Famous Historical Topics & Events Story Briefs

In 1775, Francis Marion was elected to South Carolina's Provincial Congress.

Originally owned by Franklin & Armfield, dealers in slaves, this slave pen was located not far from the U.S. Capitol.

Meet John Hartnell and his mummified remains. A sailor who served aboard HMS Erebus, he died while exploring the Arctic with the Franklin Expedition.

France celebrates "Bastille Day" every July 14th. Learn more about it with this humorous video clip from "Horrible Histories."

In 1616, Galileo agrees not to teach the Copernican theory. Thereafter, Church officials believe he violated that agreement.

Continuing with his theories on motion, Galileo used a horse to demonstrate that the Earth moves.

Galileo Galilei was born at a time when people believed the sun revolved around the earth - a theory originally proposed by Aristotle.

When Galileo began to experiment with his new telescope, by pointing it to the sky, he made the world's first astronomical observations.

Gandhi urged a national strike after he returned to his country. The Amritsar Massacre soon followed.

Gandhi referred to South Africa as his second home, and it was there that the young lawyer decided to non-violently oppose a racially motivated law.

Protesting what he considered an unfair constitutional separation of India's castes, Gandhi begins a to-the-death hunger strike on September 16, 1932.

Were crematoria, at Nazi camps, used to dispose of bodies of people who were gassed at these camps? The issue is still debated, particularly by indivi...