It is rare for a person to leave such an enduring mark on the world as Josephine Baker did. She dazzled audiences in Paris with her electrifying performances and daring fashion, but her life was about much more than entertainment. She risked her life as a World War II spy, gathering intelligence across the world. …
Memnon was known to the ancient Greeks as the greatest African warrior who ever lived. Born of a goddess and a prince, he grew up to become king of the land of Ethiopia. When he brought his vast army of warriors to Troy to aid in the defense of the city, the beleaguered Trojan king …
Memnon: The Greatest African Warrior of Greek Mythology Read More »
For centuries, the Mongols ruled an empire that stretched from China to Eastern Europe. It was the largest empire in the world, created through centuries of brutal warfare. Over time, the name Mongol became synonymous with the fearsome horsemen of the Eurasian steppe. Their exploits in battle – not to mention what came after – …
Sarah Rector’s name has long been associated with fame related to her status as one of the first Black woman millionaires in the US. What makes this unusual is that she reached this achievement in an era where millionaires in the United States were rare, no matter which sex they were. Even more noteworthy was …
The moniker, “father of modern medicine,” usually goes to the ancient Greek physician Hippocrates. However, there is another man who predates him by nearly 2,000 years who may deserve that title even more. That man is Imhotep. He was a multi-talented ancient Egyptian who was behind some of the greatest innovations of Egypt’s Old Kingdom. …
Upon the liberation of concentration camps following World War II, the Allied forces discovered the nightmarish aftermath of the Holocaust. The camps in Nazi-occupied territories were rife with scenes of mass murder, suffering, and depravity. One of the most disturbing discoveries was at Bergen-Belsen, which the British Army liberated on April 15th, 1945. Again, the …
Johanna Bormann: The life of “The Weasel of Auschwitz” Read More »
A “Princess Qajar” history meme has been making the rounds on the internet for years. It shows a Persian princess with a mustache claiming that she was a symbol of beauty in the 19th century, and many men committed suicide after she rejected them. The vagueness of this claim and its perceived unlikelihood has made …
Princess Qajar of Persia: The True Story Behind the Meme Read More »
Germany was the birthplace of the automobile. In 1889, Karl Benz invented the Motorwagen, the first practical gasoline-powered car. Well, practical is a bit of an overstatement. It had a top speed of only ten mph, was a tricycle, and had a steering system more like that of a boat than what we would today …
The Autobahn: Unraveling the Story of the World’s First Superhighway Read More »
The eighteenth century was an age of courtly excesses. In the time of King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette, the palace of Versailles outside Paris became notorious for parties of extravagance and debauchery during the height of Britain’s economic growth. It was an age of decadence that often manifested itself in how people appeared. …
The Deadliest Fashion Trends of the Georgian Era Read More »
The Illuminati is one of the world’s most well-known secrets. People know about its existence, but to what extent, and does it still exist today? Plenty of resources talk about the Illuminati, but even after two centuries, little is known about the elusive society. This makes sense, considering that it was supposed to be a …
From Bavaria to the New World Order: The Illuminati’s secret history Read More »
