Canadian Space Agency

On Monday evening, Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield will wrap up his stay aboard the International Space Station when he and two fellow crewmembers touch down in eastern Kazakhstan. A veteran of two previous missions, Hadfield has become a media sensation—and an inspiration to millions—during his five months in space thanks to a regular stream of Tweets and photos and nearly 70 videos that covered a wide array of topics; from what it’s like to brush your teeth and how difficult it is cry in space to how to play the guitar and clip your fingernails—in zero-gravity.

For Hadfield, who’s now a civilian astronaut after a 25-year career in the Canadian Armed Forces, reviving popular interest in space exploration is a deeply personal mission—his own career path was set at the age of nine when he, like millions of others around the globe, watched the 1969 Apollo 11 moon landing. And while many fans have only recently gotten to know him, his social media, space-marketing plan has been in the works for nearly three years. Already the first Canadian to walk in space, Hadfield was slated to become the first of his countrymen to command the International Space Station when the program’s Expedition 34 embarked on December 19, 2012. Hadfield decided that the mission was an ideal opportunity to get Canada, and the rest of the world, excited about space again after programs around the world suffered substantial cutbacks in recent years. With the help of his two sons, he established a presence on Twitter that grew from 20,000 followers around the start of his mission to more than 800,000 by its end yesterday. In addition, his videos have received more than 22 million video videos to the Canadian Space Agency’s YouTube channel, with millions more visiting the agency’s site itself for more information on Hadfield.

The 53-year old Hadfield has clearly enjoyed his stint 230 miles above Earth. He’s installed a Zero-G Christmas Tree, talked with Star Trek icon William Shatner, sang a tune dedicated to the ISS with the group Barenaked Ladies and, like every good Ontario boy, has cheered on the National Hockey League’s Toronto Maple Leafs. He’s also played witness, from afar, to a series of more somber events back home, posting photos of war-torn Syria and tweeted an intergalactic photo of Boston Harbor to wish the city well in the days following the April bombings at the Boston Marathon.

It wasn’t all fun and games aboard the ISS, however. Hadfield and the five other astronauts aboard performed hundreds of scientific experiments, leaving the crew just 12 hours of free-time each week, making Hadfield’s constant messages back home even more remarkable. And just this past week, the crew had to move to quickly to avoid a potential disaster after the discovery of a possible ammonia leak in the ISS’s coolant system precipitated a last-minute spacewalk to make repairs.

Yesterday, as Commander Hadfield prepared to hand the reins to his replacement aboard ISS and say goodbye to space, he managed to make history yet again, becoming the first person to record a music video in space. Fittingly, it was to music legend David Bowie’s 1969 hit, “Space Oddity,” written the same year Hadfield himself was inspired to reach for the stars by Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins.

Bet You Didn’t Know: St. Patrick’s Day
We bet you didn’t know where the first St. Patrick’s Day parade took place. Find out and get more surprising facts.

Ask HISTORY: Was St. Patrick Irish?
He may be the patron saint of the Emerald Isle, but was he even born there? Ask HISTORY investigates.

St. Patrick’s Cathedral: Deconstructed
Explore the iconic New York City landmark.

Ireland: Deconstructed
From Ireland’s national symbol to its average beer consumption, get the facts on the Emerald Isle.

St. Patrick’s Day by the Numbers
How much green dye is poured into the Chicago River? What do people spend on the holiday? Get St. Patrick’s Day facts in this infographic.

Corned Beef and Cabbage: As Irish as Spaghetti and Meatballs
Hungry History serves up a taste of the history behind the classic St. Patrick’s Day meal.

George Washington’s Revolutionary St. Patrick’s Day
What did General George Washington do when his troops’ morale slumped in March 1780? He celebrated St. Patrick’s Day, of course.

St. Patrick’s Day Myths Debunked
Did St. Patrick drive the snakes from Ireland, and has green always been associated with his holiday? Get your St. Patrick’s Day myths and facts straight.

Vikings (Sundays at 10/9c)
In our first scripted drama, we follow the story of Ragnar Lothbrok, a young Viking warrior whose yearning to explore new worlds puts him at odds with both his local chieftain and the long-held traditions of his people. Visit our new show site for tons of amazing content about Vikings, including dozens of videos, photos, character bios and a new infographic that explores the mythology of the Viking world. You can also catch up on the series with full episodes and an exclusive video series that you takes you inside of each episode with series creator Michael Hirst.

Check out some of our favorite clips below:

Find out more about Viking ships.

Who were the Viking shield-maidens?

How did the Vikings prepare for war?

The Bible (Sundays at 8/7c)
This new 10-hour docudrama utilizes cutting-edge imagery to offer new insights into some of the world’s most iconic characters and stories, including Noah and the ark, the Exodus and the life of Jesus. Check out the new show site for photo galleries, character bios and more. Each week we’ll also be posting video recaps and sneak peeks of next week’s episode.

Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the show:

• Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel)

   

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  A young Viking warrior and farmer, Ragnar believes he is destined for greatness. Frustrated by the restrictive policies of his local chieftain, Earl Haraldson, he is convinced that great riches lie to the west and resolves to sail across the ocean to find them.

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• Earl Haraldson (Gabriel Byrne)

   

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  This local chieftain’s past as a great warrior earned him his important position. Unwilling to risk losing his valuable ships by sending his raiders west, he becomes embroiled in a struggle for power and glory with the ambitious Ragnar.

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• Lagertha (Katheryn Winnick)

   

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  Ragnar’s devoted wife is a powerful and well-known shield-maiden who has often battled alongside her husband and fellow Viking fighters. She is determined to help Ragnar succeed in his ambitions.

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• Rollo (Clive Standen)

   

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  A fearsome warrior with a wild, impulsive streak, Rollo has begun to grow jealous of his increasingly prominent brother Ragnar. Though Ragnar has promised Rollo they will always be equals, tensions constantly threaten their relationship.

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• Siggy (Jessalyn Gilsig)

   

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  Earl Haraldson’s beautiful, enigmatic wife is much admired and performs her duties impeccably. She recognizes that her husband has a worthy opponent in Ragnar and encourages the earl’s efforts to best him.

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• Floki (Gustaf Skarsgard)

   

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  A boat builder and incorrigible trickster, Floki is Ragnar’s closest friend. Committed to helping Ragnar sail west, he secretly designs and builds a new generation of Viking longboats.

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• Athelstan (George Blagden)

   

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  This young Christian monk finds himself in an unfamiliar world after the Vikings raid his monastery. Athelstan is brought to live in Viking society and struggles to maintain his beliefs in an environment very different from his home across the sea.

