It’s not just today’s kids – the metric system has actually been ignored by people for more than two hundred years. But why hasn’t it caught on?!
history
Inside the gorgeous Thomas Edison house: A glimpse into his unique 1916 home life at Glenmont Estate
The Thomas Edison house in New Jersey housed both new inventions and priceless antiques – and was where his children were born, and where he died.
Find out how X-rays were discovered, see the earliest X-rays, learn where the name came from, and meet Wilhelm Röntgen – the man behind the innovation.
Labor Day is unlike many other patriotic holidays, as it glorifies no armed conflicts or battles of man’s prowess over man. Here’s a look back at the history of Labor Day.
Building the Statue of Liberty took years, and it wasn’t easy! Look behind the scenes into how it was done, plus see close-up shots from renovations.
When the newspapers first reported on the 1929 stock market crash, nobody knew what was coming. See these Great Depression newspaper headlines for how it began.
These vintage tips to identify antique silver come from the 1940s – and include diagrams, descriptions and photos of lots of vintage silverwork.
Juneteenth is a celebration of Black freedom. The celebration fell out of favor for decades, and has made a couple of comebacks. Find out more here!
Get the true story behind ‘The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford’ from 1882 — when, Jesse James, the Missouri outlaw, was killed by a boy twenty years old at his temporary residence on Thirteenth and Lafayette streets, in this city.
A plate of Christmas goodies just would not be complete without them: those delicious classic peanut butter blossoms cookies, featuring a big chocolate kiss right on top.
The lives of Holly, Valens, and Richardson were cut tragically short by the Buddy Holly plane crash. Here’s a look at some of the news stories from the time, and photos of the plane.
Many well-known serial killers don’t quite compare to the exploits of Herman Webster Mudgett, alias Dr H H Holmes, perhaps one of the most fiendish mass murderers in American history. See diagrams of his infamous murder house, and images of his victims.
See what it looked like inside the Titanic – the interiors of fancy lounges, dining rooms, first-class cabins and other luxurious delights – before the ship sunk to the ocean floor on her maiden voyage in 1912.
Gain insights into the struggles and aspirations of the signers of the Declaration of Independence.
Drafted in secret during the summer of 1787, the Constitution of the United States established the government of the United States. Here, the original US Constitution text.
Join us as we explore the fascinating history of George Washington’s life – a true testament to the power of determination, leadership, and an unwavering belief in the potential of a young nation.
Over 100 years have passed since the shocking Titanic tragedy in 1912. Here we’ve assembled some essential Titanic facts and stats about the ship, as well as those who traveled on her doomed maiden voyage.
From suffragettes to scientists, activists, artists & leaders who paved the way for future generations, these women in history have played a key role in shaping our world.
See the surprising reasons so many old silent movies have completely disappeared — leaving us to wonder what cinematic treasures have been lost to the ages.
The story of the Titanic sinking is a tragedy that has captivated audiences for over a century. Despite the passage of time, our fascination with the event and its aftermath has hardly diminished.
Everyone knows the pastel little Valentine’s Day sweets that say Hug Me, Cutie and more. Where did those candy heart sayings come from? Look back here!
Check out these vintage views of the downtown Seattle skyline to see how the city looked back from the 19th century through to the 21st!
Find out how some of the earliest color photography was created using potato starch!
What did the Titanic ship look like inside? Check out several different Titanic cross-section views, and get an idea of the size and the layout of the doomed vessel.
Look back at the biggest news in the universe on July 20, 1969 – the day we first landed on the lunar surface, walked on the moon, then went for a drive.
The Tootsie Roll has a sweet legacy that started way back at the end of the 1800s, and continues to this day. From the early days, the unique chocolaty chewy candy was a huge favorite with kids. Find out more about them here!
Tales of courage about people who died on the Titanic fascinate us to this day. Here are stories about some of the ship’s most prominent passengers.
Did a lie and nine blank cartridges win independence for America? The war ended at Yorktown. It was there, on October 19, 1781, that Cornwallis surrendered to Washington. Find out more of the story here!
There’s so much *story* packed into the history of the American flag & how its design adapted over nearly 200 years — in step with the evolution of our union.
The insights and inventions of Dr George Washington Carver – which he gave freely to the world – revolutionized the South, and helped millions out of poverty.
Look back at these D-Day pictures and remember that a German nation with super-race delusions once actually planned to conquer the world.
Charlotte Collyer lived through the tragic disaster the world remembers more than 100 years later. Here, read about what happened in this dramatic and compelling first-person account from a Titanic survivor.
Here are some accounts from Titanic survivors of the mid-ocean disaster, who managed to be rescued from the doomed ship back in 1912.
