Portal:History
- Afrikaans
- Alemannisch
- አማርኛ
- Ænglisc
- العربية
- Avañe'ẽ
- Авар
- Azərbaycanca
- تۆرکجه
- বাংলা
- Bân-lâm-gú
- Башҡортса
- Беларуская (тарашкевіца)
- Bikol Central
- Български
- Boarisch
- Brezhoneg
- Català
- Cebuano
- Čeština
- Chavacano de Zamboanga
- ChiShona
- Dansk
- الدارجة
- Deutsch
- Eesti
- Ελληνικά
- Español
- Esperanto
- Euskara
- فارسی
- Français
- Frysk
- Gagauz
- Galego
- Gĩkũyũ
- 한국어
- Hausa
- Հայերեն
- हिन्दी
- Hrvatski
- Bahasa Indonesia
- Italiano
- עברית
- Jawa
- Kapampangan
- ქართული
- Қазақша
- Kotava
- Kreyòl ayisyen
- Kurdî
- Кыргызча
- Latina
- Latviešu
- Lëtzebuergesch
- Lietuvių
- Li Niha
- Magyar
- Македонски
- മലയാളം
- मराठी
- مصرى
- ဘာသာမန်
- مازِرونی
- Bahasa Melayu
- မြန်မာဘာသာ
- Nederlands
- नेपाली
- 日本語
- Napulitano
- Нохчийн
- Norsk bokmål
- Norsk nynorsk
- Occitan
- Oʻzbekcha / ўзбекча
- ਪੰਜਾਬੀ
- پنجابی
- پښتو
- Picard
- Plattdüütsch
- Polski
- Português
- Română
- Runa Simi
- Русский
- Seeltersk
- Shqip
- සිංහල
- Slovenčina
- Slovenščina
- Soomaaliga
- کوردی
- Српски / srpski
- Suomi
- Svenska
- Tagalog
- தமிழ்
- Taclḥit
- Татарча / tatarça
- ၽႃႇသႃႇတႆး
- ไทย
- Тоҷикӣ
- Türkçe
- Українська
- اردو
- Tiếng Việt
- 文言
- West-Vlams
- Wolof
- 吴语
- Xitsonga
- 粵語
- Zazaki
- 中文
- ⵜⴰⵎⴰⵣⵉⵖⵜ ⵜⴰⵏⴰⵡⴰⵢⵜ
Portal maintenance status: (June 2018)
automated editing software. Learn how to update the maintenance information here . |
The History Portal
.
The period of events before the
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.
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 BC 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 BC, though only 2nd-century BC texts have survived. (Full article...)
Featured articles – show another
-
Image 1Image 2Image 3Image 4Image 5Image 6Image 7Image 8Image 9Image 10Image 11
The law school of Berytus (also known as the law school of Beirut) was a center for the study of Roman law in classical antiquity located in Berytus (modern-day Beirut, Lebanon). It flourished under the patronage of the Roman emperors and functioned as the Roman Empire's preeminent center of jurisprudence until its destruction in AD 551.
The law schools of the Roman Empire established organized repositories of imperial constitutions and institutionalized the study and practice of jurisprudence to relieve the busy imperial courts. The archiving of imperial constitutions facilitated the task of jurists in referring to legal precedents. The origins of the law school of Beirut are obscure, but probably it was under Augustus in the first century. The earliest written mention of the school dates to 238–239 AD, when its reputation had already been established. The school attracted young, affluent Roman citizens, and its professors made major contributions to the Codex of Justinian. The school achieved such wide recognition throughout the Empire that Beirut was known as the "Mother of Laws". Beirut was one of the few schools allowed to continue teaching jurisprudence when Byzantine emperor Justinian I shut down other provincial law schools. (Full article...)Image 12Image 13Image 14Image 15Featured picture
-
Image 1Lord Buddha and a place for Buddhist pilgrimage. Evidence suggests Borobudur was abandoned following the 14th-century decline of Buddhist and Hindu kingdoms in Java, and the Javanese conversion to Islam. The monument is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is the most popular tourist attraction in the country.
-
Image 3SS and SD troops during the suppression of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising are forced to leave their shelter and march to the Umschlagplatz for deportation. The SD trooper pictured second from the right, is Josef Blösche, who was identified by Polish authorities using this photograph. Blösche was tried for war crimes in Erfurt, East Germany in 1969, sentenced to death and executed in July of that year.Image 4Lithography: Day & Son; Restoration: Jake WartenbergAn 1856 lithograph of the Selimiye Barracks, located in Istanbul, Turkey, being used as a hospital during the Crimean War. Florence Nightingale's experiences here during this time helped her develop the foundations of modern nursing. As such, the barracks now contain a museum dedicated to her and her staff.Image 5Painting by Benjamin HaydonBenjamin Haydon's painting of Thomas Clarkson addressing the 1840 Anti-Slavery Convention, held by the Anti-Slavery Society at Exeter Hall in London. The organisation was the second to bear that name and was dedicated to the abolishment of slavery worldwide. It continues to function today as Anti-Slavery International.Image 6Artist: Unknown, after Johann ZahnA drawing of the Vegetable Lamb of Tartary (Agnus scythicus), a zoophyte of Central Asia. Botanist Henry Lee described it as both a true animal and a living plant, although he did allow for the possibility that the lamb was the fruit of the plant. The lamb was believed to have blood, bones, and flesh like that of a normal lamb. It was connected to the earth by a stem similar to an umbilical cord that propped the lamb up above ground. The cord could flex downward allowing the lamb to feed on the grass and plants surrounding it. Once the plants within reach were eaten, the lamb died, at which point its cotton-like wool would be harvested and used to make textiles.Image 7Check used for theRussian America from the Russian Empire (represented here by Russian Minister to the United States Eduard de Stoeckl). The lands involved became the modern state of Alaska in 1959.Image 8Photograph credit: Neil ArmstrongApollo 11 was the fifth crewed mission of NASA's Apollo program. After launching from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on July 16, 1969, commander Neil Armstrong and Apollo Lunar Module pilot Buzz Aldrin landed Eagle in Mare Tranquillitatis on July 20, at 20:17:40 UTC, while command module pilot Michael Collins remained on Columbia in lunar orbit. Armstrong was the first to exit the spacecraft, stepping onto the surface 6 hours and 39 minutes later, on July 21, at 02:56:15 UTC; nineteen minutes later, Aldrin joined him on extravehicular activity, which lasted 2 hours, 31 minutes and 40 seconds. Armstrong and Aldrin lifted off from Tranquility Base after almost 22 hours on the lunar surface and rejoined Collins in the command module, before splashing down in the Pacific Ocean on July 24.
The mission was planned to the minute, with the majority of the photographic tasks performed by Armstrong with a single Hasselblad camera. Most of the photographs taken on the Moon that include an astronaut are of Aldrin; there are only five images of Armstrong partly shown or reflected, as in this photograph, with Armstrong and the lunar module reflected in Aldrin's helmet visor. "As the sequence of lunar operations evolved," Aldrin explained, "Neil had the camera most of the time [...] It wasn't until we were back on Earth and in the Lunar Receiving Laboratory looking over the pictures that we realized there were few pictures of Neil."Image 9Great Globular Cluster in Hercules, some 25,000 light-years away, and contains information related to mathematics, chemistry, and astronomy.Image 10Image 11A Chola dynasty sculpture depicting Shiva. In Hinduism, Shiva is the deity of destruction and one of the most important gods; in this sculpture he is dancing as Nataraja, the divine dancer who unravels the world in preparation for it being remade by Brahma.Image 12Khafra.Image 13Ottoman machine gun corps, before the Second Battle of Gaza, which took place on 19 April 1917. The First Battle of Gaza, just three weeks prior, had ended in defeat for the British Empire, and this second attempt to break through Turkish defenses was also unsuccessful. Six months later, on the third attempt, the Allied forces were finally able to break the Gaza–Beersheba line.Image 14Map credit: Konstantinos PlakidasA map of Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire. Throughout the Middle Ages, Constantinople, strategically located between the Golden Horn and the Sea of Marmara at the point where Europe meets Asia, was Europe's largest and wealthiest city. It was officially renamed to its modern name Istanbul (Turkish: İstanbul) in 1930.Image 151895 train wreck, Gare MontparnassePhoto credit: Studio Lévy and SonsOn October 22, 1895, the Granville–Paris Express train overran the buffer stop at Gare Montparnasse station. The engine careened across almost 30 metres (100 feet) of the station concourse, crashed through a 60 centimetre thick wall, shot across a terrace and sailed out of the station, plummeting onto the Place de Rennes 10 metres (30 feet) below where it stood on its nose. While all of the passengers on board the train survived, one woman on the street below was killed by falling masonry.Image 16"The Trumpet Calls", a recruitment poster for the Australian Army in World War I. When the United Kingdom declared war on Germany, Australia followed without hesitation. This was considered to be expected by the Australian public, because of the very large number of British-born citizens and first generation Anglo-Australians at the time. A total of 331,814 Australians were sent overseas to serve as part of the Australian Imperial Force with a casualty rate (killed or wounded) of 64%.Image 17Photograph: Andrew ShivaAn aerial view of Masada, an ancient fortification in the Southern District of Israel. Found atop an isolated rock plateau, it overlooks the Dead Sea. The first fortifications on the mountain were built by Alexander Jannaeus, and significantly strengthened by the Roman client king Herod between 37 and 31 BCE. During the First Jewish–Roman War of 66–73 CE, the fortress was besieged, falling only after the 960 Sicarii defending it committed mass suicide.
