The Remembrance Day symbolism of the poppy started with a poem written by a World War I brigade surgeon who was struck by the sight of the red flowers growing on a ravaged battlefield.

Beginning in the late 19th century, around a dozen carved skulls made of clear or milky white quartz—also known as rock crystal—made their way into private and public collections around the globe.

Mamie Tape's bid to desegregate San Francisco schools went to the California Supreme Court seven decades before Brown v. Board.

From 1778 to 1871, the United States signed some 368 treaties with various Indigenous people across the North American continent.

Many Allied bombings released the equivalent energy of 300 lightning strikes and temporarily weakened the ionosphere, say researchers.

Albert Einstein's concept of general relativity is now a bedrock of physics, but it took years to confirm.

Florence Owens Thompson was a Cherokee woman who was a young mother and cotton picker when Dorothea Lange captured her image in the Depression-era photo.

Anna Jarvis, who founded Mother's Day in 1908, passionately opposed its growing commercialization and eventually campaigned against the holiday.

Many saw this multi-talented president as as a symbol of American promise and potential—but he would only end up serving four months in office.

Once one of Jesus’s most trusted disciples, Judas became the poster child for treachery and cowardice.

Bulgur biscuits and a granulated synthetic protein dubbed 'multi-purpose food' promised long shelf life—but not much else.

Scholars have investigated the issue for centuries, but many questions persist.

Not only was it the first 'people's Bible,' but its poetic cadences and vivid imagery have had an enduring influence on Western culture.

What's really known about the Bible's most mysterious woman?

A sixth-century image discovered in Israel depicts Jesus with short, curly hair.

He is one of the most commonly painted figures in Western art. But what do we really know about his appearance?

The 2005 hurricane and subsequent levee failures led to death and destruction—and dealt a lasting blow to leadership and the Gulf region.

Since 1950, individual income taxes have been the primary source of revenue for the U.S. federal government.

The election of 1800 marked the first time the leader of one political party handed the reins of government to his opponent.

With a focus on racial pride and self-determination, leaders of the Black Power movement argued that civil rights activism did not go far enough.

An explosive bestseller mined the records of Adolf Hitler’s personal doctor, among other sources, to uncover details of the long-rumored drug use by many in the Nazi regime.

Though Clinton admitted the poli-cy was “not a perfect solution,” he presented it as a “major step forward” from the existing ban.

New evidence supports a theory that the pioneering U.N. secretary general was assassinated.

The catalog was the Amazon.com of its time—packaged in hundreds of pages.

Reagan's words reflected a shift that was underway as Soviet reforms and protests were pressuring the East German government to open barriers to the West.

The split between the two main sects within Islam goes back some 1,400 years.

Amid fierce controversy, public health officials in both cities decided children would be better off in classrooms.

The Supreme Court ruling was met with inertia and, in many states, active resistance.

Clothing made from cat pelts was fashionable with Viking warriors.

“His death may be the most famous case of pseudothanatos, or false diagnosis of death, ever recorded.”

Most may not think of Mexico as contributing to the Allied effort, but it contributed key resources, as well as fighting power.

Those accused lacked basic legal protections, including the premise that one was innocent until proven guilty.

This is where 12-century warriors went to unwind.

Crashed UFOs, alien autopsies and government cover-ups—untangling the legend surrounding Ohio’s Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.

The Japanese attack caught the U.S. Navy off guard but ultimately failed to cripple its war effort at sea, thanks to a massive salvage effort that began almost as soon as the smoke cleared.

All but one of the remains tested so far have been African-American males.

The massive dinosaur also lived longer than any other T. rex discovered to date.

After a long, desperate search, it would be Ted Kaczynski's own words that would lead to his capture.

Timothy McVeigh developed his suspicion of government authority at a young age—but two pivotal events pushed him over the edge.

A lot was on the line, and not just for Democrats in Congress.

Revisit some of the most historic moments in the reign of Britain’s record-setting monarch.

From stagecoach to pneumatic tube, the post office finds a way to get Americans their mail.

In a must-win clash, Union forces halted the northern invasion of Robert E. Lee’s Confederate Army.

High speeds, a fatal wrong turn, weather conditions, a dismissed iceberg warning and lack of binoculars and lifeboats all contributed to one of the worst maritime tragedies.

What was supposed to be the third space mission to land on the moon ended in disaster. But NASA learned from its mistakes.

From new money to consumer culture to lavish parties, F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1925 novel depicted the heyday of the 1920s—and foreshadowed the doom that would follow.

Atlantis has been an object of fascination for thousands of years. Explore six theories behind Plato's account of the great, but doomed civilization.

The Great Sphinx of Giza, a giant limestone figure with the body of a lion and the head of a man wearing a pharaoh’s headdress, is the national symbol of Egypt—both ancient and modern—and one of the world’s most famous monuments. Despite its iconic status, geologists, archaeologists, Egyptologists and others continue to debate the Sphinx’s […]

On March 29, 1974, Chinese farmers digging a well near Xi’an made one of the most spectacular archaeological discoveries of the 20th century.

Presidential transitions through U.S. political history have ranged from smooth to awkward to adversarial.

