/ Quick History
Rexburg Idaho Temple
August 7, 2018 - 1:27 pm

Rexburg, Idaho; Not Your Average College Town

Things to do in Rexburg, Idaho Rexburg, Idaho is a small city located in eastern Idaho, not too far from Yellowstone National Park.…
J_S_Copley_-_Paul_Revere
November 23, 2016 - 2:19 pm

You were lied to about Paul Revere’s ride, but the truth is even better

We've all heard the story about Paul Revere's famous ride to warn the colonists that the British were coming, but much of that folklore…
Marina Oswald, wife of Lee Harvey Oswald.
September 16, 2016 - 7:35 pm

Assassin’s Widow: Marina Oswald

It is well known that Lee Harvey Oswald is President John F. Kennedy's alleged assassin, but not a lot is known about his Russian…
the Merikens
September 12, 2016 - 2:56 pm

Who are the Merikens?

During the War of 1812, 4,000 American slaves were freed by the British and enlisted into the British army.  Here's their story.…
Victoria Woodhull
August 10, 2016 - 5:06 am

Victoria Woodhull: America’s first would-be female president

Think Hillary Rodham Clinton is the first woman to run for office? Think again. Although she’s the first woman on a major party…
Robert Smalls' SC home.
June 6, 2016 - 4:26 pm

Robert Smalls: From slave to congressman

On the 5th of April 1839, Robert Smalls entered the world. In a few short decades, he rewrote history as a politician, a family…
Swimming pigs in the Bahamas
May 16, 2016 - 9:51 pm

Zebras in Texas and Australian Camels, A Quick History of Animals in Odd Places

We’ve changed our planet in some bizarre ways. One of the most obvious is where our furry friends are living around the globe.…
Stored B-52 bombers like the ones used in Operation Chrome Dome.
May 14, 2016 - 9:28 pm

Chrome Dome: Nothing says we’re pals like a nuclear bomb

Operation Chrome Dome isn't talked about much in the US. No matter how we feel about government, most of us are pretty sure no one…
Queen? Sure. Empress? Zenobia stepped on Rome's toes.
May 3, 2016 - 3:38 pm

Palmyra: An oasis in history

In the heart of the desert in Syria, an oasis has endured for more than 2,000 years. At its heart, a set of captivating ruins has…
Andrew Jackson and John Q. Adams eventually both got their wish. The presidency.
April 21, 2016 - 11:37 pm

The Election of 1825: John Quincy Adams’ crazy path to the White House

Let’s talk politics for a minute. Imagine a time when Democrats and Republicans were a part of the same party. Seems impossible,…
AlicePaul_1901
April 7, 2016 - 5:52 pm

Alice? Alice. Who the heck was Alice Paul?

On January 11, 1885 on a large Quaker farm in New Jersey, the Paul family welcomed their first child, Alice. Although many farm…
Lustron homes are now museum fodder. Photo by Sam Howzit.
April 6, 2016 - 5:33 pm

Lustron Homes: The post-war experiment that aimed to change housing forever

In my last year of grade school, my family lived in a neighborhood with an architectural oddity – an enamel-coated steel tile…
No Druids, just bones at Stonehenge.
March 2, 2016 - 12:08 am

9 Famous Landmarks That Aren’t What You Think They Are

Around the world there are hundreds famous landmarks we’re sure we know everything about. You know them by sight, could probably…
Neerja Bhanot (1963 – 1986) Hero flight attendant who saved the lives of passengers during a plane hijacking in 1986, losing her own life.
February 15, 2016 - 3:23 pm

The Hero Flight Attendant You Probably Never Heard of: Neerja Bhanot

The next time you fly, take a good look at the flight attendants and pursers who tend to your section. There’s one story that…
Photo of the Endurance lit by flares. Photo by Frank Hurley, 1914-1916
February 14, 2016 - 5:18 am

The Endurance and the James Caird: Possibly the Greatest Boating Rescue Ever.

I hate the cold. When its 32F outside, I need two coats, a sweater, a shirt, and an undershirt … and I still shiver. But there’s…
Public License Star Wars Logo
February 5, 2016 - 5:40 am

143 Pieces of Star Wars Trivia You Didn’t Know You Needed

In the world of popular culture, love it or hate it, the Star Wars movies are iconic. For 39 years, these movies have captured the…
Hugh Glass killed a mother grizzly bare-handed
January 25, 2016 - 5:55 am

The Story of The Revenant. Who Was Hugh Glass Really?

