Showing results by author "Hourly History" in All Categories

Betty Ford was the First Lady of President Gerald Ford. Many biographies seem to focus on just that one aspect of her life, but as consequential as her time in the White House was, she was more than that. Since her earliest days as a little girl in Michigan, Betty Ford lived a life that was full of learning, full of adventure, and full of service. She was a dancer who graced stages in New York City. She was a woman who rebuilt her life after a difficult first marriage.

The Sumerians settled in the area known as Mesopotamia, between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, around 5,000 years ago. They produced many fundamental changes to the way in which human societies developed - these were the first city-builders, the first people to use wheeled vehicles, the first methodical astronomers, and the first people to develop a sophisticated written language. The Sumerians also produced art, music, and literature as well as created some of the first professional soldiers the world had ever seen.

In August 1856, mine workers were excavating the Feldhofer Grotto in the western part of Germany. The cave was one of many in a narrow gorge cut by the Düssel River through limestone outcrops. Here, workers discovered what they believed were human bones. An amateur naturalist from the nearby town of Elberfeld, Johann Carl Fuhlrott, heard about the find and decided to take a look at the remains, which were said to be very old. This discovery would ultimately reshape our understanding of human evolution, though that realization would take many decades to unfold.

Violent confrontation between armed groups over the supply of illegal narcotics is something we commonly associate with criminal gangs in modern cities, but in the mid-19th century Great Britain went to war with Imperial China in order to continue to supply Chinese addicts with opium. The two wars that followed have become known as the Opium Wars, and they led to the utter defeat of China, the establishment of a British colony in Hong Kong, and the continuation of a narcotics trade that was worth millions of pounds each year to the British.

Explore the life of one of the medieval world’s most memorable figures. Eleanor of Aquitaine became the queen of both France and England, the wife of two kings, and later the mother of two kings. Heiress to the rich French provinces of Aquitaine and Poitou, she was undoubtedly one of medieval Europe’s most powerful and wealthiest women.

The Navajo, or Diné (“the people”), are the single largest group of Native American people in North America. Their traditional homeland, the Diné Bikéyah, stretched across the vast landscapes of present-day Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona, defined by four sacred mountains that symbolized their spiritual and physical world. Yet their language and culture suggest that the Navajo actually originated in present-day Canada before migrating south toward New Mexico.

Founded at the dawn of the 17th century as European nations were establishing global empires, the English East India Company would become a vital part of burgeoning British supremacy. Begun as a joint-stock company for trade with the East Indies, this organization would evolve into one of the world's first capitalistic corporations.

Discover the remarkable history of the Falklands War...The Falklands War, which erupted in 1982, was a conflict between the United Kingdom and the Republic of Argentina over sovereignty of the Falklands, a group of largely uninhabited islands in the South Atlantic. The islands had under two thousand inhabitants and little particular strategic or commercial importance when they became the object of the war. Still, disputes over whether these islands belonged to Great Britain or Argentina had been underway for many years.

The phrase "an heir and a spare" refers to the imperative for members of the royal family to provide both an heir to take on their title and a spare. In this equation King George VI was the spare - the second son of King George V and Mary, and never expected to sit on the throne. King George VI, or Albert as he was known prior to his kingship, had a career in the Royal Navy and served during the First World War before King Edward VIII’s decision to abdicate his throne.

Discover the remarkable history of the Inca Empire...In the space of less than one hundred years, the Inca people expanded from being a small kingdom in the highlands of Peru to becoming one of the largest and most powerful empires in the Americas. At the height of its power, the Inca Empire stretched for more than one thousand miles down the Andes Mountains and the west coast of South America. It incorporated more than two hundred distinct ethnic groups and somewhere around fourteen million people were ruled by a much smaller number of Incas.

Creativity is in our bones. It is found in our very DNA, something not known to Leonardo da Vinci or anyone else who lived in his day and time. All he did was to uncover the hidden genius which lay within himself, and he used that inner genius to the very best of his abilities. Leonardo da Vinci is best known for some of the world's most masterful paintings, but he was so much more than merely another artist with paints and brushes. Born to a peasant woman in 1452, Leonardo would go on to astound the world he lived in with his artistry and his inventions.

The period from 1870 to 1900 in the US has become known as the Gilded Age, during which America was transformed almost beyond recognition. The Gilded Age was an era of entrepreneurs, inventions, industrial development, and new ideas. Most of all, it was a period of rapid and profound change that came at a high cost for the working class.

Isaac Newton seemed to be a most unwanted child of the world. Ignored by his mother, scorned by contemporaries, seemingly at war with the world in which he lived, Newton turned his energies to things unseen. His laws of motion and law of universal gravitation would set the stage for a most extraordinary life. Follow along as you travel from a rugged stone farmhouse to Trinity College, Cambridge to the halls of London exhibitions where Newton found himself the celebrity of the age. Looking back on Aristotle, and inspired by all that Galileo had brought the world, Newton made his life work much of what is heralded as the modern age. He saw what no one else did, and his vision saw into the universe. See how he did it, and why.

Discover the remarkable life of John Belushi... John Belushi lived his life on his own terms. He didn't answer to anyone, and he didn't hold back for an instant. He was an extroverted performer from the earliest days of his youth, always eager to get attention—some might even say approval—from his peers. It was this desire for recognition that drove him to push as hard as he did. Belushi pushed himself until he was able to use a combination of charisma, talent, and sheer willpower to make a name for himself on the national stage.

Franklin Pierce was president of the United States during one of the most pivotal periods in American history. He was the 14th president, and during his tenure leading the nation, he had to deal with multiple points of upheaval. He was the captain of the ship, but the boat had sprung multiple leaks. Even so, he managed to expand its scope. Building upon the vast territorial gains of his predecessor President James Polk, he executed the Gadsden Purchase, adding some 30,000 square miles to the Union.

During the bitter winter of 1692/93, a group of young Puritan women in the colonial town of Salem, Massachusetts, accused more than 200 of their neighbors and fellow townspeople of using witchcraft to injure and torment them. This was an incredibly serious allegation that led to sensational court proceedings and ended with the execution of 19 people.

Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad became famous for his popularization of an Afrocentric branch of Islam. In later years, however, the movement came under fire after critics pointed out that its ideology had very little to do with the mainstream faith. Nevertheless, Elijah’s words and teachings still managed to galvanize and capture the hearts of millions of disaffected and oppressed African Americans. During the movement’s heyday in the 1950s and 1960s, Elijah extended his hand to a downtrodden people in a way that few others could.

A great deal has been written about the history of the Native American people of North America and particularly about their experiences, since the arrival of white settlers. However, there is another people whose history mirrors the experience of many Native American tribes, but who have become almost completely forgotten: the Sami, Europe’s only indigenous people.

Over a period of more than 10 years, following the overthrow of the government in 1910, Mexico experienced a period of intense and bloody warfare as a bewildering array of factions in ever-changing alliances took power and then lost it. Presidents were elected (or elected themselves) and were then deposed or assassinated. New factions appeared with impressive sounding slogans, took to the field, and were either wiped out and never heard of again or became the next government.

Abraham Lincoln's determination to hold the North and South together would ultimately lead to the bloodiest war in American history, the abolition of slavery, and his own untimely death from an assassin’s bullet. But to see Lincoln solely as a tragic figure consumed with the strife of mid-19th century America is to miss meeting him as a man who never allowed himself to be defeated by adversity, grief, or turmoil.