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11 Little-Known Facts About George Washington
1. Washington had only a grade-school education. The first president’s formal schooling ended when he was 11 years old, after his father died. That event cut young George off from the opportunity to be educated abroad in England, a privilege that had been afforded to his older ...read more
George Washington Gave America This Advice the First Time He Tried to Retire
The American Revolution had just come to an end. George Washington, 51 years old and then the commander in chief of the Continental Army, had resigned his duties and wanted nothing more than to retire to his estate at Mount Vernon and study his crops. Before he stepped back, ...read more
See Photos From the Harlem Renaissance's Cultural Explosion
The New York City neighborhood of Harlem was the center of a cultural explosion from late 1910s through the mid-1930s. During the Great Migration, Harlem became a destination neighborhood, particularly for African Americans who had left the south in search of new opportunities. ...read more
7 Momentous Kisses in History
Despite what the song says, a kiss isn’t always just a kiss. A kiss can be political, whether because it’s the first of its kind or because it’s between two heads of state. A kiss can also become iconic when it’s captured on film, even if the kiss itself was invasive and ...read more
How America Struggled to Bury Its Dead During the 1918 Flu Pandemic
As a terrifyingly lethal influenza virus swept across the globe between 1918 and 1920, history’s deadliest pandemic claimed the lives of approximately 50 million people worldwide and 675,000 in the United States. Nearly 200,000 Americans died from the “Spanish Flu” in October ...read more
Why Was Dresden So Heavily Bombed?
They had heard the “whump a whump” of distant aerial bombings many times before. But on February 13, 1945, the American prisoners of war heard Dresden’s fire sirens howl right above their heads. German guards moved them two stories down into a meat locker. When they came back to ...read more
7 Black Heroes of the American Revolution
During the American Revolution, thousands of black Americans jumped into the war, on both sides of the conflict. But unlike their white counterparts, they weren’t just fighting for independence—or to maintain British control. In a time when the vast majority of African Americans ...read more
How Coffee Fueled Revolutions—And Changed History
Sultan Murad IV decreed death to coffee drinkers in the Ottoman Empire. King Charles II dispatched spies to infiltrate London’s coffeehouses, which he saw as the original source of “false news.” During the Enlightenment, Voltaire, Rousseau and Isaac Newton could all be found ...read more
Victorian-Era 'Vinegar' Valentines Could Be Mean and Hostile
In the Victorian era, and into the 20th century, lovers exchanged elaborate lace-trimmed cards on Valentine’s Day, expressing their undying love and devotion with sentiments and poems. For those not on good terms, or who wanted to fend off an enemy or unwanted suitor, “vinegar ...read more
George Washington Warned Against Political Infighting in His Farewell Address
In 1796, as he neared the end of his second term, President George Washington was 64 years old and suffering from ills both physical and political. Plagued by painful dentures and rheumatism, and facing increasing attacks from opponents of his policies, the former Revolutionary ...read more
The MLK Graphic Novel That Inspired Generations of Civil Rights Activists
Shortly after noon on August 26, 1961, Hollis Watkins and Curtis Elmer Hayes filled two vacant stools at the Woolworth’s lunch counter in McComb, Mississippi. When the two African American students were refused service at the segregated dining spot, police arrested the pair for ...read more
George Washington Raised Martha's Children and Grandchildren as His Own
George Washington, the “Father of the Nation,” had no biological children of his own. But during his 40-year marriage to Martha, the Revolutionary War hero and first president presided over a Mount Vernon estate filled with her children and grandchildren, and by their accounts ...read more
The Presidential Medal of Freedom Began as a World War II Honor
The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian honor in the United States. Originally, Harry S. Truman established the “Medal of Freedom” to honor people who’d demonstrated notable service during World War II. In 1963, John F. Kennedy reintroduced it as the ...read more
7 Women Leaders Who Were Elected to Highest Office
More than 70 nations worldwide have seen a woman lead their governments in the modern era. Some have been elected, some appointed; some served for relatively brief terms, while others have left an enduring legacy behind them. These seven women are among the most formidable of ...read more
Photos: Innovative Ways People Tried to Protect Themselves From the Flu
The worst influenza pandemic in history was the Spanish flu of 1918-1919. It infected an estimated 500 million people (about one-third of the world’s population) and killed an estimated 50 million—more than the death toll for World War I. Even today, the seasonal ...read more