Illustration: “Titanic Sinking," by Willy Stöwer, 1912. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

Remember the ‘Titanic’: History and Your Family

By Gena Philibert-Ortega on April 15, 2024

In this article – on the anniversary of the sinking of the “Titanic” – Gena Philibert-Ortega wonders how the disaster impacted her ancestors... (Read More)

Photo: “The ‘Little Folks’ Painting Book” by Kate Greenway, 1879. Credit: Internet Archive.

Celebrating National Coloring Book Day

By Gena Philibert-Ortega on August 3, 2020

Yesterday was National Coloring Book Day, inspiring Gena Philibert-Ortega to search old newspapers to learn more about painting and coloring books... (Read More)

Photo: Treaty of Amity and Commerce between Japan and the United States, or "Harris Treaty," 29 July 1858. Diplomatic Record Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Japan). Credit: World Imaging; Wikimedia Commons.

On This Day: U.S. Forced Japan to Open Its Ports to American Trade

By Tony Pettinato on July 29, 2020

After 200 years of shielding itself from the outside world, Japan was forced by a U.S. treaty to end its policy of seclusion on 29 July 1858... (Read More)

Photo: "1920 car with five bystanders, Washington, D.C." Credit: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division.

What Was Life Like 100 Years Ago?

By Sarah Stevens on June 9, 2020

Are you trying to learn more about family members from 100 years ago? This article will give you some idea what life was like during that time!.. (Read More)

Photo: the transit of Venus across the face of the Sun, 5-6 June 2012. Credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration; Wikimedia Commons.

Two Scholars, One Celestial Event: The 1769 Transit of Venus

By Melissa Berry on June 2, 2020

In this article, Melissa Davenport Berry tells the story of two men who carefully observed the transit of Venus across the Sun in 1769... (Read More)

Photo: Wright Flyer in the Smithsonian Institution, depicted as flying from right to left, 1995. Credit: Alan D. R. Brown; Wikimedia Commons.

On This Day, a Dream Came True: The Wright Brothers Flew!

By Tony Pettinato on December 17, 2019

An article about the Wright brothers making history on 17 December 1903: flying a powered aircraft with fixed wings – the first real airplane... (Read More)

Photo: American journalist Nellie Bly, in a publicity photo for her around-the-world voyage, 1890. Credit: New York Public Library Archives; Wikimedia Commons.

Nellie Bly Raced to Set Around-the-World Record in 1889

By Tony Pettinato on November 14, 2019

An article about Nellie Bly racing around the world in 1889-90 to beat Jules Verne’s record in the 1873 novel “Around the World in Eighty Days.”.. (Read More)

Photo: Captain Robert F. Scott’s party at the South Pole, 18 January 1912. L to R: (standing) Wilson, Scott, Oates; (seated) Bowers, Edgar Evans. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

‘The Worst Has Happened’: Tragedy on the Ice

By Tony Pettinato on November 12, 2019

An article about the fatal Antarctic expedition of Captain Robert F. Scott in 1912 that ended with the deaths of five men... (Read More)

Photo: a lightning bolt at Petrified Forest National Park, USA. Credit: Hallie Larsen; National Park Service; Wikimedia Commons.

Apocryphal or True? Man Struck by Lightning 4 Times!

By Tony Pettinato on October 17, 2019

An article about Walter Summerford, a man struck four times by lightning – three times while alive, and once after he was lying in his grave!.. (Read More)

Tag: history