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• Bjorn (Nathan O’Toole)

   

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  At 12, the first-born son of Ragnar and Lagertha has just come of age in Viking society. He yearns to be a warrior like his father, but his youth and inexperience hold him back.

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He was fiercely proud of his Jewish faith. He fiercely defended the City of New York, and he fiercely loved its people.
Above all, he loved his country, the United States of America, in whose armed forces he served in World War II.

This got us thinking about how other historical figures have been posthumously remembered. Here’s a look at some of the stories we unearthed from beyond the grave.

Winston Churchill
The British statesman and prime minister’s biting wit and sharp tongue were well known throughout his lifetime and the caustic Churchill frequently clashed with other politicians and even fellow aristocrats. In one memorable exchange, Nancy Astor, the American-born debutante who married into Britain’s upper class and later became the first female member of Parliament, rebuked Churchill for his behavior, stating: “Sir, if you were my husband, I would give you poison.” Not to be outdone, Churchill chirped right back, responding, “If I were your husband I would take it.” When Churchill died in January 1965, he conceded that he might not be so easy to get along with it—especially for all eternity:

I am ready to meet my Maker.
Whether my Maker is prepared for the great ordeal of meeting me is another matter.

Spike Milligan
Another famed British wit, comedian and writer Spike Milligan, left behind an admonition for friends and family on his tombstone. Milligan, who rocketed to fame with the influential comedy program “The Goon Show,” suffered from bi-polar disorder for much of his life before finally succumbing to kidney failure in 2002. Along with the usual commemoration of dates of birth and death, Mulligan opted to chide those who had doubted his precarious health. There was one problem: The East Sussex cemetery he had selected for his final resting place refused to comply, considering his request offensive. Mulligan’s family eventually agreed to include a Gaelic translation of Mulligan’s parting words, which now appear at the base of the tombstone:

I told you I was ill.

Dorothy Parker
While we’re on the subject of witty writers, let’s discuss the 20-year post-mortem saga of Mrs. Parker. Upon her death in 1967, Parker, a lifelong advocate for racial equality, left her estate to civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.—despite the fact that the two had never met. In the case of King’s death, her will stipulated that the estate go to the NAACP, which is exactly what happened the following year. While Parker made careful provisions for her literary legacy, she failed to do the same for her physical one. Parker chose as her executor fellow author Lillian Hellman, who failed terrifically in her role as posthumous caretaker. Not only did Hellman hold a public funeral—against Parker’s express wishes— she also refused to collect Parker’s ashes following her cremation. Hellman then proceeded to spend more than a decade unsuccessfully suing the NAACP for control of Parker’s valuable estate. All the while, poor Dorothy’s remains remained in storage. Finally, in 1988, the NAACP claimed the ashes and finally put Parker to rest—not in her beloved New York City—but at their Baltimore, Maryland, headquarters. The memorial plaque pays tribute to Parker’s social advocacy, but also includes the appropriately pithy epitaph she chose for herself:

Excuse my dust.

Thomas Jefferson
Of course, one of the most famous examples of the self-penned epitaph comes from one of America’s best-loved founding fathers. Always a perfectionist, Jefferson decided exactly what should be included on his tombstone at Monticello. A proud Virginian to the end, Jefferson chose to highlight the work he had done on behalf of the Old Dominion, omitting a rather important part of Jefferson’s resume—his tenure as America’s third president:

Here was buried Thomas Jefferson,
author of the Declaration of American Independence,
of the statute of Virginia for religious freedom,
and father of the University of Virginia.

Benjamin Franklin
Sometimes a planned epitaph can fall by the wayside. As a young man, Franklin confided to his diary what he wanted written on his tombstone. Weaving together his work as one of the colonies’ premier publishers with his lifelong goal of constant self-improvement, he chose:

The Body of B. Franklin, Printer; like the Cover of an old Book, Its Contents torn out, And stript of its Lettering and Gilding, Lies here, Food for Worms.
But the Work shall not be wholly lost; For it will, as he believ’d, appear once more, In a new & more perfect Edition, Corrected and amended By the Author.

That’s not quite how it worked out, though. Franklin, never one to shy away from self-promotion, was surprisingly modest when he made his final wishes known—his grave in Philadelphia’s Christ Church cemetery simply reads, “Benjamin and Deborah Franklin.”

Ludolph van Ceulen
Others haven’t been so self-effacing. Dutch mathematician van Ceulen was happy to brag about his greatest achievement—one of the most comprehensive calculations of the numerical value of Pi, or π. After he died in 1610, he had the 35 characters he had discovered included on his tombstone:

3.14159265358979323846264338327950288…

The Outlaws
Sometimes family members decide to overlook the negative aspects of a person’s life. For example, when Jesse James was murdered by supposed friend and fellow gang member Robert Ford in April 1882, his bereaved mother chose to commemorate her son with these words:

Murdered by a traitor and a coward whose name is not worthy to appear here.

Famed (and doomed) outlaws Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow lived, robbed and died together, but despite their wishes were buried in separate Dallas, Texas cemeteries. Bonnie’s grave reflects how she wished to be remembered.

As the flowers are all made sweeter by the sunshine and the dew, so this old world is made brighter by the lives of folks like you.
Outlaw, bank robber and partner of Clyde Barrow

Clyde’s however, makes no mention of Bonnie at all:

Gone but not forgotten.

Shakespeare and Keats
Leave it the literary lions to come up with some of the most potent funereal prose. For a man whose works are full of curses, ghosts, murderers and otherworldly figures, it’s perhaps not surprising that William Shakespeare hoped to ensure an undisturbed sleep in the afterlife with these words of warning:

Good Friend, for Jesus’ sake forbear
To dig the dust enclosed here:
Blessed be the man that spares these stones,
And curst be he that moves my bones.

More than 300 years later John Keats did not go quietly into the night, but instead offered up this attack against his perceived enemies.

This Grave contains all that was Mortal of a Young English Poet
Who on his Death Bed in the Bitterness of his Heart at the Malicious Power of his Enemies
Desired these words to be engraved on his Tomb Stone
“Here lies One Whose Name was writ in Water.”

The Entertainers
Many entertainers wind up cribbing lines from their most popular works. That’s what Rat Packers Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin did for their respective curtain calls; “The best is yet to come” and “Everybody loves somebody sometime.” Others choose a more sentimental farewell, like the husband-and-wife team of George Burns and Gracie Allen. When Gracie died in 1964, George continued on his own until his own death in 1998—at which point their joint crypt was marked with two simple words, “Together Again.”

