HISTORY.com Editors

Some have connected the site with the alleged government coverup of an alien spacecraft crash. Others claim the moon landing was filmed there. If that's not true, what is?

D-Day was a historic World War II invasion, but the events of June 6, 1944 encompassed much more than a key military victory.

As the United States celebrates its 250th anniversary, these 250 people stand out as among the most influential in shaping America.

Revisit history’s defining conflict, from the rise of fascism to Hiroshima, through new insights and human stories. Available wherever you get your podcasts.

The Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921 destroyed Black Wall Street in Greenwood, Tulsa.

The March 17 holiday is steeped in myths. These St. Patrick’s Day facts share the fun, surprising truth about the celebration.

Aileen Wuornos, Ed Gein and Dennis Rader left infamous legacies.

These standout titles don’t just recount battles.

These 12 trailblazers in government, arts, advocacy, business and sports helped shaped American history.

From 'I Have a Dream' to 'Beyond Vietnam,' revisit the words and messages of the legendary civil rights leader.

On December 7, 1941, a surprise Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor shocked America. These are the stories of veterans who were there.

On the morning of December 7, 1941 Paul Kennedy found himself staring straight at an incoming Japanese aircraft.

Perfect picks for the wanna-be time traveler on your list.

As a first-grader, her image became an emotional symbol for civil rights and educational equality.

Before we carved pumpkins, the Irish chiseled creepy faces onto turnips.

From pagan rituals to costumes and candy corn, discover how Halloween—and its associated traditions—has evolved through the ages.

The practice can be traced to the ancient Celts, early Roman Catholics and 17th-century British politics.

Christopher Columbus' arrival in North America in 1492 undoubtedly changed the world and lives of the Indigenous people he met. But was it for the better?

U.S. presidents have received elaborate welcomes by the British monarchy since 1918.

From its colors to the rendering of a snake-eating eagle, the Mexican flag is packed with symbolism and history.

Preserved by icy waters, the majestic wooden ship of the infamous 1914-1916 Antarctic expedition is revealed in images from the deep of the Weddell Sea.

These people went off the beaten track. Then things went horribly wrong.

These aircraft, tanks, rocket launchers and more serve as the workhorses of American warfare. One has even earned the nickname "the finger of God."

Chris Mellon believes the government should more aggressively gather intel on military UFO sightings, some of which were captured on video.

Civil War secrets found in a battlefield garbage pile. A jewel thief in a powdered wig who hastened Marie Antoinette’s downfall. A Supreme Court showdown started by barmaids. Discover 25 fascinating—and often overlooked—moments that made history.

A brutally drawn-out election in 1271 led to the formation of the secretive, secluded conclave—and quicker elections.

A look back at some pivotal moments in the complicated relationship between the two superpowers.

Which famous French explorer is credited with naming them?

Their backstories may surprise you.

Halloween's focus on horror and make believe has spawned creepy legends, ghost stories—and hoaxes.

From witches to zombies to creepy clowns, the season's hair-raising legends all formed from decades—to centuries—of lore.

The Woodstock music festival may not have been a smoothly run event, but it featured electric moments—musical and otherwise—that made it unforgettable.

A diplomat who used the power of paperwork, a 16-year-old girl who shot Nazis from her bicycle and a teacher who hid Jewish children in baskets were among those who risked their lives to save others during World War II.

The 20-foot piece of the NASA space shuttle was found off the coast of Florida during the filming of the new HISTORY Channel series, 'The Bermuda Triangle: Into Cursed Waters.'

Images show devastation during the 2001 terror attacks, and the tragic aftermath.

Watch videos about the attacks of 9/11 and the aftermath.

The struggle for LGBTQ rights dates at least as far back as 1924 and accelerated in the wake of the 1969 Stonewall Uprising.

He's America's first president. The icon we all think we know. But in reality, he was a complicated human being.

If you’ve ever received an anonymous flower basket at your doorstep on the first day of May, you may have been the recipient of a May Day basket.

This HISTORY Channel podcast, produced in partnership with WNYC Studios, was honored with a 2024 Peabody Award.

Meet the standout soldiers, spies and homefront forces who fought in American conflicts, from the Revolution to World War II.

'After Auschwitz, the human condition is no longer the same. After Auschwitz, nothing will ever be the same.' —Elie Wiesel.

