Nate Barksdale Archives ‑ History.com

8 Things You Might Not Know about Booker T. Washington

1. The plantation where Washington was born was a far cry from “Gone With the Wind.” It’s now a National Monument, but the Franklin County, Virginia, plantation where Washington was born on April 5, 1856, was hardscrabble at best. Washington himself would later call the place “about as near to Nowhere as any locality can […]

Who Invented the Flush Toilet?

The centerpiece of today’s modern bathroom, the flush toilet has equal roots in ancient sanitation practices, Elizabethan politics and Industrial Revolution know‑how. Primitive latrines that utilized a constant stream of water to carry away waste date back at least 5,000 years, and early toilet systems were used by the several ancient civilizations, including the Romans […]

What was the first animal in space?

Though far less famous than later non‑human astronauts, the first animals in space were a group of fruit flies, launched to an altitude of 42 miles at the tip of a V‑2 rocket, developed and used by the Germans during World War II and later by American military scientists on February 20, 1947. The flies, members of […]

Who Was St. Nicholas?

We know very few historical details about St. Nicholas’s life. Even the year of his death is uncertain, although both the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches have celebrated December 6—the date of his passing—for more than 1,000 years. Within a century of his death, the much‑admired Nicholas had become the center of a series of […]

The History of Christmas Pudding

Christmas Pudding (also known as plum pudding or figgy pudding) is a dish as famous as it is misunderstood.

8 Things You May Not Know About Henry VIII

1. In his youth, Henry VIII was one of the Catholic Church’s staunchest supporters. In 1521 Henry VIII published a book‑length excoriation of the German Protestant reformer Martin Luther, referring to Luther as “a venomous serpent, a pernicious plague, infernal wolf, an infectious soul, a detestable trumpeter of pride, calumnies and schism.” In recognition of […]

What is the world’s oldest democracy?

The term democracy, which means “rule by the people,” was coined by the Greeks of ancient Athens to describe their city‑state’s system of self‑rule, which reached its golden age around 430 B.C. under the skilled orator and politician Pericles. It is probable that the Athenians were not the first group of people to adopt such […]

The History of Pumpkin Pie

It’s hard to imagine an American Thanksgiving table without the ubiquitous orange‑crusted custard made from strained, spiced and twice‑cooked squash. Few of our festival foods can claim deeper American roots than pumpkins, which were first cultivated in Central America around 5,500 B.C. and were one of the earliest foods the first European explorers brought back […]

How Long Was the Berlin Wall?

Few symbols better captured the Cold War divide between western Europe and the Soviet bloc than the Berlin Wall, a concrete and barbed wire barrier that divided Germany’s largest city for nearly 30 years. As World War II wound to a close, Germany and Berlin were divided into four zones, each administered by one of […]

10 (Allegedly) Mad Monarchs

Tabloid fodder for the ages, mad monarchs have been the focal point of fascination, and controversy for as long as there have been human rulers.

6 Modern Capitals With Ancient Roots

1. Athens The earliest evidence of human habitation on Athens’ famed Acropolis dates to between 7000 and 5000 B.C. By the mid‑second‑century B.C. Athens was an important outpost of the Mycenaean civilization, and remained a leading trading center for centuries due to its central position in the Greek world. In the fifth century B.C., when […]

Who Were the First Women to Win Nobel Prizes?

When it comes to record‑setting Nobel Prize recipients, there’s Marie Curie and there’s everyone else. The Polish‑French scientist was the first woman to share a Nobel Prize (the 1903 physics award, with her husband Pierre and fellow French scientist Henri Becquerel, for their pioneering work on radioactivity) and was also the first woman to receive […]