a freelance writer based in the United States and Mexico. A longtime contributor to HowStuffWorks, Dave has also been published in The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times and Newsweek.&nbsp;

Dave Roos

Dave Roos is a freelance writer based in the United States and Mexico. A longtime contributor to HowStuffWorks, Dave has also been published in The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times and Newsweek.&nbsp;

Dave Roos Archives - History.com

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History.com

World War I pitted Germany, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire against Great Britain, the United States, France, Russia, Italy and Japan. New military technology resulted in unprecedented carnage. By the time the war was over and the Allied Powers claimed victory, more than 16 million people—soldiers and civilians alike—were dead.

World War I

The Roman Empire, led by rulers such as Julius Caesar, Augustus Caesar, Caligula and Nero, was a vast and powerful domain that gave rise to the culture, laws, technologies and institutions that continue to define Western civilization.

Ancient Rome

Ancient Greece, the birthplace of democracy, was the source of some of the greatest literature, architecture, science and philosophy in Western civilization, and home to beautiful historical sites like the Acropolis and the Parthenon.

Ancient Greece

The U.S. government, with its three branches of government and a system of checks and balances, is responsible for governing the 50 states and all districts and territories of the United States.

U.S. Government and Politics

The Civil War was America's bloodiest and most divisive conflict, pitting the Union Army against the Confederate States of America. The war resulted in the deaths of more than 620,000 people, with millions more injured and the South left in ruins.

Civil War

<a href="https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/world-war-ii-history">World War II</a> was the biggest and deadliest war in history, involving more than 30 countries. Sparked by the 1939 Nazi invasion of Poland, the war dragged on for six bloody years until the Allies defeated the Axis powers of Nazi Germany, Japan and Italy in 1945. Explore the battles, leaders and atrocities from the war and its impact on geopolitics and humankind.

World War II

The Cold War rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union lasted for decades and resulted in anti-communist suspicions and international incidents that led the two superpowers to the brink of nuclear disaster.

Cold War

Explore the wars, battles, leaders, civilizations, regimes, prominent figures and major events from the continent that encompasses 2 percent of the Earth’s surface. From Stonehenge to the Great Awakening to the French Revolution to the rise and fall of Communism in Russia, see how Europe’s often tumultuous history unfolded.

Dave Roos

Stories

How Nations Have Spied from the Sky

Top Secret, Secret, Confidential: How Are US Government Documents Classified?

Photos: 7 Decades of the Soviet Union

How People Voted in Ancient Elections