On the morning of 9/11 in New York City, ordinary people picked up video cameras and recorded. This is what they saw—and how they reflected on the experience years later.

The first Indigenous cabinet member in U.S. history, Haaland hails from a lineage of 35 generations based in New Mexico.

These videos showcase the vision and hope John F. Kennedy inspired in Americans—and the immense national grief they shared upon his death.

Stories of a ghostly President Lincoln wandering the corridors and rooms of the White House have persisted for more than a century.

When Neil Armstrong stepped down a ladder and onto the moon on July 20, 1969, the nation achieved an audacious vision. But there were surprising moments along the way and not everything went as expected.

The Great Migration was the movement of more than 6 million Black Americans from the South to the cities of the North, Midwest and West from about 1916 to 1970.

The G.I. Bill— officially known as the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944—was created to help veterans of World War II. It established hospitals, made low-interest mortgages available and granted stipends covering tuition and expenses for veterans attending college or trade schools.

Rosa Parks' actions inspired the leaders of the local Black community to organize the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

The Star-Spangled Banner, written by lawyer Francis Scott Key in 1814, emerged as a popular patriotic song before becoming the U.S. national anthem in 1931.

The summer solstice falls in June in the Northern Hemisphere. The longest day of the year has inspired celebrations for millennia.

The Battle of Iwo Jima (February 19 – March 26, 1945) was an epic military campaign between U.S. Marines and the Imperial Army of Japan during World War II. American forces succeeded in securing the island, which was considered to have great tactical importance for its airfields.

Betsy Ross (1752-1836) became a patriotic icon in the late 19th century when stories surfaced that she had sewn the first “stars and stripes” U.S. flag in 1776. Though that story is likely apocryphal, Ross is known to have sewn flags during the Revolutionary War. She is perhaps the best-known figure from the American Revolutionary era who wasn’t a president, general or statesman.

American women served in World War II in many roles: as pilots, nurses, civil service employees, and in many home-front jobs that were formerly denied to them.

The majority of the world's countries eventually formed two opposing alliances: the Allies and the Axis.

The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre shocked the world on February 14, 1929, when Chicago’s North Side erupted in gang violence. Seven men associated with the Irish gangster George “Bugs” Moran, one of Capone’s longtime enemies, were shot to death by several men dressed as policemen on the city's North Side.

The Harlem Renaissance marked a golden age in Black culture.

The Scopes Trial, or the Scopes Monkey Trial, was a 1925 trial in which Clarence Darrow and William Jennings Bryan debated the teaching of evolution in schools.

UFO sightings have been reported throughout history from various parts of the world, raising questions about life on other planets and whether extraterrestrials have visited Earth.

Serpent Mound is the world’s largest surviving effigy mound—a mound in the shape of an animal—from the prehistoric era. Located in southern Ohio, the 411-meter-long (1348-feet-long) Native American structure has been excavated a few times since the late 1800s, but the origins of Serpent Mound are still a mystery. Some estimates place the construction of the National Historic Landmark—also called Great Serpent Mound—at around 300 B.C.

The Prohibition Era began in 1920 when the 18th Amendment outlawed liquor sales per the Volstead Act, but in 1932 the 21st Amendment ended Prohibition.

A burst of prosperity and freedom during the Prohibition era.

Flappers were young, independent American women who became a cultural force in the 1920s as they challenged barriers to economic, political and sexual freedom.

On August 13, 1961, the Communist government of East Germany began to build a barbed wire and concrete “Antifascistischer Schutzwall,” or “antifascist bulwark,” between East and West Berlin. The official purpose of the Berlin Wall was to keep Western “fascists” from entering East Germany and undermining the socialist state, but it primarily served the objective of stemming mass defections from East to West. The Berlin Wall fell on November 9, 1989.

The 1980s were a decade of political conservatism, such as President Ronald Reagan’s Reaganomics, and of blockbuster movies, pop culture and fashion on MTV.

A June 1972 break-in to the Democratic National Committee headquarters led to an investigation that revealed multiple abuses of power by the Nixon administration.

Three Mile Island is the site of a nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania which experienced the worst commercial nuclear accident in U.S. history in 1979.

The 1970s brought social change in the battles for women's and gay rights, along with the launch of an environmental movement and a new conservative populism.

