Portal:History
The History Portal
Historia by Nikolaos Gyzis
History (derived from Ancient Greek ἱστορία (historía) 'inquiry; knowledge acquired by investigation') is the systematic study and documentation of the human past.
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, art and material artifacts, and ecological markers. History is incomplete and still has debatable mysteries.
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...)
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Did you know (auto generated)
- ... that some have considered the Holocaust a unique event, external to history and beyond human understanding?
- ... that the 2016 Jim Beam strike was the first labor strike in the company's history?
- ... that in 1993, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld West Virginia's largest punitive damages award in history, awarding $10 million – 526 times larger than the compensatory damages?
- ... that the historical-romance novel My Tender Matador includes a fictionalized version of the attempted assassination of Augusto Pinochet?
- ... that British architect Diane Haigh transformed one historic building into an art gallery and another into a hospice?
- ... that Elisabeth Griffith's sweeping 100-year history of the American equal-rights movement has been compared to listening to Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire"?
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
- 1676 – Scanian War: The Swedish warship Kronan, one of the largest ships in the world at the time, sank at the Battle of Öland with the loss of around 800 men.
- 1857 – The Revolution of the Ganhadores, the first general strike in Brazil, began in Salvador, Bahia.
- 1974 – In an informal article in a medical journal, Henry Heimlich introduced the concept of abdominal thrusts, commonly known as the Heimlich maneuver, to treat victims of choking.
- 1988 – Group representation constituencies were introduced to the parliament of Singapore.
- 1999 – On landing at Little Rock National Airport in the U.S. state of Arkansas, American Airlines Flight 1420 overran the runway and crashed (wreckage pictured), resulting in 11 deaths.
- Kitabatake Chikafusa (d. 1354)
- Louisa Caroline Tuthill (d. 1879)
- Tom Holland (b. 1996)
- Faizul Waheed (d. 2021)
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 philosopher
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More Did you know...
- ... that Giovanni de Ventura, a plague doctor who may have worn a beak doctor costume (pictured), was restricted by a covenant to treat only infectious patients? In the nose of the mask, there were types of plants that were used to filter the sickness from the wearer.
- ... that in some archaic Greek alphabets, an Ε could look like a Β, a Β like a C, a Γ like an Ι, an Ι like a Σ, or a Σ like an Μ?
- ... that the Chinese government has published a list of sixty-four important cultural relics that are forbidden to be exhibited outside of China?
- ... that the 1886 novel Albertine expedited the abolition of public prostitution in Norway?
- ... that Carl Sagan worked with the US Air Force on detonating a nuclear device on the Moon?
- ... that Olympic gold medals have been made out of silver, jade, and glass?
- ... that in 1945 a Japanese battalion was rearmed to serve alongside the British 5th Parachute Brigade in the Far East?
- ... that Solomon was accidentally castrated as an infant?
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