Few can top Mel Blanc, though. The legendary Blanc was the voice of dozens of Warner Brothers cartoon characters, and chose for his epitaph one of Porky Pig’s signature lines:

That’s All  Folks.

The nine-part series, our first scripted series, tells the story of Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel), a young raider in search of new worlds to conquer. It’s a quest that pits him against more traditional leaders of his tribe, including chieftain Earl Haraldson (Gabriel Byrne), leading to a clash between the methods of the old and the ideas of the new. For the Vikings, you can’t become a legend without a fight.

Written and created by Michael Hirst, Vikings stars Travis Fimmel, Gabriel Byrne, Jessalyn Gilsig, Gustaf Skarsgard, Clive Standen, Katheryn Winnick and George Blagden.

Find out more about the show and get exclusive content on our all-new Vikings site below:

You can also check out the sneak peek video here:

Don’t forget to check back often. We’ll be adding new content as we gear up for the premiere!

NFL Nickname
Baltimore: A dozen years after the Baltimore Colts slinked off to Indianapolis in 1984, the Baltimore Ravens arrived in Charm City. In the competition to name its new franchise, fans wisely bypassed two generic choices, Marauders and Americans, for a moniker paying homage to one of Baltimore’s most notable former residents, Edgar Allan Poe. Baltimore’s nickname alludes to Poe’s famous poem “The Raven.” Since death has fittingly suited Poe better than life ever did, cities are increasingly eager to lay claim to him. But while the poet was born in Boston and achieved his greatest success while living in New York and Philadelphia, Baltimore is his final resting place and, given his macabre proclivities, the place he’d likely consider home.

San Francisco: Will Rogers aptly said San Francisco was “the city that was never a town,” and that was thanks to the “forty-niners” who stampeded to California in the Gold Rush that peaked in 1849. As a violent epidemic of gold fever swept across America and the world, swarms of prospectors and gold dust worth millions poured into San Francisco, transforming a frontier outpost of less than 1,000 people in early 1848 into a boomtown of 25,000 by the end of 1849. The San Francisco 49ers nickname honors that heritage, although it long ago ditched its original logo of a grizzly goldminer in boots and a lumberjack shirt firing a pair of pistols, Yosemite Sam style.

Edge: Baltimore by a beak.

Namesakes

Dean Birinyi/iStockphoto.com

Baltimore: The original three-street town founded in 1729 was named in honor of British nobleman Cecil Calvert, the second Baron of Baltimore and a founding proprietor of the colony of Maryland. Lord Baltimore’s younger brother Leonard Calvert was Maryland’s first colonial governor.

San Francisco: When the Spanish arrived in 1776, they erected a mission in honor of Saint Francis of Assisi, San Francisco de Asís, along with a small town dubbed Yerba Buena (Spanish for “good herb”) for the wild, aromatic mint plants that grew in the surrounding hillside meadows. After the United States claimed Yerba Buena during the Mexican-American War, it rebranded the town San Francisco in 1847.

Edge: San Francisco. Nobody remembers Cecil Calvert.

Native Sports Legend

Joe Dimaggio/Babe Ruth (Getty Images)

Baltimore: A bambino named George Herman Ruth, Jr., was born in a small Baltimore row house on February 6, 1895. The Babe’s love of baseball blossomed at St. Mary’s Industrial School, and in 1914 he suited up for the minor league Baltimore Orioles before getting the call to the big leagues. The site of one of the bars operated by Babe Ruth’s father is now center field at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.

San Francisco: Baseball Hall of Famer Joe DiMaggio grew up near San Francisco’s iconic Fisherman’s Wharf, where his father tied up his fishing boat that plied the bay. The New York Yankee outfielder married actress Dorothy Arnold in 1939 at Saints Peter and Paul Church in the city’s North Beach neighborhood, and in 1954 “The Yankee Clipper” eloped with Marilyn Monroe at San Francisco City Hall.

Edge: Baltimore. Two greats, but Ruth is baseball’s gold standard.

Disasters

San Francisco Earthquake damage, 1906.

Baltimore: On the morning of February 7, 1904, winds whipped a small blaze in the business district into a massive inferno. The Great Baltimore Fire raged for 30 hours and destroyed an 80-block area of downtown. While more than 1,500 buildings were incinerated and another 1,000 severely damaged, there was incredibly no loss of life in the city’s worst disaster.

San Francisco: As most San Franciscans slumbered on April 18, 1906, the earth suddenly heaved and furrowed at 5:12 A.M. Hundreds of buildings instantly collapsed. But the worst was yet to come. Flames that erupted from burst gas mains set fire to the city’s literal tinderbox of wooden structures. Making things much worse for firefighters, the earthquake severed water mains. The three-day conflagration reduced nearly 500 city blocks, one-third of San Francisco, to rubble. The unofficial death toll was 3,000, and a quarter of a million people were left homeless. Reporting from the scene of the disaster for Collier’s, Jack London wrote, “Not in history has a modern imperial city been so completely destroyed. San Francisco is gone.”

Edge: San Francisco wins this dubious round.

Wartime History

Baltimore's Inner Harbor (iStockphoto.com)

Baltimore: After setting Washington, D.C., ablaze during the War of 1812, British forces launched an unsuccessful two-pronged attack on Baltimore. The land assault began on September 12, 1814. The next day, the British fleet unleashed its artillery on Fort McHenry, a bombardment that lasted into the night. By dawn’s early light, Francis Scott Key spied the American flag still fluttering over the bastion, and the successful defense of Fort McHenry inspired him to write “The Star-Spangled Banner,” which became the words to the national anthem in 1931. (The first monument to Francis Scott Key was erected not in Baltimore, though, but in San Francisco.)

San Francisco: On July 9, 1846, just weeks after the outbreak of the Mexican-American War, village residents, numbering no more than 200, dashed to the windows of their shanties as drums and fifes sounded outside. They watched as United States soldiers and marines hoisted the Stars and Stripes over the central plaza and seized the town with no resistance from the handful of Mexicans in the lightly guarded presidio. The only shots fired were the 21-gun salute from the USS Portsmouth that thundered around the bay.

Edge: Baltimore. Alicia Keys will sing “The Star-Spangled Banner” before the kickoff of Super Bowl XLVII. Enough said.

As we mark this landmark’s centennial, explore the history of Grand Central Terminal in photos and videos.

Find out everything you need to know with Grand Central Terminal: Deconstructed

Did you know that Grand Central is home to the largest Tiffany stained glass clock in the world?

Find out more about the iconic clock in the middle of Grand Central.

Did you know that Hitler once sent spies to destroy the Grand Central train system?

Followers of the Ayatollah Khomeini outside the occupied U.S. embassy compound, November 1979. (STAFF/AFP/Getty Images)

How accurate is the depiction of the taking of the U.S. embassy by Iranian militants?
According to witnesses-—including many of the 52 Americans hostages-—the film’s opening sequence accurately portrays the chaotic takeover of the embassy compound on November 4, 1979. The filmmakers utilized newsreels of the actual event interspersed with new footage to recreate the events. And while the film focuses almost entirely on the six Americans who were not taken hostage, the few scenes of Americans who remained in captivity take only a few historical licenses: The Islamic militants did put young carpet weavers to work reassembling documents shredded by Americans as the mob approached, but there is no evidence that they discovered the identities of the missing Americans this way. What you don’t see in the early part of the film, however, is that there were actually two groups of embassy workers who tried to escape–the group of six who become the focal point of the film, as well as another, smaller group. This second group never made it to safety; they were quickly apprehended by the militants and brought back to the American embassy where they remained in captivity for 444 days.

Was the Canadian film ruse the only option the Americans had to choose from?
In the movie, the U.S. government comes up with several possible scenarios to smuggle the hostages out, eventually discarding them all in favor of the Hollywood hoax. In fact, a number of different options were prepared and when Tony Mendez traveled to Tehran he presented three of them to the six American hostages. The hostages were skeptical of the other two, which involved impersonating either businessmen or schoolteachers, as was Mendez. They all felt the fictional film crew backstory was the most developed, and together with Mendez they moved forward with that scheme.

If anything is fictionalized, it’s the Hollywood stuff, right?
While Los Angeles is the land of make-believe, the movie plays it pretty straight when it comes to Hollywood’s role in the plan to spring the Americans hiding in Iran. Renowned makeup artist John Chambers really was on the CIA’s payroll. Chambers and Tony Mendez did set up a fake film company that claimed to be producing a fantasy film called “Argo.” There were ads taken out in the trade papers to make it look more convincing. And there were people waiting around to answer phone calls from curious Iranian officials should the need arise. However, the producer played by Alan Arkin is a composite of a number of media people recruited to work on the project. The movie script that becomes the launch pad for the mission was not called “Argo,” and Tony Mendez didn’t discover it. The real story of the fake movie is even more complicated. The screenplay was originally called Lord of Light, and had been adapted from a popular 1968 sci-fi book by screenwriter Barry Ira Geller. But Geller had more than just a movie in mind. Lord of Light was going to be the launching pad for a science fiction theme park he intended to build in Colorado, and his project had lots of successful talent attached: Legendary comic book artist Jack Kirby, who had co-created characters such as Captain America, the X-Men and the Hulk, designed storyboards for the film and theme park, and both author Ray Bradbury and theorist Buckminster Fuller consulted on the project. When Geller’s plans went awry amid accusations of fraud, the movie—and theme park—ideas collapsed. When Tony Mendez was searching for script to use as part of the project, it was Chambers, who had also worked with Geller, who suggested Lord of Light.

Did that nice Canadian ambassador save American lives?

The six Americans rescued from Iran meet with President Jimmy Carter.

Well, yes and no. The six Americans who escaped: Bob Anders, Mark and Cora Lijek, Lee Schatz and Joe and Kathy Stafford, did not rush immediately to the home of Canadian ambassador Ken Taylor. Lee Schatz split off from the group and initially went into hiding with some helpful Swedish friends. The rest of the group spent more than a week hiding out in Tehran, moving from location to location (including a few nights spent with British and New Zealand officials) before phoning a friend, Canadian consular official John Sheardown. It was Sheardown who invited them into the protection of Canadian custody. Sheardown then contacted Ken Taylor who obtained official permission to shelter the Americans for as long as necessary. The entire group didn’t even stay with Taylor, but were instead split up between the ambassador’s residence and Sheardown’s house and spent little time together. It’s Sheardown, who is not included in the movie at all, who the American workers credit with initial saving their lives.

How involved was Canada in the plot?
Our neighbors to the north actually played a far bigger role than depicted on the big screen. In “Argo,” the six hostages are shown camping out at the home of Canadian ambassador Ken Taylor for the duration of the film, simply waiting for American assistance. In fact, Canadian officials devised some of the earliest evacuation scenarios; provided intelligence information about how to evade detection at Tehran’s airport; bought the plane tickets used to get the prisoners out; and spent weeks instructing their guests on the finer points of passing as a Canuck. And it was a Canadian consular officer who saved the day when he realized that the entry visas created by Mendez were incorrect—the CIA had failed to take into account that New Year’s is celebrated during the spring in Iran, and the U.S. documents bore the wrong year and had to be fixed at the last minute. On screen it’s the U.S. government officials who are seen questioning the rescue mission, and that happened across the border as well. Just issuing the passports that the Americans used during the ruse caused quite a stir in the Canadian government, and it took a clandestine, fractious, late-night session of Parliament, the first since World War II, to get the official go-ahead for the paperwork.

President Carter congratulates CIA operative Tony Mendez in the Oval Office.

Were the Americans nearly caught during the escape itself?
There are a few details in the latter parts of the film, both large and small, that are purely fictitious. Tony Mendez did not take the group to a market in central Tehran to meet with Iranian officials. That would have been far too dangerous. The only time the group left their safe houses at all was for the trip to the airport that ends the film. It is true that the group did not have the necessary paperwork to get past one of the checkpoints, but the Canadians had already determined that the Iranian guards rarely tried to match that form of documentation. There was no potential glitch with airplane tickets, because in real-life the Canadians themselves had purchased the tickets, not the CIA. There was some delay in getting the group on board the Swiss air flight, but that was due to maintenance problems, not some last-minute questioning of the Americans’ true identities. In fact, after all of the groundwork the CIA and Canada had done to make both “Argo” and its film crew appear legitimate, Iranian officials never questioned them at all, let alone chased them down the tarmac. In the end, the mission went off without a hitch.

Find out more about Dr. King’s legacy, explore his life in photos and delve deeper into the history of the civil rights movement to find out how King and other activists used nonviolent protest, civil disobedience and legal action to end segregation and pursue equality for all Americans.

Check out some exclusive MLK videos below:

Get the full story behind the March on Washington.

Find out how Dr. King’s birthday became a national holiday.

