Have you ever wondered if your last name might have royal connections? Whether, through the centuries, your surname has traveled through the noble bloodlines of ancient empires and medieval kingdoms? Today, with genealogy websites and online surname databases, it’s easier than ever to trace a name’s history. But while millions of people around the world might be carrying monikers that once graced the halls of power, they often do so without realizing any potentially regal heritage. Some...| History Facts
While they’re rarely seen today, variety shows, with a genial host introducing an eclectic array of singers, comedians, jugglers, and the like, were once among the most popular displays on television — and before that, on radio, and before that, on stage. They’re a remnant of another time, before a remote control or the click of a mouse could point our drifting attention toward a different channel. Until relatively recently, variety shows were a prominent part of American culture. Here...| History Facts
William Shakespeare wrote dozens of plays — at least 36, by most counts — and coined nearly as many phrases that are still in use. We wouldn’t call things we don’t understand “Greek to me” were it not for Julius Caesar, wouldn’t refer to jealousy as a “green-eyed monster” without Othello, and wouldn’t find ourselves in a “brave new world” without The Tempest, among other examples. Nor would we have the name Jessica, which the Bard invented around 1597 while writing The...| History Facts
The role of first lady has often been seen as ceremonial, rooted in hospitality, social engagement, and the management of White House events. The president’s spouse is expected to host gatherings, welcome dignitaries, and accompany the president at official functions — duties that are social in nature, but still help shape public perception of the presidency and project the values of the nation. The women who have held this position have never been confined to protocol, however. Without a...| History Facts
Birthdays are often a big deal in the modern world, marking milestones such as being old enough to drive or vote, or acknowledging the start of a new decade of life. But for most of human history, a birthday was just another day, and many people didn’t even know when theirs was. Ancient societies sometimes recorded births within noble or wealthy families for lineage or inheritance purposes, but systematic recordkeeping was rare. It wasn’t until the 1530s in England that churches were ma...| History Facts
Some presidential voices are instantly recognizable, such as John F. Kennedy’s distinctive New England accent or Ronald Reagan’s folksy tone. But we’ll never definitively know what presidents such as George Washington or Abraham Lincoln sounded like, since there are no audio recordings of their voices. The oldest existing recording of a U.S. president is the voice of Benjamin Harrison, the 23rd commander in chief. Harrison served from 1889 to 1893, and the audio recording dates to aroun...| History Facts
Theft has long been a part of the human experience. Examples of its prevalence can even be found in ancient mythology: Prometheus stole fire from the gods; Odysseus and Diomedes snuck into Troy to steal the Palladium; and in Hindu mythology, Garuda stole the vase of Amrita from the gods to free his mother from Kadru, the mother of serpents. Of course, theft is very much a real-world concern as well, with the most audacious holdups — the likes of bank jobs, diamond heists, or great train r...| History Facts
Most adults need about seven hours of sleep per night, but there’s nothing in the rule book about getting all seven hours at once. For the thousand or so years that encompassed the Middle Ages, in fact, people in Western Europe sometimes slept in two shifts: once for a few hours usually beginning between 9 p.m. and 11 p.m. and again from roughly 1 a.m. until dawn. The hours in between were a surprisingly productive time known as “the watch.” People would complete tasks and chores, relie...| History Facts
Horses tend to be known for their land-based achievements, but that doesn’t mean equines aren’t sometimes aquatic. In fact, for more than a century, beginning in the 1810s, horse-powered ferries were a common form of transportation in the U.S. Also known as team boats, they were most often used in lakes and rivers — even a team of Clydesdales can’t cross the Atlantic — and worked by having a small group of horses (usually between three and five) walk in a circle on the deck while at...| History Facts
The first thing you need to know in order to understand Victorian England’s “wheelbarrow craze” is that pedestrianism, or competitive walking, was all the rage in the U.S. and U.K. in the late 19th century. The sport produced some of the first celebrity athletes, complete with collectible cards and brand endorsements. Amid this trend, a Scottish former circus performer named Bob Carlisle saw the potential to make a name for himself after seeing an American walking celebrity who was doin...| History Facts
When the San José first set sail in 1698, it probably wasn’t expecting to be making headlines three centuries later. The 64-gun galleon belonging to the Spanish navy sank in 1708’s Battle of Barú, but that wasn’t the end of its story. Long known as the “holy grail” of shipwrecks, the San José met its watery end off the coast of Cartagena, Colombia, with 200 tons of gold and emeralds aboard. It’s presumed to be worth as much as $18 billion, which explains why several different e...| History Facts
