Dave Roos

Horses were first introduced to Native American tribes via European explorers. For the buffalo-hunting Plains Indians, the swift, strong animals quickly became prized.

In 1804, Lewis and Clark set off on a journey filled with harrowing confrontations, harsh weather and fateful decisions as they scouted a route across the American West.

As the Donner Party fought to survive in the snowy Sierra Nevada mountains, four brave rescue missions ensured some traumatized members made it out alive.

At the turn of the 20th century, there was life-changing money to be made in operating a “show cave.” Those prospects fueled fierce competition. 

Eyewitnesses of the 1857 Fort Tejon earthquake described fissures tearing open in the earth, rivers changing course, trees being swallowed up by liquefaction and solid ground rolling like waves in the ocean.

When a small, scrappy Mexican force handed the French army a surprise defeat in 1862, the Confederacy was denied a potential ally.

Hungry bears—whether grizzly, black, brown or polar—can be shockingly brutal.

A 40-hour, five-day work week is now standard for full-time jobs in America, but that wasn't true until the 1930s.

Communist North Korea invaded South Korea in 1950 with the approval of Joseph Stalin and the promise of backing from China.

The ancient office of the pope is rich in symbols and insignia. Here are some of the most visible and meaningful of the papal symbols.

Their ranks include daring criminals, a legendary pilot and a powerful union boss. None have been found.

They include art looted by Nazis and antiquities snuck out of dig sites and auctioned. Museums are starting to repatriate the treasures.

In 1868, a U.S. Secretary of State promoted Greenland as a land that could empower the United States to 'command the commerce of the world.'

The explorers not only produced maps from their 1804-1806 expedition to the American West, they also recorded some 122 animals new to science.

Humans have conceived versions of intelligent machines for centuries.

Among seven Apollo moon landing missions, only one did not land men on the moon.

There have always been daredevils. But never has there been such a variety of creative ways to defy death—and break a few world records along the way.

The Allied invasion of Normandy was among the largest military operations ever staged. Learn how many fighting forces took part, why it was called D-Day, stats on its planning, execution and more.

Details around the 1969 police shooting of Hampton and other Black Panther members took decades to come to light.

At the close of the Civil War, people recently freed from slavery in Charleston honored fallen Union soldiers.

The Founding Fathers had just broken free from one empire, and the idea that foreign power could influence their young democracy was a prominent source of anxiety.

Opportunity in the United States beckoned—but first immigrants from Europe had to endure a grim journey.

Allied military leaders knew that casualties on D-Day could be staggeringly high. Historians are still calculating the death toll.

Just weeks before the match, Soviet tanks and troops brutally crushed the short-lived Hungarian Revolution.

After infecting millions of people worldwide, the 1918 flu strain shifted—and then stuck around.

The first strain of the 1918 flu wasn’t particularly deadly. Then it came back in the fall with a staggering death toll that eclipsed even the casualties of World War I.

These eight objects played a role in the daily lives of people living in the cradle of Western civilization nearly 3,000 years ago.

Mexican American families in California secured an early legal victory in the push against school segregation.

In the 1820s, no one had heard about an anti-establishment candidate—until Andrew Jackson's campaign invented it.

The history of U.S. presidential elections is filled with political conventions that were anything but predictable.

The 1914 conflict dealt a defeat so devastating that it drove a Russian general to suicide.

With his political career in ruins after killing Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr set off to claim lands in the Southwest—and President Jefferson intended to stop him.

Two of Christopher Columbus’ ships were so small that men had no refuge to sleep and poor food storage led to wormy meals.

"I am not the Catholic candidate for president,” JFK declared in 1960. “I am the Democratic Party's candidate for president, who happens also to be a Catholic."

From a buck-toothed rodent to a shark that doesn't reach puberty until age 150, find out what creatures have the make-up for exceptional longevity.

In a recession, the financial toll on households and businesses is significant, but manageable. In a depression, it’s overwhelming.

Eggs offer an amazing package of nutrition—and humans have been poaching wild bird eggs since time immemorial. Keeping chickens to eat their eggs is a more recent (but still ancient) practice.

The 1798 Alien and Sedition Acts called for deportation of people from 'hostile' nations and made it a crime to criticize the government.

Early versions of a carpet cleaning device were pulled by a horse, but it was a janitor who came up with a portable model you could plug in.

A 2,500-year-old mummy of a tattooed woman in a silk blouse was found in the remote Altai region of Central Asia. Who was she—and what does she reveal about her ancient people?

From post-war recessions to the energy crisis to the dot-com and housing bubbles, some slumps have proven more lasting—and punishing—than others.

Jesus wasn't the only one believed to have risen from the dead. Stories of resurrection appear in ancient cultures around the world.

Gifted photographers and reporters captured images that conveyed the agony and violence of the Vietnam war, and the deep divisions it drove in American society.

Nearly 12,000 helicopters saw action in the Vietnam War and were critical for combat, scouting, rescue missions and more.

Indigenous people routinely burned land to drive prey, clear underbrush and provide pastures.

People living in this Bronze Age civilization crafted unique objects that shed light on life in ancient China some 3,200 years ago.

From carefully staged speeches to radio to Twitter, U.S. presidents have always leveraged the cutting edge to connect directly with voters.

From a magnet that can lift an aircraft carrier to a turbine blade longer than a football field, these brawny behemoths get the big jobs done.

