All Questions
14,242
questions
0
votes
0
answers
3
views
Is this newspaper article describing the Battle of Glorieta Pass?
I've been trying to find old newspaper articles covering the Battle of Glorieta Pass as close to the date it happened, but strangely the term "Glorieta Pass" isn't coming up in the databases ...
- 1,547
0
votes
0
answers
16
views
Where did Carlson's Raiders get Boys anti-tank rifles in 1942 and why?
According to English Wikipedia, during the 1942 Raid on Makin Atoll (modern-day Butaritari, Kiribati) the Marine Raiders used Boys anti-tank rifles to attack the Japanese flying boats that attempted ...
- 65
9
votes
2
answers
2k
views
What is Charles Babbage referring to when he talks about the 'College of Laputa'?
In On the Economy of Machinery and Manufactures, what is Charles Babbage referring to when talking about the College of Laputa in the following extract:
...Nor has the wild imagination of the ...
-2
votes
2
answers
170
views
What was the nature of conflict between Helvetii and German in prelude to Gallic Wars?
In Caesar's diaries from Gallic Wars, he states that Helvetii battled Germans "almost daily, repelling them from their own territories or waging wars on German frontiers".
What were German ...
- 18.4k
2
votes
1
answer
114
views
Why did Frank James (Jesse's brother) get acquitted and how was he close with President Roosevelt despite being an outlaw?
I don't understand what was in Frank's favor, when Younger spent 25 years in prison.
There is this quote from the book The Day Jesse James Was Killed by Carl W. Breihan.
Why would a (former) president ...
- 36.2k
2
votes
0
answers
134
views
Were the Western World's political and ideological consensus and consequent actions primarily responsible for the global ending of slavery? [closed]
Would one be accurate in stating that it was the idealogical and political consensus and subsequent actions in the Western World that were primarily responsible for ending slavery and serfdom as legal ...
- 29
7
votes
8
answers
7k
views
Are the Sabean people of Cushitic or Ethiopian origin?
The Sabeans are widely acknowledged to be of Semitic or south Arabian origin. Historical sources like Josephus Flavius and sections of the Bible seem to create conflicts about their origin.
There is ...
- 1
-2
votes
2
answers
122
views
Was the Pearl Harbour case possible to resolve just by negotiations, and if so, why this was not done? [closed]
Pearl Harbour is in Hawaii, this is the middle of the ocean, far from the main land mass of the USA. After Japan attacked these islands in 1941, it was likely the moment when USA could force the ...
- 76
2
votes
1
answer
121
views
Why is Nouruz celebrated all over the Turkic states of the former Soviet Union, but not in Turkey?
Nouruz is an old Iranian festival, basically the Iranian or Persian New Year. However, it is not only celebrated by speakers of Persian and closely related languages (i.e. not only among Iranians, ...
- 6,054
6
votes
0
answers
109
views
Was Ulysses S Grant arrested while president or any other time?
I'd like to get some good sources on this particular story about President Grant being arrested for speeding while holding the presidential office. The media is abuzz with what looks like an ...
- 201
9
votes
1
answer
6k
views
How important was the Suez Canal to the Allies during WWII?
The Suez Canal allows one to travel from the Mediterranean or North Atlantic to the Indian Ocean without having to circumvent the continent of Africa. A ship traveling from the UK to India could ...
0
votes
1
answer
131
views
In what respect could Italian Renaissance be considered a phase of romanticism?
In what respect could Italian Renaissance be considered a phase of romanticism?
It is stated in this quotation that Italian Renaissance is a phase of romanticism:
It is arguable that the Romantics ...
CommunityBot
- 1
-2
votes
0
answers
62
views
Do you think most people don’t realise that there was a first millennium? [closed]
Every time I mention a year between 1 and 999 to non-historians, they ask me if I mean the year a thousand years later. For example if I say to a family member “Alfred took London from the Vikings in ...
- 1
4
votes
0
answers
139
views
How much iron ore could a medieval miner extract per day?
I am finding really hard to find an answer to this question. There are some numbers available online, but first of all the numbers range quite a lot from different sources, then they are given for a ...
- 1,384
-1
votes
0
answers
102
views
Was the French bourgeoisie closer to the political world than the English one, during the 18th and 19th centuries?
Was the French bourgeoisie closer to the political world than the English one, during the 18th and 19th centuries?
For instance, had more ties with political leaders, or themselves ensuring political ...
- 101
7
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Pythagoras: sinfulness of eating beans
I have read some of Pythagoras' commandments; they are strange. Any idea why he considered that eating beans was a sin?
The book from which I took the data is 'History of Western Philosophy' by ...
- 5,552
1
vote
1
answer
245
views
Were the Assyrians and the Akkadians different people or the same people under a different name?