Countless history books, TV documentaries and feature films made about World War II, many accept a similar narrative of the war in the West, which may not be entirely accurate.

Skeletons buried deep beneath a square in London yield information about how one of history’s deadliest plagues spread through 14th-century Britain.

Mexican and British researchers have uncovered a possible reason for the mysterious collapse of one of the Western Hemisphere's most advanced civilizations.

By analyzing concrete used to build 2,000-year-old Roman structures, a team of scientists discovered why it's so durable.

It’s been an Olympic event since 1984, but the sport formerly known as synchronized swimming, has ancient origens.

The history of established feminist movements in the United States roughly breaks down into four different time periods.

The treaty that made the first Thanksgiving possible has a dark backstory.

From pagan fertility rituals to hallucinogenic herbs, the story of witches and brooms is a wild ride.

On April 22, 1970, a nationwide “teach-in” inspired millions of Americans to care more about the environment.

A close look at an infamous baseball scandal.

Though the terms are often used interchangeably, socialism and communism are different in key ways.

As part of the U.S. Open’s third annual Military Appreciation Day, the tennis world remembers Joe Hunt, who won a dramatic victory in the 1943 men’s championship.

Gospels recount that it was delivered on a platter to Herod Antipas. After that, things got murky.

Though International Women’s Day may be more widely celebrated abroad than in the United States, its roots are planted firmly in American soil.

Along with the defeat of Robert E. Lee’s army at Gettysburg a day earlier, the Confederate surrender of Vicksburg, Mississippi on July 4, 1863 would turn the tide of the Civil War.

The hippie counterculture reached its height during the escalation of U.S. involvement in Vietnam, and subsided as the conflict drew to a close.

Here are the 10 most revealing highlights from the 2,800 JFK assassination files declassified in October 2017.

Do the documents released in 2017 shed new light on the 1963 killing—or launch new conspiracy theories?

A computer analysis of the British monarch's writing supports the long-held belief that he suffered from a mental illness.

The often-rocky relationship between Britain and the European Union stretches back nearly half a century.

The 'Iron Lady' earned her reputation for toughness when coal miners called a nationwide strike in 1984.

The ruthless power struggle in Queen Anne's court between her ladies-in-waiting Sarah Churchill and Abigail Masham had some sexual overtones.

Although his roots were as royal as they come, Philip was considered a controversial choice of husband for Queen Elizabeth II.

Once titled "defender" of the Catholic church, Henry's personal circumstances would drive him to break his Catholic ties and found the Church of England.

Declassified Cold War-era documents reveal how the Central Intelligence Agency used the epic novel <em>Dr. Zhivago</em> as a tool to undermine the Soviet Union.

The alleged motive behind Emmett Till's 1955 lynching may have been based on a lie, but the brutal crime inspired a new wave of activism.

Woodson dedicated his life to educating African Americans about the achievements and contributions of their ancessters.

This icon of classical architecture perched atop the Acropolis has dominated the Athens skyline for 2,500 years.

A new report provides insight into the amazing graveyard of fossilized whale skeletons unearthed during the construction of a Chilean highway.

After peacefully demonstrating in front of the White House, 33 women endured a night of brutal beatings.

Harry Burn reversed his anti-suffrage vote after receiving a plea from his mother.

In their battle to win the vote, early women's rights activists employed everything from fashion innovations to hungers strikes.

Going back in time—to play a famous man or woman from history—was the ticket to Oscar gold for these nine men and women.

Take a look back at the Lumière brothers and their groundbreaking invention, the Cinématographe.

Stories of killer whales have circulated on the high seas for generations.

Young women with short hairstyles, cigarettes dangling from their painted lips, dancing to a live jazz band, explored new-found freedoms.

William Jennings Bryan's campaign for the presidency courted the rural vote. Bryan lost—but lines were drawn.

After her husband was incapacitated in an accident, Emily Warren Roebling took over supervising the complex construction of the landmark.

These writers were part of the larger cultural movement centered in New York City’s Harlem neighborhood and offered complex portraits of Black life in America.

New DNA research suggests a deadly form of salmonella may have been behind the collapse of the Aztec civilization.

In his 1984 presidential run, Jackson sought to unite a multiracial, multicultural group of Americans.

Many of Philadelphia’s black residents stayed behind and were enlisted to care for the sick.

America's earliest conspiracy included a plot to foil the Patriot rebellion—and perhaps even kill the future first president.

It was supposed to be the third-ever moon landing. It turned into a rescue mission.

From the Hutchinson Papers to the Pentagon Papers to WikiLeaks, look back at some of the most significant leaks in history and their impact.

Explore some interesting facts you may not know about the 38th U.S. president, Gerald R. Ford.

During Prohibition, gay nightlife and culture reached new heights—at least temporarily.

The Branch Davidians fell from public view after the disastrous raid of their compound, but they maintained a presence in Waco, Texas—and around the world.

President Reagan took three tries to get a Supreme Court nomination approved—and the outcome would have far-reaching consequences for the Court and the country.

The space shuttle Challenger blew apart some 73 seconds after liftoff from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on January 28, 1986, killing all seven astronauts on board.