HISTORY.com Editors

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

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

Which famous French explorer is credited with naming them?

Their backstories may surprise you.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.'

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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.

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

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?

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

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

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

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?

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

One of the original 13 colonies, North Carolina was the first state to instruct its delegates to vote for independence from the British crown during the Continental Congress. Following the Revolutionary War, North Carolina developed an extensive slave plantation system and became a major exporter of cotton and tobacco.

The Battle of Iwo Jima (February 19 – March 26, 1945) was an epic military campaign between U.S. Marines and the Imperial Army of Japan during World War II. American forces succeeded in securing the island, which was considered to have great tactical importance for its airfields.

The Black Panthers made up a political organization founded in 1966 by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale to challenge police brutality against African Americans. Dressed in black berets and black leather jackets, the Black Panthers organized armed citizen patrols of Oakland and other U.S. cities.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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...

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

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...

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: 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...

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

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

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...

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 ...

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 ...

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

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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."

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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 ...

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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

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, 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.

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...

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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

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 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.

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

Margaret Mead’s Early Life Mead, who turned the study of primitive cultures into a vehicle for criticizing her own, was born in Philadelphia on December 16, 1901. Both her father, Edward Mead, an economist at the Wharton School, and her mother, Emily Me...

New York City in the 18th Century In 1664, the British seized New Amsterdam from the Dutch and gave it a new name: New York City. For the next century, the population of New York City grew larger and more diverse: It included immigrants from the Netherl...

Daniel Boone was a hunter, politician, land speculator and frontiersman whose name is synonymous with the Cumberland Gap and the settlement of Kentucky.

New Mexico became a U.S. state in 1912. It was the site of the first nuclear bomb test and drew attention for alleged alien activity near Roswell.

South Carolina was settled by the English in 1670 and became the eighth state to ratify the U.S. Constitution in 1788.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

New York’s Native American History Semi-nomadic Indigenous people have been living in the area now known as New York for at least 13,000 years, settling in the space around Lake Champlain, the Hudson River Valley and Oneida Lake. The Haudenosaunee Nativ...

The Acropolis of Athens, Greece, a UNESCO World Heritage site, has been home to kings, religious festivals and temples like the Parthenon since the Bronze Age.

Louis XIV, the Sun King, ruled France for 72 years. He built the opulent palace of Versailles, but his wars and the Edict of Nantes left France drained and weak.

The G.I. Bill— officially known as the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944—was created to help veterans of World War II. It established hospitals, made low-interest mortgages available and granted stipends covering tuition and expenses for veterans attending college or trade schools.

Alabama became the 22nd state to join the Union in 1819 and was at the center of the American Civil Rights Movement during the mid-20th century.

The flu, or influenza, is a highly contagious viral infection that mainly affects the respiratory system. It’s usually a seasonal illness, with yearly outbreaks killing hundreds of thousands of people around the world. Though rare, completely new versions of the virus may infect people and spread quickly, resulting in pandemics (an infection that spreads throughout the world) with death tolls in the millions.

Jesse Hawley Beginning in 1807, Jesse Hawley—a flour merchant from western New York who went broke trying to get his product to market in the Atlantic coastal cities—published a series of essays from debtor’s prison. In them, Hawley advocated for a cana...

Islam is the second largest religion in the world after Christianity, with about 1.8 billion Muslims worldwide. Although its roots go back further, scholars typically date the creation of Islam to the 7th century, making it the youngest of the major world religions.

Origins of the PLO The PLO emerged in response to various compounding events that took place in the Middle East. In 1948, Israel became an independent state, which resulted in more than 750,000 Palestinians fleeing their homeland. The subsequent 1948 wa...

The Pantheon is one of the best-preserved monuments of ancient Rome. Completed circa 128 A.D., the structure features a rotunda with a massive domed ceiling.

Minnesota is the 32nd state to join the Union and is the most northerly of the 48 conterminous U.S. states. It's home to the Mall of America and the largest continuous network of indoor pedestrian pathways in the United States.

New Hampshire was the first state to have its own constitution and the 9th to ratify the U.S. Constitution—officially putting the document into effect.

Ohio, a U.S. state since 1803, has sent seven presidents to the White House and is home to the rock and roll and National Football League halls of fame.

Michigan became a state in 1837. Its largest city, Detroit, is home to the American auto industry and is the birthplace of Motown Records.

The Silk Road was a network of trade routes connecting China and the Far East with the Middle East and Europe. Established when the Han Dynasty in China officially opened trade with the West in 130 B.C., the Silk Road routes remained in use until A.D. 1453, when the Ottoman Empire boycotted trade with China and closed them.