Masada is among the more popular tourist attractions in Israel, and in 2001 it was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site.Image 18The "Theatre" atWadi Araba, the great valley running from the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba. It is famous for having many stone structures carved into the rock.Did you know (auto generated)
- ... that Jane C. Beck traveled to Virginia, West Africa, and England to research the family history of Daisy Turner for her 2015 book Daisy Turner's Kin: An African American Family Saga?
- ... that at the age of 28, Mason Morelli became the first player in Vegas Golden Knights franchise history to record two points in their National Hockey League debut game?
- ... that writer Malcolm Neesam was awarded the Freedom of the Borough of Harrogate, England, by the town council for services to local history?
- ... that some have considered the Holocaust a unique event, external to history and beyond human understanding?
- ... 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 Art Rooney Jr. presided over what one Pro Football Hall of Fame selector described as "the best drafting run in NFL history"?
Featured biography – show another
This is aFeatured article, which represents some of the best content on English Wikipedia.
modern science. He has been described as the "father of science fiction" for his novel Somnium.Kepler was a mathematics teacher at a seminary school in Graz, where he became an associate of Prince Hans Ulrich von Eggenberg. Later he became an assistant to the astronomer Tycho Brahe in Prague, and eventually the imperial mathematician to Emperor Rudolf II and his two successors Matthias and Ferdinand II. He also taught mathematics in Linz, and was an adviser to General Wallenstein.
Additionally, he did fundamental work in the field of optics, being named the father of modern optics, in particular for his Astronomiae pars optica. He also invented an improved version of the refracting telescope, the Keplerian telescope, which became the foundation of the modern refracting telescope, while also improving on the telescope design by Galileo Galilei, who mentioned Kepler's discoveries in his work. (Full article...)On this day
April 19: Feast day of Saint Alphege of Canterbury (Catholicism, Anglicanism), Education and Sharing Day in the United States (2024), Primrose Day in London
- 1773 – The Polish Partition Sejm met to discuss the First Partition of Poland, carried out the previous year by Russia, Prussia and Austria.
- 1809 – War of the Fifth Coalition: French general Louis-Nicolas Davout defeated an Austrian force in Lower Bavaria, allowing him to rejoin the main French army.
- 1927 – American actress Mae West (pictured) was sentenced to ten days in jail for "corrupting the morals of youth" with her play Sex.
- 1989 – A gun turret exploded on board the United States Navy battleship Iowa, killing 47 sailors.
- Uesugi Kenshin (d. 1578)
- Elizabeth Dilling (b. 1894)
- Denis O'Brien (b. 1958)
Selected quote
It is of the nature of desire not to be satisfied, and most men live only for the gratification of it.
— Aristotle, 4th-century Greek philosopherRelated portals
More Did you know...
- ... that in 1898, the United States government annexed the Kingdom of Hawaii despite protestation from Queen Liliuokalani(pictured)?
- ... that Jean Thurel was a soldier in the French Régiment de Touraine for more than 75 years?
