Catalog Search Results
61) Edgar Allan Poe and H.P. Lovecraft: The Lives and Legacies of America's Most Famous Horror Writers
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Edgar Allan Poe was one of America's first native-born professional authors, but he nevertheless embodied the now-common archetype of the artist - dark, tortured, brilliant and tragic. Born into troubled conditions, Poe's life hardly improved over the years, and when it did, his happiness or triumph was always brief. His work was lauded during his lifetime, but his lifestyle never came close to matching the legacy that would swell in the decades following...
62) Underground Railroad to Mexico: The History and Legacy of the Southern Routes to Freedom for America
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The Underground Railroad is one of the most taught topics to young schoolchildren, and every American is familiar with the idea of fugitive slaves escaping to Canada and the North with the help of determined abolitionists and even former escaped slaves like Harriet Tubman. The secrecy involved in the Underground Railroad made it one of the most mysterious aspects of the mid-19th century in America, to the extent that claims spread that 100,000 slaves...
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Hollywood has never lacked leading men who could captivate viewers with dramatic performances that depict them as suave romantics or dashing heroes, especially during the Golden Age of Hollywood, when stars like Humphrey Bogart, Clark Gable, and Cary Grant graced screens. But in the mid-20th century, one of the most popular stars was a man who's been frequently overlooked.
Some actors were recruited based on their appearance alone, signing contracts...
64) Janissaries and Sipahi: The History of the Elite Infantry and Cavalry that Fueled the Ottoman Empire
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In terms of geopolitics, perhaps the most seminal event of the Middle Ages was the successful Ottoman siege of Constantinople in 1453. The city had been an imperial capital as far back as the 4th century, when Constantine the Great shifted the power center of the Roman Empire there, effectively establishing two almost equally powerful halves of antiquity's greatest empire. Constantinople would continue to serve as the capital of the Byzantine Empire...
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The history of California is one that witnessed the rise and fall of several nations and peoples. From the first natives to settle the fertile lands to the encroaching foreigners from the south, east, west, and north, the land that eventually became the Golden State received them all. From across oceans, mountains, plains, and deserts, people came to take advantage of the region's natural resources.
In the mid-19th century, the battles would culminate...
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The three modern Baltic states - Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia - may occupy small tracts of lands bordering the Baltic Sea, but their respective histories are unique. Latvia, like its neighbours, was settled thousands of years ago, with a number of distinct Baltic peoples emerging. By around 900 CE, numerous Baltic and Scandinavian tribes dominated the region. Modern day Latvia is home to just under 2 million people and has been independent since...
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One of the reasons for the prevalence of Tlaloc in the Valley of Mexico is that in the semi-arid climate, water was a powerful daily symbol. Although there were no naturally occurring water connections to the sea, the high altitude of the mountains and volcanoes that surrounded it caught the rain water well and formed five important lakes: Xochimilco, Xaltocan, Zumpango, Chalco and Texcoco. As the largest, Texcoco was where the Aztecs eventually built...
68) The Mughal Empire: The History of the Modern Dynasty That Ruled Much of India Before the British
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In the late 15th century, Western Europe entered the Renaissance, which is often credited with the origins of modern, scientific thought. The Age of Exploration also began around that time, and 1517 is when the Reformation began. Meanwhile, the Islamic world was also quickly evolving around the same time, with the Ottoman Empire expanding into Eastern Europe and wiping the Orthodox Christian Byzantine Empire off the face of the map. And while the...
69) France in World War Ii: The History of Nazi Germany's Conquest of France and Its Liberation by the
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One of the most famous people in the world came to tour the city of Paris for the first time on June 28, 1940. Over the next three hours, he rode through the city's streets, stopping to tour L'Opéra Paris. He rode down the Champs-Élysées toward the Trocadero and the Eiffel Tower, where he had his picture taken. After passing through the Arc de Triomphe, he toured the Pantheon and old medieval churches, though he did not manage to see the Louvre...
