HISTORY.com Editors

HISTORY.com works with a wide range of writers and editors to create accurate and informative content. All articles are regularly reviewed and updated by the HISTORY.com team. Articles with the “HISTORY.com Editors” byline have been written or edited by the HISTORY.com editors, including Amanda Onion, Missy Sullivan, Matt Mullen, Christian Zapata and Cristiana Lombardo.

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

Gay Pride Parade, 1983

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

Flower arrangement

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

Photo of Aron Ralston

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

Chinese and U.S. currency.

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

6 Things You May Not Know About Pumpkins

Which famous French explorer is credited with naming them?

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

Basketball, football and baseball are the three most popular sports in the United States.

Their backstories may surprise you.

The Controversy of Columbus Day

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

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

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

The Ghost of Abraham Lincoln

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

Carved Pumpkins at a Festival

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

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

Virginia Hall

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

Heroes of Black US Military History

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

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

Underwater explorer and marine biologist Mike Barnette and wreck diver Jimmy Gadomski explore a 20-foot segment of the 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger that the team discovered in the waters off the coast of Florida.

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

Martin Luther King Giving "Dream" SpeechMartin Luther King Jr., gives his "I Have a Dream" speech to a crowd before the Lincoln Memorial during the Freedom March in Washington, DC, on August 28, 1963. The widely quoted speech became one of his most famous.

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

Little-Known Facts About the Moon Landing

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

Tulsa Race Riots

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

History of Halloween: Trick or Treating

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

History of Jack O'Lanterns

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

Surprising Facts about St. Patrick's Day

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

D-Day Facts

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

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

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

Guard Gate at Area 51 (Groom Lake, Dreamland) near Rachel, Nevada

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

HISTORY: September 11 Photos

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

9/11 Memorial of the September 11 Attacks in New York City

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

HISTORY: Pearl Harbor

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

Stonewall Inn

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

George Washington

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

Twin Towers, New York City

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

Pearl Harbor Survivor and WWII Veteran Paul Kennedy

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

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

U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland speaking out of doors.

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

The wreck of Shackleton’s Endurance, with the wheel visible.

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

Triangle Shirtwaist Company FireFire hoses spray water on the upper floors of the Asch Building (housing the Triangle Shirtwaist Company) on Washington and Greene Streets, during the fire in New York City, March 25, 1911. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)

The Triangle Shirtwaist Company fire killed 146 in 1911.

Joe Biden

Joe Biden is the 46th president of the United States. He also served as Barack Obama's vice president from 2009-2017, and as a United States Senator from Delaware from 1973-2009.

HISTORY: Memorial Day

Memorial Day, observed on the last Monday of May, honors the men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military.

The Oregon Trail'The Oregon Trail Beyond Devil's Gate', Wyoming - by W H Jackson. (Photo by MPI/Getty Images)

Manifest Destiny expressed the philosophy that drove 19th-century U.S. territorial expansion. It contended that the United States was destined by God to expand its dominion and spread democracy and capitalism across the entire North American continent.

Close-up of father's hands holding handmade card and present from children on father's day

Father’s Day is a holiday honoring fathers, celebrated in the United States on the third Sunday in June. It was first celebrated on June 19, 1910, in the state of Washington, but didn’t become an official nationwide holiday until 1972.

HISTORY: The Fourth of July

The Fourth of July—also known as Independence Day or July 4th—has been a federal holiday in the United States since 1941. The tradition of Independence Day celebrations goes back to the 18th century and the American Revolution.

D-Day Landings: A view from inside one of the landing craft after US troops hit the water during the Allied D-Day invasion of Normandy, France. The US troops on the shore are lying flat under German machine gun resistance.

Codenamed Operation Overlord, the invasion began on June 6, 1944, also known as D-Day, when some 156,000 American, British and Canadian forces landed on five beaches along the heavily fortified coast of France’s Normandy region during World War II. The operation was one of the largest amphibious military assaults in history and has been called the beginning of the end of war in Europe.

HISTORY: Sitting Bull

Sitting Bull (1831-1890) was the Native American chief under whom the Lakota tribes united in their struggle for survival on the North American Great Plains.

