The 20th century began on January 1, 1901, and ended on December 31, 2000.
4
votes
2answers
193 views
Italian History from 1870-1913: Why did Italy have such a hard time becoming a Great Power like Germany
Both Italy and Prussia-Germany were united from the years 1870-1871. Instead of small provinces, the country became united under one political leadership. Their unification received the help of France ...
4
votes
0answers
48 views
What family or other connection bound Chiang Kaishek and Cai Yuanpei, two ideological opposites?
Politically, Nationalist China's Chiang Kaishek must be considered a "strange bedfellow with Cai Yuanpei. Chiang was a disciplined, narrow-minded conservative of the type one might expect from a ...
4
votes
0answers
33 views
Pre-1950s views of West European Socialist parties on the welfare state
The eminent Robert Paxton writes in a recent article, somewhat in passing:
Continental European Marxists opposed piecemeal welfare measures as
likely to dilute worker militancy without changing ...
3
votes
2answers
141 views
What is Adios Bruce Lee?
A co-worker of mine came in wearing a shirt with this image on it:
This looks like a movie poster, but I'd never heard of that particular Bruce Lee movie, so I tried looking it up. As near as I can ...
3
votes
2answers
145 views
Which technologies/commodities were available during the 30s on USA?
This is for a RPG story, so I don't need too much accuracy, but the common stuff would be very useful :)
I've already found this site: http://www.paper-dragon.com/1939/ but would like more ...
3
votes
3answers
178 views
Why did George H. W. Bush select Dan Quayle as his running mate in 1988?
I've just been revisiting some quotes from Dan Qualyle. For example:
I believe we are on an irreversible trend toward more freedom and
democracy – but that could change.
and
We are ready ...
3
votes
1answer
93 views
Did the Germans lose the U-Boat war in World war II because of a shortage of quality, rather than quantity?
In the "Battle of the Atlantic," the Germans lost almost 800 of their 1200 submarines (nearly two-thirds) sinking 3,500 Allied merchant ships and 175 warships. ...
3
votes
1answer
67 views
What exactly was the Philby Plan?
From what I gather it was some sort of idea for an amicable settlement between Jews and Arabs in Palestine and somehow involved Ibn Saud. Weizmann and Churchill apparently supported it but Ibn Saud ...
3
votes
2answers
65 views
Was Brown v Board of Education the only major decision that changed educational choice in America?
Brown v Board of Education was the landmark Supreme Court case in America that was supposed to allow more educational choice for all Americans, basically stopping segregational policies and on a legal ...
3
votes
4answers
754 views
What is the oldest movie theater in the US that has been in continuous use as a movie theater?
It appears from Wikipedia that the oldest theater in continuous use is in Denmark, but since so much of the film industry is dominated by Hollywood, I was wondering what is the oldest movie theater in ...
3
votes
2answers
162 views
Are Zoot suits considered an element of the 1940s Hipster subculture?
Are Zoot suits considered an element of the 1940s Hipster subculture?
Wikipedia: Hipster, as used in the 1940s, referred to aficionados of jazz, in particular bebop, which became popular in the ...
3
votes
1answer
166 views
Is there a written history on the Sonderkommando Elbe?
I was watching a program called Dogfights where they were talking about the Sonderkommando Elbe and their tactic of ramming Messerschmitt Bf 109's into American bombers is a sort of suicide attack. ...
3
votes
1answer
81 views
When and why China started to make a difference in the superpower arena?
China is starting to be more and more remarked on the superpowers' podium, but this surely didn't happened overnight, so what would be that decade that was very auspicious for China, and why?
3
votes
1answer
81 views
The original Lord Haw Haw's life in exile (Ireland)
I am writing a bio-graphy about my great uncle "Capt Tom Smith" who fought in WW1,WW2 and the Spanish Civil War
During recent interviews the name Norman Baillie Stewart (wiki link) keeps cropping up ...
3
votes
1answer
220 views
Symbol on utility pole in photograph from 1906
I happened to notice this symbol:
on a utility pole in a photograph from 1906.
What's the meaning of that symbol?
3
votes
2answers
148 views
Why did Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng receive different punishments for their role in the Xi'an Incident?