Revenant. noun. 1. A person who returns. 2. A person who returns as a spirit after death, a ghost. The 2016 Leonardo DiCaprio movie…
Just one of many scary, spooky depictions of Krampus.
December 24, 2015 - 11:23 pm

5 Christmas Traditions You Might Not Know About

1. Austria: Krampus     This terrifying Christmas tradition likely emerged before Christianity entered the region. Krampus, suspected…
The Golden Record, a message to our neighbors in space.
December 22, 2015 - 6:34 pm

The Voyager Golden Record: A chat with the Golden Record’s artist, Jon Lomberg

If you had to send a message that could explain all of humanity, but not just humanity – the other life on Earth, too – and…
Cardigan Island. Photo by Rude Health.
November 21, 2015 - 3:58 am

William “Strata” Smith: The blacksmith’s son who changed the world

We don’t really know that much about the planet we live on. It’s been around for billions of years, but we didn’t realize…
Laker class ship SS Arthur M Anderson
November 11, 2015 - 5:47 pm

The SS Edmund Fitzgerald and the Witch of November

The winds were howling. From the shore, it was clear that this storm was a brutal one – the kind that made November waters treacherous…
The buried village of Carmen de Uria, a village destroyed by natural disaster.
September 24, 2015 - 2:01 am

The 12 Worst Natural Disasters in History

When natural disaster strikes it can wreak serious havoc, on par with some of the worst wars and epidemics our species has ever…
Movie poster for The Triumph of the Will
September 2, 2015 - 5:08 pm

13 Movies That Changed the World’s History

Hollywood takes a lot of flak for the movies it produces, but not all cinema is purely entertainment. This list of 13 movies changed…
Mali's mosques are a remnant of the Songhai and Mali empires impacts on the region.
August 2, 2015 - 1:02 pm

The Biggest Empire You Never Knew Existed

A political prisoner escapes, takes over two cities, and creates one of the largest empires of the medieval period. And you never…
Pluto_by_LORRI_and_Ralph,_13_July_2015
July 23, 2015 - 2:48 pm

10 Facts That Make Pluto worth Obsessing Over

Here on Travel Thru History, we have close ties to the celestial body known as Pluto.  We featured its discovery at the Lowell…
Newspaper Headline for the attempted assassination of President-elect Kennedy in Palm Beach, FL in 1960.
July 16, 2015 - 10:02 pm

A Family Man, a Postal Worker, and a Would-be JFK Assassin

How Richard Paul Pavlick almost killed John F. Kennedy. December 11th, 1960 was a warm day in Palm Beach, Florida. The pleasant…
light-painting-801025_1280
July 3, 2015 - 6:08 am

18 Things You Didn’t Know Happened on July 4th

Fireworks, apple pie, barbecue…the 4th of July is one of the most popular celebrations of the year, and in the United States most…
Historical Myths debunked
June 17, 2015 - 12:59 pm

7 Historical “Facts” That Might Be Fiction

History’s myths are as prevalent as the truth in pop culture and beyond. The facts on this list might surprise you, leave you…
RMS Titanic
May 27, 2015 - 3:15 pm

5 Titanic Coincidences that Prove Reality is Stranger than Fiction

You’ve heard about the wreck of the Titanic, but there’s more to this ship’s story than popular history wants to tell you.…
The tragic story of the Donner Party expedition.
March 19, 2015 - 3:15 pm

The Donner Party: Suffering on the American Plains

Imagine yourself reading an ad that offered adventure, free land, and the chance to see a part of the world that was barely touched…
"Lincoln in disguise" during the Baltimore plot.
February 27, 2015 - 4:07 pm

5 Failed Assassination Attempts on President Lincoln You Didn’t Know About

A few days and a few hundred years ago, one of the most beloved American president barely escaped from an assassination attempt.…
Movie poster for Ron Howards film, Into the Heart of the Sea.  The tale of the whaling ship, the Essex, which inspired Melville's, Moby Dick.
January 29, 2015 - 2:40 pm

The Essex: The True Story of Moby Dick

Whaling was a dangerous career, but Herman Melville’s now famous Moby Dick seems to create a version of it that’s beyond belief. Singing…
Alan Turing
December 24, 2014 - 2:41 pm

“Imitation Game” History – How Mathematician Alan Turing Helped Saved the World.

