History Today

Merle Ricklefs seeks clues for the future of the troubled archipelago nation in its distant past.

David Jordan recalls the career of the man Brazilians claim to have been the true pioneer of powered heavier-than-air flight.

Colin Cook looks at the political, philosophical and cultural impact of the idea of aviation in the first half of the 20th century.

A.D. Harvey recalls the career of the Swedish king whose assassination inspired a famous opera.

Steve Smith shows that those who control the present are sometimes able to control interpretations of the past.

Jerry Brookshire shows that the ‘special relationship’ in 1945-51 was in safe, and curiously similar, hands.

The treaty to bring parts of present-day Arizona and New Mexico into the United States was signed on December 30th, 1853.

Adrian Mourby shows that the nightmare scenario can be both dire warning and escapist fantasy.

Stalin's security chief Lavrenti Beria was executed on December 23rd, 1953.

An introduction by Bob Scribner to our November series on Martin Luther.