Becky Little

About 74,000 years ago, the Toba supervolcano blew its top in what's considered the largest natural disaster in the past 2.5 million years. Here's how humans managed to adapt—and survive.

From Stalin's reign of terror to Gorbachev and glasnost, meet the eight leaders who presided over the USSR.

The tri-colored confection was designed to look like chicken feed and came out at a time when about half of Americans worked on farms.

Augustus told Romans he was the only one who could save Rome. And they believed him.

The controversial shroud that is claimed to have once covered the body of Jesus first appeared in the 1350s and is now available for online viewing.

The latest analysis adds to a centuries-long debate over the shroud’s authenticity.

Freddie and Truus Oversteegen sometimes ambushed Nazi officers from their bicycles—and never revealed how many they had assassinated.

Indigenous Peoples’ Day celebrates the history and contributions of Native Americans and has been federally recognized since 2021. 

For some, the Great Depression began in the 1920s.

The Manhattan Project’s Trinity test—the first atomic bomb detonation—led to infant deaths, cancer and decades of health problems.

While the war raged overseas, soldiers and civilians worked furiously to protect the capital against rising waters.

In his life before presidency, Carter helped fix a nuclear reactor while it was melting down and once reported a UFO.

Rodney Alcala won a 1978 episode of 'The Dating Game' in the middle of a murder spree.

The son of the famous president died in the 1999 accident, along with his wife, Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, and her sister Lauren Bessette.

Newt Gingrich was offended that Clinton hadn't talked to him on Air Force One.

An 18th-century English nobleman helped popularize the snack—so much so that it eventually took on his name.

A key ingredient in the flavor was discovered on ancient pottery shards in Indonesia, revealing it has been around for a long, looooong time.

Claims the Apollo 11 mission was staged began soon after astronauts first set foot on the moon in 1969.

NASA created simulations that mimicked everything from the moon’s gravity to its landscape.

The shocking disaster delayed the speech for one week.

Hollywood blacklisted these screenwriters, producers and directors for refusing to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee.

Lotteries helped build libraries, roads and even Harvard.

The league was supposed to be temporary, but went on for 12 seasons.

The writer behind the play, which was made into a Cary Grant film, had studied the records of convicted murderer Amy Archer-Gilligan.

Officials feared Halloween celebrations could spread the virus or disrupt those who were sick or mourning.

People were outraged when teenage boys vandalized towns on October 31, 1933—so they found a way to keep them inside.

At its peak, Rome stretched over much of Europe and the Middle East.

A newly translated letter written by a medieval archbishop reveals the nun's shenanigans, which allegedly included crafting a dummy in the likeness of her body.

British intelligence called Juan Pujiol Garcia 'Agent Garbo' because he was so good at assuming new identities.

The late Kim wanted Choi Eun-hee and her director ex-husband to improve North Korean cinema.

After President Nixon refused to release his secret tapes, Congress ruled that they were the government’s property, not his.

The first recorded hurricane forecast was issued by a Jesuit priest in 1875. A series of critical tools have since refined the science.

Woodrow Wilson thought German Americans couldn't assimilate.

Fear of Mexican immigrants led to the criminalization of marijuana.

Between 1850 and 1930, the census created new categories that reinforced a white supremacist obsession with ‘racial purity.’

Dissent at or inside the statue began with its unveiling in 1886.

The cult leader and mass murderer got parole hearings until the very end.

After the assassination, King's family did not trust the findings of the FBI, which had harassed the civil rights leader while he was alive.

“I held it up in the air and I said ‘Daddy, I found a sword!’"

After Charles I of Spain signed an edict launching the transatlantic slave trade, human cargo on transatlantic voyages spiked nearly tenfold.

Slow reporting in China and an outbreak in a Hong Kong hotel led to over 8,000 infections in more than 20 countries.

Chinese immigrants, escaped slaves, and Native Americans were all people U.S. forces tried to keep on one side or the other.

The vehicles could deliver supplies from ship to shore, but couldn’t cut it in rough waters.

It killed 100,000 people in the direct impact. But it led to tens of millions more deaths later.

Autopilot has existed since 1912. But some experts worry that too much plane automation introduces danger.

The history behind the program Trump wants to scrap.

For a long time, it wasn't possible to immigrate illegally to the U.S.

The man known for changing the auto industry also used his immense power and influence to quash unions, control immigrant workers and vilify Jewish people.

A conspiracy theory emerged during the Red Scare, blaming “the Bolsheviki” for protests and violence.

