HISTORY.com Editors

U.S. presidents have received elaborate welcomes by the British monarchy since 1918.

From its colors to the rendering of a snake-eating eagle, the Mexican flag is packed with symbolism and history.

Preserved by icy waters, the majestic wooden ship of the infamous 1914-1916 Antarctic expedition is revealed in images from the deep of the Weddell Sea.

These people went off the beaten track. Then things went horribly wrong.

Who was the real St. Patrick? Was that legend about the snakes true? And why did so many St. Patrick's Day traditions start in America?

D-Day was a historic World War II invasion, but the events of June 6, 1944 encompassed much more than a key military victory.

These aircraft, tanks, rocket launchers and more serve as the workhorses of American warfare. One has even earned the nickname "the finger of God."

Chris Mellon believes the government should more aggressively gather intel on military UFO sightings, some of which were captured on video.

Civil War secrets found in a battlefield garbage pile. A jewel thief in a powdered wig who hastened Marie Antoinette’s downfall. A Supreme Court showdown started by barmaids. Discover 25 fascinating—and often overlooked—moments that made history.

These standout titles don’t just recount battles.

As a first-grader, her image became an emotional symbol for civil rights and educational equality.

A brutally drawn-out election in 1271 led to the formation of the secretive, secluded conclave—and quicker elections.

A look back at some pivotal moments in the complicated relationship between the two superpowers.

Which famous French explorer is credited with naming them?

Their backstories may surprise you.

Christopher Columbus' arrival in North America in 1492 undoubtedly changed the world and lives of the Indigenous people he met. But was it for the better?

Halloween's focus on horror and make believe has spawned creepy legends, ghost stories—and hoaxes.

From witches to zombies to creepy clowns, the season's hair-raising legends all formed from decades—to centuries—of lore.

From pagan rituals to costumes and candy corn, discover how Halloween—and its associated traditions—has evolved through the ages.

The Woodstock music festival may not have been a smoothly run event, but it featured electric moments—musical and otherwise—that made it unforgettable.

A diplomat who used the power of paperwork, a 16-year-old girl who shot Nazis from her bicycle and a teacher who hid Jewish children in baskets were among those who risked their lives to save others during World War II.

The Greenwood district of Tulsa, Oklahoma had flourished as a neighborhood built by Black people, for Black people. In 1921 it was destroyed by a white mob. Get the facts on the attack and subsequent coverup.

The 20-foot piece of the NASA space shuttle was found off the coast of Florida during the filming of the new HISTORY Channel series, 'The Bermuda Triangle: Into Cursed Waters.'

The practice can be traced to the ancient Celts, early Roman Catholics and 17th-century British politics.

Before we carved pumpkins, the Irish chiseled creepy faces onto turnips.

Images show devastation during the 2001 terror attacks, and the tragic aftermath.

Watch videos about the attacks of 9/11 and the aftermath.

The struggle for LGBTQ rights dates at least as far back as 1924 and accelerated in the wake of the 1969 Stonewall Uprising.

He's America's first president. The icon we all think we know. But in reality, he was a complicated human being.

If you’ve ever received an anonymous flower basket at your doorstep on the first day of May, you may have been the recipient of a May Day basket.

This HISTORY Channel podcast, produced in partnership with WNYC Studios, was honored with a 2024 Peabody Award.

Meet the standout soldiers, spies and homefront forces who fought in American conflicts, from the Revolution to World War II.

'After Auschwitz, the human condition is no longer the same. After Auschwitz, nothing will ever be the same.' —Elie Wiesel.

On December 7, 1941, a surprise Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor shocked America. These are the stories of veterans who were at the naval base that morning.

On the morning of 9/11 in New York City, ordinary people picked up video cameras and recorded. This is what they saw—and how they reflected on the experience years later.

The first Indigenous cabinet member in U.S. history, Haaland hails from a lineage of 35 generations based in New Mexico.

These videos showcase the vision and hope John F. Kennedy inspired in Americans—and the immense national grief they shared upon his death.

Stories of a ghostly President Lincoln wandering the corridors and rooms of the White House have persisted for more than a century.

From 'I Have a Dream' to 'Beyond Vietnam,' revisit the words and messages of the legendary civil rights leader.

When Neil Armstrong stepped down a ladder and onto the moon on July 20, 1969, the nation achieved an audacious vision. But there were surprising moments along the way and not everything went as expected.

Some have connected the site with the alleged government coverup of an alien spacecraft crash. Others claim the moon landing was filmed there. If that's not true, what is?