The Battle of Fallen Timbers, 1794 Northwest Indian War

The Battle of Timbers, on August 20, 1794, was the last major conflict of the Northwest Territory Indian War between Native Americans and the United States.

Mexican-American War 1846-1848: Battle of Buena Vista. (Credit: Universal History Archive/Getty Images)

The Mexican-American War was a 1846-1848 conflict over vast territories in the American West, which the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo gave to the United States.

(Original Caption) View of petroleum spindletop.

Spindletop was an enormous geyser of oil that exploded from a drilling site at Spindletop Hill, a mound located in southeastern Texas, in 1901. Reaching a height of more than 150 feet and producing close to 100,000 barrels a day, the “gusher” was more powerful than any previously seen in the world. A booming oil industry soon grew up around the oil field.

Map of of Mexico, 1847. This was appended to the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo which ended the Mexican American War (1846-1848

The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848 ended the Mexican-American War, with much of the current U.S. Southwest ceded to the United States from Mexico.

The Santa Fe Trail, a 900-mile route connecting Franklin, Missouri, to Santa Fe, New Mexico, played a crucial role in America's westward expansion in the 1800s.

Native American Encampment - Lakota Indians UNITED STATES - CIRCA 1890: Bird's-eye view of a Lakota camp (several teepees and wagons in large field)--probably on or near Pine Ridge Reservation. (Photo by Buyenlarge/Getty Images)

Indian reservations were created by the 1851 Indian Appropriations Act as a means for minimizing conflict and encouraging cultural change among Native tribes.

LAKE MEAD NATIONAL RECREATION AREA, ARIZONA - JUNE 15: The Arizona Intake Towers (L) and Nevada Intake Towers on the upstream side of the Hoover Dam are shown on June 15, 2021 in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Arizona. Last week, The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation reported that Lake Mead, North America's largest artificial reservoir, dropped to 1,071.53 feet above sea level, the lowest it's been since being filled in 1937 after the construction of the Hoover Dam. The declining water levels are a result of a nearly continuous drought for the past two decades coupled with increased water demands in the Southwestern United States. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

The Hoover Dam was devised as a means for controlling the wild waters of the Colorado River and became the world's largest dam upon its completion in 1935.

Phoenix midtown skyline with a Saguaro Cactus and other desert scenery in the foreground.

Arizona’s Native American History Indigenous hunter-gatherers arrived in the area now known as Arizona more than 12,000 years ago. Today, the state has 22 federally-recognized Native American tribes, including the Navajo Nation, Hopi Tribe, Tohono O’odh...

Mount Hood View with Portland Downtown Skyline - stock photo

Oregon joined the Union in 1859. The state is one of the nation's top producers of wine, hazelnuts and Christmas trees.

Gallant DefenceThe Texan defenders of the Alamo fighting Mexican soldiers within the walls of the fortress. Davy Crockett (1786 - 1836), centre right, with his rifle above his head, died in the siege. (Photo by MPI/Getty Images)

Early History of the Alamo Spanish settlers built the Mission San Antonio de Valero, named for St. Anthony of Padua, on the banks of the San Antonio River around 1718. They also established the nearby military garrison of San Antonio de Béxar, which soo...

Soldier and politician Samuel Houston (1793-1863), first president of the Republic of Texas from 1836-38.

Sam Houston (1793-1863) was a lawyer, congressman and senator from Tennessee. After moving to Texas in 1832, he joined the conflict between U.S. settlers and the Mexican government and became commander of the local army. On April 21, 1836, Houston and his men defeated Mexican General Antonio López de Santa Anna at San Jacinto to secure Texan independence.

Battle of San Jacinto during the Texas War of Independence (from Mexico) also called the Texas Revolution.

Battle of San Jacinto: Background After gaining independence from Spain in the 1820s, Mexico welcomed foreign settlers to sparsely populated Texas, and a large group of Americans led by Stephen F. Austin (1793-1836) settled along the Brazos River. The A...

Farmer Jose Esquivel begins to leave after surveying his field of cattle on June 13, 2023 in Quemado, Texas.

Spanish settlers, independent Mexicans and southern frontiersmen jostled for control of Texas until the territory became the 28th U.S. state in 1845.

