Destruction of CSS Virginia during the Civil War's Battle of Hampton Roads, March 8-9, 1862

The Battle of Mobile Bay, August 5th 1864. This print shows the old type broadside ship, the improvised paddle gunboat, the ironclad ram Tennessee, which the Confederates built in face of so many difficulties and the primitive monitors which defeated her. . (Photo by Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

The sinking of Lusitania by a German submarine off the Old Head of Kinsale, Ireland, 1915. The tragedy killed 128 US citizens, helping bring the US into World War I. (Credit: Three Lions/Getty Images)

Officers and crew of the United States Navy ship U.S.S. Pueblo being led away after being captured by North Korean forces in international waters in 1968. (Credit: Bettmann Archive/Getty Images)

A German drawing of a submerged U boat in British waters during World War One. (Credit: Classic Image/Alamy)

Circa 1840. Oil on canvas. Private collection. (Photo by VCG Wilson/Corbis via Getty Images)

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World War I pitted Germany, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire against Great Britain, the United States, France, Russia, Italy and Japan. New military technology resulted in unprecedented carnage. By the time the war was over and the Allied Powers claimed victory, more than 16 million people—soldiers and civilians alike—were dead.

World War I

The 21st century saw the dawn of the war on terrorism, as the 9/11 attacks and the Boston Marathon bombing dramatically changed society. Economic issues moved to the forefront during the Great Recession. The COVID-19 pandemic upended lives and economies around the world. Awareness of social inequality grew as the killings of Black Americans, including Trayvon Martin and George Floyd, spurred widespread protests.

21st Century

The continent of Asia, home to the majority of the world's population and countries as diverse as China, South Korea and India, has thousands of years of rich history.

Asian History

The Civil War was America's bloodiest and most divisive conflict, pitting the Union Army against the Confederate States of America. The war resulted in the deaths of more than 620,000 people, with millions more injured and the South left in ruins.

Civil War

The 1990s is often remembered as a decade of relative peace and prosperity: The Soviet Union fell, ending the decades-long Cold War, and the rise of the Internet ushered in a radical new era of communication, business and entertainment. However, the decade was not without violence and tragedy, including the Bosnian genocide, the Rodney King beating and subsequent L.A. Riots, and the bombing of the World Trade Center. The Columbine High School shooting marked a solemn chapter in gun violence, and the devastatingly deadly Oklahoma City bombing by a domestic terrorist followed lethal standoffs between federal agents and armed civilians at Ruby Ridge, Idaho and Waco, Texas.

1990s

World War II was the biggest and deadliest war in history, involving more than 30 countries. Sparked by the 1939 Nazi invasion of Poland, the war dragged on for six bloody years until the Allies defeated the Axis powers of Nazi Germany, Japan and Italy in 1945. Explore the battles, leaders and atrocities from the war and its impact on geopolitics and humankind.

World War II

1905

1968

Though the 19th century saw the rise of populism, the labor movement and Jacksonian democracy, it also ushered in the Gilded Age, when men like Cornelius Vanderbilt and J. P. Morgan wielded vast control over politics and business.

19th Century

1914

1994

The Cold War rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union lasted for decades and resulted in anti-communist suspicions and international incidents that led two superpowers to the brink of nuclear disaster.

Cold War

2002

1845

Explore the wars, battles, leaders, civilizations, regimes, prominent figures and major events from the continent that encompasses 2 percent of the Earth’s surface. From Stonehenge to the Great Awakening to the French Revolution to the rise and fall of Communism in Russia, see how Europe’s often tumultuous history unfolded.

Naval History

Topics

David Farragut

Battle of Trafalgar

Battle of Hampton Roads

Battle of Mobile Bay

Stories

USS Indianapolis: Survivor Accounts From the Worst Sea Disaster in US Naval History

North Korea Once Captured and Detained the Crew of a U.S. Spy Ship for 11 Months

How the Sinking of Lusitania Changed World War I

The Daring Deep Sea Divers Who Helped Crack WWI German Codes

This Day in History

Divers recover U.S.S. Monitor turret

US Naval Academy opens

USS Pueblo captured

Passenger ferry, Estonia, sinks, killing 852

The Battle of Tsushima Strait

U-boat devastates British squadron