It’s easy to assume that Baby Ruth candy bars were named for the famed baseball player George Herman “Babe” Ruth Jr. Indeed, even the Great Bambino assumed as much at the time. After all, the nougaty confection debuted in 1921, after the ballplayer became a household name. But according to the official, legal explanation of the moniker, Baby Ruth bars were named after a different Ruth altogether: the daughter of former U.S. President Grover Cleveland. When the confection first hit the m...| History Facts
The roots of museums reach back thousands of years. From Mesopotamian princesses to Renaissance aristocrats, humans have long been drawn to collect, preserve, and display the material traces of their world. But exactly how old is this tradition? And which institution deserves the title of the first museum in history? An Ancient Princess’s Collection The earliest evidence of what we might recognize as a museum comes from the city of Ur, in modern-day Iraq. Once a flourishing port on the Eu...| History Facts
“They don’t make them like they used to.” You’ve likely heard this common refrain or even said it yourself before. Maybe it was a grumble about modern disposability, but perhaps it was a wistful reflection on how many parts of daily life have changed. Old houses in particular can be full of reminders of how life once looked. Over the years, some domestic features that made sense for their eras have faded away as habits, technology, and tastes evolved. Here are seven once-common hous...| History Facts
Because U.S. presidents are often among the most famous and critiqued people of their era, they have frequently garnered nicknames for policies or activities that defined their persona — some of which are more well known than others. George Washington, for one, was sometimes called the “American Cincinnatus,” after the Roman statesman who prioritized the well-being of the republic over personal gain. Andrew Jackson was dubbed “Sharp Knife” by the Muscogee (Creek) Nation for his r...| History Facts
Some typos add value, turning ordinary books into rare collectibles. But others end up being very expensive. From a stray comma that ended up costing millions to a tiny typo that crashed a spacecraft, here are seven small mistakes that carried enormous price tags. The post 7 of History’s Costliest Typos appeared first on History Facts.| History Facts
The bicycle may seem like a symbol of leisure or health today, but its roots lie in disaster. In 1815, Mount Tambora in Indonesia erupted with extraordinary force, blasting ash, gas, dust, and rock high into the atmosphere. (It’s now considered the largest volcanic eruption in recorded history.) The fallout dimmed the sun worldwide, lowering temperatures and devastating harvests. The following year became known as the “year without a summer” — snow fell in July in New England, crops w...| History Facts
Whether using a pocketknife, a piece of string, or just their imagination, the games baby boomers enjoyed entertained them for hours and created memories that lasted decades. Which of these games do you remember playing? The post 6 Childhood Games Only Baby Boomers Will Recognize appeared first on History Facts.| History Facts
While America declaring independence was a gamble that paid off in spades, luck wasn’t always on the government’s side. Look no further than the time the First Continental Congress authorized a national lottery to fund the Revolutionary War effort — which didn’t exactly go as planned. The inspiration came, in part, from colonial lotteries that helped fund early settlements such as Jamestown and public works projects including streets and churches. This time, Congress hoped the proce...| History Facts
History has shown that height need not be a prerequisite for being in charge. Here are five world leaders who made a formidable impact in their times, despite being even shorter than France's mighty — and somewhat mislabeled — "Little Colonel." The post 5 Famous Leaders Who Were Shorter Than Napoleon appeared first on History Facts.| History Facts
If you’re shopping for goods in the Western world, you expect to see a price tag on most things, whether it’s a secondhand toaster at a garage sale or a can of beans at the supermarket. But clearly advertised prices are a relatively recent phenomenon, originating in the 1870s. Before then, haggling was the norm, with the major exception being stores run by Quakers, who believed charging different prices for different customers was morally wrong. Philadelphia businessman John Wanamaker is ...| History Facts
Beneath the pristine North Lawn and the Ionic columns of America’s most famous residence lies a world that few will ever see. Under the White House, hidden from the general public, is a surprising amount of infrastructure providing an eclectic array of services.| History Facts
For generations, American children learned to loop their letters into graceful, flowing words. Notes passed in class, signatures practiced on notebooks, the elegance of a handwritten letter — all of it once depended on cursive. Yet for much of the last two decades, cursive seemed destined to fade into history. The decline was especially sharp after 2010, when cursive was omitted from the Common Core education standards. Typing skills were prioritized instead, and many schools quietly droppe...| History Facts
