History

March 30, 2025

Long-Lost Silent Film About Abraham Lincoln Discovered by an Intern

Dan Martin never expected to uncover a century-old silent film. During his final week as an intern at a Long Island film archive, the film preservation student found a film considered lost by the Library of Congress. It was one of more than 7,000 silent pictures thought to be missing. Sometimes, however, the past has a way of returning.

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March 1, 2025

Discover the Self-Taught Genius of Leonardo da Vinci

Although born out of wedlock—the son of a Florentine notary and his peasant mother—and sharing his childhood with 16 half-siblings from his parents' respective families, Leonardo da Vinci became one of history's most celebrated painters and engineers. One might assume that a man whose conceptual designs inspired inventions like the parachute, the machine gun, and the armored tank must have studied at a renowned academy or received advanced scientific training.

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January 5, 2025

Discover the Popular Textbook That Helped Benjamin Franklin Pass Math

Among the Founding Fathers of the United States, Benjamin Franklin was unique: he was a polymath, finding prominence as a diplomat, printer, inventor, philosopher, and author during his lifetime. Even so, he failed math twice. When he was eight years old, Franklin was enrolled in a Boston grammar school. By 1715, however, Franklin’s father withdrew him from his studies and instead sent him to a school specifically for learning writing and math.

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December 25, 2024

Carnian Pluvial Event: Learn About the Time It Rained for Over a Million Years

In places such as the Pacific Northwest, it seems like it's always raining. But did you know there was a time on Earth were rain poured for over a million years? This episode is known as the Carnian pluvial event (CPE). Thought to have been triggered by unique, volatile conditions, it took place about 232 million years ago—changing the natural landscape forever.

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