Apr 17 Watch 6:14 The undertold story of D.C.’s dames during the Civil War By PBS News Hour Journalist and political commentator Cokie Roberts offers a different take on the Civil War era, focusing on the women who were involved in politics behind the scenes. Gwen Ifill talks to the author about her new book, “Capital Dames: The… Continue watching
Apr 15 Watch 1:04 What inspired Abe Lincoln to grow a beard? By PBS News Hour In our NewsHour shares moment of the day, a look at a less familiar Abraham Lincoln -- one without a beard. In honor of the anniversary of his death 150 years ago, hear how a letter from an 11-year-old girl… Continue watching
Apr 14 Lincoln’s assassination was planned at this D.C. karaoke spot By Colleen Shalby It was 150 years ago that John Wilkes Booth shot and killed President Abraham Lincoln in Washington, D.C.’s Ford’s Theatre. Continue reading
Mar 30 Judy Woodruff remembers the day Reagan was shot By Colleen Shalby Thirty-four years ago today, John Hinckley tried to kill President Ronald Reagan. Continue reading
Mar 26 King Richard III of England re-interred 530 years after death By April Brown It’s been more than 500 years since he died, but England’s notorious King Richard III now appears to have a final resting place. Continue reading
Mar 23 Prehistoric hunt suggests humans arrived in North America earlier than previously thought By Laura Santhanam Bone fragments from seven horses and a camel suggest that the First Americans hunted and butchered these animals in North America at least 13,300 years ago after migrating from northeast Asia, hundreds of years earlier than previously thought. Continue reading
Feb 12 America’s first big business? Not the railroads, but slavery By Sven Beckert For too long, historian Sven Beckert argues, historians have depicted slavery as a non-capitalist "Southern pathology." In his new book, "Empire of Cotton," Beckert shows how slavery was actually at the very roots of modern American capitalism. Continue reading
Feb 10 Ancient ceramics show skill sharing, social networking in pre-Columbian era By Shehryar Nabi Studying ancient ceramics shows that social networking and skill-sharing helped pre-Columbian civilizations survive longer. Continue reading
Feb 09 How a simple ‘hello’ became the first message sent via the Internet By Mike McDowall, OZY No fanfare. No cleverly contrived quote for the history books. And yet, at 10:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 29, 1969, three months after Neil Armstrong’s famous step, came another giant leap for mankind. Just months after the first manned moon… Continue reading
Feb 08 Forgotten copy of Magna Carta found in UK archive By Daniel Costa-Roberts A rare early copy of the Magna Carta, the medieval English charter that forms the foundation of modern democratic rights, has been found in a Victorian-era scrapbook in Kent County, England. Continue reading