1
vote
2answers
121 views
Have historians envisioned how World II would have developed without Churchill as Prime Minister of Britain?
The question isn't about what would have happened in that event. It is: Have one or more recognized historians delved into this question (of what would have happened if Britain had surrendered to or ...
16
votes
2answers
602 views
What is the history of the popped collar?
A popped collar on a polo has become the symbol of Frat Boys and wannabes everywhere. Especially in the "Jersey Shore" culture. I initially thought maybe it was tied to New England preppy style (the ...
10
votes
3answers
277 views
Was Antarctica a factor in the Falklands war?
Were Argentina's and the UK's Antarctic territorial claims significant in the Falklands War?
4
votes
2answers
95 views
The practice of translating foreign monarch's or noble's name
In history texts, past foreign monarchs are normally referred to by the English version of their name, e.g. Francis I (not François), Charles V (not Carlos, Karel, or Karl), Phillip II (not Felipe). ...
3
votes
1answer
523 views
When and how did Thailand cease to be Siam and become the modern Thailand?
Looking at the Area 51 commitment page, I realized that some of the questions that were originally suggested there never got asked here, so I thought I'd add some of them. To expand on this question, ...
7
votes
1answer
76 views
Who was Asselin FitzArthur?
I stumbled in wikipedia upon a lovely story about a man called Asselin FitzArthur who stopped the burial proceedings of William the Conqueror in Caen, claiming that the church stood on land that had ...
3
votes
2answers
142 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 ...
18
votes
2answers
272 views
Why did the USSR give Crimea to Ukraine?
In 1954 Soviets transferred Crimea from Russian Soviet Republic to Ukrainian Soviet Republic.
Why is this strange?
The whole act, at least officially, was meant to be "a gift", a token of ...
12
votes
3answers
398 views
Was the Titanic tragedy at least partly avoidable?
Was there any way that Titanic's collision with the iceberg could have been avoided after the iceberg had been spotted? Could the ship have been saved from sinking by the pilot or captain after the ...
1
vote
1answer
68 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
0answers
42 views
When and by whom was the Tirupati Tirumala temple in India built?
India's second wealthiest temple, Tirupati Tirumala Venkateswara Temple does not seem to have a clear history about its origin. The Wikipedia entry does not provide proper details on who exactly built ...
10
votes
1answer
178 views
Did the blanket pardon from 'The Three Musketeers' exist in real life?
In his novel The Three Musketeers, Dumas describes Richelieu giving the following paper to Milady de Winter:
C'est par mon ordre et pour le bien de l'Etat que le porteur du
present a fait ce ...
5
votes
1answer
61 views
Was the Byzantine follis larger than the Roman (and why, if yes)?
Today I saw in a museum a row of coins minted by Roman emperors. The last four coins were of the follis kind, belonging to Constantine the Great, Constantius II, Anastasius and Justinian I. .
The ...
3
votes
1answer
63 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 ...
6
votes
1answer
196 views
Did Erwin König Exist?
Erwin König Was a sniper supposedly killed by Vasily Zaytsev in the Battle of Stalingrad. The diary of Vasily Zaytsev mentions killing Erwin Konig, and there is a sniper scope in Russia, but there is ...
9
votes
2answers
403 views
How does the amount of equipment carried by various historical infantries compare?
I've heard many statements amount the weight of supplies and munition carried by soldiers of various historical forces. In particular, I've heard many comments about the amount that the British ...
0
votes
2answers
3k 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 ...
4
votes
2answers
180 views
What is the motivation of having heavy infantry to the right and light infantry to the left flank?
In Napoleonic wars era, a line contains mostly regular troops except for two kind of elite units, the heavy one, e.g. grenadiers, they normally are the bravest, strongest troops with the best stamina, ...
4
votes
1answer
83 views
When did Kakinoki Kinsuke used a kite to enter the Nagoya castle
From different online sources I can find that the Japanese thief Kakinoki Kinsuke used a kite to fly over the wall of the Nagoya castle to steal certain golden parts of a statue.
The thing I can not ...
8
votes
2answers
314 views
Did the Olympics make the Star Spangled Banner the US national anthem?
A long, long time ago, I remember watching a TV miniseries about the first Olympics of the modern era in 1896.
One of the amusing substories I remember involved the USA's National Anthem and the ...
6
votes
1answer
168 views
Why was cricket's popularity in USA a casualty of Civil War?
"Cricket was by far the biggest sport [in the USA] in this period," Tim Lockley, an expert in American history at Warwick University, told the Guardian in 1999. "Then the civil war started in 1861, ...
4
votes
2answers
205 views
Did either of the World Wars involve South or Central America?
Were any South or Central American nations besides Brazil involved (not necessarily officially) in either of the World Wars? If any were, I'd appreciate information on their degree of involvement.
6
votes
1answer
135 views
Argentina's involvement with the League of Nations
Argentina was a founding member of the League of Nations. However, Argentina left in 1921 when an Argentine resolution was rejected. Why, and through what procedure (if any), was Argentina allowed to ...
5
votes
1answer
175 views
Did any historically known figure produce such a quote?
I ran into a quote (or a paraphrase) in a book that I couldn't ever attribute:
A state that is not able to feed itself and is dependent on food imports cannot be considered a formidable foe.
...
7
votes
1answer
103 views
What was the Soviet role in Syria during the Cold-War?
It is my understanding that the Soviet Union supported governments in Syria during the cold-war primarily as a counter-balance to American influence over regional powers particularly Saudi Arabia and ...