Having failed to persuade Chiang Kai-shek to abandon war with the communists and instead unite to fight Japan, Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng finally opted for force and captured Chiang in the Xi'An ...
3
votes
0answers
33 views
How high was the morale of non-Soviet Warsaw Pact states' armies and governments in the '80s?
Does anyone with any relevant expertise know the general mood of the armies during the time? Is there documentation of any concerns from high ranking Soviet military officers, or of their Warsaw Pact ...
3
votes
0answers
52 views
How many firearms were owned by civilian population between 1836 and 1912 in USA?
How many firearms in total were owned by civilian population between 1836 and 1912 in USA (cumulatively, not simultaneously)?
The timeframe is what I would consider "Old West" timeframe, but starting ...
2
votes
2answers
210 views
Was “Blitzkrieg” at least partly intended for trapping the Jews?
I encountered a point of view that the German tactic of "Blitzkrieg", besides purely military purpose to achieve victory as quick as possible, was in fact designed to trap the Jews so that they could ...
2
votes
2answers
71 views
Where can I find American circus or carnival grounds plans?
I am looking for a circus or carnival floor plan, and even combining several search terms ("grounds" "site" "floor plan" and "carnival" and such) I have not been able to find one. Circus history sites ...
2
votes
2answers
133 views
Was India's independence inevitable after Cripps Mission?
In 1942, the British government had sent Sir Stafford Cripps to negotiate with the Congress. According to most sources (though this was not made public at that time), the Cripps Mission had proposed ...
2
votes
2answers
152 views
Prevalence of Torture
How prevalent was torture by the regular police force and the army in 19th and early 20th century in the US and Western Europe? When it was practiced, are there documented instances of it being ...
2
votes
2answers
81 views
How did the triple entente manage such a large breakthrough in WW1?
In WW1, there have been many attempts at breakthroughs in order to evade the trench system. The battle of Somme was one of the less successful attempts at a German breakthrough. Yet, before USA ...
2
votes
1answer
102 views
What differences led to Technicolor becoming the dominant color filming technology in Hollywood?
Apparently another technology, Kinemacolor, was invented first in the UK, but it never caught on in Hollywood. Kinemacolor was expensive, and had some other glitches involved, but the fact that it was ...
2
votes
1answer
46 views
What factors enabled the New York Journal to survive the yellow journalism wars?
The height of yellow journalism was a battle waged between the Joseph Pulitzer owned New York World, and the William Hearst owned New York Journal. However, even though these two papers boasted large ...
2
votes
1answer
85 views
What factors led to the US government issuing nutrition guidelines in 1916?
This timeline from the Washington Post says that the United States Department of Agriculture issued its first food guidelines in 1916 for children, and then did one in 1920 for adults. My question is, ...
2
votes
1answer
293 views
What Were the Main Causes of World War One? [closed]
It would appear that the very root of the cause of WWI was the assassination of the heir to the Austrian-Hungarian throne. To me, this is an incredibly odd reason to start a world war. Was the war as ...
2
votes
0answers
41 views
Who was Charles Kingston O'Mahony?
I've read his book The Viceroys of Ireland and am trying to find out more about him. The book was published in 1912 and I can't find any more information about him.
I was able to dig up references to ...
2
votes
0answers
166 views
Was the Bosnian Crisis the trigger to WWI and not the assassination?
I've read that Austria-Hungary annexed Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1908, much to the dismay of the Serbs. Russia backed this action and was promised to have access to the Straits but were later denied. The ...
2
votes
0answers
106 views
Were Pope John Paul I's views anything that could imply a support for contraception? [closed]
Pope John Paul I was a short lived pope (only 33 days). There are rumours that he was assasinated.
Someone told me that he was quite liberal (as catholic popes can go), and some of his ...
1
vote
2answers
321 views
Did the Nazis regard chemical warfare as inhumane and “Jewish”?
I sometimes encounter accounts that the main reason why chemical weapons were not used in WWII was because initially they were invented by a Jew Fritz Haber, and as such Hitler expressed opinion that ...
1
vote
1answer
76 views
Cover Art of “Álbum de la Revolución Cubana”
On the cover of the famous "Álbum de la Revolución Cubana":
Who is the person whose face is painted in the top-right corner? What is his importance?