USA, Oklahoma, Oklahoma City, elevated city skyline with Devon Tower, dusk

The Indian and Oklahoma territories combined to form Oklahoma on November 16, 1907. It is the 46th state admitted to the Union.

A scenic view in Idaho.

Interesting Facts Meriwether Lewis and members of the Corps of Discovery entered Idaho for the first time in 1805, making it the last of the U.S. states to be explored by European-Americans. Along with a reconnaissance team, William Clark attempted to f...

A solitary wild bison walks in front of the Teton mountain range in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

Wyoming became the 44th state to join the union in 1890. The first U.S. territory to allow women to vote, Wyoming has the smallest population of all the states.

The Golden Gate Bridge from the Fort Baker side featuring the new Golden Gate Pavilion gift and information center.

California became the 31st state in 1850. It leads the U.S. in agricultural production, it is known for its tech industry, and it is home to famous cultural institutions and national parks, including Hollywood, Disneyland, Yosemite National Park, Alcatraz, Angel Island and the Golden Gate Bridge.

The Maroon Bells near Aspen, Colorado, are two peaks in the Elk Mountains - Maroon Peak and North Maroon Peak. They are located in the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness of White River National Forest.

Colorado attracted the ancient Pueblo peoples and the Plains Native Americans with its natural resoruces before becoming the 38th state of the union in 1876.

American lawman and gun fighter Wyatt Earp (1848 - 1929), circa 1873.

Wyatt Earp, a famous figure from the American West, is best remembered for his participation in a deadly gunfight at the OK Corral in Tombstone, Arizona.

HISTORY: The Northwest Passage

Where Is the Northwest Passage? The Northwest Passage spans roughly 900 miles from the North Atlantic north of Canada’s Baffin Island in the east to the Beaufort Sea north of the U.S. state of Alaska in the west. It’s located entirely within the Arctic ...

Lewis and Clark Expedition Route

The Lewis and Clark Expedition began in 1804 when Thomas Jefferson asked Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to explore the lands of the Louisiana Purchase.

Chinese Immigration to the United States Most of the early Chinese immigration to the United States can be traced to the mid-1800s. These early immigrants—some 25,000 in the 1850s alone—came seeking economic opportunity in America. The Chinese arriving ...

Cumberland Gap', 1872. View of the pass through the Cumberland Mountains on the border of Kentucky and Virginia, USA. From "Picturesque America; or, The Land We Live In, A Delineation by Pen and Pencil of the Mountains, Rivers, Lakes...with Illustrations on Steel and Wood by Eminent American Artists" Vol. I, edited by William Cullen Bryant. [D. Appleton and Company, New York, 1872]. Artist Harry Fenn.

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

Louisiana Purchase1803: Map showing the area covered by the Louisana Purchase. The land which was bought from France, virtually doubled the area of the United States, cost only 15 million dollars and gave the US security against development by the French. (Photo by MPI/Getty Images)

The Louisiana Purchase of 1803 introduced about 828,000,000 square miles of territory from France into the United States, thereby doubling the size of the young republic. Explore the facts about this important acquisition and its lasting legacy on Thomas Jefferson’s presidency.

The Battle of Little Bighorn.

As Europeans sought to control newly settled American land, wars raged between Native Americans and the frontiersmen who encroached on their territory, resources and trade.

Miners during the Klondike Gold Rush

The Klondike Gold Rush was a mass influx of prospecting migrants to the Canadian Yukon Territory and Alaska after gold was discovered in those regions in 1896.

Buffalo Soldiers in 1898 during the Spanish-American war

Buffalo Soldiers were the Black U.S. servicemen who fought on the Western frontier after the Civil War and were named by the Native Americans they encountered.

Illustration shows General George Armstrong Custer (1839 - 1876) waving his hat to rally his troops as they ride against Native Americans, late nineteenth century. A Native American village is visible in the distance. (Photo by Interim Archives/Getty Images)

George Armstrong Custer rose to fame as a young Union commander in the Civil War before his death at the Battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876.

The Trail of Tears as depicted in a 1951 painting by Blackbear Bosin.

The Trail of Tears was the deadly route used by Native Americans when forced off their ancestral lands and into Oklahoma by the Indian Removal Act of 1830.

