Chris Klein

Christopher Klein

Christopher Klein is the author of four books, including When the Irish Invaded Canada: The Incredible True Story of the Civil War Veterans Who Fought for Ireland’s Freedom and Strong Boy: The Life and Times of John L. Sullivan. His work has appeared in numerous publications, including The Boston Globe, The New York Times, and National Geographic Traveler. Follow Chris at @historyauthor.

Latest from this author

Basketball.

A Canadian is to thank for one of America’s favorite pastimes.

A would-be assassin's bullet was slowed by Roosevelt's dense overcoat, steel-reinforced eyeglass case and hefty speech squeezed into his right jacket pocket.

History of Whistleblowers in the United States

The Founding Fathers passed the country’s first whistleblower protection law just seven months after signing the Declaration of Independence. The government even footed the legal bills.

An 1830 battle between steam and horse power marked the moment when the Industrial Revolution changed transportation forever.

The “Great Arctic Outbreak” of February 1899 set temperature and snowfall records from Michigan to Florida.

After being hit by a Japanese suicide plane, the crew of the USS Comfort were forced to tend to their own.

St. Patrick may be the patron saint of Ireland, but many St. Patrick’s Day traditions were born in the United States.

Bill Mazeroski's game-winning 1960 World Series homer.

In the bottom of the ninth in Game 7 of the wild 1960 World Series, Bill Mazeroski of the underdog Pittsburgh Pirates toppled the mighty New York Yankees.

These Civil War veterans orchestrated one of the most audacious acts of the Fenian Brotherhood in the Americas.

Biosphere II

In the 1990s, eight adventurers spent two years separated from the rest of the world inside a futuristic greenhouse meant to mimic a spaceship—on Earth.

America's Northern Border

Criminals operated with impunity along the northern border.

Whitey Bulger

The notorious gangster was recruited as an FBI informant. It turned it out that corrupt FBI agents were the ones informing him.

During the 13 dry years of Prohibition, sneaky Americans went to great lengths to conceal their alcohol consumption from law enforcement.

President John Tyler

His party expelled him. His cabinet resigned. He was even hung in effigy on the White House porch. What made America's 10th president such a political pariah?

Abraham Lincoln was disappointed by most of his generals—but not Ulysses S. Grant.

The image shows an elderly woman in a wheelchair wearing a military uniform and a man in a suit sitting next to her, both appearing to be engaged in conversation.

Tens of thousands of Filipinos answered the call to fight in World War II when the Philippines was an American commonwealth.

Ruins of the St. Francis Dam

When it opened in 1926, the St. Francis Dam was an engineering marvel. Just two years later, it became an engineering catastrophe. 

The History of Chocolate

Originally consumed as a bitter drink, it was prized as both an aphrodisiac and an energy booster.

Andrew Carnegie

The magnate with humble roots claimed to be pro-union, but his actions didn’t match his rhetoric.

Che Guevara billboard

A coming-of-age adventure through five South American countries set Che Guevara on the path to becoming a Marxist revolutionary.

The patron saint of Ireland first arrived in Ireland in the hold of a slave ship.

From water-powered textile mills, to mechanical looms, much of the machinery that powered America's early industrial success was "borrowed" from Europe.

Approximately 700 miles of barbed wire, chain link, post-and-rail and wire mesh fencing has been erected along the border.

WWI Inventions

These World War I inventions made life easier during—and after—the war.

America’s most notorious gangster sponsored the charity that served up three hot meals a day to thousands of the unemployed—no questions asked.

Fall of Saigon

The conflict in Vietnam ended in turmoil with the largest helicopter evacuation of its kind in history.

A series of poor decisions and mistakes led to one of the worst foreign policy failures in American history.

How Teddy Roosevelt's Views on Race Complicated His Progressive Legacy

His conviction that white men of European descent were innately superior informed his actions on matters from national parks to foreign policy.

The Big Three at the Yalta Conference, 1945

Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill hammered out postwar matters like the creation of the United Nations, the fate of Eastern Europe and the 'dismemberment' of Germany.

Babe Ruth won three World Series titles with the Red Sox before he joined the Yankees in 1920.

Baseball's biggest icon once served jail time and spent most of his life believing he was a year older than he really was.

Family portrait of Franklin Delano Roosevelt with wife Eleanor and their young children, with parents sitting and children standing

Franklin Roosevelt’s children offered physical, emotional and political support throughout his presidency.

Vast corporate wealth and a fee-based governance structure fueled widespread corruption during America's Gilded Age.

Circa 548 BC: Cyrus the Great, the founder of the Persian empire. By 548 BC, he was King of Persia.

A largely tolerant and merciful ruler, Persian king Cyrus the Great established one of the largest empires in world history.

How Did World War II End?

Explore five defining events that led to the conclusion of World War II on September 2, 1945.

Still photo from HISTORY® Channel's series 'Jesus: His Life'

Some argue that Jesus wasn't an actual man, but within a few decades of his lifetime, he was mentioned by Jewish and Roman historians.

Historical accounts of the man who sentenced Jesus to death paint him as arrogant and cruel; the Bible goes easier on him, shifting the blame.

Explore nine surprising facts about the massive German airship and its fiery demise.

hith reali life jaws Shark fin above ocean water

It wasn’t safe to go back in the water of the Jersey Shore in 1916, as a series of deadly shark attacks forever changed Americans’ attitudes toward the sea creatures.

Air Force One flying over Mount Rushmore

The 'flying White House' took presidents' travel to new heights.

Julius Caesar captured by Cilician pirates

Legend has it he laughed at their ransom and promised he'd return for revenge.

three photos, right to left, of presidents' fathers: Gerald Ford Sr, standing outside in shirtsleeves, smoking a pipe; Benjamin Pierce, looking distinguished in a waistcoat and vest; and Jesse Grant, bearded with small round glasses

They wouldn’t all earn spots on the Mount Rushmore of dads.

About 40 men in suits and hats posed in front of a barn. After this group of hitmen hired by Wyoming cattle barons to murder settlers were rescued from a siege by the cavalry, they were lined up for this photo. Due to influence from their wealthy backers, the gunmen were all eventually released.

It was the West's bloodiest clash over control of the open range.

Reinforcements disembarking from a landing barge at Normandy during the Allied Invasion of France on D-Day.

The massive Normandy landings required optimal weather conditions. That wasn't the case on June 5, the original chosen day of attack.

A circa-1910 image of Jim Thorpe in his football uniform / Universal Images Group via Getty Images

The Native American was an Olympic medalist, NFL standout and a MLB player — he even won a ballroom dancing championship.

illustration of a wooden trojan horse emerging from a computer screen

Cyber warriors learned a lot from Ghengis Khan and Caesar.

Why Organized Labor Declined in the 1920s

Take a look back at a landmark victory for American workers: the 1912 Bread and Roses Strike.

Aerial View Of People Lined Up At Church

Here is the history behind the services and symbols of a new pope's installation.

Severe exposure, starvation and disease ravaged tribes during their forced migration to present-day Oklahoma.

Wounded Knee Massacre

White settlers feared the Lakota's Ghost Dance presaged an armed uprising. But US troops carried out the bloodbath.