Watch footage of the 1965 Selma to Montgomery march.

Martin Luther King III discusses his father’s legacy.

How realistic is the very first scene?
There’s almost no way the opening scene of the film, which shows two African-American soldiers meeting Lincoln at a Union camp, and reciting the Gettysburg Address to its author, happened. It’s a wonderful set-up, but highly unlikely. Why? Because during Lincoln’s lifetime, few Americans had even heard of the speech, let alone committed its 273 words to memory. It was only after the war that his words took on the resonance they have today. This isn’t terribly surprising when you look at the events surrounding Lincoln’s delivery of the speech in November 1863, at the dedication for the national cemetery at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. There was no build-up to Lincoln’s speech: In fact, he wasn’t even originally scheduled to speak, and was only invited to at the last minute by one of the organizers. The real draw was meant to be Edward Everett, one of the greatest orators of the day. And Everett tried to live up to the star billing, delivering a long-winded speech that went on for more than two hours Lincoln’s speech, which lasted less than three minutes, didn’t wow the crowd—or reporters covering the event. Everett felt differently, however, going so far as to send the president a letter in which he proclaimed that Lincoln’s words would be remembered long after his own.

What’s with that voice—and the constant jokes?
When the first trailer for the film was released, one of the first things people commented on was Daniel Day-Lewis’ speaking voice. Well, here’s one place where the film has probably corrected the faux-history Hollywood has shelled out over the last 100 years. Unlike what your childhood memories of other Lincoln movies, plays and, yes, animatronic figures, might say, most historians believe Lincoln’s voice was not deep and soothing, but was actually rather high-pitched and reedy, with a pretty strong Kentucky accent. In fact, in one of his first major addresses on the national scene, at New York’s Cooper Union in 1860, newspaper articles report that his voice was so odd and off-putting that it took awhile for the audience to adjust and actually pay attention to what he was actually saying. Another thing the film gets right, according to the historical record, is Lincoln’s use of both allegorical storytelling and self-deprecating humor to put people at ease and gain their support. As a young man, Lincoln often entertained his friends and colleagues with tall tales and jokes, including the one featured in the movie about Ethan Allen, which was one of Lincoln’s favorites.

Was Lincoln always a strong supporter of the abolition of slavery?
Put quite simply, no. The movie begins in early 1865, when Lincoln has fully committed himself to getting the 13th amendment passed to formally abolish slavery in the United States. However, Lincoln, like many Americans, struggled with both the idea and reality of slavery for much of his life. While he found the practice itself immoral, he saw no easy way for America to solve the problem—either culturally or politically. In some of his early writings and speeches, he opposed the expansion of slavery, but stopped short of calling for its outright abolition. He also, at times, supported the then-popular idea of freed blacks voluntarily leaving the United States to settle in black-only colonies in Africa. Even early in the war, Lincoln went on record to state that his sole goal was the preservation of the Union stating, “If I could save the Union without freeing any slave I would do it, and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone I would also do that.” As the war went on, however, his views continued to change. With thousands of slaves fleeing to safety (and freedom) behind Union lines, and under increasing pressure from abolitionists and more radical members of his own Republican party, he was finally able to find what he saw as the right political (and moral) solution to the problem. Convinced that the Constitution granted him greatly expanded powers during wartime, he issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which in fact freed only a few slaves in southern territory already under Union control. As the film accurately shows, Lincoln did fear that the proclamation could easily be overturned once the war ended, leading to his full-court press to get the 13th amendment passed before it did.

Did Lincoln really bribe congressmen to get their votes?
“Bribe” might be too strong of a word, but let’s just say there were a whole lot of back-room deals going on.
As shown in the film, newly elected Pennsylvania Congressman Alexander Coffroth, whose election had been in dispute, was finally admitted to the House after he agreed to vote for the 13th amendment. Several other congressmen got plum patronage jobs in exchange for their votes—or their agreement to abstain from voting all together (lowering the number of “yes” votes needed for the bill’s passage). One congressman who switched his vote was even named ambassador to Denmark for his quick change. As for the trio of men who are hired to wrangle votes? W.N. Bilbo is based on a real Washington lobbyist, but his (and his cohort’s) role is exaggerated. In reality, it was Secretary of State William Seward and other Lincoln confidantes who handled much of the dirty work and kept track of the votes needed to pass the amendment.

How real is the depiction of Congress?
Congress was certainly a much livelier place in the 19th century, with heated debates occurring regularly. The film does take a few liberties, however. Several times, House members verbally attack each other during debates over the amendment. However, then, as now, members are not permitted to address each other directly, but rather technically address their statements to the presiding congressman, not each other. Also, when casting a final vote, neither the House nor Senate voted by state delegations; voting has always been done in alphabetical order.

Did the public really come out to see the final vote?
Yes, but not quite how the film portrays it. Several blacks crowded the House gallery on that fateful day, including one of Frederick Douglass’ sons. There were also a large number of women in attendance, which was not normally the case. However, considering the high-profile role women had played in trying to end slavery, it’s perhaps not so surprising. In fact, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, who would go on to lead the fight for women’s suffrage, actually got their start in the abolitionist movement. In 1863, they helped form the Women’s Loyal National League, the first national political organization run by women. They lobbied hard for the amendment’s passage, collecting more than 400,000 signatures in its support. They were not present for the bill’s final passage—but then again, neither was Mary Todd Lincoln, contrary to what the film portrays.

Where’s Frederick Douglass in all this?
That’s what a lot of people are asking. One of the primary complaints with the film is that while the movie is focused almost exclusively on the fight to permanently free blacks from bondage, very few African Americans are featured in the film. The most glaring omission seems to be that of Frederick Douglass, the former slave turned powerful abolitionist. It was Douglass, along with other reformers—black and white—who pressured Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation, allow for the enlistment of African-American troops and, later, pushed hard for a constitutional amendment formally ending slavery. Douglass was a persistent nudge on the matter, visiting Lincoln at the White House on at least three occasions, including at least once in the time period depicted in the film. Yet he’s nowhere to be found on screen. There are a few African-American figures that do make it into the final cut: William Slade and Elizabeth Keckley (sometimes spelled Keckly), both employed as servants by the Lincoln family. Both were real historical figures, but little information about their lives is provided. Slade served as both a valet and trusted messenger for both the president and his family, organizing most White House entertainments and managing the rest of the African-American staff. Following Lincoln’s assassination, he went on to serve as the first public steward of the White House under Andrew Johnson. Elizabeth Keckley has an even more fascinating background, hardly mentioned in the film. Born a slave, she managed to save enough money from her work as a seamstress to buy freedom for both her and her son, eventually establishing herself as one of Washington, D.C.’s premier dressmakers. In January 1861, she met Mary Todd Lincoln, who hired her to design the new first lady’s lavish wardrobe. Keckley and Lincoln became close friends, a relationship that would last into Lincoln’s troubled widowhood, until the publication of Keckley’s memoirs, which depicted her life as a slave and offered up personal details of her time in the Lincoln White House—greatly irritating the former first lady. As a side note, if you’re interested in the relationship between Mrs. Lincoln and Mrs. Keckley, you might enjoy this book—it’s a great read.

Join us next week, when we’ll tackle the true story behind “Argo.”

Les Misérables is about the French Revolution, right?
No. But considering how many adaptations there have been of Victor Hugo’s 1862 masterpiece in the last 150 years, it would be easy to assume that the movie depicts the most important event in French history. In reality, the conflict covered on the big screen is a small, failed insurrection that was, in the grand historical scheme of things, pretty insignificant. In fact, it’s likely that without Hugo’s novel, nobody outside of a French classroom would have even heard of the 1832 June Rebellion that serves as the climax of the film. The movie technically covers more than 30 years of French history, but few events of the era are even mentioned, let alone explained in any depth—unlike Hugo’s book, which delves much deeper into France’s tumultuous past. This leaves viewers with little understanding of just why people are caught up in revolutionary fervor.

Author Victor Hugo (Getty Images)

What history is left out of the film?
While Jean Valjean and Inspector Javert square off against each other over the course of three decades, there’s a whole lot of history that winds up on the cutting room floor. The French Revolution and subsequent Reign of Terror, the rise and fall of Napoleon Bonaparte, the restoration of one monarchy (the Bourbons) in 1814 and the overthrow of the Bourbons for yet another monarchy—this time the Orléans—in 1830. Even in times of relative peace, there are near-constant small-scale rebellions (similar to the one shown in the film) breaking out all over the place. That’s not to say that France held a revolution every week, but it was a pretty miserable, unstable place to be most of the time. All of these things are happening in the real France, while a lot of singing and emotional hand wringing are going on in the film version. The movie finally picks up the historical narrative in 1832, just in time for the June Rebellion.

What was the June Rebellion?
Supporters of the 1830 revolution had hoped that the Orléansist regime would be more liberal than its predecessors, but were soon bitterly disappointed when the new regime proved just as hostile to the ideals of liberty as the last—there was a lot of buyer’s remorse going around. A series of strikes in 1831 crippled parts of the French economy, causing food shortages in some regions. In early 1832, a cholera epidemic swept through the country, killing more than 18,000 in Paris alone. Rumors abounded that the government, in an attempt to quell political dissent among the poor, was poisoning the wells of the slums (they weren’t). As shown in the movie, a group of rebels (mostly students, but not all) used the opportunity of the June 1832 death of General Jean Maximilien Lamarque as a rallying cry and call to arms. Lamarque was a military leader who had once fought alongside Napoleon and initially supported the Orléans monarchy before turning against its reactionary leaders, which earned him the admiration of the student leaders depicted in Les Misérables.

Illustration depicting 1832 June Rebellion

Did the rebellion really happen that way?
The group depicted in the film is based on real opposition leaders, though the characters themselves are fiction. The film is also pretty accurate in its depiction of the rebellion itself. In reality, it was scattered and disorganized—because it had to be. French law prohibited the assembly of more than 20 people, a statute directly aimed at potential revolutionaries. The barricades really did go up that fast, some in less than 20 minutes. The support for the rebellion from their fellow French that its leaders were relying on failed to materialize. And very, very quickly all of the barricades—save one—fell to the French army or were abandoned. In less than 12 hours, just one outpost remained standing, which was soon overrun by the French army on June 6. Nearly 100 leaders of the insurrection were killed, and another 300 wounded. Many of those who survived were later tried for treason and executed. Both the book and movie end their stories there, but the 1832 rebellion was just the beginning of a much larger movement underfoot. Sixteen years after the events that cap off Les Misérables, yet another revolution swept through France, finally doing away with the Orléans regime in favor of a government led by Louis-Napoleon, the nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte. Initially a popularly elected leader, he would soon lead a coup d’état that found him crowned emperor (as Napoleon III) of the newly created Second Empire. We know, it’s complicated.

Front cover of first edition of Les Misérables (Getty Images)

Why did Hugo write about such an unimportant moment in history?
Hugo had a personal connection to the events of 1832. When fighting broke out on June 5, he was writing in a nearby garden when he heard shots ring out. Rushing to the scene, he was forced to take cover in an alleyway as the two sides began trading fire. He was trapped there, in the middle of the fighting, for nearly an hour before he was able to escape unharmed. Already an ardent supporter of the republican goals, he found himself further caught up in their cause, and eventually he too would take up arms during the 1848 Revolution, finding himself positioned at the barricades just as the student leaders in the movie do. It was around this time that Hugo, already a popular poet, finally began work on Les Misérables—a process that would take more than a decade. When word got out that the author was working on a grand epic covering the last 50 years of French history, nearly everyone’s curiosity was piqued. Two years before a single word was published, newspapers around the world, including The New York Times, were discussing the book. When the first parts of it finally came out in 1862, it caused an immediate sensation. In Paris, armed guards were called in to control unruly crowds who swarmed bookstores to get their copies. The book was a worldwide smash, and despite a few negative reviews from critics and fellow authors, Hugo’s reputation as one of the 19th centuries greatest authors was solidified.

Illustration from first edition, featuring the character Cosette (Getty Images)

Can’t get enough of the story? There’s a lot more of it out there.
Les Misérables, it would seem, was destined to become a phenomena from the start. The book been fodder for popular entertainment for more than a century, and has been adapted to nearly every medium. It’s been turned into one-act plays as well as massive stage epics (both with and without singing revolutionaries). There have been radio adaptations, including a seven-part series written and produced by a 22-year-old Orson Welles. More than 60 film and television versions have been made, in a dozen languages. There have even been video games and a series of animated films produced by the Soviet Union in the 1960s and 70s. Yep, somewhere out there is a claymation version of the story featuring Comrade Cosette.

