Missy Sullivan

Missy Sullivan, special projects editor at HISTORY.com, is an award-winning journalist and editor who previously held editorial positions at The Wall Street Journal, SmartMoney magazine and Forbes.
Articles From This Author
14 Popular Dolls From 20th-Century America
Throughout human history, children have played with and cared for dolls. Miniature facsimiles of human beings have been found around the globe from all periods of history, using all kinds of materials. They range from carved wooden paddle dolls discovered in ancient Egyptian ...read more
Jackie Robinson: His Life and Career in Pictures
When Jackie Robinson started at first base for the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947, he not only integrated Major League Baseball. He was signaling to the nation—on one of its biggest stages—that Black Americans would no longer accept second-class status. “Jackie Robinson ...read more
'Black Wall Street' Before, During and After the Tulsa Race Massacre: PHOTOS
At the turn of the 20th century, African Americans founded and developed the Greenwood district in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Built on what had formerly been Indian Territory, the community grew and flourished as a Black economic and cultural mecca—until May 31, 1921. That's when a white ...read more
10 Virtual History Museums and Experiences to Explore From Home
The need for social distancing may have forced museums and historic sites around the world to close their doors for now, but many have made their spaces, exhibits and collections available to anyone with a digital device and a decent web connection. Some offer 360-degree tours, ...read more
Vicki Golden Sets New Motorcycle Firewall Record
Champion freestyle motocross athlete Vicki Golden shattered a 12-year-old record Sunday night, smashing her motorcycle through 13 wooden walls of fire—the most ever in history. Her fiery, high-stakes motorcycle stunt was the featured event in an ambitious night of daredevilry ...read more
Speeding Through Flames: What to Expect from Evel Live 2
It takes a special kind of crazy to willingly—and repeatedly—crash a motorcycle through burning boards. Flaming debris can settle in a rider's lap. Impact at even moderate speeds can cause concussion. And with all that smoke, it can be as good as driving blind. That is—if you ...read more
In 1952, 'Flying Saucers' Over Washington Sent the National Press Into a Frenzy
If 1952 marked the year that UFO fever spread across Cold War America, events in late July of that year spiked that mania to critical levels. That's when the grandfather of all "saucer" sightings took place in the skies above the nation's capital, causing a coast-to-coast ...read more
The Explosive Chapter Left Out of Malcolm X’s Autobiography
It’s not often that a little-known chapter from one of the most important books of the 20th century emerges into the public sphere. Especially one in which a prominent civil-rights figure delivers a stern rebuke to his race. In July 2018, the Schomburg Center for Research in ...read more
Watch the Emotional Reunion of a Concentration Camp Survivor and One of His Liberators
The first time Joshua Kaufman met Daniel Gillespie was April 29, 1945, when American liberators marched into the notorious Dachau concentration camp 12 miles outside Munich, Germany and smashed in the prison doors. Gillespie, a gunner with the 42nd Rainbow Division, was deeply ...read more
Travis Pastrana Nails All Three of Evel Knievel's Historic Jumps
At the end of the day, Travis Pastrana made leaping over 52 cars, 16 buses and the notorious fountain at Caesars Palace on two wheels look easy. Even in 100-plus-degree weather. Even using a heavy, stiff, flat-track bike unlike anything the action-sports stunt icon is used to ...read more
These Vintage Hot Wheels Toys Are Worth Thousands of Dollars
How does a mass-produced die-cast toy car that originally sold for less than a dollar—and fits in a small child’s hand—become a valued collectible trading for hundreds, or even thousands, of dollars? It comes down to rarity. Such is the case with Hot Wheels cars, produced by ...read more
Everything You Need to Know About Travis Pastrana's Evel Knievel Jumps
Three jumps. One night. Two legends. Travis Pastrana has more than earned his reputation as a bonafide action-sport icon. One of the most decorated freestyle athletes in X Games history, he’s the motocross champion who simultaneously dropped millions of jaws in 2006 with the ...read more
Why Muslims See the Crusades So Differently from Christians
It’s often said that winners dictate history. Not so for the medieval holy wars called the Crusades. Muslim forces ultimately expelled the European Christians who invaded the eastern Mediterranean repeatedly in the 12th and 13th centuries—and thwarted their effort to regain ...read more
Pigeon Cameras and Other CIA Cold War Spy Gear
When James Bond needed nifty espionage gadgets, like a Rolex-turned-circular-saw or a peel-off fake fingerprint, he could count on the Q branch of the British Secret Service. When American operatives need to snap photos on the down-low or transmit a secret code, they have the ...read more
50-Plus Years of Hollywood's Coolest Movie Cars
Which are the most famous film cars? Vehicles have always played a central role in Hollywood—whether for police chases, drag races, spy maneuvers or just cruising the strip. Here are 12 of the most iconic four-wheeled film stars. 1932 CUSTOMIZED FORD MODEL B DEUCE COUPE American ...read more