Genghis Khan
Source: HISTORY
The Mongol ruler Genghis Khan, who lived during the time of Macbeth, could have taught Shakespeare’s Scot a few things about ruthlessness. Get the full picture of one of the most powerful men in history.
History
Stanley Meets Livingstone
Source: Smithsonian Magazine
Nineteenth-century Scottish missionary and abolitionist David Livingstone gained fame by trekking across Africa and becoming the first European to see many of its sights. When he went missing, the intrepid Henry Morton Stanley was sent to find him.
Harriet Tubman Wins Unofficial Vote to Be on $20 Bill
Source: NBC News
With more than 33 percent of ballots cast in an online poll, Harriet Tubman emerged as the face that people want to see on a new $20 bill.
The Hatfield & McCoy Feud
Source: HISTORY
Like the Capulets and Montagues, the legendary Hatfield and McCoy feud featured long-standing and sometimes deadly conflict between families . . . and love between members of the feuding clans.
Who Was Edmund Pettus?
Source: Smithsonian
Just who was Edmund Pettus, and why was the famous bridge in Selma named for him? Find out here.
How Technology Shaped the Civil War
Source: Scientific American
Besides weapon technology, other innovations, such as newspapers and prosthetics, flourished in the Civil War era.
Emancipation Proclamation
Source: National Archives
For many Americans during the Civil War, freedom began with the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. View and explore the Emancipation Proclamation at the National Archives.
Elizabethan Playhouses, Actors, and Audiences
Source: A Short History of the Theatre
The subject matter of Shakespeare’s plays ranges from the violent to the sublime, and that’s no accident. This article explores the reasons behind this seeming contradiction.
Running for His Life
Source: Texas Monthly
The 1990s genocide in Rwanda and Burundi turned classmates into adversaries overnight. Learn about how one teen escaped the carnage and made a new life for himself in the United States.
Why Your Family Name Was Not Changed at Ellis Island
Source: New York Public Library
One of America’s strengths is the way its people have come together from all over the world, many of them through Ellis Island. But the persistent myth that immigrant’s names were “Americanized” by officials at Ellis Island is false.