Portal:History
The History Portal
History (derived from Ancient Greek ἱστορία (historía) 'inquiry; knowledge acquired by investigation') is the systematic study and documentation of the human past. History is an academic discipline which uses a narrative to describe, examine, question, and analyze past events, and investigate their patterns of cause and effect. Historians debate which narrative best explains an event, as well as the significance of different causes and effects. Historians debate the nature of history as an end in itself, and its usefulness in giving perspective on the problems of the present.
The period of events before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well as the memory, discovery, collection, organization, presentation, and interpretation of these events. Historians seek knowledge of the past using historical sources such as written documents, oral accounts or traditional oral histories, art and material artifacts, and ecological markers.
Stories common to a particular culture, but not supported by external sources (such as the tales surrounding King Arthur), are usually classified as cultural heritage or legends. History differs from myth in that it is supported by verifiable evidence. However, ancient cultural influences have helped create variant interpretations of the nature of history, which have evolved over the centuries and continue to change today. The modern study of history is wide-ranging, and includes the study of specific regions and certain topical or thematic elements of historical investigation. History is taught as a part of primary and secondary education, and the academic study of history is a major discipline in universities.
Herodotus, a 5th-century BCE Greek historian, is often considered the "father of history", as one of the first historians in the Western tradition, though he has been criticized as the "father of lies". Along with his contemporary Thucydides, he helped form the foundations for the modern study of past events and societies. Their works continue to be read today, and the gap between the culture-focused Herodotus and the military-focused Thucydides remains a point of contention or approach in modern historical writing. In East Asia a state chronicle, the Spring and Autumn Annals, was reputed to date from as early as 722 BCE, though only 2nd-century BCE texts have survived. The title "father of history" has also been attributed, in their respective societies, to Sima Qian, Ibn Khaldun, and Kenneth Dike. (Full article...)
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- ... that The Great Wave off Kanagawa has been described as "possibly the most reproduced image in the history of all art"?
- ... that in the history of opera in Ukraine, Mykola Lysenko's historical Taras Bulba was the first grand opera, but not performed during his lifetime because he refused a performance in Russian?
- ... that activist Gerlin Bean co-founded the Organisation of Women of African and Asian Descent in 1978, an event described as "a watershed in the history of Black women's rights activism"?
- ... that Jenny Cavnar is the first female primary play-by-play announcer in Major League Baseball history?
- ... that in 2007, Arthur Gray's £2 Kangaroo and Map stamp sold for a world record price for a single Australian stamp?
- ... that much of the research in dress history has been done from documents, illustrations, and photographs rather than by studying items of clothing?
Ramón Emeterio Betances y Alacán (April 8, 1827 – September 16, 1898) was a Puerto Rican independence advocate and medical doctor. He was the primary instigator of the Grito de Lares revolt and designer of the Grito de Lares flag. Since the Grito galvanized a burgeoning nationalist movement among Puerto Ricans, Betances is also considered to be the father of the Puerto Rican independence movement and the El Padre de la Patria (The Father of the Homeland). His charitable deeds for people in need, earned him the moniker of El Padre de los Pobres (The Father of the Poor).
Betances was also a medical doctor and surgeon in Puerto Rico, and one of its first social hygienists. He had established a successful surgery and ophthalmology practice. Betances was also an abolitionist, diplomat, public health administrator, poet, and novelist. He served as representative and contact for Cuba and the Dominican Republic in Paris. (Full article...)
On this day
- 1579 – A ceremony was held in Edinburgh marking the coming of age of James VI of Scotland as an adult ruler.
- 1752 – The Pennsylvania Gazette published a statement by Benjamin Franklin describing a kite experiment (depicted) to determine the electrical nature of lightning.
- 1914 – First World War: Allied forces began engaging German troops at the First Battle of Ypres.
- 1944 – The Guatemalan Revolution began with a small group of army officers led by Francisco Javier Arana and Jacobo Árbenz launching a coup against dictator Jorge Ubico.
- John Rolph (d. 1870)
- Demetrios Christodoulou (b. 1951)
- Josef Hoop (d. 1959)
- Ali Treki (d. 2015)
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Genius is one percent inspiration, ninety-nine percent perspiration.
— Thomas Edison, scientist and inventor
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More Did you know...
- ... that on 26 April 1881 HMS Doterel (pictured) exploded, killing 143 of the 155 crew members?
- ... that causes of the deaths at the Berlin Wall included shooting, drowning, suffocation, suicide, and falling from a balloon?
- ... that the 19th-century swindler Bertha Heyman, known as "The Confidence Queen," conned men by pretending to be a wealthy woman who was unable to access her fortune?
- ... that only four great uncial codices have survived until the present day?
- ... that after World War II, Polish resistance organizer and Warsaw Uprising fighter Jan Mazurkiewicz was brutally tortured by the authorities in communist Poland?
- ... that tiny Paederus beetles may have caused some of the ten Plagues of Egypt?
- ... that the only known report of bloodshed during the simulated Nazi invasion of Winnipeg was from a woman who cut her thumb while preparing toast?
- ... that Dacian bracelets were used as currency and votive offerings?
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