Federally-subsidized childcare centers took care of an estimated 550,000 to 600,000 children while their mothers worked wartime jobs.

Rather than bathing, early American colonists believed that other practices, like regularly changing their undergarments, qualified as good hygiene.

Since the 2015 massacre at the Emanuel A.M.E. Church, 37 schools honoring Confederate icons have changed their names, while about 100 others haven’t.

After the Revolutionary War, a series of revolutions took place throughout Europe and the Americas.

White House staff reportedly said that Reagan was inattentive and acting strangely, but his chief of staff dismissed the possibility of trying to remove him.

Most people complied, but some resisted (or poked holes in their masks to smoke).

Once it was over, no one wanted to talk about it.

Since 1979, the United States has technically been in constant states of emergency.

Investigative journalist Seymour Hersh writes in his new book that Pat Nixon visited the emergency room and alleged that her husband had hit her shortly after Nixon resigned.

Thousands of Mexican Americans joined the Confederacy—but even more joined the Union.

Native Americans won U.S. citizenship in 1924, but the struggle for voting rights stretched on for much longer.

Voter turnout rates peaked in the 1870s and decreased in the 20th century.

Inaccurate coverage of the 1968 protest gave rise to the ‘bra-burner’ stereotype used to malign women’s rights activism.

Fifty years later, people are still trying to match the bizarre accident that was Woodstock ‘69.

Before studies showed that cigarettes caused cancer, tobacco companies recruited the medical community for their ads.

It wasn't until the mid-19th century that doctors realized going straight from an autopsy to the maternity ward was not a good idea.

100 years ago, the KKK began terrorizing Catholic immigrants in the name of Prohibition.

Early researchers used horse hairs and burning machines to try to quantify people’s physical suffering.

If not for the former White House counsel, Nixon might never have resigned.

In the 1930s, the FHA refused to insure houses for Black families, or even insure houses in white neighborhoods that were too close to Black ones.

Scientists have discovered new evidence of the ancient culture in South America.

As a young man, Lincoln openly admitted to his lack of faith. As a politician, he spoke about God but refused to say he was a Christian.

Here's why D.C. license plates say 'End Taxation Without Representation.'

In 1900, newspapers and politicians claimed the doctor trying to stop the plague had made the whole thing up.

It was in HISTORY’s series 'Unidentified' that the active-duty Navy pilots who encountered the crafts first came forward to share their stories.

The campaign used fake news to shift U.S. opinion about going to war with Germany.

Amid reports of flying saucers swarming the nation's capital, the intelligence agency realized it needed a P.R. strategy.

Is it time to alter or abolish the Jones Act?

The Great Plague and the Great Fire of London were two unimaginable disasters with no silver lining.

Many soldiers who received opioids in hospitals continued to use opium and morphine after the war.

During the first half of the 20th century, people used a variety of measures—including gargles, masks and signs—to try and avoid catching the flu.

The Office of Malaria Control in War Areas sought to curb malaria transmission in the United States.

Since the 1940s, the World Health Organization has worked with different countries to keep the flu endemic by identifying strains and watching for signs of a pandemic.

By the time the virus reached the U.S., the country already had a vaccine ready.

Nations fighting in World War I were reluctant to report their flu outbreaks.

Cartoons, PSAs and streetcar signs urged Americans to follow health guidelines to keep the pandemic from spreading.

The highly contagious disease dates to ancient times and spread easily in households and classrooms—until the development of a vaccine.

Seeking: Hardy women to marry into Colonial America's first settlement.

The United States has recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital since December 2017—despite a dueling claim from Palestine.

The message had been carved into the ground along Ireland's coast and was revealed as the fire scorched undergrowth.

Was Dancer’s Image disqualified because his owner supported the civil rights movement?

The Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale was originally created to help people decide how they should respond to storms.

Computer programming used to be a ‘pink ghetto’—so it was underpaid and undervalued.

Think 'oppo’ research is something new? Think again.

In the 19th century there were no primaries—candidates were selected during each party’s convention.

The bungled crime featured an affair, a murder and a planned insurance scam.

For over 1,000 years, European fugitives found asylum in churches.

Meeting with European monarchs often posed a political landmine.

Vice President Charles Curtis, a member of the Kaw Nation who served under Herbert Hoover, supported assimilation policies.

As colonists grew increasingly defiant, the British government responded with punishing measures that only angered them more.

On that infamous December day in 1941, Japan also attacked Guam, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaya.