History

History

Also on this date: In 1947, the Tennessee Williams play A Streetcar Named Desire opened on Broadway. In 1967, a surgical team in Cape Town, South Africa, led by Dr. Christiaan Barnard, performed the first human heart transplant on Louis Washkansky, who lived 18 days with the donated organ from a 25-year-old woman who had died in a traffic accident.

The mystery of when, how and perhaps most importantly why a giant naked figure was carved into a dizzyingly steep hillside in the English West Country has been a source of wonder and intrigue for centuries. Future generations may come closer to solving the puzzle of the Cerne Giant after the National Trust stepped in to buy 340 acres of land around the 55-metre (180ft) figure. The planned purchase is expected to clear the way for more archaeological investigations around Britain's largest chalk hill figure, which looms over the rolling Dorset landscape.

Mark Twain was, in the esti­ma­tion of many, the Unit­ed States of Amer­i­ca's first tru­ly home­grown man of let­ters. And in keep­ing with what would be rec­og­nized as the can-do Amer­i­can spir­it, he could­n't resist putting him­self forth now and again as a man of sci­ence - or, more prac­ti­cal­ly, a man of tech­nol­o­gy. Here on Open Cul­ture, we've pre­vi­ous­ly fea­tured his patent­ed inven­tions (includ­ing a bet­ter bra strap), the type­writer of which he made pio­neer­ing use to write a book,

One of the most famous figures in Aurora history never actually made it to town. Willie Keil died of malaria in 1855 in Bethel Colony, Missouri, a few days before he was to accompany his father, German immigrant and evangelical leader William Keil, and about 80 colonists on a journey west to establish a new settlement of their communal society near Willapa Bay.

The Winter egg was commissioned in 1913 by Emperor Nicholas II as an Easter gift for his mother, Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna, and is described as one of the most lavish of Faberge's imperial creations. Faberge is considered the greatest Russian jeweller of the late 19th century and early 20th century. The royal collection of works were personal gifts owned by the Russian, Danish and British royal families.

3. And this reader shared some modern context: "Tennessee still has corporal punishment, at least as of a decade ago. A friend's teenage daughter had to get paddled for something extremely minor (her cellphone was in her backpack and not her locker). There is something seriously gross and perverted about a grown man making a young girl bend over his desk to paddle her butt." - blueshark77

Medieval folktales rarely survive, but when they do, they often appear in surprising places-especially in the lives of local saints. The story of St. Prokop of Sázava reveals how ordinary Czech beliefs shaped a miracle-working saint who battled demons, defended the Slavonic rite, and even returned as a ghost to protect his community.

The Castle of Old Wick in northern Scotland has reopened to the public following a round of high-level masonry inspections and minor repairs completed by Historic Environment Scotland (HES). In October, specialist conservation teams carried out tactile inspections of the medieval ruin, examining its stonework by hand while using ropes and scaffolding to safely access difficult areas. These checks form part of HES's nationwide High-Level Masonry Programme, launched in April 2022, which assesses historic structures with masonry over 1.5 metres.

If you've ever wondered how people in the Middle Ages mocked their rivals, medieval chronicles, court records, and literary texts offer a treasure trove of sharp-tongued insults. These historical slights range from witty and poetic to downright vulgar, revealing how medieval men and women used language to defend their honour, challenge enemies, or simply stir up trouble. From battlefield taunts to street-corner jeers, medieval insults tell us far more about daily life, humour, and conflict than you might expect-so prepare

Senon was an important city of the Mediomatrici tribe, documented in Roman sources after the conquest of Gaul (57 B.C.). While pre-Roman Gallic remains had been found before, the excavations were too small in scale to draw any conclusions about the extent and nature of the settlement. The excavation revealed the remains of timber-framed constructions that proved it was a fully developed settlement from the middle of the 2nd century B.C. to the beginning of the Roman period.

The first time I saw a pearly, I was sat on a fairly empty midday Northern Line train. As it screeched to a standstill and the doors opened, an elderly gentleman appeared, head to toe in shimmering buttons that were sewn into his black suit. I was fascinated by this man and his bold clothing choice, and I was intrigued to find out more about what this outfit represented. I later learned he was a member of the pearly kings and queens.

It's a good thing conservatives know nothing about the actual history of this country they claim to love so much-otherwise, they'd probably launch a War on Thanksgiving. That's because, if you study the path that Thanksgiving took on the way to its current culturally dominant presence in the calendar, it becomes clear that it's low-key one of America's wokest holidays.

