Japan has had a history of intense political fragmentation, and its relationship with global trade networks and even outside contact in general has been tenuous. In the mid-sixteenth century, Christianity’s appearance inside Japan was inextricably tied to these facts. While the religion initially surged thanks to the support of powerful allies like Oda Nobunaga, it […]
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When people think of conquering a mountain, Everest almost ubiquitously comes to mind. While it is impossible to know how many people have truly reached the summit, this journey has been documented repeatedly since 1953, when Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay proved that a successful summit was possible. However, even the most experienced mountain
Hannelore Schmatz: The tragic story of the first woman to die Mt. Everest Read More »
Civilizations throughout history have approached succession from numerous fronts, from religiously ordained kings to democracy and trials by physical prowess. These decisions arise from cultural, religious, and social beliefs, and what one civilization may view as just, another may not. In the case of the Ottomans, the means of succession occupied a middle ground: accepted
Fratricide: The brutal history of Ottoman succession Read More »
Siege warfare has been an effective strategy for military success for thousands of years, and the introduction of modern weaponry did not change such tactics; it only refined them. However, while political and military leadership address concepts such as blockades and sieges on paper, it is the citizens who live through the reality of those
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Who hasn’t dreamed of discovering buried treasure at least once? From tattered pirate maps to legends of lost cities filled with priceless artifacts, humanity has been fascinated with uncovering the riches of the ages. The search for hidden gold, silver, and precious gems has led to many fascinating treasure discoveries over the years. These hidden
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On Nov. 5, 1983, four saturation divers from the Byford Dolphin suffered arguably the most catastrophic and gruesome ends in diving history. A dive tender also lost his life, while another diver survived despite sustaining massive injuries. The accident occurred in the Frigg Gas Field, situated between Norway and Scotland in the North Sea. The
Except for the class of 1915 (“the class the stars fell on”), no other group graduating from West Point has been as glorified as the Class of 1846. Graduating just as the Mexican-American War began, this band of brothers ultimately fought shoulder-to-shoulder (and in some cases, face-to-face) in three momentous wars: the Mexican-American War (1846-1848),
What Was so Special About West Point’s Class of 1846? Read More »
In 1939, the American media company Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) produced an extraordinarily imaginative musical fantasy film adaptation of L. Frank Baum’s 1900 children’s fantasy novel, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Notable for its use of Technicolor (a technique using a color motion picture process dating back to 1916 that provides a particularly surreal quality to this film), unforgettable characters, fantastic storyline,
From Book to Film, The Making of The Wizard of Oz Read More »
Few historians would disagree that the 1960s was the most culturally significant decade in American history—particularly in terms of American Pop culture. From the signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1960 to Woodstock (the biggest music festival in history, held in 1969), the 60s were a veritable roller-coaster ride of cultural evolution and revolution.
Paper Caper: The History of the Paper Dress Read More »
In 1962, Brendon Grimshaw, a 37-year-old British newspaper editor working in Kenya, decided to go on holiday in the Seychelles, an archipelago of 115 (mostly uninhabited) islands in the Indian Ocean. More than just a change of scenery, Grimshaw was looking for a change of life. As editor of some of the largest newspapers
