Dave Roos

Legendary warrior chief was first Hawaiian to travel the world.

Elite Gilded Age families competed for status by building extravagant summer 'cottages' in Newport and throwing lavish parties.

Colorado claims 18 of the 20 highest towns in the United States, but not the highest state capital.

Roosevelt's heroism at the Battle of San Juan Hill was the culmination of years of conscious personal transformation and myth-making.

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

Rotten meat swarming in fly larvae was likely a major component of the ancient hominin diet, says a new study.

Our human ancestors' big, creative brains helped them devise tools and strategies to survive harsh climates.

A single giant sequoia could supply 500,000 board feet of lumber, a bonanza for profit-hungry logging companies—or so it was thought.

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.

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

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

Feeling the heat? See if you're living in one of the historically steamiest states in the country.

The exact location of the ancient, gnarled bristlecone pine is kept secret for its protection.

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

On the heels of the Great Depression, the federal government under FDR hired young people to work on projects across the country. Here’s what the Corps got done.

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

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

The Allied invasion of Normandy was among the largest military operations ever staged.

The L.A. Aqueduct was celebrated as an engineering marvel at its completion in 1913, but it drained distant watersheds for the city's own precarious supply.

From the Space Needle to the Atomium, these landmarks stand as remarkable legacies of 19th- and 20th-century global exhibitions.

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.

They have actually been around since ancient times.

The challenge lies in defining what qualifies as a civilization. 

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.

Many Chicagoans still refuse to call the iconic skyscraper by any other name.

A 140,000-year-old skull may add new chapters to the story of human evolution.

Besides alcohol and opium, speed was a key part of the strategy.

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

Rugged terrain and extreme temperatures contribute to the national park's moniker.

In the early days of air travel, getting on a plane required no ID and minimal screening.

These directives, which carry the force of law, altered the course of history and changed the fabric of American life.

The 1,000-mile Italian road race came to a tragic end after a Ferrari spun out of control, killing nine spectators.

“Racketeering” is an umbrella term that covers a wide variety of criminal activity. Here are five notable racketeering trials in American history.

A 1905 decision provided a powerful and controversial precedent for the flexing of government authority.

Doctors first tried injecting patients with blood plasma in the early 1900s. The method has been used against diphtheria, the 1918 flu pandemic, measles and Ebola.

Congress has the constitutional power to "declare war," but U.S. presidents have long initiated military action without it.

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

Building New York City's 843-acre park involved sledgehammers, pickaxes, gunpowder and thousands of plantings. The project also forced out a community of African American residents.

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

Printed just weeks after British troops opened fire on an unarmed crowd of Bostonians, Revere’s depiction of the melee likely stoked anti-British sentiment throughout the colonies.

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.

The official declarations of war occurred during five separate military conflicts, starting in 1812 and, most recently, in 1942.

Kingpins like Al Capone were able to rake in up to $100 million each year thanks to the overwhelming business opportunity of illegal booze.

Hint: It wasn't a carnivore.

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

Sunk by earthquakes or swallowed by rising tides, these five underwater settlements hold artifacts and clues to ancient life.

From desegregation at Little Rock to MLK's Selma-to-Montgomery march to the Cuban refugee crisis, these are major moments when U.S. presidents have deployed troops in America.

On June 6, 1944, more than 156,000 American, British and Canadian troops executed the largest amphibious landing in history. Five veterans share their stories from that day.

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.