HISTORY: The Transcontinental Railroad

In 1862, the Central Pacific and the Union Pacific Railroad Companies began building a transcontinental railroad that would link the United States from east to west. Over the next seven years, the two companies raced toward each other from Sacramento, California on the one side to Omaha, Nebraska on the other, struggling against great risks before they met at Promontory, Utah, on May 10, 1869.

Teamsters Camping For The Night(Original Caption) Westward Movement. Teamsters establishing camp for night. Mid 19th Century wash drawing.

Westward expansion, the 19th-century movement of settlers into the American West, began with the Louisiana Purchase and was fueled by the Gold Rush, the Oregon Trail and a belief in "manifest destiny."

HISTORY: Hispanic Heritage Month

Hispanic Heritage Month is an annual celebration of the history and culture of the U.S. Latinx and Hispanic communities that spans from September 15 to October 15.

HISTORY: Judaism

Judaism is the world’s oldest monotheistic religion, dating back nearly 4,000 years. Followers of Judaism believe in one God who revealed himself through ancient prophets. History is essential to understanding the Jewish faith, which is embedded in tradition, law and culture.

Close-up of woman receiving greeting card from her daughter on Mother's day.

Mother’s Day is observed in different forms around the world.

Circa 1975: During a protest gathering, some followers of AIM (American Indian Movement ) raise their fists to swear the Red Power oath.

The American Indian Movement (AIM) is a grassroots movement for Indigenous rights, founded in 1968 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The group has organized many high-profile protests and occupations, and was a driving force behind the Native American civil rights movement of the 1970s.

General George Patton in Uniform (Original Caption) Waist-up portrait of General George S. Patton, Jr. in uniform, 1943. UPI color slide.

George S. Patton (1885-1945) was a high-ranking WWII general, who led the U.S. 7th Army in its invasion of Sicily and northern France in the summer of 1944. Patton began his military career leading cavalry troops against Mexican forces and became the first officer assigned to the new U.S. Army Tank Corps during World War I.

Aerial view of the Spider (46 meters long) at Nazca Lines, some 435 km south of Lima, Peru on December 11, 2014. Geoglyphs can be seen only from atop the surrounding foothills or from aircrafts. The purpose of the Nazca lines remains unclear, according some scientists the Nazca people created them to be seen by their gods in the sky.

The Nazca Lines are a collection of ancient geoglyphs, many of which depict giant plants, animals and shapes, that line the coastal plain south of Lima, Peru.

Elston May FestivalA general view on the village green during the Maypole dancing, a feature of the Elston May festival, Bedfordshire, England on May 5, 1955. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

May Day is a May 1 celebration with a long and varied history. Along with marking a change of season, it is also recognized as International Workers' Day.

US Infantry, VietnamThe US 173rd Airborne are supported by helicopters during the Iron Triangle assault. (Photo by © Tim Page/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)

The Vietnam War was a long, costly and divisive conflict that pitted the communist government of North Vietnam against South Vietnam and its principal ally, the United States.

Dancers at a Cinco de Mayo parade in New York City.

Cinco de Mayo celebrates Mexico's 1862 victory over France.

ronald reagan, president reagan, tampico, Illinois, 1911

Ronald Reagan’s Childhood and Education Ronald Wilson Reagan was born on February 6, 1911, in Tampico, Illinois, to Edward “Jack” Reagan (1883-1941), a shoe salesman, and Nelle Wilson Reagan (1883-1962). The family, which included older son Neil Reagan ...

Lupine grows next to wagon wheel ruts made by wagon trains crossing the South Pass on the Oregon Trail. South Pass is the highest point in elevation on the trail.

The Oregon Trail, a 2,000-mile route from Independence, Missouri, to Oregon City, Oregon, was used by hundreds of thousands of pioneers in the mid-1800s to emigrate west.

cowboy on horseback

Cowboys originated with the Spanish settlers in modern Mexico, before becoming synonymous with the American West during the cattle drives of the 1800s.

As explorers sought to colonize their land, Native Americans responded in various stages, from cooperation to indignation to revolt.

Portrait of American silversmith, engraver, and Revolutionary patriot Paul Revere.

