#history

#history

Once considered a luxury spice, which Henry VI sprinkled through the streets before his coronation in a garish show of wealth, it was typically only used by royalty and upper-class households. Its distribution was controlled by a select group who knew where it was grown. By the 17th century, the Dutch were so vested in controlling its production that they literally started a war to obtain large amounts of nutmeg and store it for their own use.

Foster's designs are constantly shaping how people live, work and play around the world. They've attempted to heal Germany's divided past via the Reichstag building in Berlin, and broken through feats of engineering by way of the Millennium Bridge in London, which ushered in a new era for the South Bank. His dynamic new gateways in Venice employ high-performance, lightweight materials to build new transportation infrastructure for the floating city.

Today in history: On Oct. 12,1968, Mexican track and field athlete Enriqueta Basilio became the first woman to light the Olympic flame at the opening ceremonies of the Mexico City Summer Games. Also on this date: In 1492, Christopher Columbus's first expedition made landfall on what is now San Salvador Island in the Bahamas. In 1870, General Robert E. Lee, former overall commander of the Confederate States Army in the Civil War, died in Lexington, Virginia, at age 63.

Berlin's history has been difficult, to say the least. And yet today, the German capital's intoxicating mix of grit, glamour, and anything-goes expression born from historical repression has made it one of the most dynamic cities on earth. Where else can you saunter through Prussian palaces, venture into Nazi-era bunkers, tour the world's longest outdoor art gallery, and lose yourself in Europe's most famous techno temple? (And that's just day one.) Yes, you'll come across remnants of the city's past

When I was 16 years old, I sat in a crowded assembly hall on a wobbly plastic chair, and I listened to Mr. Smith tell me why I should study history. All of the teachers had to do it. "Sell your subject," the headmaster had said. "Make the kids want to pick it." Some teachers did so with the grudging monotone of the forced and underpaid employee. Some did it with the exhausting energy of a fanatic.

In 1857, the S.S. Central America (also known as the Ship of Gold) sank off the coast of South Carolina after sailing into a hurricane in one of the worst maritime disasters in American history; 425 people were killed and thousands of pounds of gold sank with the ship to the bottom of the ocean. In 1940, the Lascaux cave paintings, estimated to be 17,000 years old, were discovered in southwestern France.

Chance to see both the English and Spanish versions of the original 1849 California Constitution, displayed in partnership with the California State Archives Access to all current exhibitions at the California Museum, including a limited-time display of historic documents and artifacts highlighting select signers of the 1849 Constitution, courtesy of the California State Archives and California State Library A presentation by Professor Damien Bacich: "California's Spanish-Mexican Roots: Life Before and After Statehood"

Today is Wednesday, Aug. 27, the 239th day of 2025. There are 126 days left in the year. Today in history: On Aug. 27, 2011, Hurricane Irene made landfall in the United States; the storm would be responsible for 49 total deaths and more than $14 billion in damage. Also on this date: In 1883, the island volcano Krakatoa erupted with a series of cataclysmic explosions.

Chopsticks date back millennia, with the earliest examples in China appearing as early as 1200 B.C. Originally used as cooking tools for stirring pots and retrieving food from hot oil, they gradually made their way to the dining table. By around 400 A.D., chopsticks were more common as eating utensils, and within another century, they had spread widely throughout East Asia, from Vietnam to Japan.

"Maxwell's wasn't just a club-it was a community. It was a proving ground. It was where music scenes collided, friendships were forged, and bands found both their audience and their soul."

On August 19, 2013, South African sprinter Oscar Pistorius was indicted on charges of murder for the shooting death of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp.

The area promises wine, walking, seafood and an eclectic history from prehistoric cave-dwellers to Agatha Christie.

Los Angeles has many valleys, but only one is the Valley, bounded by mountains and home to 1.8 million people across 260 square miles.

On August 17, 1915, a mob in Cobb County, Georgia, lynched Jewish businessman Leo Frank, 31, whose death sentence for the murder of 13-year-old Mary Phagan had been commuted to life imprisonment.

Historians and researchers who have seen early drafts say the new texts gloss over these events, and also appear to downplay and omit major human rights violations, including the killings of up to half a million suspected communists from 1965-6, and mass rapes targeting ethnic Chinese during the riots that led to the fall of Suharto in 1998.

"When Paul Morphy plays seven games of chess at once and blindfold, when young Colburn gives impromptu solution to a mathematical problem involving fifty-six figures, we are struck with hopeless wonder," J. Brownlee Brown wrote in 1864.

The last remnants of Demyan's Hofbrau in Stapleton were recently bulldozed for housing, ending a 172-year history that began with John Bechtel's brewery in 1853.

Los Angeles is a city built upon amnesia and denial, transformed from its natural landscape into a mythologized paradise that masked the struggles of many.

George Lunn ran for mayor of Schenectady in 1911 on a platform of affordability, proposing city-run grocery stores and public ownership of industries to support the working class.

Visiting the thermal baths in Bath, known for their mineral-rich waters and healing properties, has been a tradition for around 8,000 years due to their historical significance.

"It was also at Fraunces Tavern in 1804 that Hamilton, presiding over a Society of the Cincinnati dinner, had his final public encounter with a disgruntled Aaron Burr, just a week before their fateful duel."

The excavation uncovered rubble from the house, lost domestic items, and animal bones from family meals which Newton almost certainly did not join.

Rock climbing has evolved significantly over centuries, moving from heavy boots and natural fiber ropes to lightweight shoes and durable gear, enhancing safety and efficiency.

George Ward Price, dubbed the Monocled Prince of the Press by Ernest Hemingway, was one of the most successful journalists, whose scoop after scoop left competition behind.

On Aug. 7, 1974, French highwire artist Philippe Petit performed an unapproved tightrope walk between the two towers of the World Trade Center in New York, chronicled in the Academy Award-winning documentary Man on Wire.