Evan Andrews

Symbols, amulets and other talismans from around the globe.

From ancient Roman bacchanalia to the Shah of Iran's $175 million birthday party, these are some of history's most epic bashes.

From medieval knights to Japanese kamikaze pilots, soldiers throughout history have yelled out intimidating and inspiring rallying cries.

For nearly 30 years, a guide called the “Negro Motorist Green Book” provided African Americans with advice on safe places to eat and sleep when they traveled through the Jim Crow-era United States.

The term traces back to a derogatory minstrel routine from the 1830s.

In 1969, a group of rebel activists took over America’s most notorious prison for more than 19 months.

From the infamous nuclear disaster zone near Chernobyl to Henry Ford’s doomed jungle paradise, learn the stories behind six of the world’s most famous vacant towns and villages.

Get the facts on seven famous historical events that fell on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.

The ritual suicide originated in Japan's ancient warrior class.

Explore eight surprising facts about one of weirdest and wildest Summer Games in Olympic history.

It remains one of the most perplexing mysteries in aviation history. Some blame the Bermuda Triangle.

Explore 11 little-known facts about the man who integrated baseball.

Check out these facts about one of baseball’s most legendary showmen.

In 1919, Chicago White Sox players allegedly threw the World Series. It remains one of professional baseball’s most notorious scandals.

Explore 10 fascinating facts about the medieval empire that bridged the gap between the classical world and the Renaissance.

Explore eight reasons why this remarkable transit system helped unite the ancient world.

The Romans were prodigious builders and expert civil engineers, and their thriving civilization produced advances in technology, culture and architecture that remained unequaled for centuries.

Explore eight surprising facts about the life of Rome’s fourth emperor.

Ancient Rome waged many campaigns of conquest during its history, but its most influential wars may have been the ones it fought against itself.

Bear-baiting, dog fights and gladiatorial combat involving chimps were just a few of the popular—and grisly—animal blood sports in 16th and 17th century England.

Between September 2 and September 6, 1666, a massive inferno ripped through London, reducing much of the city center to a smoldering ruin.

1962’s Cuban Missile Crisis was not the only time the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union almost went hot.

Find out how table tennis became an unlikely tool in international relations.

From river pirates to knife-wielding adolescents, get the facts on seven of 19th century New York’s most notorious street gangs.

From high profile capers by the likes of Jesse James and Butch Cassidy to a raid by a gang of Indian political dissidents, find out more about six of history’s most audacious rail heists.

Get the story behind how legendary rogue Thomas Blood bluffed his way into the Tower of London and nearly made off with the British crown jewels.

In 1911, a former Louvre employee perpetrated one of the greatest art heists in history: the theft of Leonardo da Vinci’s immortal painting “Mona Lisa.”

Multiple people have been suspected of informing the Nazis of the Franks' hiding place, while one theory suggests it may have simply been bad luck.

In the early 1910s, explorers Roald Amundsen and Robert Falcon Scott engaged in a frantic, and ultimately tragic, race to be the first man to reach the South Pole.

Learn 10 surprising facts about the heroic and controversial life of the aviator known as “The Lone Eagle.”

Find out about seven groups of enslaved people who risked everything for a chance at freedom.

From fitness tests for infants to state-sponsored hazing, find out why these ancient Greek warriors had a rough go of it.

On March 9, 1862, the ironclad warships USS Monitor and CSS Virginia squared off in the most influential naval battle of the Civil War.

It's been the site of mysterious disappearances and other bizarre activity.

From an 11,000-year-old temple complex to a mystifying Irish megalith, here are seven lesser-known world wonders that stand as a testament to the engineering prowess of the ancients.

In 1968, an American tycoon bought London Bridge—all 10,000 tons of it—and moved it brick-by-brick to the desert town of Lake Havasu City, Arizona.

From a 'bear lunch counter' to a less-than-faithful Old Faithful, here are some surprising things to know about America’s first national park.

Explore 10 surprising facts about the most ambitious project in the history of the space program.

By the time he was inaugurated as president, Washington only had a single natural tooth left.

Check out nine little-known facts about the jazz legend nicknamed “Satchmo.”

From Martin Luther King’s immortal jailhouse letter to a classic of philosophy completed on death row, get the facts on eight of the most influential and incendiary works written from behind bars.

Check out nine surprising facts about the man known as the big screen’s “Master of Suspense.”

From a Russian national treasure looted by the Nazis to a da Vinci painting that no one has ever seen, find out more about eight of art history’s missing masterworks.

It likely originated in ancient Mesopotamia.

Check out nine fascinating facts about one of the earliest sophisticated civilizations known to history.

Find out more about the fascinating history behind one of antiquity’s most important legal codes.

Check out 10 surprising facts about the fabled Queen of the Nile.

From the earliest recorded peace treaty to ancient board games, discover 11 surprising facts about the Gift of the Nile.

These razor-sharp blades inspired fear and fascination and helped change the course of military campaigns.