1
vote
1answer
468 views
Underground Tunnels in New York City and Boston
Where are the underground tunnels built by masons in New York City and Boston in 1760's~1780's? Do they exist till our present day?
16
votes
1answer
575 views
Why are the signatures on the United States Declaration of Independence structured as they are?
When looking at the United States Declaration of Independence its easy to notice that John Hancock's signature is more prominent than the others:
From my readings I know John Hancock did sign one of ...
2
votes
1answer
18 views
When was the Western Facade on the Sant Andrea Basilica by Alberti constructed?
I've found conflicting answers on other website and was wondering if anyone knows.
2
votes
2answers
93 views
Subjects of sermons in the Middle Ages
Were they more often devoted to New Testament subjects or to Old Testament subjects?
8
votes
2answers
119 views
After the independence, did George Washington continue to wear a military uniform?
I know that some of the historic legends continued and some not. We are talking about 2nd half of the 18th century. Fashion was so fancy. Obviously, the founding fathers -- quite possibly -- adapted ...
5
votes
3answers
192 views
Plagues in Pre-European Americas?
Are there any historical accounts that those living in the Americas encountered a plague or plagues that proved to be as devastating on the population as that of the Bubonic (black) plague in Europe? ...
2
votes
0answers
24 views
1972 textbook by Charles University professor on Thirty Years War
Just yesterday I came across a textbook citation on the Thirty Years War.
Here is what I (think I can) remember about the book in question: the author was professor at Charles University in Prague, ...
2
votes
1answer
55 views
Roman aristocrat with slave assassins named after him?
I remember reading a few years back that there was a particular Roman strongman who had a very intense way of dealing with enemies.
He had dozens of either slaves or former slaves (freedmen), but I ...
2
votes
3answers
69 views
Were cavalry used in first World War?
Due to the nature of trench warfare, a cavalry or a horse-back squad would’ve been rather useless in the war. But, I also know that countries had not anticipated trench warfare – they didn’t know that ...
9
votes
1answer
189 views
What do “roses” represent in the history of Protestant vs Catholic conflict?
My history is a little rough, but I am aware that Ireland's past, particularly that of North Ireland, is wrought with conflict. I know there are multiple causes, but that -- whether as cause or excuse ...
5
votes
1answer
49 views
Have any of the Presidents of France taken advantage of its co-princeship of Andorra in a significant way?
The Principality of Andorra is quite interesting, because it is a monarchy headed by two persons, including the President of France (who is basically elected at will of foreigners).
My question is, ...
5
votes
1answer
71 views
What were acceptance criteria/process to the Vienna Fine Arts Academy in 1906-7?
One famous applicant rejected by the Vienna Fine Arts Academy was of course, Hitler. I got to thinking: so who was accepted instead?
To make sense of this we would need to know how was the admission ...
6
votes
2answers
98 views
Could the Confederates have done better at Gettysburg if they had put cavalry in front of, rather than behind, Pickett's charge?
On at least two occasions when cavalry was used in charges, it was "wiped out." These include the (in)famous charge of the Light Brigade at Balaclava, and Marshal Ney's cavalry charge at Waterloo.
...
14
votes
1answer
128 views
in what form did William the Conqueror write the date of his own coronation?
This is a question about the English legal calendar as viewed by people living at the time, not as historians recorded it later.
New year shifts to 1-January
To the best of my understanding, the ...
2
votes
2answers
71 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 ...
3
votes
1answer
69 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. ...
2
votes
1answer
88 views
What are exceptions to the hypothesis that “climate determined ”regional“ loyalties in the U.S. Civil War”?
Besides the fact that "North" implies "cold," and "South implies "hot," I was struck by the fact that Lincoln won absolute majorities (in a four way race) in 16 states wholly or partially above the ...
2
votes
1answer
79 views
Les Misérables historical setting
What is the period in French history portrayed in Les Misérables in the early 18oos? I thought the French Revolution was in the late 1700s. Also, who was the French King at that time (the restored ...
6
votes
1answer
176 views
Who discovered first that the Moon does not have its own light?
Who (and when) discovered first that the Moon does not have its own light?
1
vote
2answers
64 views
What types of Poison gasses were used in World War 1? [closed]
Due to the nature of trench warfare, some form of poison gasses would have been really useful in the trenches. In the trenches the gasses really would’ve been really useful with the limited mobility ...
3
votes
0answers
58 views
History of terrorist organizations designations/undesignations by Israel
In 1948, Israel passed the Prevention of Terrorism Ordinance, which allows it to officially designate organizations as terrorists in the Official Gazette.
What organizations have been designated this ...
8
votes
3answers
141 views
How severe was the 1943 Bengal Famine?
I read this in a comment to a newspaper article:
By far the largest British empire human loss in the Second World War was the three million Bengalis who perished in a famine in 1943 that Churchill ...
3
votes
2answers
85 views
Motivation Behind the USSR Assisting China's Nuclear Program
What motivated the USSR to assist China with the development of Nuclear Weapons?
Why would the USSR want China to have this technology during the 1950s and early 1960s? What did they get out of this ...
8
votes
2answers
178 views
Were there any successful attempts by the Allies to “turn” groups of Axis soldiers?
Toward the end of World War II, Germany had to utilize non-German soldiers, some of them from occupied countries like Poland and the Ukraine. At places like Omaha Beach, Normandy, individual Poles ...
7
votes
2answers
81 views
How did the Chinese help Khrushchev?
I read this in the source cited in this answer
Initially the Soviet assistance in China’s nuclear programme was
limited to the civil nuclear energy field. However, Moscow’s attitude
shifted in ...
