Rollo was a Viking leader who settled Normandy. He set the stage for the merging of Viking and Frankish cultures. As the great-great-great-grandfather of William the Conqueror, Rollo’s legacy includes far more than raiding and pillaging. He established a royal bloodline that, centuries later, would create a bitter rivalry between Britain and France that would […]
Rollo: The Viking Leader Who Became the Duke of Normandy Read More »
During a time when slavery had been abolished in most of the world, human zoos remained a popular attraction for millions of Europeans and Americans. They flocked to exhibits showing groups of dark-skinned people from Africa, Asia, and North America surrounded by trappings that were supposed to represent their “natural environment.” Most of these cruel
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Have you ever been curious about what famous people looked like before they were famous? In this article, we go back in time to see old pictures of famous people when they were younger. We will show you their old school pictures and the first pictures of them when they started acting or singing. It’s
Pictures of 38 celebrities when they were kids Read More »
Evaluating generalship is often a practice of choosing arbitrary values to rank. Military historians will argue infinitely over the relative merits of one leader over another. Ranking Roman generals is not immune to this kind of controversy. Sun Tzu provides us with some guidance: “Therefore the skillful leader subdues the enemy’s troops without any fighting;
Who were the 10 greatest Roman generals? Read More »
In 2008, some of the unfinished manuscripts of Cuban anthropologist, historian, and musicologist, Fernando Ortiz were published posthumously as La Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre. Historia y etnografía. This work, which deals with Cuba’s patron saint, was devoured by readers all over the island. The book flew off the shelves of bookstores – a
Life of Fernando Ortiz: Cuban Anthropologist and Writer Read More »
Edward Paisnel became known as the “Beast of Jersey” after it was discovered that he had kidnapped and raped at least a dozen children on the tiny British Isle of Jersey between 1957 and 1971. He snatched young women off the street, snuck into boys’ and girls’ bedrooms at night, and wore a gruesome-looking rubber
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When people talk about war, they immediately relate it to the use of guns and other available weapons at the time. While this is not necessarily incorrect, war is not limited to one type of physical violence. Guns and ammunition are just one element of war. It also involves complex political strategies and intricate tactical
11 Cases of Psychological Warfare Throughout History Read More »
The Waterloo campaign of June 1815 was the last thrust of Napoleon Bonaparte, whose shadow loomed over European politics and war for almost two decades. The brilliant commander who triumphed again and again from Marengo to Austerlitz was a spent force, his best commanders dead or incapacitated. He was facing an enemy who had learned
The Battle of Waterloo: The End of the Napoleonic Era Read More »
The year 1989 was a revolutionary year for Europe. Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev was making radical changes in the United Socialist Soviet Republic (U.S.S.R.) The Soviet Union at that time included Russia and 14 other countries that were part of the Communist Bloc. His policies, Perestroika (reconstruction), and Glasnost (openness), were affecting Eastern Europe and
Why Did the Berlin Wall Fall? A Closer Look Read More »
The death penalty no longer exists in most Western countries, including England. But in the 1800s, executions were a common form of capital punishment. While most people did not survive to tell the tale, one man named John Henry George Lee (also known as John “Babbacombe” Lee) survived three execution attempts. Poor Childhood, Big Dreams
John Lee: The Man Who Couldn’t Hang Read More »