Were the Assyrians and the Akkadians different peoples, or were they one and the same?
I've noticed that the Assyrians didn't seem to have their own gods as far as I have read and are just worshiping ...
- 114k
-1
votes
2
answers
186
views
What are the intellectual roots of the "French Republican identity" pursuit?
The "French Republican identity" was born during French 3rd Republic (1870-1940), founded by political figures such as Jules Ferry and Léon Gambetta.
It is indeed the 3rd French republic ...
- 101
13
votes
5
answers
6k
views
Why would this word have been an unsuitable name in Communist Poland? Is it because it's a racial slur?
In Marek Hłasko's The Graveyard (set in communist-occupied Poland) there is a scene where, in a political party meeting one of the party members (Nowak) is forced to change the name of his dog. This ...
- 14.6k
19
votes
8
answers
4k
views
What strategic value did Christianity hold for Constantine that made him convert to Christianity?
Christianity started off as a cult religion before becoming a major religion today. The major event that put Christianity on the road to world domination was the conversion of Emperor Constantine into ...
- 339
0
votes
0
answers
44
views
Looking for information on North Korean government/party/military organization late 1980s-early 2000s
I'm working on a translation (not Korean) related to North Korea under Kim Jong-Il. Although it's mostly related to personal experiences, it does introduce leading figures in the state. I need to use ...
2
votes
0
answers
110
views
How did Mao regain and consolidate power after the Great Famine?
Mao Zedong's position had weakened after the Great Famine, and in the period during and leading up to the Cultural Revolution, he regained and consolidated his power. I am interested in getting a ...
- 121
5
votes
2
answers
315
views
Why in the 70s and 80s was the United Kingdom called Great Britain in the international naming conventions?
I am not sure whether this is the right group for this question because it is about the recent past. But I didn't find a more suitable forum.
Checking old articles and documents from my country I saw ...
- 8,402
5
votes
2
answers
414
views
Who said "against the soul, lies; against the body, violence" and where?
First of all apologies if there is one community site more appropriate for this.
I have been reading today on a lot of Spanish right wing sites a quote attributed to Lenin: "Contra las almas la ...
- 5,552
1
vote
0
answers
94
views
How did 19th century Germany pull so far ahead of its contemporaries? [closed]
I'm not well-read, but I got the impression that Europeans (e.g. Gilbert and Sullivan, Bizet, Smetena) rejected German art while they pulled ahead in engineering and mathematics. Stephenson may have ...
- 101
2
votes
0
answers
131
views
When did putting the last name first become popular in filing?
Preliminary research: A Google search turned up nothing, and I'm not sure where to begin exactly.
When did it become popular to file away folders based on last name first? Has this long been the case, ...
- 101
-1
votes
0
answers
57
views
How was a school for Deaf girls established by public subscription in the middle of a famine?
An Górta Mór, the Irish famine, ran from 1845 to 1850.
St Mary’s School for Deaf Girls was established in Cabra, by public subscription, in 1846. It opened with fifteen pupils.
St Mary’s was (and is) ...
- 305
5
votes
3
answers
3k
views
What were the 20th century historical disputes?
In "Moses in the Hieroglyphs", by Grant Berkley (Trafford, 2006) there appears the following astonishing assertion, relating to professional historians and archaeologists:
In academic ...
- 7,158
3
votes
0
answers
104
views
Did Nazi Germany ever actually make it illegal to practice Judaism?
While I appreciate that the Nazis tried to portray their anti-Semitism as based on racial, and not religious differences per se, and I understand that if one converted to Judaism, one would be ...
- 799
3
votes
0
answers
74
views
How did Egypt turn from "Breadbasket of the Mediterranean" to second-biggest importer of grain?
Egypt is currently undergoing a severe economic crisis. One key reason is that it is importing much of the grain needed to feed its population (and livestock), and this has become expensive/difficult ...
- 1,099
0
votes
1
answer
105
views
Is Dual alliance, Entente Cordiale in this context?
We imagined the Franco-German War of 1870-71 and the Russo-Turkish War
of 1877-78 were the final conflicts between Great Powers, that now
there was a Balance of Power sufficiently stable to make ...
- 4,101
16
votes
4
answers
6k
views
Is Snyder's claim about Soviet-German friendship propaganda posters (1939‒41) supportable?
Upon reading Putin’s New Nostalgia article by Timothy Snyder, I was specifically intrigued by one particular historical point he mentioned. Given the charged nature of current events, and Snyder’s ...
- 107k
1
vote
0
answers
52
views
How adamant/sustained was George F. Kennan's opposition to the [creation of the] UN?
