Portal:History
The History Portal
Herodotus (c. 484 BC – c. 425 BC) is often
considered the "father of history"
History (derived from Ancient Greek ἱστορία (historía) 'inquiry; knowledge acquired by investigation') is the systematic study and documentation of 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. History is incomplete and still has debatable mysteries.
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 and Ibn Khaldun. (Full article...)
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- ... that Galena Schoolhouse in South Dakota was once leased to a historical society for $1 annually?
- ... that fifteen future Pro Football Hall of Fame players have been drafted by the Detroit Lions?
- ... that in 88 BC, Lucius Cornelius Sulla carried out the first coup d'état in Roman history?
- ... that Jenny Cavnar is the first female primary play-by-play announcer in Major League Baseball history?
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- ... that in 2023, car manufacturer Rivian acquired the historic Lynn Theatre in Laguna Beach, California, and converted it into its first showroom?
Carsten Egeberg Borchgrevink (1 December 1864 – 21 April 1934) was a Norwegian polar explorer and a pioneer of Antarctic travel. He inspired Sir Robert Falcon Scott, Sir Ernest Shackleton, Roald Amundsen, and others associated with the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration.
Borchgrevink was born and raised in Christiania (now Oslo) as the son of a Norwegian lawyer and an English-born immigrant mother. He began his exploring career in 1894 by joining a Norwegian whaling expedition, during which he became one of the first people to set foot on the Antarctic mainland. This achievement helped him to obtain backing for his Southern Cross expedition, which became the first to overwinter on the Antarctic mainland, and the first to visit the Great Ice Barrier since the expedition of Sir James Clark Ross nearly sixty years earlier. (Full article...)On this day
September 29: Michaelmas (Western Christianity)
- 1724 – J. S. Bach led the first performance of Herr Gott, dich loben alle wir, BWV 130, based on Paul Eber's hymn in twelve stanzas, for the feast of archangel Michael.
- 1918 – World War I: The Battle of St Quentin Canal took place, which led to the British Fourth Army making the first breach of the German defensive Hindenburg Line.
- 1954 – Willie Mays (pictured) of the New York Giants made The Catch, one of the most famous defensive plays in the history of Major League Baseball.
- 1964 – Mafalda, a popular comic strip by Quino, was first published in newspapers in Argentina.
- 2004 – Archaeologists and volunteers began excavation of the remains of Fort Tanjong Katong in Singapore.
- Karl Freiherr Haus von Hausen (b. 1823)
- Edward Pulsford (b. 1844; d. 1919)
- Annie Dove Denmark (b. 1887)
- Valston Hancock (d. 1998)
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There cannot be two suns in the sky, nor two emperors on the earth.
— Confucius, Chinese Sage and Philosopher
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