70) Opium Wars and Sino-Japanese Wars: The History of the Conflicts that Ended China's Standing as a
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The 19th century saw the rise of one of the largest, most powerful empires of the modern era. The sun never set on the British Empire, whose holdings spanned the globe, in one form or another. Its naval supremacy linked the Commonwealth of Canada with the colonies in South Africa and India, and through them trade flowed east and west. An integral but underutilized part of this vast trade network included China, a reclusive Asian kingdom closed off...
71) Osage Indian Murders: The History of the Notorious Killing Spree and the Federal Investigations in
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In the late 19th century, Indian Territory became part of the new State of Oklahoma and tribal lands were gradually reduced in size, but on some of the lands assigned to the Osage, which became Osage County, something very dramatic happened: oil was discovered. At first, that didn't seem too important - in the 1880s, oil was useful but wasn't the source of wealth it would later become. However, the rise of the automobile changed everything. In 1900,...
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As labor unions and movements began to form and coalesce in the 19th century, the tensions between workers and companies led to demonstrations, encounters, and even conflicts that descended into violence. Among those, none were larger than the colloquially known Battle of Blair Mountain, which pitted West Virginian miners against authorities in 1921. It represented the largest labor uprising in American history and the largest armed uprising in the...
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Despite a general dearth of African American names rising to musical prominence during the years of Reconstruction, black talent existed in good measure for both popular and classical genres, and among the most notable musicians celebrated in the present day is composer Scott Joplin, who in his day earned the moniker "King of Ragtime." Joplin's use of ragtime as a piano genre was as natural to African American dances as the waltz was to Europeans....
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One of the most famous people in the world came to tour the city of Paris for the first time on June 28, 1940. Over the next three hours, he rode through the city's streets, stopping to tour L'Opéra Paris. He rode down the Champs-Élysées toward the Trocadero and the Eiffel Tower, where he had his picture taken. After passing through the Arc de Triomphe, he toured the Pantheon and old medieval churches, though he did not manage to see the Louvre...
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During the first half of the 1st millennium CE, an empire arose in Persia that extended its power and influence to Mesopotamia in the east, Arabia in the south, the Caucasus Mountains in the north, and as far east as India. This empire, known alternatively as the Sasanian Empire or Sassanid Empire, was the last of three great dynasties in Persia-the Achaemenid and the Parthian being the first two dynasties-before the rise of Islam. In fact, many scholars...
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Israel's Day of Independence, Yom Ha'atzmaut, is celebrated on the fifth day of the Hebrew calendar in the month of Iyar. It is immediately preceded by Yom HaZikaron, the Memorial Day for the fallen Israeli soldiers who gave their lives for Israel's establishment. Emphasis switches from the memorial celebration to the celebration of independence a few minutes after sundown.
The day on which the state of Israel was signed into existence was May 14,...
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A history of the Tatar peoples covers a huge expanse of territory, time, and the rise and fall of many Tatar communities. As such, they played a role in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East over several centuries, and from Genghis Khan to Ivan the Terrible and Josef Stalin, some of history's most infamous tyrants have played a key role in this story. Crucially, the history of the Tatars is one that seems to take place at the fringes of the great empires....
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The Manhattan Project would ultimately yield the "Little Boy" and "Fat Man" bombs that released more than 100 Terajoules of energy at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but as it turned out, the Axis were not far behind with their own nuclear weapons program. When the Nazis' quest for a nuclear weapon began in earnest in 1939, no one really had a handle on how important nuclear weapons would prove to war and geopolitics. The attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki...
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While the military orders are now often tied to religion or conspiracy theories, they did once wield great power and influence in Europe, and their actions had consequences centuries after they had reached their peak. This was made clear in the wake of a major battle fought between German and Russian forces from August 26-30, 1914 during the First World War. It occurred in Masuria, a region of marshes, woodland, and numerous lakes in northern Poland,...
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In the list of popular American geological oddities and attractions, one sizeable phenomenon remains surprisingly unfamiliar to the average citizen. This may be due in part to its remote desert location, but perception of the Salton Sea in southern California is also laden with environmental concerns and is in a constant state of flux. The extensive body of inland saltwater hides a glorious commercial past and has served as an important wildlife preserve...
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