The Stonewall Riots served as a catalyst for the modern gay rights movement.

The history of Pride Month began with the June 1969 Stonewall Riots and continues today with celebrations honoring the LGBTQ+ community.

In the Battle of Okinawa, the last major battle of World War II and one of the deadliest, U.S. troops overran Japanese resistance to take the island of Okinawa.

Where is Dunkirk? Dunkirk is located in the north of France, on the shores of the North Sea near the Belgian-French border. The Strait of Dover, where the distance between England and France is just 21 miles across the English Channel, is located to the...

The Battle of Midway was an epic WWII clash between the U.S. Navy and the Imperial Japanese Navy that played out six months after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The U.S. Navy’s decisive victory in the air-sea battle (June 3-6, 1942) dashed Japan’s hopes of neutralizing the United States as a naval power and effectively turned the tide of World War II in the Pacific.

The Battle of Britain in World War II, between Britain’s Royal Air Force and Nazi Germany’s Luftwaffe, was the first battle in history fought solely in the air.

From the Battle of the Atlantic to the Battle of Okinawa, see a timeline of World War II's battles.

Transcendentalism Popular 19th-century writers, including transcendentalists such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau and Walt Whitman drew inspiration from nature, while artists of the era—including Thomas Cole, Asher Durand and Albert Bierstad...

When Were Cars Invented? The 1901 Mercedes, designed by Wilhelm Maybach for Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft, deserves credit for being the first modern motorcar in all essentials. Its thirty-five-horsepower engine weighed only fourteen pounds per horsepowe...

The Model T, sold by the Ford Motor Company from 1908 to 1927, was the earliest effort to make a car that most people could actually buy. It became so popular at one point that a majority of Americans owned one, directly helping rural Americans become more connected with the rest of the country and leading to the numbered highway system.

The Fourth of July has been a cause for celebration since 1776.

Americans have been honoring their dads since the early 20th century.

The Roman Empire gave rise to the culture, laws, technologies and institutions that continue to define Western civilization.

Ancient Egypt was the preeminent civilization in the Mediterranean world from around 3100 B.C. to its conquest in 332 B.C.

The U.S. Declaration of Independence, adopted July 4, 1776, was the first formal statement by a nation's people asserting the right to choose their government.

On September 11, 2001, 19 militants associated with the Islamic extremist group al Qaeda hijacked four airplanes and carried out suicide attacks against targets in the United States. Two of the planes were flown into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, a third plane hit the Pentagon just outside Washington, D.C., and the fourth plane crashed in a field in Pennsylvania.

Explore the history of Apollo 11, the first moon landing, including JFK's vision, NASA's Apollo program and a complete mission timeline.

Thomas Paine was a writer and philosopher whose pamphlets "Common Sense," "The Age of Reason" and "Rights of Man" supported the Revolutionary War and other causes.

Louis XIV, the Sun King, ruled France for 72 years. He built the opulent palace of Versailles, but his wars and the Edict of Nantes left France drained and weak.

The Byzantine Empire was a powerful nation, led by Justinian and other rulers, that carried the torch of civilization until the fall of its capital city Constantinople.

People use the phrase “Middle Ages” to describe Europe between the fall of Rome in 476 CE and the beginning of the Renaissance in the 14th century.

These military leaders, rebels, politicians and writers varied in personality, status and background, but all played a part in forming a new nation and hammering out the framework for the young democracy.

The American Revolutionary War was an insurrection by Patriots in the 13 colonies against British rule, resulting in American independence.

On June 11, 1776, Congress selected a "Committee of Five," including John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Robert R. Livingston and Roger Sherman of Connecticut, to draft a declaration of independence.

These Black female artists and writers found mainstream success and recognition.

Reconstruction was an effort to integrate Black Americans into society after the Civil War.

Joe Louis was the world's heavyweight boxing champion for nearly 12 consecutive years, a period that saw his famed knockout of Germany's Max Schmeling in 1938.

The Boston Tea Party was a political protest staged on December 16, 1773 at Griffin’s Wharf in Boston, Massachusetts. American colonists, frustrated at Britain for imposing “taxation without representation,” dumped 342 chests of British tea into the harbor. The event was the first major act of defiance to British rule over the colonists.