All aboard for a fantastic holiday weekend on the historic USS Hornet Museum! Experience over 500 feet of model railroad track in all scales spread across the massive hangar bay, running December 5-8. Toys for Tots & Trains! (Main events start at 1 pm and go until 4 pm) The hangar bay comes alive for a special afternoon you won't want to miss!

Today in history: On Nov. 26, 1973, President Richard Nixon's personal secretary, Rose Mary Woods, told a federal court she'd accidentally caused part of the 18 1/2-minute erasure of a key Watergate tape. The gap was in a 1972 recording of a conversation between Nixon and his chief of staff. Also on this date: In 1791, President George Washington held his first full cabinet meeting; in attendance were Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson, Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton, Secretary of War Henry Knox

In the English language, the turkey gets kind of a tough break. Talking turkey requires serious honesty and speaking harsh truths. Going cold turkey is, often, an onerous way of quitting something completely and suddenly. Being a turkey is a rude zinger thrown at movie and theatrical flops, as well as unpleasant, failure-prone people. Yet, in the culinary world, the turkey looms large, particularly during November.

Today is Tuesday, Nov. 25, the 329th day of 2025. There are 36 days left in the year. Today in history: On Nov. 25, 1999, Elian Gonzalez, a 5-year-old Cuban boy, was rescued by two sport fishermen off the coast of Florida, setting off an international custody battle that eventually saw him repatriated to his father in Cuba. Also on this date:

For over a century, sharpshooters have shaped the evolution of special operations warfare. From the minimalist precision of Simo Häyhä to the extreme-range shots of modern SOF snipers, these marksmen forced militaries to rethink how small teams could dominate the battlefield. Advances in optics, ballistics, and training didn't just make rifles better, they transformed snipers into high-value assets for reconnaissance, target interdiction, and mission security.

Last week, a group of Democratic congresspeople, all of them veterans either from the military or from the intelligence agencies, released a video in which they reminded people currently serving that, not only are they able to refuse an illegal order, but that those in the military are required to do so. This, of course, sent the usual escadrille of flying monkeys into low-earth orbit, from the president and the vice president all the way down the opinion food chain to Bill Maher.

Beyond the written word and photographic evidence, how does one keep history alive? For the Guna people of northern Panama, community theatre emerges as a potent form of cultural documentation and preservation. This vibrant documentary directed by Duiren Wagua, who hails from the same Indigenous community, traces a vital tradition that breathes life into monumental events from the past. The year 1903 marked the separation of Panama from Colombia.

Alexander the Great, born in 356 BCE in the ancient kingdom of Macedon, is one of history's most recognized military leaders and conquerors. Taking the throne at just 20 years old after the assassination of his father, King Philip II, Alexander quickly made plans to expand his empire. Over the course of just 13 years, he led his armies across Asia Minor, Egypt, Persia, and into parts of India, building one of the largest empires the world had ever seen.

Three colossal planks of sandstone, ranging in height from fifteen feet nine inches to eighteen feet eight inches, rise from the grass, along with a smaller stone that has the bent shape of a boomerang. In contrast to the rectilinear blocks at Stonehenge, the Stenness megaliths are thin slabs with angled upper edges, like upside-down guillotine blades. Remnants of a ceremonial circle, they are placed twenty or more feet apart, creating a chasm of negative space.

In an era of wars and massacres with impunity, from Ukraine to the Middle East, passing through Sudan and other parts of the planet, the edifice of international justice that was born in Nuremberg is showing severe cracks. If the people who have suffered horror in Ukraine, in Sudan, in Israel on October 7, and in Gaza, in Palestine, ask themselves what international law has done for them, they will answer that it hasn't done much, says jurist and writer Philippe Sands by telephone.

A gold pocket watch that belonged to a man who died onboard the Titanic when it sank has sold for a record sum. The watch, which belonged to 67-year-old Isidor Straus, went for 1.78m at auction, the highest amount ever paid for Titanic memorabilia. He was given the watch an engraved 18-carat Jules Jurgensen as a gift on his 43rd birthday in 1888.

A conversation with Ed Watts about his recent book, The Romans: A 2,000 Year History, which covers two millennia of Roman history, down to 1204 AD. We talk about questions of scale in writing history, of continuity and discontinuity in the Roman experience, and what enabled this polity to last for so long.