In the decades following the American Civil War, tensions between the West Virginia-based Hatfields and the Kentucky McCoys had periodically erupted with deadly violence as the two families feuded over land, jobs, and even divided family loyalties. On January 1, 1888, a group of Hatfields, led by the son and uncle of family patriarch William Anderson “Devil Anse” Hatfield, ambushed the Pike County, Kentucky, home of Randolph McCoy. “Ole Randall” escaped into the woods, but his family wasn’t so lucky: Son Calvin and daughter Alifair were killed in the crossfire, and his wife Sarah was badly beaten. The attack thrust the long-simmering feud into the national headlines. After a series of legal wranglings that went all the way to the Supreme Court, eight men were sentenced to life in prison for their role in the massacre, while another, Ellison “Cottontop” Mounts was hanged—despite the belief of many that the mentally-challenged Mounts was merely a scapegoat. The massacre and subsequent trials seemed to finally accomplish what law enforcement officials had been unable to do—put an end to the bloody conflict that had festered between the two families for more than 20 years.

So, what exactly did the excavation turn up? A stash of bullets—believed to have been fired by the McCoys in self-defense—buried in a bluff overlooking the family home. In addition to the bullets, researchers also located ceramic shards, pieces of glass and charred wood, which they claim were damaged during the fiery attack. Additional research uncovered another link to tale: The land is currently owned by Hatfield descendant Bob Scott, but public records indicate that in 1888, the plot was owned by Randolph and Sarah “Sally” McCoy. Researchers hope to uncover additional historical material during future excavations.

Get the full story behind the feud here. And check out some of our exclusive Hatfields & McCoys content below:

Hatfields & McCoys: Who’s Who
Find out more about both families with our interactive family trees, which includes brief bios and exclusive video for all the major participants in one of America’s most famous family feuds.

Hatfields & McCoys Trivia
Think you know you know all there is to know about Devil Anse and Ol’ Randall? Test your knowledge of all things Hatfield and McCoy with our interactive trivia game.

Find out why violence came so easily to the Hatfield & McCoy families.

Watch the cast and crew discuss the significance of this epic feud.

Find out more about the construction the Brooklyn Bridge, which was once nicknamed the “eighth wonder of the world,” below.

• Celebrating 100 Years

   

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  Fireworks mark the Brooklyn Bridge's Centennial in 1983. (Getty Images)

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• Designing the Bridge

   

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  Portion of John Roebling's original drawings for the Brooklyn Bridge.

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• Construction Underway

   

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  It took more than 13 years to complete the bridge, at a cost of $15 million (more than $320 million in today's dollars).

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• Washington and Emily Roebling

   

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  Washington Roebling oversaw construction of the bridge after the death of his father John. Washington's wife, Emily, would see the project to its completion when Washington developed compression sickness, also known as "the bends."

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• On the Job

   

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  More than 600 men worked on the bridge—and 27 of them died during its construction.

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• Opening Day Ceremony

   

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  New Yorkers flocked to the May 24, 1883 official opening of the Brooklyn Bridge.

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• Invitation to Bridge's Opening

   

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  Engraved invitations (created by Tiffany & Co.) invited New York luminaries to the May 24, 1883 opening of the Brooklyn Bridge.

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• Elephants on the Move

   

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  Shortly after the bridge's opening, impresario P.T. Barnum led 21 elephants across its span to prove it was safe. His famed elephant Jumbo led the procession.

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Linking the borough of Brooklyn with Manhattan, the Brooklyn Bridge stands as a marvel of engineering.

5 Things You May Not Know About Lincoln, Slavery and Emancipation
Earlier this year, we marked the 150th anniversary of Lincoln’s preliminary Proclamation, examining five facts about the 16th U.S. president and his policies on slavery.

Civil War 150 Interactive
The CIVIL WAR 150 is an immersive online experience, featuring infographics, historian picks and topical information, that highlights the 150 people, places, events and technology that defined America’s greatest conflict.

What you think you know about the Civil War may not be the whole truth.

Find out what event turned the tide of the Civil War.

What was the lasting legacy of the Civil War?

Bet You Didn’t Know

We bet you didn’t know that fact you just saw. We didn’t either until we started working on one of our favorite features for this year—the new Bet You Didn’t Know™ interactive, a collection of hundreds of fascinating facts covering all aspects of history. The interactive lets you browse facts at random, sort by theme, share with friends and even check out the BYDK Top 20, our most popular facts. Check it out and get ready to impress your friends!

Infographics, Infographics and More Infographics

We just love infographics—and we get pretty excited every time we start a new one. We got ready for the premiere of the new series Shark Wranglers by telling you everything you needed to know about Great White Sharks and explored one of history’s infamous maritime disasters with Titanic by the Numbers. We followed the epic journey of Mankind The Story of All of Us with a weekly infographic series that covered pyramids, ancient Rome, the story of money and the age of exploration, before wrapping up with a closer look at our modern world with Mankind by the Numbers. And, of course, we always bring you the greatest facts about your favorite holidays—this year it was Valentine’s Day, Thanksgiving and New Year’s.

You Want Apps? We’ve Got Apps!

HISTORY App

This spring we launched the HISTORY Here App, an interactive travel guide to thousands of historic locations across the United States. The easy-to-use interface and dynamic maps bring history to life anywhere in the country with videos, images and descriptions. We followed that up with a companion mobile version of Bet You Didn’t Know, which includes all of our cool facts plus exclusive video, photos and interactives we produced for the series Mankind The Story of All of Us. And just last week, we launched the biggest one of all—the new HISTORY App. Now you can watch your favorite HISTORY shows—including Pawn Stars, Swamp People and much more—whenever and wherever you want. Get full episodes, clips and topical videos, all available for free! New video is added daily so you’ll always have something to watch. Go ahead, you can thank us.

Hear History Unfold

Featuring more than 600 clips covering the worlds of politics, sports, science, entertainment and more, our all-new Speeches and Audio section is the place to hear history’s most iconic moments and important events unfold.

Deconstructing Our World: One Place at a Time

History: Deconstructed gives you all the facts and figures on history’s most famous places, statues and structures. This year alone we tackled the Taj Mahal, Empire State Building, Golden Gate Bridge and Hoover Dam. We also got you ready for the Summer Olympics with a look at two London landmarks—Big Ben and Buckingham Palace. We even explored the history of our most beloved icons with American Flag: Deconstructed.

Fresh Franchises

Every day we bring you the latest info on new discoveries, important anniversaries and the history behind today’s headlines. But one article a day just isn’t enough. So this year we’ve branched out, expanding our offerings with four new franchises. Now with Hungry History you can explore food facts from the past and get the true story behind your favorite dishes. HISTORY Lists lets you count your way through history with eye-opening lineups of events, figures, facts and more. Watch us debunk myths, reveal the truth and get all your burning history questions answered with Ask HISTORY. And, of course, there’s the very HISTORY blog you’re already reading, where we highlight special features, must-see links, fun facts and more.

