Stories from history

Short, true stories about the people behind the quotes: the gamble at the Rubicon, a kidnapping by pirates, a kite in a thunderstorm. Each one takes about five minutes.

Empires

Empires"Here I am": Napoleon's impossible return from exileNapoleon Bonaparte · 7 min read

EmpiresThe ancient internet that held the Mongol Empire togetherGenghis Khan · 6 min read

EmpiresThe conquest of Jerusalem that shocked Europe — with mercySaladin · 6 min read

EmpiresThe emperor who sold the palace treasuresMarcus Aurelius · 3 min read

EmpiresA surprise crown on Christmas DayCharlemagne · 3 min read

EmpiresCharlemagne’s elephantCharlemagne · 3 min read

Legends

LegendsHow Alexander solved the problem no one else couldAlexander the Great · 5 min read

LegendsThe teenager who broke a siege in nine daysJoan of Arc · 6 min read

LegendsThe theft that made the Mona Lisa famousLeonardo da Vinci · 5 min read

LegendsBorrowed papers and a sailor's shirtFrederick Douglass · 6 min read

LegendsThe horse no one could rideAlexander the Great · 3 min read

LegendsLeonardo’s job applicationLeonardo da Vinci · 3 min read

LegendsThe trick question Joan of Arc couldn’t loseJoan of Arc · 3 min read

LegendsFrom the Tower to the throneQueen Elizabeth I · 3 min read

LegendsBread for lessons: how Frederick Douglass learned to readFrederick Douglass · 3 min read

LegendsSmuggled into the palace to meet CaesarCleopatra VII · 3 min read

LegendsThe most expensive dinner in historyCleopatra VII · 3 min read

LegendsThe scientist who was offered a countryAlbert Einstein · 3 min read

LegendsThe march to the sea for a handful of saltMahatma Gandhi · 3 min read

LegendsThe night at Pietermaritzburg stationMahatma Gandhi · 3 min read

LegendsIsaac Newton, detectiveSir Isaac Newton · 3 min read

LegendsShot in the chest, he kept talkingTheodore Roosevelt · 3 min read

LegendsThe River of DoubtTheodore Roosevelt · 3 min read

LegendsThe teenager who pretended to be a widowBenjamin Franklin · 3 min read

LegendsThe theatre that was taken apart overnightWilliam Shakespeare · 3 min read

LegendsThe book that saved half of ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare · 3 min read

Philosophy

PhilosophyThe emperor who wrote letters only to himselfMarcus Aurelius · 6 min read

PhilosophyWhy Socrates chose death over escapeSocrates of Athens · 5 min read

PhilosophyThe oracle said no one was wiser. Socrates tried to prove it wrong.Socrates of Athens · 3 min read

PhilosophyThe school where students learned while walkingAristotle · 3 min read

PhilosophyThe teacher of the man who conquered the worldAristotle · 3 min read

PhilosophyFourteen years looking for a ruler who would listenConfucius · 3 min read

PhilosophyStarving between Chen and Cai, still singingConfucius · 3 min read

PhilosophyThe school that lasted 900 yearsPlato · 3 min read

PhilosophyPlato tried to create a philosopher-king, and was sold as a slavePlato · 3 min read

Philosophy“Didn’t I tell you it would break?”Epictetus · 3 min read

PhilosophyThe lectures that were never meant to be publishedEpictetus · 3 min read

PhilosophyThe book written at a border gateLao Tzu · 3 min read

PhilosophyWhen Confucius met LaoziLao Tzu · 3 min read

Rome

RomeThe die is cast: the night Caesar crossed the RubiconGaius Julius Caesar · 6 min read

RomeCaesar and the pirates: a promise keptGaius Julius Caesar · 3 min read

RomeThe philosopher who taught NeroLucius Annaeus Seneca · 3 min read

RomeEight years of exile on CorsicaLucius Annaeus Seneca · 3 min read

Science

ScienceTesla vs Edison: the war that decided how the world gets powerNikola Tesla · 8 min read

ScienceThe notebooks that are still radioactiveMarie Skłodowska Curie · 5 min read

Science"And yet it moves" — the words Galileo probably never saidGalileo Galilei · 6 min read

ScienceThe first computer program was written in 1843Ada Lovelace · 5 min read

ScienceThe general who took 160 scholars to warNapoleon Bonaparte · 3 min read

ScienceThe tower that was meant to power the worldNikola Tesla · 3 min read

ScienceThe swinging lamp in Pisa CathedralGalileo Galilei · 3 min read

ScienceTold to stay home, she went to StockholmMarie Skłodowska Curie · 3 min read

ScienceTwelve years old and designing a flying machineAda Lovelace · 3 min read

ScienceThe patent clerk who changed physics in one yearAlbert Einstein · 3 min read

ScienceThe Art of War, buried for 2,000 yearsSun Tzu · 3 min read

ScienceWhat Newton did during the plagueSir Isaac Newton · 3 min read

ScienceA kite, a key and a thunderstormBenjamin Franklin · 3 min read

War

WarMay 1940: the three weeks that saved BritainWinston Churchill · 7 min read

WarElephants in the snow: Hannibal's march over the AlpsHannibal Barca · 6 min read

WarTwo hours versus two minutesAbraham Lincoln · 5 min read

War"Come and take them": the last stand at ThermopylaeLeonidas I of Sparta · 6 min read

War"The heart and stomach of a king"Queen Elizabeth I · 5 min read

WarThe archer who shot Genghis Khan’s horseGenghis Khan · 3 min read

WarThe angry letters Lincoln never sentAbraham Lincoln · 3 min read

WarWanted, dead or alive: Churchill’s escapeWinston Churchill · 3 min read

WarCannae: the battle generals still studyHannibal Barca · 3 min read

WarThe king who was never meant to be kingLeonidas I of Sparta · 3 min read

WarFresh horses for an enemy kingSaladin · 3 min read

WarSun Tzu’s deadly demonstrationSun Tzu · 3 min read