Here are some front pages of newspapers around the country, showing very first breaking Titanic news on the night she sank. There was very little information available at the time, and some news reports were, sadly, completely inaccurate.
Here’s a look back at Abraham Lincoln’s funeral and the entire funeral procession, where millions of people came out to see the President’s hearse pass by on the way from Washington DC to Chicago.
Below are several chapters from a book that was issued the same year as the Titanic disaster, and was called simply Titanic. While many aspects
Although penicillin was discovered in 1928 by Alexander Fleming, real research and production started in earnest in mid-1941, thanks to World War II.
When the infamous zeppelin airship Hindenburg caught fire and crashed as it was landing in New Jersey back in 1937, the spectacular disaster was caught on film and audio. Here’s how it went down.
To this day, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in New York on March 25, 1911, remains the deadliest industrial disaster in the city’s history,
On July 16, 1969, Apollo 11 took off for the moon – a historic mission for Americans, and for people all around the globe. See vintage newspaper headlines from that day here!
In June 1919, a peace treaty with Germany was signed in France, and formally brought an end to the Great War, which we now call World War I.
We have heard Mathis’ voice for years – but who’s the man behind that rich, smooth sound? Find out more about this extraordinarily talented singer here, and see Johnny Mathis as he lived in his Hollywood home back in the 1970s.
From the middle of the destruction after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, these detailed accounts of the damage were published in the city’s newspaper the very next morning.
The important events described here were the beginning of the end of the Civil War, though the official declaration was signed on May 10, 1865.
The history of Levi’s jeans shows that the power of a really good idea – like super-durable clothing that people like to wear – can make for a business that stays strong for more than 160 years.
Ad Astra… to the stars! John Glenn was the first American to orbit the earth, and he did it on the Mercury spacecraft named Friendship 7, on February 20, 1962. Here’s how it went.
Who invented television? Unfortunately for anyone looking for a quick answer, the first TV sets weren’t made by one single person — there were several inventors who were incredibly important to its creation and evolution. Here’s a look!
This is a detailed account of what would come to be known as The Battle of the Wilderness, which was the first battle of Grant’s
By looking back at these old Civil War recruitment posters & broadsides, you can see what was being offered to men as an incentive to sign up to fight in the Civil War — and what exactly the leaders were looking for in troops back in the 1860s.
With this book, you can color in 44 classic Victorian houses from the 1880s and 1890s, when many elaborately-decorated homes were built in America. See what’s inside!
Mosey on over and meet William Cody, who was known in these parts for his Buffalo Bill’s Wild West & Congress of Rough Riders of the World exhibitions. Yee haw!
The Civil War wasn’t going well for the Union in the early weeks of December 1861 – and it was going still worse for William Tecumseh Sherman. Find out why here.
Back in 1920, lots of people – including media and leading scientists – thought there was an active society on Mars, and that the Martians wanted to talk to us. Find out why they believe that here.
The Civil War’s bloodiest day: Lee turned back at Antietam (1962) A look back on the centennial, by Merton T. Akers — The Lawrence Gazette
When the old Victrola record players were first introduced, those turntables were some cutting-edge tech. Here’s a look at the history of the famous Victor Talking Machines!
The 1970s personal computer revolution began as those ingenious devices that put men on the moon, revolutionized science, and perplexed millions were finding their way into the home.
The dance music of the Edison Phonograph is irresistible. It offers the most fascinating waltzes and spirited two-steps of the world’s, great composers as well as the popular dance music of the hour.
In the late 1930s, aviator Amelia Earhart mysteriously vanished on her flights around the globe. See original newspaper reports at the time of her disappearance and a look back at the mystery 25 years later.
Many of today’s Halloween costumes and the tales of pirate treasure we all know can be traced back to the life and times of the very real person, Captain Kidd. But where is his treasure?
There have been tales of what happened at Wounded Knee Creek in South Dakota in 1890. Here, see original vintage news reports of the battle, plus a historical review of the events from 1976.;
See what it looked like during President Lincoln’s historic Gettysburg Address speech, plus eyewitness accounts, analysis, full text & and a handwritten copy of the speech.
Abraham Lincoln: Republican candidate for President of the United States – 1860 Description from the US Library of Congress: “A print for a large campaign
Samuel Colt, the millionaire inventor of the famous Colt revolver, died when he was just 47 years old. Here’s a look back at the original obituary for one of the wealthiest men in America before the Civil War.
When the Titanic sank, it was the biggest ship in the world – and although the movie industry was still young, many cameras were able to cover the disaster. Here’s a look.
Back in 1871, The Great Chicago Fire killed an estimated 200 to 300 people, destroyed more than three square miles of the city, and left 100,000 people homeless.
Here is a collection of tips from the past, for researching your past – namely, how to start a genealogical record for your family. Get ideas for tracking down your ancestry here!