Christmas by the Numbers
Did you know the U.S. produces 1.76 billion candy canes each year? Get facts and stats about Christmas traditions in this infographic.

The History of Christmas
Christmas 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.

The Royal Roots of the American Christmas Tree
Find out how an American holiday tradition was launched by a fashionable British queen celebrating an old German custom.

The Delicious History of the Yule Log – Hungry History
‘Tis the season for rich food traditions, including that of the Christmas Yule log.

7 Historical Events That Took Place on Christmas – HISTORY Lists
Get the facts on seven famous historical events that fell on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.

Below, check out some of our favorite Christmas videos.

Did you know Christmas wasn’t always celebrated on December 25th? Get the whole story behind the holiday.

Take a journey to the northernmost point on earth with North Pole: Deconstructed.

Find out more about some truly strange Christmas traditions.

Find out how to make fruitcake, a quintessential Christmas dessert.

Mankind By The Numbers
Did you know that 1 out of every 12 people on Earth speak Mandarin and that 2.3 million Americans have the last name Smith? Find out more about our modern world with this new infographic.

Below, check out some of this week’s web exclusives videos.

Experience the story of Mankind in 2 Minutes.

Find out why penicillin was one of the most important discoveries in history.

Get the facts on the technology behind the Titanic.

To give you a better idea of what it took to bring this series to life, we sat down with some of the talent involved to get their take on the making of the Mankind graphic novels. And, of course, to get their picks for their favorite HISTORY shows.

An early sketch and final cover by artist Neal Adams

Q: What drew you to the project?
Joe Brusha – Writer, “From Dusk to Dawn.” President & Co-Founder of Zenescope Entertainment
The first thing was getting to work with HISTORY – I’m a huge fan! Their shows are some of the most watched in my house. And once I read the outline for Mankind it was immediately something I wanted to be involved with. It’s amazing seeing how all of the discoveries and events in history have shaped us and brought us to this point in our evolution. It makes you wonder not only about our past and how we got here as a civilization, but what’s going to happen to us in the coming decades.

Devin Grayson – Writer, “Blood & Silk”
Everyone’s heard the axiom “write what you know,” which is great advice, but only half the story. The other half is “write what you want to know.” There is no better way to learn about something than to write about it. The graphic novel project presented a unique opportunity to become intimately acquainted with a key turning point in the history of humanity and then use the mechanics of graphic storytelling to put a heartbeat to it. It’s a really exciting way to learn and to teach simultaneously.

Jorge Pacheco – Artist, “Aztec Rise & Fall”
I’ve always enjoyed graphic novels that have actual historical facts and stories. My mother was a High School English teacher and was a proponent of comic books as a way of getting young readers interested in reading, while learning something about history or whatever the subject may be.

Arie Kaplan – Writer, “The Story of the Ocean”
I’m fascinated by the idea that at one time, the ocean was what separated us, but that eventually, mankind mastered the ocean by building sturdy boats, and by using those boats to travel great distances. So what used to separate us was now used to bring us together. That’s a wonderful irony, and it’s at the very heart of the story.

Excerpts from the series by writers Marv Wolfman and Devin Grayson and artist Jorge Pacheco

What was the most challenging aspect of your work?
Brusha: The research. Most of the stories I write are fiction and there is some occasional research that goes into that, but it mostly comes from my imagination. This was completely different. It’s by far the most research I’ve ever done for a piece. But it was rewarding not only because it allowed me to tell a factually accurate story but because I actually learned something too.

Grayson: My chapter explores the emerging prominence of what we now call the Silk Road in the 5th Century CE. In addition to all of the amazing merchandise exchanged up and down those 4,000 miles of inter-connected trade routes, languages, ideas and religions were also traveling back and forth between Asia, the Mediterranean, Europe and North and East Africa. The most challenging aspect of my story was creating informative, realistic and colloquial ways to express the ideas behind some of those religions–like Buddhism, Nestorian Christianity, and Islam–within a very limited amount of space.

Marv Wolfman – Writer, “Seeds of Change”
Taking a subject like farming and finding a way to make it graphically interesting. Also making it personal by following one family line for thousands of years.

Kaplan: Researching the various early civilizations such as the ancient Egyptians and the Phoenicians, both of which were known for their work in shipbuilding, navigation, and other aspects of sailing. It was a challenge because I had to figure out how these ancient societies were connected to one another, if at all; did they trade with each other? Was it perhaps plausible for a Phoenician sailor to find himself in what is now present-day Spain? And by finding out which societies interacted with one another, I was able to then map out a narrative structure for the story.

Gio Timpano – Artist, “The Runner” and “Citizens and Believers”
One story involves Athens and the other Rome, and both of them have a landscape view of the two cities. The reconstruction of them was the most challenging thing to do, but it was also the most fun, I could draw the details of these two ancient cities for hours.

Anatomy of a Cover: Artist Michael Golden's progression

What are you most looking forward to seeing brought to life in the broadcast series?
Brusha: The rise and fall of the world’s great empires. Ancient civilizations have always held a fascination for me. Ancient Egypt, the Roman Empire, the Aztecs and Incas were all mysterious, exciting and dangerous civilizations and we can only imagine what it would have been like to live in one of them. It’s going to be very exciting to see them brought to life in the series.

Grayson: The whole premise of the show is so great; it really gets to the heart of the idea that we’re not just on this planet, we’re of it. I’m particularly excited about seeing the relationship between humanity and the oceans brought to life. There’s so much we take for granted today, but imagine how exciting it must have been to cross those bodies of water for the first time and begin to map out the globe in a meaningful, unified way.

What’s your favorite HISTORY show?
Pacheco: That’s a very difficult question. I’ve been watching History channel for many years, but if I had to pick one, I would have to say WWII in HD. I’ve always been interested in learning about the world’s past and present wars, to learn why men hate, and to understand how humanity can grow.

Kaplan: Pawn Stars! I TiVo the show and so does my dad. So when I visit him, we watch it together and it’s a fun bonding experience. I also really enjoyed America The Story of Us.

Brusha: Wow, that’s a tough one. If I had to go with my all-time favorite it would be MonsterQuest. Currently though, it’s Ancient Aliens. Can’t get enough of it!

Wolfman: Mankind The Story of All of Us, of course!