Thomas Knowlton, the Battle of Bunker Hill

9 Weapons That Powered Ancient Egyptian Fighting ForcesDraft SharePreviewPublish

A close-up of the text of the Code of Hammurabi.

Gettysburg Battlefield National Park, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

Still from the film "Battle of the Somme," showing British troops.

Senegalese soldiers after attack, circa 1914-circa 1918. The Senegalese Tirailleurs were a corps of colonial infantry in the French Army. They were recruited from Senegal and other sub-Saharan regions of the French empire.

Weary Presidential Candidate John F. Kennedy

Ferdinand Magellan expedition depicted in painting.

Dancers dressed in green performing in a St. Patrick's Day parade in Munich.

Patrick J. Kiger has written for GQ, the Los Angeles Times, National Geographic, PBS NewsHour and Military History Quarterly. He's the co-author (with Martin J. Smith) of Poplorica: A Popular History of the Fads, Mavericks, Inventions, and Lore that Shaped Modern America.

Patrick J. Kiger

Patrick J. Kiger has written for GQ, the Los Angeles Times, National Geographic, PBS NewsHour and Military History Quarterly. He&#8217;s the co-author (with Martin J. Smith) of Poplorica: A Popular History of the Fads, Mavericks, Inventions, and Lore that Shaped Modern America.

Patrick J. Kiger Archives | HISTORY

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Patrick J. Kiger has written for GQ, the Los Angeles Times, National Geographic, PBS NewsHour and Military History Quarterly. He's the co-author (with Martin J. Smith) of Poplorica: A Popular History of the Fads, Mavericks, Inventions, and Lore that Shaped Modern America.

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America’s Founding Fathers decided that one elected civilian—the U.S. president—would lead the executive branch of the federal government, a governmental structure that has remained in place for more than 200 years.

U.S. Presidents

World War I pitted Germany, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire against Great Britain, the United States, France, Russia, Italy and Japan. New military technology resulted in unprecedented carnage. By the time the war was over and the Allied Powers claimed victory, more than 16 million people—soldiers and civilians alike—were dead.

World War I

The Roman Empire, led by rulers such as Julius Caesar, Augustus Caesar, Caligula and Nero, was a vast and powerful domain that gave rise to the culture, laws, technologies and institutions that continue to define Western civilization.

Ancient Rome

The 21st century saw the dawn of the war on terrorism, as the 9/11 attacks and the Boston Marathon bombing dramatically changed society. Economic issues moved to the forefront during the Great Recession. The COVID-19 pandemic upended lives and economies around the world. Awareness of social inequality grew as the killings of Black Americans, including Trayvon Martin and George Floyd, spurred widespread protests.

21st Century

In the 15th century, Europeans began to sail west across the Atlantic Ocean in search of new routes to China and the East, but in the process they discovered what they labeled a "New World," although Indigenous people had lived there for centuries. Other explorers have pushed the limits of flight and seafaring, and traversed the frozen Continent of Antarctica.

Exploration

Listicle

Slavery was widely practiced throughout the ancient world, and in the American colonies in the 17th and 18th centuries, which helped propel the United States into the Civil War.

Slavery

The Civil War was America's bloodiest and most divisive conflict, pitting the Union Army against the Confederate States of America. The war resulted in the deaths of more than 620,000 people, with millions more injured and the South left in ruins.

Civil War

The ancient Middle East gave rise to some of the greatest empires in human history, including Mesopotamia, Babylonia, the Persian Empire and the Byzantine Empire.

Ancient Middle East

St. Patrick’s Day observes of the death of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. The holiday has evolved into a celebration of Irish culture with parades, special foods, music, dancing, drinking and a whole lot of green.

St. Patrick’s Day

From religious and patriotic holidays to celebrations of ethnic pride, explore the history of Easter, Passover, New Year's Day, Veterans' Day, Memorial Day and more annual observances.

Annual Observances

The Revolutionary War waged by the American colonies against Britain influenced political ideas and revolutions around the globe, as a small fledgling nation won its freedom from the greatest military force of its time.

American Revolution

Ancient Egypt was home to one of the greatest empires in history, with leaders like Tutankhamen (King Tut), Cleopatra, Ramses II and landmarks like the Great Pyramid at Giza and the Sphinx.

Ancient Egypt

Africa is a large and diverse continent that extends from South Africa northward to the Mediterranean Sea. The continent makes up one-fifth of the total land surface of Earth. Widely recognized as the birthplace of humankind, Africa saw the rise of great kingdoms, faced the trans-Atlantic slave trade, colonization and Apartheid.

Patrick J. Kiger ‑ Stories

US Vice Presidents Who Went on to Become President

Why We Wear Green on St. Patrick’s Day

How Many Died in the Revolutionary War?

Why the Magellan Expedition Was So Treacherous

How Hannibal Crossed the Alps (With Elephants)

The Health Problems JFK Hid From the Public

How Many People Died in World War I?

Timeline: What Happened at the Boston Marathon Bombing

6 Key World War I Battles Fought in Africa

9 Events That Led to the Civil War

How the Code of Hammurabi Influenced Modern Legal Systems

14 Everyday Objects of Ancient Egypt