Since the establishment of the office in 1789, 45 people have served in 47 presidencies. Each president has brought their own brand of political discourse to the role, and historians tend to remember these leaders primarily for their major historical achievements and policy decisions. But behind the presidents’ political legacies lie plenty of lesser-known details we don’t hear about as often, whether it’s a past life as an executioner, a penchant for skinny-dipping, or a fierce disli...| History Facts
Most people know Albert Einstein as the face of genius, but there was much more to this famous figure than his groundbreaking work in physics. The German-born, Nobel Prize-winning scientist was curious, compassionate, and principled, and he thought deeply about what it means to live a purposeful, ethical life. These weren’t just abstract ideas — they were guiding principles that informed much of what he did and spoke about. Here, distilled from the many nuggets of wisdom Einstein shared o...| History Facts
Just because colonial Americans were subject to taxation without representation doesn’t mean they never voted. Indeed, elections were often held to select local officials and members of colonial legislatures. Rather than paper ballots, however, colonists voted by voice in a practice known as “viva voce.” This being the past and all, voting machines were centuries away from being invented, and paper ballots, despite having been around since ancient times, had yet to be widely adopted in ...| History Facts
When you think of the origins of American suburbia, the name Levittown may spring to mind. A symbol of post-World War II optimism and domestic comfort, this Long Island development, constructed between 1947 and 1951, is often credited as America’s first modern suburb. Yet Levittown wasn’t technically the first suburb in U.S. history — though as the first mass-produced, federally supported suburban development in the country, it did shape a new national lifestyle — and with it, a new c...| History Facts
Seventy years ago, Elvis was shaking up the airwaves, Lucille Ball had Americans laughing in their living rooms, and Presidents Harry Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower were charting very different visions for a postwar United States. The space race was just beginning to heat up and prosperity fueled a culture of optimism for many. It was a decade of technological innovation and imagination, with a flood of brand-new gadgets, fashions, and conveniences promising to make everyday life sleeker, fa...| History Facts
Even if you favor entertainment over education when it comes to cinema, you probably care at least a little about historical accuracy when watching historical dramas. A little creative license never hurt anyone, but attention to detail adds an authenticity that makes the viewing experience feel richer. That’s especially true of war movies, which attract two overlapping sets of people sometimes known for being persnickety: history buffs and cinephiles. If you belong to either camp, you’ll ...| History Facts
The apparent one-hit wonder of the U.S. Founding Fathers, John Hancock is largely known today solely for inscribing the first and largest signature at the bottom the Declaration of Independence — an act that resulted in his name becoming a synonym for the legally identifying scribbles we apply to checks and other important forms today. It may seem curious that Hancock’s name stands front and center among the signatures on this most cherished document of American history, ahead of far more...| History Facts
The 1970s were a wild ride for fashion, politics, music, and, yes, cars. As gas prices spiked and tastes shifted from big and brawny to compact and efficient, the decade’s most memorable automobiles reflected the changing times. Whether you were into style, speed, or just saving gas, the ’70s had a ride for you. Here are seven of the most decade-defining cars of the 1970s — models that turned heads, made the news, and earned their street cred one mile at a time. Which one would you...| History Facts
Falling between the heyday of the Western Roman Empire and the onset of the Renaissance, the Middle Ages have an unflattering reputation as something of a backward epoch of human civilization. Wars raged across Europe, serfs toiled in backbreaking service to feudal lords, and diseases wiped out villages with little hope of preventing the next outbreak. While the negative connotations may not be entirely fair, few would dispute that medieval citizens lived in more primitive conditions than the...| History Facts
Middle names are a strange concept. They often lie silent and unused, only to emerge when we fill out official forms and documents, providing an extra piece of proof as to who we are, despite our near-total disregard for the name in our daily lives. In the U.S., a majority of people have a middle name, but only around 4% of people are referred to by it. And, according to a poll by The Atlantic, only about 22% of Americans think they know the middle names of at least half of their friends or a...| History Facts
