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Battle of Plassey
The Battle of Plassey on 23 June 1757 saw Robert Clive's East India Company army defeat a larger force of the Nawab of Bengal. Victory brought the Company...
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Early Human Migration Across the Globe
This map illustrates the early global migrations of Homo sapiens ("thinking man"), one of the most remarkable movements in human history. Beginning...
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Article
The Woman and the Monster
The Woman and the Monster is a legend of the Arapaho nation about a woman who, seeming to drown in a river, is transported to the realm of an elemental...
Definition
Aelfgifu of Northampton
Aelfgifu of Northampton (fl. 1013-1037) was an English noble who married the English and Danish king Cnut (r. 1016-1035) and was the mother of the English...
Definition
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864) was an American author of novels and short stories, who produced some of the most memorable works of American literature...
Article
The Daughter of the Sun
The Daughter of the Sun is a Cherokee origin myth explaining how Uktena, the great horned serpent, came to be, as well as why those who die cannot return...
Definition
Ptolemy XII
Ptolemy XII Neos Dionysos (r. 80-51 BCE) was king of Ptolemaic Egypt and father of Cleopatra VII (r. 51-30 BCE). His illegitimate birth and drunkenness...
Definition
Marbury v. Madison
Marbury v. Madison (1803) was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court that established the principle of judicial review. In the decision...
Definition
Northern Cheyenne Exodus
The Northern Cheyenne Exodus (1878-1879) is the modern-day term for the attempt by the Northern Cheyenne under chiefs Morning Star (Dull Knife, l. c...
Article
Yellow Hair: George Armstrong Custer
Yellow Hair: George Armstrong Custer is the Cheyenne and Arapaho account of Lt. Colonel George Armstrong Custer (l. 1839-1876), his interaction with...
Definition
Book of Genesis
The Book of Genesis is the first book of the Jewish scriptures and the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. Genesis takes its name from the opening...
Definition
John Marshall
John Marshall (1755-1835) was an American lawyer and statesman, who served as the fourth chief justice of the United States Supreme Court from 1801...
Definition
The Description of Africa
The Description of Africa is the first comprehensive book about Africa, written by Leo Africanus, an African scholar trained in the Islamic intellectual...
Definition
Béla Bartók
Béla Bartók (1881-1945) was an innovative Hungarian pianist and composer most famous for his classical works for piano and orchestra, string quartets...
Article
Tsul'kălû', The Slant-Eyed Giant
Tsul'kălû', The Slant-Eyed Giant is a myth of the Cherokee nation and is among the most popular. The legend relates the story of the great giant, Tsul'kălû'...
Definition
Walt Whitman
Walt Whitman (1819-1892) was an American journalist and poet, best known for his collection of poems entitled Leaves of Grass, first published in 1855...
Definition
Acts of the Apostles
The Acts of the Apostles is the story of how the movement that became Christianity began in Jerusalem and spread throughout the Eastern Mediterranean...
Article
The Invasion of Poland in 1939
The leader of Nazi Germany Adolf Hitler (1889-1945) ordered the invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939. Hitler's refusal to withdraw brought a declaration...