On the morning of December 7, 1941 Paul Kennedy found himself staring straight at an incoming Japanese aircraft.

The Stone Age marks a period of prehistory in which humans used primitive stone tools. Lasting roughly 2.5 million years, the Stone Age ended around 5,000 years ago when humans began working with metal and making tools and weapons from bronze.

Richard J. Daley was a political boss who served as mayor of Chicago and chair of the Cook County Democratic Party Central Committee for more than two decades.

The Battle of the Bulge took place in December 1944, after Adolf Hitler launched a surprise blitzkrieg against Allied Forces in northwest Europe. Caught off-guard, American units fought to stem the German advance. As the Germans pushed through American defenses, the front line took on the appearance of a large bulge, giving rise to the battle’s name.

Alice Paul was a Quaker suffragist who fought to secure women the right to vote and other feminist causes. The author of the Equal Rights Amendment, written in 1923 but still not ratified, died at the age of 92 in 1977, and remains one of the nation’s most outspoken voices in the battle for equality.

In September 1980, Iraqi forces launched a full-scale invasion of neighboring Iran, beginning the Iran-Iraq War. Fueled by territorial, religious and political disputes between the two nations, the conflict ended in an effective stalemate and a cease-fire nearly eight years later.

Fannie Lou Hamer (1917-1977) was a civil rights activist whose passionate depiction of her own suffering in a racist society helped focus attention on the plight of African Americans throughout the South. In 1964, working with the Student Non-Violent Co...

The style of politics that claims to speak for ordinary people and often stirs up distrust has risen up on both sides of the political spectrum throughout U.S. history.

Hannibal was a general and statesman of Carthage who famously led his army over the Alps in 218 B.C. during the Second Punic War with Rome.

Mao Zedong led communist forces in China through a long revolution and ruled the People's Republic of China from its formation in 1949 until his death in 1976.

The English Civil Wars (1642-1651) stemmed from conflict between King Charles I and Parliament over an Irish insurrection. The wars ended with the Parliamentarian victory at the Battle of Worcester.

David Farragut was an accomplished U.S. naval officer who helped the Union achieve key victories at New Orleans, Vicksburg and Mobile Bay during the Civil War.

In May 1887, around 30 Chinese laborers were mining gold in an isolated part of northeast Oregon, when the entire group was gunned down by a white gang of horse thieves. Initially referred to as the “Hells Canyon Massacre” or “Snake River Massacre” and the “Chinese Massacre at Deep Creek,” the event is considered one of the deadliest attacks against Chinese-Americans in U.S. history.

The Rock Springs Massacre began as a labor dispute in the territory of Wyoming between white and Chinese coal miners. The dispute led to violence by white mobs on September 2, 1885 that left 28 Chinese miners dead and 15 others wounded.

Samhain is a pagan religious festival originating from an ancient Celtic spiritual tradition. In modern times, Samhain (a Gaelic word pronounced “sow-win”) is usually celebrated from October 31 to November 1 to welcome in the harvest and usher in “the dark half of the year.”

Halloween originated with the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain. Learn more about its origins, traditions, facts, scary movies and more.

American women’s history has been full of pioneers: Women who fought for their rights, worked hard to be treated equally and made great strides in fields like science, politics, sports, literature and art.

The Wilderness Road, blazed by frontiersman Daniel Boone through the Cumberland Gap, opened a western pathway that led to the first settlements in Kentucky.

Connecticut, often called the "Constitution State," joined the Union on January 9, 1788, as the fifth state.

Yom Kippur is considered the most important holiday in Judaism.

The Hellenistic period lasted from 323 B.C. until 31 B.C. Alexander the Great built an empire that stretched from Greece all the way to India, and his campaign changed the world: It spread Greek ideas and culture from the Eastern Mediterranean to Asia.

Herodotus was a Greek writer credited with being the first historian. Sometime around 425 B.C., he published The Histories, an inquiry into the Greco-Persian Wars.

Augustus consolidated power after the death of Julius Caesar to become the first Roman emperor and expand the reach of an empire that lasted nearly 1,500 years.

Christmas is celebrated on December 25 and is both a sacred religious holiday and a worldwide cultural and commercial phenomenon. For two millennia, people around the world have been observing it with traditions and practices that are both religious and secular in nature.

Hatshepsut oversaw ambitious building projects, including the Temple of Deir el-Bahri, during her reign in 15th century B.C. as a rare Egyptian female pharaoh.