In 1789, George Washington became the first president of the United States. Since then, 44 other individuals have served as commander in chief, each leaving a political legacy to be analyzed and judged in the course of time. But their legacies are not only political — they’re also familial. The number of children each president had is often overlooked, but on a personal level, few things could be more important. And in two cases, presidential children — John Quincy Adams and George W. B...| History Facts
Furniture isn’t just about form and function — it’s a reflection of how we live. As technology evolves and lifestyles shift, pieces that were once considered household essentials can quietly fade into obscurity. From furniture designed around now-outdated technology to those that catered to social customs of another era, many former decor staples have all but disappeared from modern homes. If you’ve ever tried to fit a heavy television into a hulking TV cabinet or spent an hour at t...| History Facts
United States currency is full of symbolic design choices and cryptic markings. First issued in 1861 as a demand note, the $20 bill is one of the most commonly used denominations. Over the years, the $20 bill has undergone numerous facelifts, from changing portraits and seals to the addition of color-shifting ink and security threads. Today’s version packs in more symbols than most people may realize. If you’ve ever wondered what those little letters, numbers, and emblems really mean, her...| History Facts
The 1950s were a transformative decade for transportation in the United States. Factors such as postwar prosperity, suburban living, and a decline in public transit led to a major increase in car ownership. At the start of the decade, approximately half of Americans owned an automobile; by 1960, nearly 75% of Americans owned at least one car, and many owned two. It was the golden age of the automobile. Of course, a car can’t go anywhere without gasoline, so what did this trend mean for the ...| History Facts
War is full of logistical challenges, one of the major concerns — in conflicts both ancient and modern — being how to feed the armies doing the fighting. Whether it’s Roman legionaries, British Redcoats, or modern infantry, soldiers have always needed a reliable supply of food to maintain both their energy levels and morale. As the old saying goes, “An army marches on its stomach.” Military rations have existed since at least the time of ancient Rome, when soldiers received 2 poun...| History Facts
It’s perhaps the most famous document in American history — the collection of fighting words that formally severed ties with the British Empire and launched a precocious new nation into existence. But while some of its features are familiar to the public, including a few phrases from the preamble and the conspicuous signature of John Hancock, many details surrounding the Declaration of Independence are little known beyond historians of the subject. Not unlike the esteemed local monument...| History Facts
Tracing the development of a nation’s currency can provide a unique glimpse into the nation itself. But currency is complicated — its history often defies a simple straight-line narrative, and there are countless technicalities along the way that threaten to glaze over the eyes of anyone without a degree in economics. So let’s take a look at some of the most interesting moments in the history of U.S. currency, and leave the rest to the economists. The First National Bills Were Called ...| History Facts
Spend any time gazing at medieval European paintings, and one question tends to emerge: What is going on with those babies? Far from the sweet, chubby cherubs we might expect to see, these infants often resemble balding middle-aged men, complete with wrinkled foreheads and dour expressions. What could possibly explain this bizarre artistic choice? To understand, we have to dive into how European art — and the perception of children — evolved from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance. Religi...| History Facts
The Middle Ages weren’t just shaped by monarchs and wars — they were lived by everyday people whose names appear in the records they left behind. Parish registers, royal charters, tax rolls, and literature give us a glimpse into the history of common names in medieval England and other parts of Europe and what they meant to the people who carried them. Some of the most valuable insights about what people were called, and why, come from medieval books created specifically to record names. ...| History Facts
For a long time, America’s discovery was routinely attributed to Christopher Columbus and his voyage of 1492. But the real story of human arrival in the so-called New World is far more complex than that story would suggest, and spans thousands of years before European contact. Indeed, the very question of who “discovered” America — and for the purpose of this article, we’re focusing on the North American continent specifically — depends largely on how we define “discovery” ...| History Facts
According to popular legend, the English aristocrat John Montagu, the 4th Earl of Sandwich, was engaged in an all-night card game in 1762 when he became distracted by hunger pangs. Not wanting to stop playing, he instructed his servant to bring him a snack of beef between two slices of bread, allowing him to satiate the twin desires of filling his belly and raking in more dough. While he was hardly the first person in history to consider eating food in this fashion — Montagu may have been i...| History Facts