Did humans first set foot in the Americas after walking—or sailing or paddling by sea?

These dietary staples were cultivated over thousands of years by Indigenous peoples of America.

Some lame-duck presidents and lawmakers managed to pack in major, sometimes stinging initiatives during their final weeks in office.

Federalism, or the separation of powers between state and federal government, was entirely new when the founders baked it into the Constitution.

The town of Ferrara managed to avoid even a single death from the widespread contagion. How did they do it?

Way back in the 14th century, public health officials didn't understand bacteria or viruses, but they understood the importance of keeping a distance and disinfecting.

Evidence of powerful earthquakes linked to the Vesuvius eruption adds to the story about why so many people perished at Pompeii in 79 A.D.

In the post-Civil War era, when many Americans were reeling from loss, a photographer claiming to capture ghosts on film enjoyed swift business.

The ancient Celts were a widespread group of tribes whose rich culture has been identified through burials, artifacts and language.

Black Friday hasn't always been about shopping for sales at obscenely early hours the day after Thanksgiving.

The shocking deaths of seven people in the Chicago area from tampered bottles led to a massive recall—and generated fears around candy poisonings.

The vibrant network opened up exchanges between far-flung cultures throughout central Eurasia.

When scandalous news emerged in the final weeks of these presidential campaigns, election outcomes were at stake.

Woodstock 1969 was plagued by stormy weather and technical problems, but it produced a string of musical performances that resonate a half-century later.

To see the epic performances at Woodstock, attendees endured crowds, rain, minimal food and water—and lots of mud.

More than 35,000 volunteers from 52 countries poured into Spain to help fight fascist-backed Nationalists led by Francisco Franco.

The massive British corporation was founded under Queen Elizabeth I and rose to exploit overseas trade and become a dominating global player.

A temporary solution to organize Germany into four occupation zones led to a divided nation under the Cold War.

In the first half of the 20th century, U.S. educators shunned homework. The Soviet Union’s launch of Sputnik 1 changed that.

The wrenching images and first-hand testimonies of Dachau recorded by U.S. soldiers brought the horrors of the Holocaust home to America.

In Plato's 'Republic,' the ancient Greek philosopher lays out five different forms of government, ranging from ideal to oppressive.

Ancient historians describe Alexander offering prize money to those men who climbed towering cliff faces in the fastest time.

Since the Civil War, forces have deployed aerial surveillance gadgets from balloons to robotic dragonflies.

The longest cave system winds for more than 400 miles, but others on the list haven't even been fully explored yet.

Wright designed the iconic home perched over a waterfall in 1934 as a full realization of what he called "organic architecture."

From pandemics to wars to natural disasters, these events took the highest tolls on American lives.

The tsunami was the deadliest in recorded history, taking 230,000 lives in a matter of hours.

Charles Richter worked with Beno Gutenberg to develop one of the first data-driven ways of comparing earthquakes.

The 13th-century pact inspired the U.S. Founding Fathers as they wrote the documents that would shape the nation.

U.S. Supreme Court justices have generally deferred to precedent, but there have been notable exceptions.

A brash, self-made millionaire helped fund the fight for independence, but after the war, he ended up in debtor's prison.

Neil Armstrong’s celebrated “one small step” was far from the most dangerous maneuver in the effort to send three men to the moon and return them home a week later. See a timeline of the entire mission.

From a son of Benjamin Franklin to a Mohawk leader to the governor of Massachusetts, these men chose to side with the British.

An estimated 30,000 Hessian troops were tapped by rulers in German territories. Some welcomed the journey abroad; others were forced to join the fight.

The document was designed to prove to the world (especially France) that the colonists were right to defy King George III's rule.

Tanks—particularly the M1A1 Abrams—proved critical for U.S.-led coalition forces in the Persian Gulf War.

In April 1896, Thomas Edison rented a New York Vaudeville hall to show a film—an event that many consider to be America's first movie theater experience.

Hammurabi's Code may get all the attention, but barley and wool were the mainstays of Babylonian day-to-day life and commerce.

The once-great empire on the Nile was slowly brought to its knees by a centuries-long drought, economic crises and opportunistic foreign invaders.

From axes to swords to chariots, see the weapons that helped make ancient Egyptian warriors formidable.

A dagger crafted from meteorite and the remains of King Tut's stillborn daughters are among the stunning artifacts found in the tomb.

In Athens and Rome, voting could entail shouting contests, secret stone ballots and an election system with built-in bias for the wealthy.

Alexander used both military and political cunning to finally unseat the Persian superpower.

In addition to slicing out the hearts of victims and spilling their blood on temple altars, the Aztecs likely also practiced a form of ritual cannibalism.

Three city-states joined in a fragile, but strategic alliance to wield tremendous power as the Aztec Empire.

In 1997, 39 members of a religious sect were found dead by suicide inside a San Diego mansion. Why did they do it?

The 1980s battle over safety belt laws reflected widespread ambivalence over the role and value of government regulation.

A Senate impeachment trial is modeled on the criminal trial process—except the Supreme Court chief justice presides and senators act as jurors.

The Yippies found their voice by organizing an absurdist counter-convention—including nominating a pig for president.

Oswald's would-be victim on April 10, 1963, was an ultra-conservative firebrand named Edwin Walker.

It took just four years to get the mumps vaccine ready for market—but its development leaned heavily on groundwork that had been established during World War II.