Paul Revere was a Boston silversmith and propagandist famous for his midnight ride to warn other patriots about a British attack during the American Revolution.

Pullman Porter

They were overworked, underpaid and demeaned, but generations of porters on the Pullman Palace Car Company helped promote the rights and futures of African Americans.

Romania's Nadia Comaneci on the balance beam at the Summer Olympics in 1976.

From Athens to Tokyo, the Games have crossed five continents, withstood boycotts and were only canceled three times due to two World Wars. See a timeline of notable moments in Summer Olympic Games history.

Freight train on the Union Pacific Railroad, USA.

The Crédit Mobilier scandal of 1872-1873 damaged the careers of several Gilded Age politicians. Major stockholders in the Union Pacific Railroad formed a company, the Crédit Mobilier of America, and gave it contracts to build the railroad. They sold or gave shares in this construction to influential congressmen.

Oliver Cromwell

Oliver Cromwell was an English soldier and statesman. The Puritan organized armed forces in the English Civil Wars and twice served as Lord Protector.

Valentine's Day heart-shaped chocolates, an antique card and roses on a satin background.

From Shakespeare to Aristotle to Dr. Seuss, see how writers through history have expressed the power of love.

Church of St Peter and St Paul in Blockley, England

The Church of England, or Anglican Church, is the primary state church in Great Britain and is considered the original church of the Anglican Communion.

The League of Nations

The League of Nations, a global diplomatic group developed after World War I to solve disputes before they erupted into open warfare, had failed by 1940.

Feminism, a belief in the political, economic and cultural equality of women, has roots in the earliest eras of human civilization.

Firearm Laws To Be Tightened In Britain LONDON - JANUARY 6: Airsoft plastic BB guns are on display in a shop selling the hobbyist replica firearms January 6, 2003 in London. British Home Secretary David Blunkett has confirmed plans to tighten firearms laws, which will see a mandatory jail sentence of five years for gun possession. The announcement was made after two teenage girls were killed at a New Year's party in Birmingham but the Government insists it had been planned for some time. Replica and Airsoft guns will not be affected by the new laws. (Photo by Scott Barbour/Getty Images)

The American Revolution was fought—and won—with guns, and the weapons have become ingrained in U.S. culture, but the invention of firearms started long before colonists ever settled on North American soil. The origin of firearms began with gunpowder and...

TOPSHOT-PALESTINIAN-ISRAEL-CONFLICTTOPSHOT - Palestinian Muslims gather at Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque complex following Friday prayers during the holy month of Ramadan on April 15, 2022. - More than 100 people were wounded in fresh violence, which came after three tense weeks of deadly violence in Israel and the occupied West Bank, and as the Jewish festival of Passover and Christian Easter overlap with the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI / AFP) (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images)

Jerusalem is a city located in modern-day Israel and is considered by many to be one of the holiest places in the world. Jerusalem is a site of major significance for the three largest monotheistic religions: Judaism, Islam and Christianity. Both Israel and Palestine have claimed Jerusalem as a capital city.

Cuban guerilla leader and future dictator Fidel Castro and associates as they cheer and raise their weapons and fists in the air on the CBS News Special Event 'Rebels of the Sierra Maestra,' Cuba, 1957. (Photo by CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images)

The Cuban Revolution was an armed uprising led by Fidel Castro that eventually toppled the brutal dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista by 1959.

As human civilizations rose, these diseases struck them down.

Knights Duelling On Foot In A Tournament 19th CenturyKnights duelling on foot in a tournament, 19th century. Plate 1 from The History of the Nations by Vincenzo Gazzotto, Vincenzo. Artist G Lago. (Photo by Historica Graphica Collection/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

People use the phrase “Middle Ages” to describe Europe between the fall of Rome in 476 CE and the beginning of the Renaissance in the 14th century.

HISTORY: The Battle of Midway

The Battle of Midway was an epic WWII clash between the U.S. Navy and the Imperial Japanese Navy that played out six months after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The U.S. Navy’s decisive victory in the air-sea battle (June 3-6, 1942) dashed Japan’s hopes of neutralizing the United States as a naval power and effectively turned the tide of World War II in the Pacific.