- ... that the severed head of Julia Martha Thomas — murdered, boiled and dismembered by her maid in 1879 — was found next door to Sir David Attenborough's house in 2010?
- ... that the 18th-century Indian automaton Tipu's Tiger shows a near life-size European being mauled by a tiger, and emits wails and grunts as well as containing a pipe organ?
- ... that Svið, a traditional Icelandic dish, consists of a sheep's head that has been cut in half, singed, and boiled with the brain removed?
- ... that, despite overseeing the construction of the crematoria and gas chambers at Auschwitz, what specifically shocked SS-Obersturmführer Robert Mulka at the camp was his colleagues' dress sense?
- ... that Tsar Alexander II of Russia had a special crystal bottle of Roederer champagne made for the Three Emperors Dinner in 1867 so that he could admire the bubbles?
- ... that the Gudea cylinders are the longest literary composition ever found in the Sumerian language?
Topics
Disciplines Interdisciplinary fields Themes - Abductive reasoning
- Aesthetics
- Antipositivism
- The arts
- Beauty
- Belles-lettres
- Bildung
- Creativity
- Critical theory
- Criticism
- Cultural literacy
- Culture
- General knowledge
- Hermeneutics
- Historicism
- Historism
- Human condition
- Humanitas
- Liberal arts education
- Metaphysics
- Moral character
- Self-realization
- Self-reflection
- Wisdom
- Work of art
Journals Academia Related - Antihumanism
- Criticism of mass culture
- Educational essentialism
- Humanities in the United States
- List of people considered a founder in a Humanities field
- Outline of the humanities
- Renaissance humanism
- Studia Humanitatis
Key concepts Measurement
and standardsChronometry Measurement
systemsCalendars Clocks Philosophy of time - Religion
- Mythology
Human experience
and use of timeTime in science Geology - Geological time
- age
- chron
- eon
- epoch
- era
- period
- Geochronology
- Geological history of Earth
Physics - Absolute space and time
- Arrow of time
- Chronon
- Coordinate time
- Instant
- Proper time
- Spacetime
- Theory of relativity
- Time domain
- Time translation symmetry
- Time reversal symmetry
Other fields Related Key topics - Epochs
Calendar eras - Human Era
- Ab urbe condita
- Anno Domini / Common Era
- Anno Mundi
- Bosporan era
- Bostran era
- Byzantine era
- Seleucid era
- Era of Caesar (Iberia)
- Before present
- Hijri
- Egyptian
- Sothic cycle
- Hindu units of time (Yuga)
- Mesoamerican
- Long Count
- Short Count
- Tzolk'in
- Haab'
Regnal year Era names Calendars Pre-Julian / Julian Gregorian Astronomical Others Astronomic time Geologic time Concepts Standards Methods Chronological
datingAbsolute dating Relative dating Genetic methods Linguistic methods Related topics Categories
Select [►] to view subcategoriesHistory • By period • By region • By topic • By ethnic group • Historiography • Archaeology • Books • Maps • Images • Magazines • Organizations • Fictional • Museums • Pseudohistory • Stubs • Timelines • Chronology • People • Wikipedia historians
WikiProjects
WikiProject History • Ancient Near East • Australian History • Classical Greece and Rome • Dacia • Former countries • History of Canada • Chinese history • European history • Heraldry and vexillology • Indian history • Jewish history • Medieval Scotland • Mesoamerica • Military history • Middle Ages • History of Science
WikiProject Time • Days of the Year • Years
WikiProject Biography • Composers • Political figures • Saints • United States Presidents
Things you can do
Here are some tasks awaiting attention:- Article requests : Requested articles/Social sciences/History
- Copyedit : History articles needing copy editing
- Photo : Wikipedia requested photographs of history
- Stubs : Expand history stub articles
- Are you a historian : i.e. one who studies and writes history, and who has a keen interest in writing outstanding articles? Join our group by adding Category:Wikipedian historians to the bottom of your user page.
Associated Wikimedia
The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:
-
Commons
Free media repository -
Wikibooks
Free textbooks and manuals -
Wikidata
Free knowledge base -
Wikinews
Free-content news -
Wikiquote
Collection of quotations -
Wikisource
Free-content library -
Wikiversity
Free learning tools -
Wiktionary
Dictionary and thesaurus
Discover Wikipedia using portals