Bell-bottoms have long been synonymous with sailors in the U.S. Navy: Just picture Sailor Jack, the patriotic mascot who first appeared on boxes of Cracker Jack in 1918, or Frank Sinatra and Gene Kelly dancing and singing in the 1945 musical Anchors Aweigh. During World War II, songwriter Moe Jaffe even reworked the lyrics of a bawdy 19th-century English sea shanty into “Bell Bottom Trousers,” a song about a woman’s love for her sailor, who wore “bell bottom trousers, coat of navy blu...| History Facts
The American workforce has transformed dramatically since the 1950s, a decade marked by economic prosperity, suburban expansion, and rapid industrialization. It’s likely that folks at the time couldn’t have imagined how much the U.S. job market would change over the next few decades — or how quickly innovation would make once-common jobs almost obsolete. Careers such as switchboard operator and typist may have seemed stable and essential in the mid-20th century, but time, technology, ...| History Facts
Without question, the $2 bill is the black sheep of the U.S. currency family. Despite being a small enough denomination to fairly easily acquire, the “Tom” — nicknamed for its portrait of Thomas Jefferson — rarely surfaces in day-to-day transactions. In fact, many folks erroneously believe the $2 note to be out of circulation, with some cashiers even refusing to accept these unfamiliar bills. Make no mistake, the $2 bill is very real and remains in regular circulation, albeit at a sma...| History Facts
Much like fashion, the cyclical nature of baby names is influenced not only by cultural shifts, but also by historical events and popular media. For instance, in 1931, the name Bella was ranked No. 985 in the top 1,000 female names by the Social Security Administration, which uses Social Security card application data to determine the popularity of names, before falling off the list entirely for 69 years. We can’t be sure why the name made the list again in the year 2000, coming in at No. 7...| History Facts
Photographs allow us to witness history with our very own eyes, immortalizing brief moments in time that are worth preserving — be it a mother struggling during the Great Depression or a handshake between Elvis Presley and Richard Nixon. Each image has a story behind it that helps explain why those moments maintain their appeal all these decades later. Here are some of the most famous photographs in recent history, and why they matter. “Migrant Mother” (1936) In March 1936, photographe...| History Facts
Endlessly scrolling through Netflix without being able to decide what to watch is an all-too-common problem, but it’s easier to solve if you have a specific genre in mind. And while most of the history dramas streaming on the platform aren’t exactly historical themselves, as Netflix’s catalogue is known to skew toward newer films, that doesn’t mean they aren’t worth watching. Here are five of the best, which tell stories ranging from complex biographies to a single day in World War ...| History Facts
Covered bridges are an idyllic symbol of rural America. These charming, often hand-built structures have been romanticized in popular culture for years, from Thomas Kinkade’s painting “The Old Covered Bridge” to the novel (and film adaptation) The Bridges of Madison County. Despite their dispensability in the age of concrete and steel, these old wooden bridges continue to be beloved landmarks, their distinct roofs making them easily recognizable even today. But what exactly led to their...| History Facts
For generations, American children learned to loop their letters into graceful, flowing words. Notes passed in class, signatures practiced on notebooks, the elegance of a handwritten letter — all of it once depended on cursive. Yet for much of the last two decades, cursive seemed destined to fade into history. The decline was especially sharp after 2010, when cursive was omitted from the Common Core education standards. Typing skills were prioritized instead, and many schools quietly droppe...| History Facts
The invention of the bathing suit as a tasteful, stylish outfit specifically for water-based leisure may go as far back as ancient Rome.| History Facts
The ancient Greeks are widely regarded as the founders of modern medicine. Yet initially, they saw illness as a divine punishment and healing as a literal gift from the gods — beliefs not uncommon in the ancient world. By the fifth century BCE, however, the Greeks began testing and advancing medical theories based on actual scientific observations — cause and effect — rather than spiritual beliefs alone. Three factors began to take prominence in ancient Greek medicine: diet, drugs, an...| History Facts
Grocery deliveries may be a modern convenience, but the service hearkens back to a bygone era when clinking glass bottles signaled the arrival of the milkman. The milkman (or milkwoman, though the job was usually held by men) is a cherished fixture of American history, as a prominent part of much of the 19th and 20th centuries. While milk remains a staple of the American diet, changes in consumerism and technology have made the once-ubiquitous milkman a relic of the past. Cattle farming was...| History Facts