From an ancient Sumerian bulwark to the Berlin Wall, here are seven of history’s most influential manmade barriers.

A new examination of Julius Caesar’s health has found that the Roman dictator may have suffered from a series “mini-strokes” rather than epilepsy.

Take a look back at six of the most damaging raids on the Eternal City.

Equal parts secret service, special forces and urban administrators, Rome’s Praetorian Guard was one of the ancient world’s most prestigious military units.

Get the facts on the enigmatic men-at-arms behind Ancient Rome’s most notorious form of entertainment.

Find out why one of history's most legendary empires finally came crashing down.

From Genghis Khan to Alexander the Great, get the facts on seven historical titans whose final resting places are unaccounted for.

The term “Gordian knot,” commonly used to describe a complex or unsolvable problem, can be traced back to a legendary chapter in the life of Alexander the Great. As the story goes, in 333 B.C. the Macedonian conqueror marched his army into the Phrygian capital of Gordium in modern day Turkey. Upon arriving in the […]

Music is likely as old as humanity. But when was the first song recorded in history?

From Britain’s most beloved outlaw to the founder of Sparta, find out more about six historical figures whose existence remains up for debate.

An attack by President Nixon on his own Justice Department came with grave consequences.

Find out more about this much-maligned investigation into the murder of America’s 35th president.

Take a look back at how the Fab Four conquered American pop culture.

Explore 10 surprising facts about the glamorous and tragic life of one of the 20th century’s most celebrated writers.

Ninety-five years after its inception, learn 10 fascinating facts about America’s nearly 14-year “noble experiment” in alcohol prohibition.

History offers various explanations from an ancient species of giant fennel to anatomical drawings in medieval texts.

These people went far beyond sending cards and chocolates to demonstrate their love.

Many ancient cultures prized mistletoe for its healing properties—and its romantic symbolism.

Get the facts on the ways 5 ancient civilizations rang in the New Year.

The idea dates back to 1895—and has been controversial ever since.

On the anniversary of "Bugsy” Siegel’s birth, check out nine fascinating facts about one of American history’s most iconic gangsters.

Check out eight of the world’s most notable time capsules.

Check out 10 surprising facts about the life and work of one of America’s most iconic first ladies.

When John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon squared off in America's first televised presidential debate in 1960, image suddenly mattered—more than ever.

Explore 10 surprising facts about the man often called the 'Father of the Constitution.'

Meet eight of history’s most unlikely candidates for the United States’ highest office.

On July 2, 1881, newly inaugurated President James A. Garfield was mortally wounded by a deranged gunman as he prepared to board a train in Washington, D.C.

On September 6, 1901, William McKinley became the third U.S. president to be assassinated after he was fatally shot at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York.

It has to do with seating arrangements.

William Henry Harrison won a landslide victory in the presidential election in 1840, in part because of his reputation as the hero of 1811’s Battle of Tippecanoe.

Before there was Air Force One, there was the presidential yacht.

Take a look back at the criminal careers of five of history’s most formidable seafaring women.

It's one of the rarest and most influential books in world history. But was it the first?

Discover fascinating facts about the life of Marco Polo and his legendary travels to the Far East.

Check out 10 surprising facts about the 19th century’s most legendary showman

Explore 10 fascinating facts about what has often been called America’s “forgotten war.”

Winston Churchill called it 'undoubtedly the greatest American battle' of World War II.

From Leonardo Da Vinci’s android to a French-made artificial duck, learn more about seven early mechanical wonders.

Get seven facts about the Berlin border crossing that served as an iconic symbol of the Cold War.

With the election on the horizon, take a look at five famous instances where candidates proved the oddsmakers wrong.

From time immemorial, floods have wreaked havoc and made their mark on history.

The role of the United States’ first lady traditionally goes to the president’s spouse, but in instances it falls to others.

Master sword fighters are a recurring motif in fiction, but there were also several historical figures who were renowned for their ability to wield a blade with deadly precision. From soldiers and samurai to duelists and expert fencers, take a look back at the adventures of six legendary swordsmen. 1. Miyamoto Musashi—Japan’s Sword Saint The […]

Explore 10 surprising facts about the man often called the “King of the Wild Frontier.”

From the Terra Cotta Army to the Dead Sea Scrolls, get the stories behind seven chance encounters that led to the discovery of priceless historical relics.

In 1960, one of the most notorious chapters in the Cold War began after American U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers was shot down and captured during a spying mission over the Soviet Union.

Kidnapping is among history’s most sensational crimes.

Was he trying to forge his own empire—or something far more innocent?

Victoria Woodhull ran for highest office nearly 50 years before women gained the right to vote.

Brash, uncompromising and fiercely intelligent, Elizabeth Cady Stanton spent more than 50 years as one of the leading voices of the American women’s rights movement.

When German forces closed in around the Soviet city of Leningrad in September 1941, a siege began that would last nearly 900 days and claim the lives of 800,000 civilians.