Sofia Kovalevskaya

Science in Defiance of the Tsar: The Women of the 1860s

Sofia Kovalevskaia became the first woman in Europe to obtain her doctorate in mathematics—but only after leaving Russia for Germany.
Destruction of the Roehampton Estate, January 1832

Holiday Escapes, Entropy, and the Future That Was

Well-researched stories from Mongabay, The Conversation, and other great publications that bridge the gap between news and scholarship.
A lion tamer in Ancient Rome

Our Most Popular Stories of 2024

The artifacts of ancient technologies, the allure of rebel science, and many, many ghosts.
Painting of Song Ong Siang by J. Wentscher, 1936

Writing a “Different Type of Chinese” into Being

The Western-educated Straits Chinese elite of colonial Malaya were among the first writers to produce a local literature in the English language.
A map of Antarctica, 1949

Antarctica Unveiled: From Accidents to Airborne Labs

Twentieth-century surveys revealed the landscape beneath the Antarctic ice using radio echo-sounding, a technique that emerged largely by accident.

What We’re Reading 2024

It’s become a tradition: the writers and editors at JSTOR Daily share our thoughts on this year's pleasure reading.
Rosemary (Salvia rosmarinus) in bloom. Flowers can be pale blue, pink, purple, or white.

Rosemary: The Herb of Ritual and Remembrance

From ancient Egypt to today, the scent of rosemary has promised comfort, joy, and even immortality.
A bowl of fruit soup

We Made Fruit Soup

And so should you.

String Theory Is Not Dead

Out of the limelight, theoretical physicists seek the math that can explain the universe’s particles and forces.
From a 1916 advertisement for Hoosier Kitchen Cabinets

Hoosier Cabinets and the Dream of Efficiency

Out of Indiana came a beloved wooden innovation that helped change the status of the kitchen in the American home.