Greg Daugherty

By some historians' measure, he was the cruelest and most demented of the bunch.

Public Enemy #1 was transferred to the now-infamous island prison a few weeks after it opened.

Patriots forced onto horrific British prison ships were presented with two options: turn traitor or die.

The self-styled 'King of the Osage Hills' masterminded a heinous spate of killings targeting oil-rich Indians.

Prohibition proved no match for the deadly virus—at least for a while.

Aeronautics expert. Historian. Scientist. Economist. Henry Woodhouse passed himself off as all these and more. In reality, he was a con artist—and a convicted killer.

Some people even thought both parties should nominate him in the 1920 presidential race.

Patients—including presidents, business titans and movie stars—flocked to his Battle Creek Sanitarium, where treatments included 15-quart enemas and electrical currents to the eyeballs.

As their numbers grew, women operators became a powerful force—for workers' rights and even serving overseas in WWI.

He claimed to have conversed with Venusians using hand gestures and mental telepathy.

Fighter pilots and radar operators from the USS Nimitz describe their terrifying—and still inexplicable—2004 encounter.

When the U.S. government tapped the academic to help investigate UFOs, he was initially a skeptic. But not for long.

Some believed the July 1948 sighting revealed the presence of secret Soviet spy craft in American airspace.

Theories ranged from negligence to sabotage to an 'act of God.'

The ascendance of plastics and television forever changed the industry.

By most accounts, the manhunt for Abraham Lincoln's assassin ended in a Virginia tobacco barn.

They had dueling agendas—and just four days to resolve them.

The 26th president found that simplifying the language was anything but simple.

He was a decorated, if at times reckless, fighter pilot who conducted nearly two dozen bombing runs in Vietnam before being shot down, captured and tortured.

Aides reportedly counseled the GOP candidate against appearing on the goofy, left-leaning comedy show. But Nixon went ahead with his "sock it to me" moment.

Some commencement ceremony traditions, like the cap and gown, have medieval origins; others developed more recently.

From Technicolor to Animatronics to Droids in Training, Disney artists and engineers have continually broken new creative ground.

Stamps have often invited debate—usually for reasons the post office never anticipated.

The dental hygiene tools available to our ancestors have evolved—but still bear a striking resemblance to what's used today.

Did the famed band and train robbers bury any of their loot?

The act is named after Anthony Comstock, a devout Protestant-turned postal inspector who sought to bar the mailing of 'obscene, lewd or lascivious' materials.

Author and legal expert Dan Abrams talks to HISTORY about his new book Theodore Roosevelt for the Defense: The Courtroom Battle to Save His Legacy.

For at least the first hour after the iceberg collision, the ship's crew downplayed the danger. Many passengers remained optimistic.

After millions perished, people turned to séances, Ouija boards and more to help communicate with their dearly departed.

Edward Smith's body was never recovered, and his final moments remain a mystery—with no shortage of conflicting accounts.

The grappling allegedly took place at the Field of Cloth of Gold, a royal sporting tournament designed to cement relations between England and France.

A stunned world demanded answers. So did two relentless lawyers in the U.S. and Great Britain: Senator William Alden Smith and Lord Mersey.

First came the diamond-filled golden Buddha and the box of gold bars. Then came the torture.

Some in the powerful medieval order were greased up and roasted until they 'admitted' to perversions like sodomy, cat worshipping and navel kissing.

The Civil War hero left the White House under a cloud, but he also made substantial contributions—like passing the 15th Amendment.

They held the pontiff hostage for three harrowing days. He never recovered.

It's complicated.

Jefferson spent $7,500 ($200,000 in current dollars) on wine in his first presidential term alone.

Modern transportation helped make it the first global outbreak.

Suicide? Murder? P.R. stunt? Marie Empress's 1919 disappearance from an ocean liner remains a total enigma.