Is the cover (where we see Fidel Castro actively ...
1
vote
1answer
71 views
Was it impossible for the Germans to arrange a plane to East Asia for Subhas Bose?
Bose's journey from Germany to Singapore by submarine was a well-remarked incident of World War II history. But what was the need for the Germans or the Italians to use a submarine to transfer a ...
1
vote
1answer
60 views
What are the contributions of Professor Hans List?
Considering his academic titles, what are the contribution of the automotive engineer, Professor Dr Dr h.c.mult. Hans List? What did he invent? I could not find anything except a brief obituary.
1
vote
1answer
82 views
Is the killing between communists and Muslims in Indonesia during 1965 mutual?
During 1965, there was an anti-communist purge in Indonesia following the 30 September failed coup.
There are claims that the killing is mutual. There are claims that it's one sided.
Which one is ...
1
vote
0answers
57 views
Looking for a book about Haile Selassie's rise to power [closed]
Is there a good English-language book about Haile Selassie's rise to power? I'm particularly interested in the strife he had with the various other nobles.
1
vote
0answers
38 views
Was there a race to patent the use of Freon as a home refrigerator coolant?
Thomas Midgely, Jr.'s hands were in two of the most detrimental scientific breakthroughs of the 20th century: the proliferation of leaded gasoline and the use of Freon (a chlorofluorocarbon) as a ...
0
votes
6answers
516 views
What was the reason of extreme anti-Communism in the first half of 20th century? [closed]
It is often alleged that a grand part in the success of the Nazi and fascist movements in Europe was their hard-line anti-Communism. Thy used anti-Communist sentiments to gain popularity and even many ...
0
votes
1answer
87 views
What aspects of Soviet life were not controlled by Stalin?
Stalinism controlled social life through propaganda, political life through the use of political crime and the politicization of life and the workers life, with proletarianism dominating all aspects ...
0
votes
2answers
90 views
Was the N.E.P. of Russia successful in terms of economics?
The Soviet's New Economic Plan was indeed a successful plan in establishing a comparatively strong postwar economy for the Soviet Union, but there were many imperfections: food prices fluctuated ...
0
votes
2answers
4k views
Did the fights in the Ip Man movie series actually occur in real life?
In a series of movies called Ip Man 1 and 2, based in WW2, a Wing Chun martial arts master called Ip Man fought with a Japanese general and a western boxer named Twister. Did these events actually ...
0
votes
1answer
177 views
Was there discrimination against Jewish people at the entrance exams to the most prestigious universities in the USSR?
The most prestigious universities in the USSR discriminated against Jewish applicants. Tanya Khovanova (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA) wrote:
This is a special ...
0
votes
0answers
84 views
Thomas Kuhn's impact on academia [closed]
As Kuhn himself put it (paraphrasing) I wrote Structure as an exercise in using the history of science in order to answer a philosophical question. His impact on historians has been tremendous, but ...
0
votes
0answers
77 views
Book on Russian History [closed]
My very Russian boss who is a history buff, insists that there is no such thing as a 'good' book on Russian history on the grounds that 'Russian history has yet to be decided'. I was re-reading ...
-2
votes
0answers
106 views
Explain Chiang Kai Sheks' behaviour when eating chocolates? [closed]
What is the explanation for Chiang Kai Sheks' behaviour when eating chocolates?
In two different movies I have seen, the movies showed him taking a bite from chocolates, and then putting them back on ...
-2
votes
1answer
68 views
Why has the United States not attacked Iran in the past thirty years? [closed]
Why didn't the United States of America even try to attack Iran to change it's Islamic regime through a lightning war like Iraq war in past three decades?
According to my own opinion the Islamic ...
-3
votes
3answers
152 views
Hitler's Religion or Atheism [closed]
There seems to be even amongst some Historians and even this forum an unclear approach to Hitler and his Religion or the lack there of is there any clear history that establishes Hitler's religious ...
-8
votes
1answer
112 views
Space Landing proving it happened [closed]
It is common fodder among the masses to quote conspiracy theorists that we never landed on the moon what are the answer to the questions brought up by these conspiracy theorist like the shadow of the ...
