George Washington’s Birthday
February 22, 2015
Lorri Glover— A cold northwestern wind blew across the clear skies of the Virginia Chesapeake on February 22, 1799. Unlike so many frigid birthdays before, this one George Washington spent… READ MORE
Category: History
Remembering the Flint Sit-Down Strike
February 18, 2015
Julius Getman— February 11 is a date with special significance for union leaders, members, and supporters. On that date in 1937, the General Motors Flint facility ended its sit-down strike with… READ MORE
Who Was Galileo?
February 15, 2015
David Wootton— Galileo Galilei was born on February 15, 1564. He was one of four greatest scientists of all time, alongside Newton, Pasteur, and Einstein, and the first great scientist—in many… READ MORE
10 Books for Black History Month
February 13, 2015
February is Black History Month! It’s a time, as President Ford put it, to “honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.”… READ MORE
Executing Monarchy: Elizabeth I and Mary Queen of Scots
February 8, 2015
Stephen Alford— On Wednesday 8 February 1587, Bull the public executioner cleaved the head from the body of Mary Queen of Scots in the hall of Fotheringhay Castle. It was… READ MORE
A Different Look at Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Dream
January 19, 2015
Michael Wayne— On the anniversary of Martin Luther King’s birthday, media outlets across the country will be running excerpts from his famous “I Have a Dream” speech delivered at the… READ MORE
The Beginning of the Roman Empire
January 16, 2015
Adrian Goldsworthy— Names and dates mattered a lot for the Romans, and so did legal formalities and appearances. On the 16th of January 2,042 years ago Rome’s Senate convened. The… READ MORE
The Real Alan Turing
January 7, 2015
Sharon Bertsch McGrayne— The Imitation Game is a good yarn about Alan Turing and cracking the German naval Enigma code during World War II. But that’s what it is: a… READ MORE
David and Moses: The Men, the Myths, the Legends
December 19, 2014
David Wolpe— David represents one strand of the Jewish tradition, one that these days causes so much pride and angst and generates so much news. Jewish religious history is divided,… READ MORE
When Harry Met Annie: Love and Financial Fraud in the Nineteenth Century (Part 3)
December 10, 2014
Harry Marks was one of the foremost financial journalists of the late nineteenth century. He was also a man of few scruples, and his salacious love affair with Annie Koppel would… READ MORE
Between Memory and History