Questions tagged [records]
the most extreme instance of something. Use this tag for questions on the most/least/first/last/etc of an event or object, e.g. "the largest overnight currency devaluation".
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If there was truly 3 hours of darkness in Roman empire following the crucifixion, would we expect some sort of record to survive of this happening?
In the synoptic Gospels it is claimed that 3 hours after the crucifixion there was darkness over all the land from noon-3pm along with intense earthquakes in Judea strong enough to split rocks and ...
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Which historical event had the highest number of reported non-fatal injuries without any known deaths?
It always surprised me that the Chelyabinsk meteor air burst event in Russia in 2013 had over a thousand non-fatal injuries (1491 according to Wikipedia), but not actually any deaths. I'm wondering if ...
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How aware were the latter Greek-speaking Romans (ERE: Byzantines) of the early history of Rome?
To what extent were residents of the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire aware of the early history of Rome, its legendary founding, the monarchy, the republic and early empire? Did they have access to ...
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Who was the tallest Roman ever found?
Was Maximinus Thrax the tallest Roman known to have ever lived? I am suspecting there might be taller specimens. Or maybe there aren't and he is simply the tallest.
user54389
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Which battle was the most lopsided result in terms of casualties?
I have recently read about two ancient battles that were won by a much smaller army and/or lead to very different casualties:
Defeat of Boudica - according to Roman accounts only 400 Romans died as ...
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Who kept Roman peculium records?
This is effectively a Roman banking question but specifically with respect to the custody and record keeping of slaves wages.
Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities indicates a need for a lot of ...
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Why did the recorded history of Poland start after the reign of Miezsko I?
Norman Davies says this in his book, God's Playground, Volume I regarding Miezsko I:
He started the recorded history of the Poles which has continued without a break from that day to this.
Even I ...
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How to decode / read US Veterans Bureau Form 7202?
In doing some family background research, I came across an old military service record which says it is a "Form 7202 - Rev. Sept., 1927". I would like to decipher the meanings of the various codes to ...
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What's the highest market price ever paid for salt, as measured in gold? [duplicate]
It's hard to disprove the myth that salt was once worth its weight in gold. Instead, what's the highest price of salt (as measured in gold) we have historical evidence for?
Edit, explaining why I'm ...
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When was natural gas first used for cooking food?
Natural gas seeping from the ground was exploited or regarded in different ways by ancient civilizations, but it is generally accepted that it was the Chinese who first exploited gas for heating:
...
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Who was the oldest woman that we know of to give birth in the Medieval Europe?
In 1166, Eleanor of Aquitaine, wife of Henry II of England, gave birth to the future King John when she was at least 42 years old (it is more likely she was 43 or 44). Eleanor of Castile, wife of ...
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What's the longest recorded uninterrupted sequence of single color (red/black) in a professional casino? [closed]
There is a common misconception is that if there is a long period of unlucky outcomes, it's more likely that there will be a lucky one. But of course the probability of each one is identical, and such ...
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Who was the longest lived European monarch of the middle ages?
After a lot of googling, I'm still not sure about this. Finding the longest reigning monarchs is easy enough, but I'm less sure about the one who lived the longest.
A good candidate would appear to ...
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What was the heaviest example of horse armor (barding) from 16th and 17th centuries?
I would like to ask what the heaviest known example of armor for war horses is. Specifically, I'm asking about horse-armor in the 16th and 17th centuries (European, primarily, but I will accept other ...
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When was the tactic of chaining ships together last used in a major naval battle?
At the Battle of Sluys in 1340, the French fleet operated:
in accordance with the usual medieval tactics of a fleet fighting on the defensive. Quiéret and Béhuchet formed their forces into three or ...
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Who lived on Golden Square in London in the 18th century?
Is there a database or an archive where I could find a list of the inhabitants of Golden Square in London in the 18th century?
I know that a famous musician of that time was living on that square, ...
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Where is (or was) the biggest medieval drawbridge?
A pretty straightforward question. I'm trying to find the largest drawbridge in medieval Europe, and it's more difficult than it seemed at first.
At least I want to know if it would be possible to ...
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Queen Anne of England died without surviving issue despite 17 pregnancies. Did any other monarch try so hard to produce an heir without success?
Queen Anne (reigned 1702 – 14) had seventeen known pregnancies during her marriage to Prince George of Denmark (b.1653, d.1708) but she died without surviving issue. Only five of her pregnancies led ...