Below are terrifying and telling sketches of the Titanic’s last moments, drawn by Lewis P Skidmore, who was a passenger on the rescue ship Carpathia
How did the Chicken of the Sea tuna get such a strange name? Get the story from the ’70s right here.
Even today, there are ships buried under downtown San Francisco that you might walk over, on land reclaimed from the Bay thanks to the Gold Rush.
While books and articles on America’s slave trade can offer important historical insight, seeing ads for slave auctions casually placed in newspapers of the era really brings the brutality home.
Explore how Nikola Tesla’s inventive genius powered the world, from AC motors to wireless electricity, and why his legacy continues to shine bright today.
Albert Einstein was a man whose life, philosophies, discoveries and theories changed the way we looked at the world, and at life itself. Find out about him here.
Here, take a look back at this collection of gorgeous designs and styles of vintage canopy beds that were popular the seventies. Some are some classic and elegant, others modern and breezy, and many fabulously frilly.
A doctor smashed his way into a locked bedroom, and found Marilyn Monroe dead in bed. Here’s what else he found, and how the first news stories broke.
Take a look back at how America – and the world – celebrated Victory in Europe Day, meaning World War II was nearly over.
Take a look at the original WANTED poster that was distributed far and wide to help catch President Lincoln’s killer – John Wilkes Booth, and two of his accomplices.
In 1906, a short film called ‘A Trip Down Market Street’ ended up being a valuable record of old San Francisco just before the huge earthquake and fire destroyed much of the city.
Here’s the true story of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination, as reported at the time of his murder at the hand of actor John Wilkes Booth.
In 1883, the volcano of Krakatoa erupted in cataclysmic fashion. Considered the single largest natural explosion in recorded history, the eruption killed upwards of 36,000 people.
Inside this book, you can take a look back to the 1870s — a time when many of the most ornate and elegant homes were built in America! Not only was the architecture remarkable, so,were their bold colors.
Try your hand at these traditional patterns for Americana quilts – the pride of America’s past, and adaptable for many uses today.
The invention of the dishwasher was a kitchen game-changer, and cleanly earned its inventor, Josephine Garis Cochrane, a spot-free finish in history.
The great loss of the Titanic: It is now practically certain that 1,492 human beings went to their death in the sinking of the giant ship on the ice banks of Newfoundland.
When President John Fitzgerald Kennedy was shot and killed in Dallas in 1963, grief was felt all around the globe, and the question of motive has never been definitively answered.
The Wright Brothers, Wilbur and Orville, were the dynamic duo who took humanity’s dream of flight from mere fantasy to tangible reality. It took only 12 seconds and covered 120 feet, but the Wright Brothers’ first powered flight made the moon as reachable as sailing ships once made America. Here’s how they made history.
In the early morning hours of July 23, 1967, police in Detroit raided an unlicensed, after-hours bar in what they assumed was just another routine
President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, as the nation approached its third year of bloody civil war.
Keeping track of the eras, the ages, the generations and more can be confusing – especially when they overlap. Here’s a basic guide to some of the most important eras in American history.
Richard Nixon’s final presidential crisis truly began with the ruling that he could no longer withhold 64 disputed White House tapes from the Watergate prosecutors. Here is the story of the last days before Nixon’s resignation.
Find out about the double murder Lizzie Borden may have committed – starting with the first news reports, through the court case, then summaries of the dramatic tale that riveted the nation.
Through observation, experimentation and genius, scientist Louis Pasteur was able to create the first rabies vaccine – even though he didn’t exactly know what caused the disease.
When King Tut’s tomb was discovered – and then opened – people all over the globe were riveted by the mysterious Tutankhamun and his golden treasures. Here’s what they found.
Find out what set in motion the deadly chain of events that led to General Custer’s troops being overwhelmed by Sitting Bull’s force of 8,000 Lakota & Cheyenne during The Battle of Little Bighorn.
Thanksgiving, now held each year on the fourth Thursday in November, has long been a controversial holiday, Here, look back at Thanksgiving history as it played out over more than three centuries.
The most dramatic and best-known story of railroading in the United States is the connecting of the Atlantic and the Pacific by railroad in 1869, tying of the oceans together by rail across the heart of the United States
The ghosts and goblins, witches and spirits that are so much a part of every October now, have their roots in superstitions from many centuries ago. Here’s a look at the strange history of Halloween!
Actor James Dean, a young Hollywood idol, was killed on September 30, 1955, in a head-on car crash. Here’s how the story was reported, and then a look back from a year later.
I am at loss for the proper word to use to describe what television has done with Haley’s book Roots. “Enhance” will not do, nor is “heightened” sufficient. There is no word that is adequate.