Apache chief Geronimo (1829-1909) led his followers on a series of escapes in the mid-1870s that bolstered his legend and embarrassed the U.S. government. He surrendered to General Nelson Miles in 1886, and remained a celebrity in captivity until his death at Oklahoma’s Fort Sill.

A June 1972 break-in to the Democratic National Committee headquarters led to an investigation that revealed multiple abuses of power by the Nixon administration.

Apollo 13 was the seventh manned mission in the Apollo Space program (1961-1975) and the third lunar landing mission, though the three astronauts aboard never reached the moon and scrambled to survive what became a hair-raising rescue mission.

Where Is the Grand Canyon? The Grand Canyon is located in northern Arizona, northwest of the city of Flagstaff. The canyon measures over 270 miles long, up to 18 miles wide and a mile deep, making it one of the biggest canyons in the world. This natural...

The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World is a list of remarkable constructions of classical antiquity. Of the original Seven Wonders, only one—the Great Pyramid of Giza—remains intact.

Though video games are found today in homes worldwide, they actually got their start in the research labs of scientists early 1950s. Academics designed simple games, like tic-tac-toe and tennis for two, as part of their research or for fun on the side.

The Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, is a regulatory agency that protects investors, enforces securities laws and oversees the stock market.

Mathew Brady was a 19th-century American photographer who was celebrated for his portraits of politicians and his photographs of the American Civil War (1861-65). In addition to his own work, Brady employed a team of assistants who fanned out across the country to capture the war.

The Battle of Dien Bien Phu, fought from March 13 to May 7, 1954, was a decisive Vietnamese military victory that brought an end to French colonial rule in Vietnam.

The Battle of Yorktown (Sep 28, 1781 – Oct 19, 1781) was the final battle of the American Revolution, fought between Colonial troops and the British Army at Yorktown, Virginia. The British began peace negotiations shortly after the American victory.

Abdication is the formal act of giving up authority as the ruling monarch of a sovereign nation, as Edward VIII of Great Britain famously did in 1936.

Queen Victoria ruled the British Empire for nearly 64 years, after ascending the throne just weeks after turning 18. While short in stature, Victoria was a giant in shaping the modern monarchy, leaving her mark on what has come to be called the Victorian Era.

A turbulent 1968 included the Tet Offensive of the Vietnam War, the assassinations of MLK and Robert F. Kennedy and the historic Apollo 8 lunar mission.

The American Civil War challenged the ideology of Victorian domesticity and prompted women on both sides to get involved as nurses, fundraisers and soldiers.

The year 2018 was marked by milestones in the #MeToo movement, a contentious Supreme Court hearing, battles over immigration and a groundbreaking royal wedding.

For as long as there have been civilized humans, there has been some form of China.

HIV and the syndrome it causes, AIDS, began spreading in the United States in the early 1980s. By the late 1980s it had become a public health crisis. Initially the U.S. government did little to address the epidemic, due in part to misconceptions that the disease only affected gay men. Activists came together to demand a response from the government and the international community. By the mid-1990s, HIV/AIDS numbers were on the decline in America. Today, millions of people around the world are living with HIV and tens of thousands of people die of AIDS-related illnesses every year.

The political and economic ideology that calls for a classless, government-controlled society, surged and then receded through history.

From a plea to a founding father, to the suffragists to Title IX, to the first female political figures, women have blazed a steady trail towards equality in the United States.

African American history began with slavery, as white European settlers first brought Africans to the continent to serve as enslaved workers. After the Civil War, the racist legacy of slavery persisted, spurring movements of resistance. Learn important dates and facts about the African American experience.

Larry Itliong was a Filipino American labor leader who organized West Coast farm workers, starting in the 1930s. He became well-known in the 1960s for spearheading the Delano grape strike and teaming with labor leaders Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta to demand farm workers' rights.

The period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 1837 until her death in 1901 was marked by sweeping progress and ingenuity.

The French and Indian War, or Seven Years War, a conflict primarily fought between Britain and France over New World territory, ended with a British victory.

Origins Of Free Press Before the thirteen colonies declared independence from Great Britain, the British government attempted to censor the American media by prohibiting newspapers from publishing unfavorable information and opinions. One of the first c...

Freedom of speech—the right to express opinions without government restraint—is a democratic ideal that dates back to ancient Greece. In the United States, the First Amendment guarantees free speech, though the United States, like all modern democracies, places limits on this freedom.

The fall equinox is the first day of autumn in the Northern Hemisphere. Arriving between September 21 and 24, the day has spawned rituals in many cultures.