History As It Happened

Colin Kaepernick, a quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, caused a controversy that grew beyond the scope of football. Kaepernick had been sitting on the bench during the national anthem for the 2016 pre-season games. His actions were a form of peaceful protest sparked by the killings of multiple black men that summer, joining a […]

Hurricane Katrina was one of the most destructive hurricanes to hit the Gulf Coast in the 21st century. On August 28, 2005, a day before the storm reached Louisiana, it intensified to a Category 5 storm, with sustained winds at times reaching 145 mph. The next day, Katrina brought devastating winds and floods to the […]

Sometimes the answer you are looking for is the one hiding in plain sight. This was certainly the case for Kristofer Helgen and his team, who set out into the cloud forests of South America to answer the question of a mistaken identity. In many museum collections, his team found multiple teeth and pelts labeled […]

On August 8, 2023, parts of the Hawaiian Island of Maui were set ablaze as wildfires began to break out. A combination of high wind speeds and dry weather created the perfect conditions for a small blaze to turn into a massive wildfire. The worst of the fire’s impact was felt in the city of […]

Between the late hours of July 29th and the early morning of July 30th, 2013, the town of Tavares, Florida, was shaken after a nearby explosion. The blast came from a nearby Blue Rhino Propane Plant, where a massive explosion broke out in the facility. The plant was used to refurbish and refill old propane […]

On July 24th, 2005, American Professional Cyclist Lance Armstrong won his 7th Tour de France title. That day, the Quincy Herald Whig published an article describing how Armstrong had managed to grab ahold of his 7th title. He had managed to overtake his biggest rivals and make his way to the end of the course, […]

Bastille Day takes place each year on July 14 in France. The day celebrates the start of the French Revolution, commemorating the storming of the Bastille prison in 1789. However, in 2016, the celebration ended in tragedy. What was a normal Bastille Day soon turned into a deadly occasion when a man drove a truck […]

First up, we have some fun 4th of July comics from The Gazette, published in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in 2003. These comics have humorous takes on the holiday from the series featured in each paper. In Denis the Menace, the kids are filling up a pool while saying that they celebrated Independence Day on the […]

  Currently, fathers day is celebrated in the United States every year on the third Sunday of June. But this wasn’t always the case. In fact, the first fathers day wasn’t celebrated until 1910. In 1988, the Record Courier published an interview with the cousin of Sonora Dodd, the woman credited with the creation of […]

  American Idol has brought to light dozens of famous musicians in the decades since it first aired on June 11, 2002. The show, created by Simon Fuller, was based on a British show titled Pop Idol, which featured the same concept of searching for the best musicians around. The show took the same format […]

On June 5, 2004, President Ronald Reagan died from Alzheimer’s disease. Reagan began his career as an actor before transitioning into politics in 1966, when he became the governor of California. He first ran for president in 1976 but lost the major party ticket bid. Reagan ran again in 1980 and was elected as the […]

Imagine being asked, “What are you in for?” and you have to answer “mowing the lawn”. This situation is something that a man from Ohio could have experienced in 2009. On May 30th, the Bellevue Gazette reported that a man had been arrested for mowing grass in Sandusky, Ohio. John Hamilton had grown frustrated with […]

On May 19, 2018, British Prince Harry and American actress Meghan Markle were married in a lavish royal wedding. The ceremony, which cost approximately £32 million, took place at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle and welcomed around 600 guests. Beyond those invited, hundreds of millions watched the event virtually worldwide, witnessing this historic occasion. […]

Let’s start at the beginning, the birth of advertising, with a couple of ads from the 1890s. This era of advertising isn’t necessarily remarkable. Advertisements were fairly straightforward, using the hard sell tactic to get their point across. They would include the name of the business, what they were selling, and where you can find […]

After 10 years, the hit sitcom “Friends” aired its final episode on May 6th, 2004. Titled “The Last One”, viewers watched as the characters they had come to love finally got resolution for their storylines. For those not familiar with Friends, the show’s premise was centered around a group of 6 friends as they navigate […]

There are two major ways that May 1st is celebrated around the world. The first is International Labor Day, created by the American Federation of Labor in 1886 to protest poor working conditions. In 1886, it was incredibly common for workers to put in 16-hour days, so the AFL called for a day of striking […]

Earth Day takes place every year on April 22nd, and has for decades been a day for people to get outside and help Mother Nature. Many communities will come together to plant trees or pick up trash alongside the highways to celebrate. One writer at The Times Record, published in Fort Smith, Arkansas, applauded the […]