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Has any national leader ever climbed as far as fast as Ulysses S Grant?
Grant went form being a destitute, disgraced former army officer to Lieutenant General in 5 years; and then President four years later?
Has any national leader in all of history every had such a ...
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What is the largest number of battles that took place in the same place in the same war?
I have been reading about the 12 battles of the Isonzo river during world-war-one.
I believe it is an extreme statistic to have 12 battles in the same place during the same war.
Are there any ...
user13203
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What was the longest lasting economic bubble? [closed]
The Roaring Twenties bubble lasted around eight years. What was the longest-lasting known bubble that economists agree has already popped?
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Were diaries more commonly kept in the past?
A large amount of history has been derived from diaries. Were diaries more commonly kept in the past? If so, why?
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Why were there no increases in the train speed records between 1854-1934?
I and a couple other people were doing some stuff with some speed record data. Organizing the data, making some graphs, etc.
While doing the train speed records, though, we noticed an oddity. For ...
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Which astronomical events have been the most important in dating historical events? [closed]
Astronomical events are used to help date historical events. (Wikipedia - Astronomical chronology) Which are the most important for this? For example, Josephus recorded a lunar eclipse that occurred ...
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What is the altitude record for manned unpressurised balloon flight without oxygen?
On 5th September 1862 James Glaisher, a meteorologist, and Henry Coxwell, a balloonist, ascended to about seven miles, and came close to dying from frostbite and asphyxiation, in an open wicker basket,...
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Who was the richest person in the world at the start and end of WW2? [closed]
Who was the richest person in the world when the World war II started and when it ended? Was it the same person? If so, how did the war years affect his wealth?
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What was the first recorded instance of burning a city or village in war?
I'm curious what the first recorded instance of a military putting a city or village to the torch.
Certainly, war predates history, as does the tactic of destroying a dwelling, but I'm focused on ...
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What did the Royal Sussex Regiment do in India between 1891-1897?
My 2x Great Grandfather, James Walter Juden, served in the Royal Sussex Regiment from 1889 to 1902. I have a copy of his service records, which I have downloaded from FindMyPast; the images can be ...
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What were the capabilities of a warhorse?
I am really curious about the capabilities of warhorses that the military used before the combustion vehicle came and mostly replaced them on modern battlefield.
I have read a bit about warhorse, but ...
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How do we compare historical empires on these statistics?
I see three criteria here:
I'm wondering which historical empire was the most long lived, largest, most populous, and represented the largest percentage of world population.
Who controlled the ...
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How old was the youngest white person sentenced to death in the U.S.A?
Death penalty has for a long time been exposing interesting trends of social discrepancies based on life determining attributes like wealth, education race.
How does the answer compare to the ...
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When was the last book containing a table of logarithms was published? [closed]
My question is when the last book containing a table of logarithms was published. For example, I know that the CRC Standard Mathematical Tables doesn't contain the logarithmic tables any more, but ...
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What is the oldest musical composition that can still be listened to today?
What is the oldest musical composition that exists both as verifiable historical notation (or some other primary source) and as available recording on CD (or better e.g. on YouTube)?
For instance, ...
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What is the oldest regulation in the world regarding a head of state?
With a regulation I mean something akin to a constituional codex. It doesn't have to be a constitution per se, but it should outline the head of state's limitations or privileges. The oldest I have ...
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Which were the last castles to be besieged and fall in the United Kingdom?
Which were the last castles to be besieged and fall in the United Kingdom? I'm separating the two in case a castle was besieged unsuccessfully most recently.
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What is the largest overnight depreciation?
What is the largest overnight currency depreciation? How large, which currency and when?
When examining historical records of currency depreciation, it is helpful to have a better understanding of ...
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What are the earliest examples in history where one state/people stepped in to rescue another?
I started wondering about this after watching yet another World War II movie where the European people are freed by Mother Russia and Uncle Sam and also helped in their recovery.
What are the ...
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Which single-car accident in history caused the most deaths?
I was looking for the answer to this question. It brought me here, but the closest question was [closed]. The most that I am aware of was when driver Pierre Levegh's race car killed 83 spectators at ...
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What is the oldest known international sporting event?
We know that modern Olympics are very popular international sporting events. What is the earliest known (documented) instance of an international sporting event?
Let us define an international sports ...
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What was the first major historical event to be photographed?
The first photograph is supposed to have been taken in the late 1820s. But what was the first major historical event to be photographed?
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