Hourly History

Discover the remarkable life of Alexandra Feodorovna....Alexandra Feodorovna, the last Empress of Russia, remains one of the most tragic figures of the twentieth century. Born into European royalty and later married to Tsar Nicholas II, she became...

Alfred Hitchcock’s work is legendary, and although he himself was known as a rather quiet and subdued figure in public, those who knew him privately saw a fiery disposition and unbridled passion lurking just beneath the surface of his placid exterior....

Discover the remarkable life of Andrew Carnegie...He has roads, schools, libraries, and the famous Carnegie Hall all named after him. But who was this industrialist and business titan of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century? What were his...

On May 25, 1961, less than two months after a Soviet cosmonaut had made the very first space flight, President John F. Kennedy told Congress, "I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing...

Discover the remarkable life of Augustus Caesar...He was the first emperor of one of the greatest empires ever known to man. He commanded unmatched authority in the ancient world and was always one step ahead of his opponents. He had an intellect and...

The American Civil War was a long and bloody conflict whose effects are still felt today in the United States. The descendants of the men who fought in the war continue to pay the fallen their respects and remember the events of the war, the various...

Discover the remarkable history of the Battle of New Orleans...The deciding battle of the War of 1812, the Battle of New Orleans, was won by the Americans on January 8, 1815, a few scant weeks after the British and American negotiators signed the...

Discover the remarkable history of the Bay of Pigs Invasion...In the 1950s, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) secretly planned, supported, and funded two coups: one in Guatemala and one in Iran. This was the height of the Cold War, and both...

Benedict Arnold: a name that has become synonymous with betrayal. However, this wasn’t always the case. At one time he was General (and future first President) George Washington’s trusted advisor in the struggle against the British. What caused this...

Bob Hope was the kind of entertainer who only comes along once in a lifetime. Spanning the decades, he worked through just about every era of the twentieth century. Hope grew up doing his best vaudeville routine and ended up performing far and wide...

Discover the remarkable life of Bram Stoker...Irish author Bram Stoker is considered one of the masters of Gothic horror, in large part due to his creation of one of modern culture's most enduring villains, Count Dracula. Making a life first in civil...

Charles Darwin thought he would be a clergyman after an uneventful childhood, where he hated school but loved the natural world. All that would change when he was allowed to be a part of a world-wide expedition to faraway lands. He was able to collect...

From working in a shoe-blacking factory as a 12-year-old to help his family while his father was in debtor’s prison, Charles Dickens rose to become one of the best-known novelists of all time. Lines like Oliver Twist’s “Please sir, may I have some...

Discover the remarkable life of Charles I...Charles I is one of the most instantly recognizable of the English monarchs. During his reign the relationship between king and Parliament changed radically, with revolutionary results. A man of deeply held...

Admiral Chester Nimitz stands tall as an absolute giant in military history. The massive Nimitz-class aircraft carriers that still bear his name stand as a testament to that fact. During the Second World War, Nimitz was in charge of a huge chunk of...

Discover the remarkable life of Chief Joseph...The Wild West had more than its share of rough and tumble characters, some of them more intriguing than others. But few were quite as formidable as Chief Joseph. He led his people through one of the most...

Often portrayed as an awkward, disfigured, and clumsy man, Claudius was the unlikely ruler of the Roman Empire from 41 CE to 54 CE. His reign would prove to be one of the longest of the time even though his rise to the throne did not come without...

If the history of the Eastern Han dynasty were limited to the accomplishments of its scholars, scientists, and inventors, it would be a glorious saga of the innovation and creativity of the human mind. Anesthesia was first used during surgical...

Discover the remarkable life of Charles V...One of the most powerful men who ever lived was a Holy Roman Emperor and controlled vast swathes of the planet. Quite a bit has been written over the centuries about Charles V, but even so, historical texts...

When Fidel Castro died on November 25, 2016, it seemed as if much of the world didn’t quite know what to make of the revolutionary leader. The images of loyal Cubans in Havana openly crying in the streets stood in stark contrast to the Cuban exiles...

Frank Sinatra's very name seems synonymous with legend. Sinatra grew up in hardscrabble Hoboken, New Jersey, and rose to prominence as one of music's first superstars. While becoming one of the best-selling artists of all time, he remade popular music...

Discover the remarkable life of Frederick Douglass...Slavery is a dark spot in the history of the United States, a time when the rights of African-Americans were non-existent. Slaves were beaten, mutilated, raped, and killed with impunity. Their lives...

Friedrich Nietzsche was a born philosopher. It seems that ever since he crawled out of the cradle, he questioned the world around him. Why are we here? What is the purpose of life? Where are we headed as a society? These were things that Nietzsche...

Often referred to as the quiet Beatle, George Harrison’s demure and slightly moody visage can be seen peeking out at us from countless Beatles and solo albums. It seemed that George was such a powerful presence, he really didn’t even need to speak....