Wikipedia's page on George F. Kennan says that he
warned against U.S. participation and reliance on multilateral, legalistic and moralistic organizations such as the United Nations.
(Citing a review ...
- 4,491
-1
votes
0
answers
151
views
Is this is a German ring from WW2?
Is this silver ring (no hall marks) is a German ring from WW2? The symbols seem to suggest it is.
MCW♦
- 31.7k
1
vote
1
answer
1k
views
Need help to identify this circa WW1, American uniform
My great grandfather disappeared in 1930 and the only record I have of him is these photos. He fathered my grandmother in 1914 in Australia and had a second family in the late 1920's. I have only just ...
3
votes
1
answer
139
views
What was the difference between Hussars and Chasseurs à Cheval in the 19th Century French army?
As far as I can discover, in 19th Century France, Chasseurs à Cheval and Hussars were both light cavalry with little or no armour, prioritizing speed over protection, armed with sabres and carbines, ...
- 29
5
votes
0
answers
98
views
What's the source that Henry IV was the first post-Norman conquest monarch to speak English as their first language?
Okay; the oft-cited fact that "Henry IV was the first English monarch after 1066 whose first language was English".
Now, while I have no doubt it was, what I find puzzling about this is that ...
- 799
18
votes
3
answers
6k
views
Did courtiers of antiquity hold in their pee or did they have common commodes available in the king/queen's court?
Self-explanatory. Did any royal court in history from ancient to medieval times (of any culture) have a public restroom that people who attended court can use, or were they sort of left to their own ...
6
votes
1
answer
275
views
What happened to the Soviet emissaries at the siege of Budapest?
Before the siege of Budapest, the Soviets sent two emissaries to the German to offer them a chance to surrender. According to one version of the story (recounted on the English Wikipedia, see the end ...
- 19.1k
0
votes
0
answers
63
views
Can you identify this, possibly Italian, uniform?
I'm trying to identify this uniform and info on the men. My grandfather is in the picture.
I'm told it's from WWI in Italy.
Can someone help me on this. My grandfather was born in 1901.
- 18.8k
10
votes
1
answer
701
views
Is "Lenin’s Testament" authentic?
Context
In 1922, the Communist Party was firmly in control of the USSR (or at least the Russia part of it), and Vladimir Lenin was the undisputed leader of the Party. Lenin was seriously ill and had ...
- 3,510
0
votes
1
answer
272
views
(How) Did criminals in the middle ages get treatment for injuries?
Were criminals in the middle ages able to get treatment for injuries, and if so, how? I mean criminals such as bandits who wouldn't be able to seek whatever medical care was normally available, even ...
- 11.2k
8
votes
1
answer
388
views
Where and how were the catapults/trebuchets operators trained?
Practice makes perfect: give someone enough time with a sling, bow or crossbow and after a while he will learn to hit the target - you don't need to know much science, as much of the learning revolves ...
- 334
49
votes
18
answers
12k
views
Are there confirmed cases where a country changed its language without being conquered?
I thought about this question and wondered: Are there any known cases where a country switched to a different language other than because of being conquered? If some country ever did this I would be ...
- 5,552
4
votes
5
answers
346
views
Why is there so much prehistoric art found in Spain and France?
I was reading a book about prehistoric art, and a map with dots indicating locations of caves and deposits shown a lot of concentration around the norther area of Spain and also southern region of ...
- 2,374
28
votes
4
answers
3k
views
What is the evidence to claim that political order in ancient Rome was sufficiently different under "kingdom", "republic" and "empire"?
Traditionally the following stages are counted for the political order of the Ancient Rome:
Kingdom
Republic
Empire (subdivided into Principate and Dominate)
The "kingdom" is usually ...
- 2,876
5
votes
1
answer
145
views
Help identifying Italian uniform, rank, regiment
I'm hoping to learn the time period of the photo, any division, rank, and any other information y'all can glean. The photo was passed down so much information has been lost - it is possibly my ...
- 1
8
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Where is the other surviving chest from the Boston Tea Party?
A web site dicussing the Boston Tea Party has the following paragraph:
Two hundred thirty-nine years later, young John’s find, one of only
two known surviving tea chests from the Boston Tea Party, ...
14
votes
6
answers
3k
views
Where did the so-called "Japanese Skulls" end up?
I have read that there was a disturbingly common practice of American soldiers in the Pacific theater of WWII to take the skulls of dead Japanese soldiers as trophies to take home, give to girlfriends,...
- 121
2
votes
1
answer
275
views
What is the origin of the expression "I'm the culture they're dying for"?
There is an anecdote about a young man (a poet) being berated by an older woman during WWI where she asks him if he is not ashamed of letting all those other young men die to protect their culture, to ...
- 296