Headshot of American military leader General Douglas MacArthur (1880 - 1964), wearing a military uniform and sunglasses, smoking a corn cob pipe, Leyte Island, Philippines.

Douglas MacArthur was a five-star American U.S. general who commanded the Pacific forces in World War II, oversaw the occupation of Japan and led U.N. forces in the Korean War.

Charge of the Light Brigade, Balaclava, 25 October in 1854. Crimean War

The Crimean War (1853-1856) stemmed from Russia’s threat to multiple European interests with its pressure of Turkey. After demanding Russian evacuation of the Danubian Principalities, British and French forces laid siege to the city of Sevastopol in 1854. The war, which ended in defeat for Russia, altered the balance of power in Europe and set the stage for World War I.

CHICAGO - JULY 24: Anish Kapoor's "Cloud Gate", with buildings from the Michigan Avenue skyline in view in Chicago, Illinois on JULY 24, 2013. (Photo By Raymond Boyd/Getty Images)

Illinois became a territory of the United States and achieved statehood in 1818. During Prohibition, Chicago became synonymous with bootleg liquor and gangsters like Al Capone.

Peloponnesian War

The Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC) was fought for nearly a half-century between Athens and Sparta, ancient Greece’s leading city-states.

Former Nation of Islam leader and civil rights activist El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz (aka Malcolm X and Malcolm Little) on February 16, 1965, in Rochester, New York.

Malcolm X, an African American nationalist and religious leader, was gunned down by three men while addressing his Organization of Afro-American Unity in New York City on February 21, 1964. He was 39.

HISTORY: World War I Battles, WWI Timeline

This World War I timeline of battles outlines the most important engagements of the 1914-1918 war, from the first Battle of Mons to the final 1918 armistice.

Black History: Timeline of the Post-Civil Rights Era

From the 1968 assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., to the 2008 election of Barack Obama, to widespread global protests declaring Black Lives Matter in 2020, African American history in the United States has been filled with both triumph and strife.

Vladimir Putin took control of Russia as prime minister and president by the early 21st century, his time in power marked by invasions of Crimea and Ukraine.

Dia de los Muertos

On the Mexican holiday known as the Day of the Dead, families welcome back the souls of their deceased relatives for a brief reunion that includes food, drink and celebration.

Asian-American Milestones: Timeline

Asian immigrants have come to American shores since the mid-1800s, playing a significant role in U.S. history, but one that’s rife with inequity and exclusion. See a timeline of key events.

Cityscapes Of Beijing - The Great WallBEIJING - DECEMBER 03: A general view of the Great Wall on December 3, 2006 in Beijing, China. Beijing will be the host city for 2008 Summer Olympic Games. (Photo by Guang Niu/Getty Images)

The Great Wall of China was conceived by Emperor Qin Shi Huang in the third century B.C. and eventually spanned more than 13,000 miles across northern China.

The Central Park Five

In 1989, five New York teenagers were falsely accused of rape.

HISTORY: Gatling Gun

The Gatling gun was the first hand-driven machine gun, and the first firearm to solve the problems of loading, reliability, and the firing of sustained bursts. It was invented by Richard J. Gatling during the American Civil War, and later used in the Spanish-American War. Years later, the technology behind the gun was re-introduced by the U.S. military, and new versions of the gun remain in use today.

Crazy Horse.

Crazy Horse was a Lakota leader and warrior who clashed with the U.S. federal government.

The capital of the United Kingdom has a long, rich history that stretches back to the ancient Romans.

First Crusade: Taking of Jerusalem by the Crusaders, 15 July 1099. Godfrey of Bouillon ( or Godefroi - Godefroy de Bouillon) giving thanks to God in the presence of Peter the Hermit after the capture of the city. Painting by Emile Signol (1804-1892)

The Crusades were a series of religious wars between Christians and Muslims, occurring from 1096 and 1291, primarily to secure control of Middle Eastern holy sites.

Boston

Boston has played a central role in U.S. history, from its settlement by the Puritans, to its American Revolutionary battles to its storied universities.

The Bible

The Bible is the holy scripture of the Christian religion, purporting to tell the history of the Earth from its earliest creation to the spread of Christianity in the first century A.D. Both the Old Testament and the New Testament have undergone significant changes over the centuries, including the the publication of the King James Bible in 1611 and the addition of several books that were discovered later.

