History
Discover facts about history. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
History
Chekhov brought home a mongoose—and wrote about it
After visiting Ceylon in 1890, Anton Chekhov returned with a mongoose. It appears in his letters as a lively member of the household before he eventually gave…
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August Strindberg tried making gold in his apartment
Convinced he could turn base metals into gold, Swedish writer August Strindberg tried amateur metallurgy in his apartment. He badly burned his hands and made…
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Rudolf II built his lion a court of its own
Prague's Lion's Court began in 1581 as an enclosure commissioned by the emperor and designed by Italian architect Ulrico Aostalli. An exotic animal at court…
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The satirist who tried selling dogs for a living
Before writing The Good Soldier Švejk, Jaroslav Hašek edited an animal magazine and later opened a dog-trading business with his wife. He gave the venture the…
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Mikhail Lermontov flipped a coin to decide his travels
He let a coin toss decide which city to move to, leaving a major career choice to chance.
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A Danish king's physician became the country's effective ruler
Johann Friedrich Struensee gained extraordinary influence over Christian VII, whose mental illness limited his involvement in government. With access to the…
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Dalí took an anteater on a Paris outing
Photographs show Salvador Dalí with an anteater on a leash in Paris in 1969. The animal made an ordinary public outing look like an extension of his…
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Henry III acquired a story about wearing his lapdogs
Older histories describe the French king carrying little dogs in a basket suspended from his neck. The image became part of accounts portraying his court as…
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Victor Hugo locked away his clothes to finish a novel
To keep himself from going out, Hugo handed his clothes to a servant and locked away the rest of his wardrobe until he finished *The Hunchback of Notre-Dame*.…
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Gogol burned the sequel he had spent years writing
Shortly before his death in 1852, Nikolai Gogol destroyed much of the manuscript for the second part of Dead Souls. Surviving drafts and fragments were later…
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Simenon agreed to write a novel in a glass cage
A 1927 publicity scheme proposed putting the prolific novelist on public display while he wrote a book. The newspaper venture behind the stunt failed, so the…
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The novelist whose home was overrun by stray cats
A celebrated Czech novelist let dozens of strays take over his rural cottage, spending half the day searching for a clear spot on his own furniture.
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Alfred Jarry rode a bicycle wearing green face paint
The French playwright cycled through Paris with his face painted green, making for an unmistakable sight.
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Krylov turned talking animals into lasting social criticism
His fables borrowed a form associated with Aesop and La Fontaine, using animals to expose recognizable human vanity, power, and foolishness. A dispute among…
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Dostoevsky lost his travel money, then remembered his watch
Writing to his wife from Homburg in 1867, he described losing everything at roulette and going to a watchmaker to sell or pawn his watch. He could describe…
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The author who reviewed books that didn't exist
In collections such as A Perfect Vacuum, Stanisław Lem wrote detailed reviews of imaginary books. The familiar review format became a laboratory for ideas no…
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Auguste Rodin completely refused to ever wear socks
He considered socks unnatural and wore bare feet inside rigid leather boots throughout his adult life.
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Baudelaire tried to shock a friend with green hair
In Maxime Du Camp's account, the poet appeared with his hair dyed green and waited for a reaction. Du Camp acted unimpressed, frustrating the intended effect.…
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Balzac wrote novels in a monk's habit
Balzac reportedly wore a white, floor-length monk's habit while writing his novels, pacing his room as he worked.
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The famous thinker who left paper frogs everywhere
The Spanish thinker folded tiny paper frogs and left them in cafés, on desks, and in other people’s homes.
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Thomas Mann's desk followed him through exile
The writer's desk traveled from Munich to Switzerland, across the Atlantic to the United States, and back to Switzerland. It now anchors an exhibition of his…
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Fernando Pessoa created more than 70 personas
He gave many of them distinct handwriting and political views, and even let them argue with one another in print.
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Mendeleev's secret passion was making luggage
In his spare time, Mendeleev bound books and glued together custom travel bags. Even his hobby was practical: he made the luggage instead of merely packing it.
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The poet who tried to ride a horse into a bar
He tried to push an untrained horse through the narrow doors of a crowded Paris tavern. The poet wanted a grand entrance; the horse presented a serious…
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