SEASON 5 - 2007
History Detectives aired 12 episodes in Season 5.
See the previews below to find out more about each story.
Or if you're looking for an older story, browse the Archive featuring details you won't have seen on TV and full transcripts of each story.
EPISODE 12 - September 10, 2007
USS Thresher
How are these documents connected to a nuclear submarine, which sank with all hands during the height of the Cold War? ...MorePete Gray Cartoon
Do these unsigned drawings from the golden age of comics tell the tale of a real life superhero? ...MoreManhattan Project Letter
Did this letter help persuade President Harry S. Truman to change policy in the post war era? ...More
EPISODE 11 - September 3, 2007
Bill Pickett Saddle
Did this saddle ride into cowboy history with one of rodeo's most daring innovators? ...MoreHitler Films
Could these rusting film canisters contain unknown footage of one of the 20th century's most heinous murderers? ...MoreMcKinley Casket Flag
Did this flag once drape the casket of assassinated U.S. President William McKinley? ...More
EPISODE 10 - August 27, 2007
Lincoln Letter
Does this cryptic letter reveal Abraham Lincoln's secret strategy for winning political power? ...MoreQuaker Map
Did this faded map once guide slaves to freedom on the underground railroad? ...MoreU.S.S. Indianapolis
Could these souvenirs be remnants of one of Japan’s famous kamikaze attacks? ...More
EPISODE 9 - August 20, 2007
Red Cloud Letter
How was a leader of the Lakota people connected with the controversial sculptor of Mount Rushmore? ...More'32 Ford Roadster
Was this car among the popular hot rods that raced out at the dry lakes in the 1930s? ...MoreCast Iron Eagle
Did this 12-foot-high eagle once grace the old Grand Central Station in Manhattan? ...More
EPISODE 8 - August 13, 2007
Coca-Cola Trade Card
Could this 1886 card which advertises a strange-sounding beverage be a unique piece of early Coca-Cola advertising? ...MoreLawrence Billy Club
Could this billy club with the words “Lawrence Strike” and the date 12/1/1912 really have been used in the famous Bread and Roses labor strike?...MoreVicksburg Map
The Battle of Vicksburg was vital to the north’s command and ultimate success in the the Civil War. Could this map have been used during the seige?...More
EPISODE 7 - August 6, 2007
Grace Kelly Car
Is this the car driven by an actress turned princess, which would give it a place in cinematic history?...MoreHarley-Davidson Motorcycle
Where did this 1914 Harley-Davidson ride into battle? Was it war-torn Europe or closer to home?...MoreCivil War POW Photos
Were these pictures made in a Civil War prison with a home-made camera?...More
EPISODE 6 - July 30, 2007
NC-4: First Across the Atlantic
Is this piece of fabric a remnant from the first transatlantic flight, eight years before Lindbergh?...MoreHoward Hughes Crash
Was this the instrument that chartered Howard Hughes' near fatal plunge into Beverly Hills?...MoreCivil War Balloon
Is this frayed piece of material an artifact from the country's first military airship?...More
EPISODE 5 - July 23, 2007
Great Mexican War Posters
Is this an advertisement for a film made by an eyewitness to the Mexican Revolution?...MoreMuhlenberg Robe
Was this robe torn off during a fiery sermon to rally congregants to the cause of the Revolutionary War?...MoreNora Holt Autograph Book
Why did this Harlem Renaissance luminary own a book bearing the signatures of Presidents Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge?...More
EPISODE 4 - July 16, 2007
Atocha Spanish Silver
What is the meaning of these markings on a silver bar discovered in the wreck of the Spanish ship?...MoreErnie Pyle's Typewriter
Did America’s most beloved battlefront correspondent bang out his dispatches on this Corona 3?...MoreLucy Parsons Book
Was the legendary anarchist the owner of this manifesto found in a library?...More
EPISODE 3 - July 9, 2007
GAR Photograph
How did two African Americans come to be part of this photograph of about 20 older white men in Reconstructionist-era America?...MoreJefferson Pledge
Did the transformation of the nation's public education system begin with this $200 pledge? ...MoreDempsey Fight Bell
Is this the bell that sat ringside at the world's first boxing superstar's legendary match? ...More
EPISODE 2 - July 2, 2007
Continental Currency
Could this $6 bill represent America’s first declaration of its independence? ...MoreShort Snorter
Was this British ten-shilling note witness to the fateful agreement that forged the alliance between America and Britain? ...MoreLiberty Bell Pin
Was one of America’s most iconic symbols melted down into a mere memento? ...More
EPISODE 1 - JUNE 25, 2007
3D Cuban Missile Crisis
Did this portable projection screen help save the Free World? ...MoreAmos 'n' Andy Record
Is this aluminum record with the words "Amos & Andy" hand-written on its label an early recording of the old-time radio series?...MoreWomen's Suffrage Painting
What role did this watercolor painting play in securing women the right to vote?... MoreDon’t forget you can watch a video trailer of Season 5, here.