HISTORY: Easter

Easter is a Christian holiday that celebrates the belief in the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Although a holiday of high religious significance in the Christian faith, many traditions associated with Easter date back to pre-Christian, pagan times. Learn how Easter eggs and the Easter Bunny fall into the holiday.

A view from the parking lot at the rear of Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, shows the cafeteria and library with windows missing on April 22, 1999, at the site where fourteen students and one teacher were killed on April 20, 1999 when two students opened fire on their classmates.

Columbine was a major school shooting on April 20, 1999 at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado.

Earl Warren was a prominent 20th-century leader of U.S. politics and law. Elected California governor in 1942, Warren secured major reform legislation during his three terms in office. He was appointed the 14th chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court in 1953 and oversaw the landmark ruling on Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka in which the Court unanimously determined the segregation of schools to be unconstitutional.

A man attacks the Berlin Wall in 1989.

The 1980s were a decade of political conservatism, such as President Ronald Reagan’s Reaganomics, and of blockbuster movies, pop culture and fashion on MTV.

Passover food is ready to be served.

In Judaism, Passover commemorates the story of the Israelites’ escape from slavery and departure from ancient Egypt, which appears in the Hebrew Bible’s books of Exodus, Numbers and Deuteronomy, among other texts.

George Washington Statue, Boston Public Garden, Boston, Massachusetts, America

Massachusetts’ Early Colonial History The first settlers in the state now known as Massachusetts were the Pilgrims. They arrived in Plymouth on the Mayflower in 1620 after separating from the Anglican church and fleeing England, creating the Mayflower c...

W.E.B. Du Bois

W.E.B. Du Bois (1868-1963) was a civil rights activist who led the Niagara Movement and later helped form the NAACP.

Robert Kennedy, RFK

Robert Kennedy served as attorney general under President John F. Kennedy and as a U.S. Senator. He was assassinated while campaigning for president in 1968.

A painting from the Hudson River School: "View Towards the Hudson Valley" by Asher Brown

Transcendentalism, a 19th-century school of American theological and philosophical thought, embraced nature and the concept of a personal knowledge of God.

Ted Kaczynski, nicknamed the Unabomber, sent a series of deadly mail bombs and wrote an anti-technology manifesto before he was captured at his cabin in 1996.

A woman dances in the glow of psychedelic light at Avalon Ballroom in San Francisco.

LSD, or lysergic acid diethylamide, is a hallucinogenic drug that was synthesized by a Swiss scientist in the 1930s and became a symbol of 1960s counterculture.

The Great Serpent Mound in Adams County, Ohio, built by the Adena people between 800 BC and AD 400. This protected historical earthworks is nearly a quarter of a mile long and represents a giant snake holding an egg in its jaws.

Serpent Mound is the world’s largest surviving effigy mound—a mound in the shape of an animal—from the prehistoric era. Located in southern Ohio, the 411-meter-long (1348-feet-long) Native American structure has been excavated a few times since the late 1800s, but the origins of Serpent Mound are still a mystery. Some estimates place the construction of the National Historic Landmark—also called Great Serpent Mound—at around 300 B.C.

Washington, D.C. scenics WASHINGTON, D.C. - APRIL 20, 2018: The United States Capitol in Washington, D.C., often called the Capitol Building, is the home of the United State Congress and the seat of the legislative branch of the U.S. federal govermnent. (Photo by Robert Alexander/Getty Images)

The legislative branch, established by Article I of the U.S. Constitution, was initially intended to be the most powerful of the three branches of government.

President Donald Trump takes a question from a reporter during a news conference in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on January 21, 2025 in Washington, DC.

Branches of Government At the Constitutional Convention in 1787, the framers of the U.S. Constitution worked to build the foundations of a strong federal government. But they also wanted to preserve the liberty of individual citizens and ensure the gove...

Aerial view of South Beach Miami Florida cityscape with buildings along the beach on a beautiful sunny day, people on beach and ocean.

Florida joined the Union as the 27th state in 1845 and is nicknamed the Sunshine State for its balmy climate and natural beauty.