History
Discover facts about history. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
History
When three men claimed to be pope
During the Western Schism, rival church authorities recognized different popes. The Council of Constance helped end the crisis through a mixture of…
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Madagascar's deadly test for suspected traitors
The tangena test made survival part of the verdict: suspects swallowed a poisonous nut with three pieces of chicken skin, and had to vomit up all three to be…
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A medieval map placed the world inside Christ's body
The Ebstorf map showed Christ's head, hands, and feet at the edges, with Jerusalem at the center and east at the top. It organized geography through a…
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The mathematician who turned down a million dollars
The Fields Medal and a $1 million Clay prize followed Perelman’s solution, but he declined both and returned to live quietly with his mother. Mathematics had…
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Roman dodecahedra still have no known purpose
Their holes vary in size, and examples appear across Europe, leaving researchers with theories but no use that fits them all. They are a rare ancient…
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Münster's failed religious takeover left cages on a church
Anabaptist rulers seized Münster in 1534, imposed a radical religious order, and introduced polygamy. After the city fell, three leaders were executed and…
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An Ottoman sultan's signature could become a miniature artwork
The tughra combined the ruler's name, his father's name, titles, and a formula of victory in a highly stylized design. It authenticated imperial documents…
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The man who became a priest, spy, MP, and abbot
Born to an Orthodox Jewish family in Hungary, he crossed religious and political worlds repeatedly, eventually spying for the German Empire before reinventing…
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Lozen reportedly felt cavalry through her hands
According to legend, she stood with her arms outstretched and sang a prayer, sensing the direction and distance of approaching U.S. cavalry as a tingling in…
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A medieval Sardinian law gave a rape victim a choice about marriage
Eleanor of Arborea's Carta de Logu included provisions under which marriage to the offender required the woman's consent. The code was severe in other…
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Josephine Baker's sheet music could carry two kinds of notes
During World War II, intelligence was concealed in invisible ink on musical pages associated with her travels. Her performing career supplied a reason to move…
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Rome's battle omens depended on hungry chickens
Roman commanders consulted sacred chickens before battle: eating eagerly was a favorable sign. Later writers told how Claudius Pulcher threw reluctant birds…
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The exile who changed how Europe ate
After settling in Islamic Spain, ninth-century Iraqi exile Ziryab was credited with introducing toothpaste, underarm deodorant, seasonal fashion, and…
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A pirate queen negotiated with Elizabeth I in Latin
After an English governor captured her son, Grace O’Malley sailed to London to negotiate with Elizabeth I. Latin was their workaround: neither spoke the…
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Oppenheimer's punishment continued for six years after his execution
Joseph Süss Oppenheimer, a Jewish financial adviser to Württemberg's duke, lost protection when the ruler died. He was executed in 1738 after a politically…
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A Roman cup changes color when light shines through it
The Lycurgus Cup looks green in reflected light and red when lit from behind. Tiny gold and silver particles in its glass interact differently with…
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A six-page golden book became a museum mystery in Bulgaria
Donated to Sofia's National History Museum in 2003, the object has small gold sheets joined by rings and decorated with figures and writing. The museum…
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Sarah Baartman's tragic life in Europe's freak shows
European promoters lured Sarah Baartman from South Africa under false pretenses and exhibited her in London and Paris. After she died in poverty, her body was…
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An acclaimed composer also commanded a Black military unit
Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, combined careers as a musician and celebrated swordsman before leading a revolutionary regiment associated with…
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Nellie Bly faked insanity to expose an asylum
To get inside, Bly persuaded a judge that she was insane. Ten days of rancid food and ice-water baths exposed how women who couldn’t speak English could be…
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A scientist and Freemason has been proposed as Mozart's Sarastro
Ignaz von Born led a prominent Viennese Masonic lodge and is sometimes identified as a model for the wise figure in The Magic Flute. Mozart moved in that…
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When prayer books became Tudor fashion accessories
Tudor noblewomen wore miniature prayer books on chains from their belts, turning a devotional object into a visible accessory that displayed their literacy…
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A border mistake helped a tiny Italian state avoid its neighbors’ taxes
Cospaia emerged after a 15th-century boundary agreement left a small strip of land between Florence and the Papal States outside either side’s effective…
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Italian peasants battled witches with fennel stalks
For the Benandanti, the fight was about whether crops would thrive: on certain nights, they believed their souls left their sleeping bodies to battle witches…
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