#history

#history

When I was 16 years old, I sat in a crowded assembly hall on a wobbly plastic chair, and I listened to Mr. Smith tell me why I should study history. All of the teachers had to do it. "Sell your subject," the headmaster had said. "Make the kids want to pick it." Some teachers did so with the grudging monotone of the forced and underpaid employee. Some did it with the exhausting energy of a fanatic.

In 1857, the S.S. Central America (also known as the Ship of Gold) sank off the coast of South Carolina after sailing into a hurricane in one of the worst maritime disasters in American history; 425 people were killed and thousands of pounds of gold sank with the ship to the bottom of the ocean. In 1940, the Lascaux cave paintings, estimated to be 17,000 years old, were discovered in southwestern France.

Today is Wednesday, Aug. 27, the 239th day of 2025. There are 126 days left in the year. Today in history: On Aug. 27, 2011, Hurricane Irene made landfall in the United States; the storm would be responsible for 49 total deaths and more than $14 billion in damage. Also on this date: In 1883, the island volcano Krakatoa erupted with a series of cataclysmic explosions.

Chopsticks date back millennia, with the earliest examples in China appearing as early as 1200 B.C. Originally used as cooking tools for stirring pots and retrieving food from hot oil, they gradually made their way to the dining table. By around 400 A.D., chopsticks were more common as eating utensils, and within another century, they had spread widely throughout East Asia, from Vietnam to Japan.

"Maxwell's wasn't just a club-it was a community. It was a proving ground. It was where music scenes collided, friendships were forged, and bands found both their audience and their soul."

On August 19, 2013, South African sprinter Oscar Pistorius was indicted on charges of murder for the shooting death of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp.

The area promises wine, walking, seafood and an eclectic history from prehistoric cave-dwellers to Agatha Christie.

Los Angeles has many valleys, but only one is the Valley, bounded by mountains and home to 1.8 million people across 260 square miles.

On August 17, 1915, a mob in Cobb County, Georgia, lynched Jewish businessman Leo Frank, 31, whose death sentence for the murder of 13-year-old Mary Phagan had been commuted to life imprisonment.

Historians and researchers who have seen early drafts say the new texts gloss over these events, and also appear to downplay and omit major human rights violations, including the killings of up to half a million suspected communists from 1965-6, and mass rapes targeting ethnic Chinese during the riots that led to the fall of Suharto in 1998.

"When Paul Morphy plays seven games of chess at once and blindfold, when young Colburn gives impromptu solution to a mathematical problem involving fifty-six figures, we are struck with hopeless wonder," J. Brownlee Brown wrote in 1864.

The last remnants of Demyan's Hofbrau in Stapleton were recently bulldozed for housing, ending a 172-year history that began with John Bechtel's brewery in 1853.

Los Angeles is a city built upon amnesia and denial, transformed from its natural landscape into a mythologized paradise that masked the struggles of many.

George Lunn ran for mayor of Schenectady in 1911 on a platform of affordability, proposing city-run grocery stores and public ownership of industries to support the working class.

Visiting the thermal baths in Bath, known for their mineral-rich waters and healing properties, has been a tradition for around 8,000 years due to their historical significance.

"It was also at Fraunces Tavern in 1804 that Hamilton, presiding over a Society of the Cincinnati dinner, had his final public encounter with a disgruntled Aaron Burr, just a week before their fateful duel."

The excavation uncovered rubble from the house, lost domestic items, and animal bones from family meals which Newton almost certainly did not join.

Rock climbing has evolved significantly over centuries, moving from heavy boots and natural fiber ropes to lightweight shoes and durable gear, enhancing safety and efficiency.

George Ward Price, dubbed the Monocled Prince of the Press by Ernest Hemingway, was one of the most successful journalists, whose scoop after scoop left competition behind.

On Aug. 7, 1974, French highwire artist Philippe Petit performed an unapproved tightrope walk between the two towers of the World Trade Center in New York, chronicled in the Academy Award-winning documentary Man on Wire.

Bitcoin had no price for its first year, being mined, shared, and bartered without any exchanges or wallets. The notion was considered absurd by most.

Whether soft or hard, mild or strong, young or aged, plain or flavored, cheese is central to many gastronomies and cultures around the world. Global production is still on the rise to meet growing consumer demand.

Mars isn't just a planet. It's a philosophy, an ideology. The way humans think about it changes over time, reflecting the unstable mix of assumptions, hopes, dreams and anxieties that define each historical moment.

The first chocolate bar, created by J.S. Fry & Sons in 1847, marked a significant development in confectionery history, evolving from liquid to solid chocolate.

Chief of War is a violent and historical account of the island nation of Hawaii at the end of the 18th century, focusing on Hawaiian warrior chief Ka'iana.

The first kettle chips were invented by a cook named George Crum at a restaurant called Moon's Lake House in Saratoga Springs, New York in 1853.

Jackson Heights has developed into a cultural melting pot, boasting a population of 175,000 who speak 160 different languages, reflecting the area's immense diversity.

The recipe for Worcestershire sauce was developed in response to a request from a nobleman returning from India during the British occupation, aiming to recreate an Indian sauce.

In the Netherlands in 1943, more than 6,200 Dutch doctors -97 percent of the profession-refused orders to register with the Nazi-controlled Chamber of Physicians. This registry was intended to force doctors to cooperate with racial and ableist screening, deportations, sterilization, and euthanasia policies.

Frito-Lay chips have been a quintessential American food for nearly a century, becoming a staple in school lunches and barbeques despite rising prices and smaller portion sizes.