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Didn’t pay attention in history class? HowStuffWorks has you covered.
By now, some 150 years since his first inauguration, it’s hard to believe there’s anything we don’t know about ol’ Honest Abe. But a new book by a researcher at George Mason University in Fairfax re-examines some of Abraham Lincoln’s more controversial racial views — and reveals that he might have held them longer than some people have thought.
Remember the really, really old shoe Deblina and I discussed on our year-end discoveries podcast? The one that made doctoral student Diana Zardaryan, the woman who found it, utter what was also perhaps the best quote of 2010: “To find a shoe has always been my dream”?
Well now, from the same Armenian cave that contained the 5,500-year-old lace-up moccasin (the world’s oldest leather shoe) comes a new discovery: evidence of the world’s oldest winery.
For a gal who’s best-known for disappearing, Amelia Earhart sure has been popping up a lot lately. Google her, and you’re bound to come up with several recent headlines — some of them even claim we may be on our way to finally discovering what happened to the famous aviator in 1937, when she and navigator Fred Noonan vanished over the Pacific Ocean. But when you get down to it, are researchers really any closer to solving the mystery?
History Roundup: The Stono Rebellion
by Sarah Dowdey | February 25, 2011
This week, Deblina and I continued our coverage of Black History Month with a story of rebellion, one that historian Junius P. Rodriguez called the “single most important African slave revolt in the history of what would become the United States.”
Researchers Pick Away at Manuscript Puzzle
by Deblina Chakraborty | February 18, 2011
Filled with strange characters and weird illustrations, nobody’s been able to make heads or tails of what the Voynich Manuscript is even about. But thanks to the work of some Arizona-based scientists, we now at least have a better idea of when it was made.
History Roundup: The Crafts’ Escape to Freedom
by Sarah Dowdey | February 18, 2011
The story of Ellen and William Craft had me hooked from the start. Daring, ingenuity and a 1,000-mile escape — compelling stuff indeed, especially when you throw in a top hat and green-colored glasses.
Tired of slavery in Macon, Ga., and unwilling to face the prospect of bringing children into a family that could be torn apart at any time, William Craft hatched a plan: his light-complexioned wife would disguise herself as a young, sickly, but well-off white man, and travel by train and steamer to freedom in Philadelphia. William would tag along as her solicitous slave, securing her medicine, making her comfortable and steaming the poultices that hid Ellen’s smooth cheeks.
History Caught in Crossfire
by Deblina Chakraborty | February 12, 2011
All too often, historical sites crumble under the weight of time or get wiped out by natural disasters. Sometimes, as in the recent case of Cambodia’s Temple of Preah Vihear, we even destroy them ourselves.
Podcast Cheat Sheet: Bourbon Edition
by Sarah Dowdey | February 9, 2011
So we realize the Bourbons are one confusing family, and in our last episode on the French line, we threw out quite a few names, dates and revolutions. But it always helps to put a name to a face! Below: key events and characters from the latest podcast. Follow along as you listen, study up beforehand or consult after the fact to clear up any confusion!
Mysterious lady, were you really a man?
by Deblina Chakraborty | February 5, 2011
Just when you thought it was safe to move on to another intriguing historical mystery, suddenly it’s cool again to speculate about the “Mona Lisa.” Recently, several new theories have popped up about Leonardo da Vinci’s über-famous, 16th-century portrait of a lady. Now, Italian researcher Silvano Vincenti has a new guess about the identity of the artwork’s mysterious subject.
After hearing of Charlayne Hunter and Hamilton Holmes’ suspension, faculty members at the University of Georgia fired back: 300 of them petitioned for the students’ return. A second order from federal judge William Bootle revoked the suspension, and by Jan. 16, Holmes and Hunter were back to class, this time better protected by the volunteers of the Faculty Night Patrol.
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