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Definition
Library of Alexandria
The Library of Alexandria was established under the Ptolemaic Dynasty of Egypt (323-30 BCE) and flourished under the patronage of the early kings to...
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Tiara of Pope Pius IX
The tiara of Pope Pius IX (in office 1846-1878). Made in 1854. Made of a trio of gold crowns set with diamonds, emeralds, sapphires, pearls, and other...
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Definition
Anna Maria Weems - The Girl Who Became a Boy to Escape Slavery
Anna Maria Weems (circa 1840 to circa 1863) was an enslaved African American woman in Rockville, Maryland, who escaped by posing as a young Black livery...
Definition
As You Like It - Learning to Love in Shakespeare's Forest of Arden
As You Like It is a pastoral comedy by William Shakespeare (1564-1616), written in 1599 and likely first performed that same year. Indeed, it is thought...
Article
Slave Hunters in Boston - The Failed Attempt to Capture Ellen & William Craft
In 1848, Ellen and William Craft escaped from slavery in Georgia by Ellen posing as a Southern gentleman and William as 'his' slave (since women were...
Definition
The Tragedy of Richard III - Shakespeare's First Great Villain
The Tragedy of Richard III, often referred to as simply Richard III, is a history play by William Shakespeare (1564-1616), probably written around 1592-94...
Definition
Solomon Northup - 12 Years a Slave
Solomon Northup (circa 1807/1808 to circa 1857/1864) was a free-born African American living in New York State when he was kidnapped in 1841 and sold...
Article
The Immortal Ten - The Daring Rescue of John Doy
The Immortal Ten were a group of abolitionists from Kansas Territory (where slavery was hotly contested) who slipped across the Missouri River into...
Article
Eyewitness Accounts of WWII's Eastern Front
The Eastern Front (1941-5), called the Western Front or Great Patriotic War by the Soviets, was by far the bloodiest of the Second World War (1939-45...
Article
W. M. Mitchell's The Underground Railroad - A Firsthand Account of the Struggle for Freedom
William M. Mitchell (circa 1826 to circa 1879) was a free-born Black overseer in North Carolina who, after 12 years managing slaves on a plantation...
Definition
Lear Green - Escaping Slavery in a Chest
Lear Green (circa 1839-1860) was an enslaved African American woman in Baltimore, Maryland, who had herself shipped in a chest to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania...
Definition
German-Soviet War - WWII's Bloodiest Front
The German-Soviet War, known in the USSR and today's Russia as the Great Patriotic War or, in Western Europe, as the Eastern Front of the Second World...
Definition
Underground Railroad - Pathways to Freedom
The Underground Railroad was a decentralized network of White abolitionists, free Blacks, former slaves, Mexicans, Native Americans, and others opposing...
Article
Battle of Smolensk in 1943 - Operation Suvorov
The Battle of Smolensk in August to September 1943 was the second time the Soviet Union and the Third Reich fought over the city on the Dnieper during...
Article
The Poems of Christopher Marlowe
Christopher Marlowe (1564-1593), also known as Kit Marlowe, was one of the most influential dramatists of Elizabethan theatre. Though he is best known...
Article
Battle of Kursk - Largest Tank Battle in History
The Battle of Kursk (Jul-Aug 1943), which involved nearly 6,000 tanks, was the largest tank battle in history and ended in a decisive victory for the...
Image Gallery
30 Statues of English Kings & Queens
This statue gallery covers 30 English kings and queens over 1400 years, from the early Anglo-Saxon rulers to Queen Elizabeth II (reign 1952-2022). The...
Article
This Barking Dog - Religion and Homosexuality in the Works of Christopher Marlowe
On 5 May 1593, a series of anti-Protestant bills were posted throughout the city of London. One of the bills was written in iambic pentameter and included...