The newest movie starring Benedict Cumberbatch is called "The Imitation Game."  It tells the true story about genius mathematician…
International Space Station
October 8, 2014 - 6:30 pm

End of an Era; The Last time We Left Orbit

33 minutes after midnight, a Saturn V rocket carrying the crew of Apollo 17 launched into the night sky. Its liftoff from Kennedy…
Untitled-2
June 3, 2014 - 7:22 pm

Why Did These Ladies Want to Kill President Gerald Ford?

When one speaks of controversial Presidents who might get shot, one does not quickly respond with "Gerald Ford." Sure, he immediately…
Pulitzer Prize winning photograph taken of the Kent State Massacre.
May 10, 2014 - 3:53 pm

What to Know About The 1970 Shootings at Kent State

The late 60's and early 70's was a tumultuous period of American history to live through. The Cold War, the war in Vietnam, the…
RNresignspeech
April 15, 2014 - 3:58 pm

Nixon’s MadMan Theory – So Crazy it Just Might Work. UPDATE: It Didn’t

During the midst of the Cold War, the decades long tension between the US and Russia, President Richard Nixon came up with a foreign…
srpen 1968, rozhlas, Vinohradská třída, tank, hoří, vlajka, vlajkonoš
April 2, 2014 - 2:33 pm

The Man Who Saved the World, Stanislav Petrov

Man's power to destroy the world is a mostly modern capability. In today's age of nuclear weaponry, as a legacy of the Cold War…
Episode_of_the_Siege_of_Sebastopol_During_the_Crimean_War_in_1855
March 14, 2014 - 4:19 pm

The Crimean War – a 19th Century War That Sounds Terribly Familiar

"Time is a flat circle.  Everything we've ever done, or will do, we'll do over again." - True Detectives, HBO That's what I keep…
04o-cuba-looking-forward-looking-back
March 4, 2014 - 4:51 pm

What Do You Know About Cuban History?

Looking to travel to the "forbidden" island? Take a few minutes and familiarize yourself with Cuba's rich history before you set…
The Amistad
February 19, 2014 - 4:31 pm

“Give Us Free” – The Amistad Slave Mutiny and the Landmark Supreme Court Case

The story of The Amistad: The slaves that fought back You may have heard of the story or the movie, Amistad, but here’s a more…
February 11, 2014 - 6:59 pm

America’s Forgotten Wars – From the Quasi War to the Puerto Rican Revolt

We're all aware of the "popular" wars America has been involved with e.g. Vietnam, Korea, the World Wars, but the US has been in…
crash
February 6, 2014 - 7:05 pm

The Miracle on the Hudson – The Incredible Story of Captain “Sully” and US Airways Flight 1549

The "Miracle on the Hudson" US Airways Flight 1549, an Airbus A320-214 was a US commercial passenger flight from LaGuardia Airport…
Ancient olympics
February 5, 2014 - 6:36 pm

A Quick History of the Olympic Games

With the XXII Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia fast approaching, let's take a moment and backtrack to see where it all began.…
143599main_sts107-735-032
February 4, 2014 - 12:10 pm

What to Know About The Space Shuttle Columbia Disaster

Columbia was the first space worthy shuttle in NASA's fleet and first to launch in 1981. The Space Shuttle Columbia disaster occurred…
A Somali Pirate
January 31, 2014 - 5:25 pm

25 Historical Facts About the Captain Phillips Somali Pirate Kidnapping

The 2013 film Captain Phillips starring Tom Hanks is based on a true historical event.  Here's a look at the facts surrounding…
Lincoln & his killer John Wilkes Booth
January 29, 2014 - 8:22 pm

Killing Mr. Lincoln – A Look at the Men & Women Who Conspired to Kill The President

President: #16 Abraham Lincoln Killed: April 14th, 1865 at Ford's Theater, Washington D.C. while attending a play. Assassin: Actor,…
414px-Solomon_Northup_001
January 27, 2014 - 8:14 pm

12 Years a Slave – The True History of Solomon Northup and His Mysterious Life After Slavery

The Story of Solomon Northup's 12 Years a Slave Solomon Northup was a free-born African-American from New York. He was the son of…
Undercover FBI footage during ABSCAM
January 19, 2014 - 3:10 am

American Hustle – 10 Facts about the ABSCAM FBI Scandal

2014 Academy Award Nominee for Best Picture American Hustle starts the film with the line "Some of this actually happened" and…
Portrai
January 17, 2014 - 3:52 pm

14 Things to Know About the Three Mile Island Nuclear Disaster

The Three Mile Island accident was a partial nuclear meltdown which occurred in one of the two Three Mile Island nuclear reactors…