The History Portal
History (derived from Ancient Greek ἱστορία (historía) 'inquiry; knowledge acquired by investigation') is the systematic study and documentation of the human past.
The period of events before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well as the memory, discovery, collection, organization, presentation, and interpretation of these events. Historians seek knowledge of the past using historical sources such as written documents, oral accounts, art and material artifacts, and ecological markers. History is incomplete and still has debatable mysteries.
History is an academic discipline which uses a narrative to describe, examine, question, and analyze past events, and investigate their patterns of cause and effect. Historians debate which narrative best explains an event, as well as the significance of different causes and effects. Historians debate the nature of history as an end in itself, and its usefulness in giving perspective on the problems of the present.
Stories common to a particular culture, but not supported by external sources (such as the tales surrounding King Arthur), are usually classified as cultural heritage or legends. History differs from myth in that it is supported by verifiable evidence. However, ancient cultural influences have helped create variant interpretations of the nature of history, which have evolved over the centuries and continue to change today. The modern study of history is wide-ranging, and includes the study of specific regions and certain topical or thematic elements of historical investigation. History is taught as a part of primary and secondary education, and the academic study of history is a major discipline in universities.
Herodotus, a 5th-century BC Greek historian, is often considered the "father of history", as one of the first historians in the Western tradition, though he has been criticized as the "father of lies". Along with his contemporary Thucydides, he helped form the foundations for the modern study of past events and societies. Their works continue to be read today, and the gap between the culture-focused Herodotus and the military-focused Thucydides remains a point of contention or approach in modern historical writing. In East Asia, a state chronicle, the Spring and Autumn Annals, was reputed to date from as early as 722 BC, though only 2nd-century BC texts have survived. (Full article...)
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- ... that John C. Young served as president of Centre College for nearly 27 years, longer than any other president in the school's history?
- ... that the legal battle over awarding channel 9 in Orlando, Florida, the longest case in FCC history at the time, filled 55 volumes?
- ... that "End Zone" Jones ran for a career high in his final regular season game with Nebraska to finish third in the school's history in career rushing yards?
- ... that 25 Water Street was designed to blend in with historic brick buildings that no longer exist?
- ... that Fairleigh Dickinson's upset victory over Purdue was the biggest upset in terms of point spread in NCAA tournament history, with Purdue being a 23+1⁄2-point favorite?
- ... that political scientist Selwyn Ryan has been called "the author of record for the ... modern political history" of Trinidad and Tobago?
Harriet Tubman (born Araminta Ross, c. March 1822 – March 10, 1913) was an American abolitionist and social activist. After escaping slavery, Tubman made some 13 missions to rescue approximately 70 enslaved people, including her family and friends, using the network of antislavery activists and safe houses known collectively as the Underground Railroad. During the American Civil War, she served as an armed scout and spy for the Union Army. In her later years, Tubman was an activist in the movement for women's suffrage.
Born into slavery in Dorchester County, Maryland, Tubman was beaten and whipped by enslavers as a child. Early in life, she suffered a traumatic head wound when an irate overseer threw a heavy metal weight, intending to hit another slave, but hit her instead. The injury caused dizziness, pain, and spells of hypersomnia, which occurred throughout her life. After her injury, Tubman began experiencing strange visions and vivid dreams, which she ascribed to premonitions from God. These experiences, combined with her Methodist upbringing, led her to become devoutly religious. (Full article...)On this day
- 1525 – Martin Luther married Katharina von Bora, beginning the practice of clerical marriage in Protestantism.
- 1881 – The Jeannette expedition to reach the North Pole from the Pacific Ocean via the Bering Strait came to an end when the USS Jeannette (pictured) was finally crushed and sank after having been trapped in ice for almost two years.
- 1952 – Soviet aircraft shot down a Swedish military plane carrying out signals-intelligence gathering operations, followed three days later by the shootdown of a second plane searching for the first one.
- 1969 – Preston Smith, Governor of Texas, signed a law converting a research arm of Texas Instruments into the University of Texas at Dallas.
- 2013 – Some of the closest advisors and collaborators of Czech prime minister Petr Nečas were arrested for corruption.
- Henry Middleton (d. 1784)
- Manuel Marques de Sousa, Count of Porto Alegre (b. 1804)
- Charles Algernon Parsons (b. 1854)
- Fran Allison (d. 1989)
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If you wish to avoid foreign collision, you had better abandon the ocean.
— Henry Clay, American statesman
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More Did you know...
- ... that the underground Fortress of Mimoyecques (pictured) was built by Nazi Germany to bombard London with 10 shells a minute using the V-3 supergun?
- ... that Howard P. Perry was the first African American recruit in the United States Marine Corps?
- ... that the Chester city walls form the most complete circuit of Roman and medieval defensive town walls in Britain?
- ... that China's first female director was adopted by the first Premier of the People's Republic of China?
- ... that the Medieval Merchant's House in Southampton was being used as a brothel when bomb damage during the Blitz revealed the building's important medieval architecture?
- ... that the Sumerian "river of paradise", the Hubur, derived partly from real geography before becoming a demonic fantasy?
- ... that Bill Foley's photograph "The Last Smile" shows Anwar Sadat only moments before his assassination?
- ... that the 1911 Sarez earthquake triggered a huge landslide, forming the tallest dam in the world?
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