Alexander Wilson’s Birds
Before Audubon (1785-1851), there was Alexander Wilson (1766-1813) the "father of American ornithology"
Eduardo Galeano 1940-2015
A historian of Latin America, and a victim of two dictatorships, Galeano was also inevitably a historian of the colossus to the north.
Mesmerizing Jonathan Miller
Read a 2001 Keynote Address from comedian and scholar Jonathan Miller from the Social Research conference on Franz Anton Mesmer (1734-1815).
The Erotics of Backgammon
James E. Doan reveals the sexual innuendoes and double-entendres based on Backgammon.
An End to All Hell: 150th Anniversary of the Civil War’s End
The 150th anniversary of the end of the Civil War.
The Solar Origins of Dendrochronology
Historian George E. Webb recounts the intertwined relationship between solar physics and dendrochronology
No Foolin’: Jeremy Bentham’s Auto-Icon
There is a curious display in a glass-fronted cabinet at University College London. It's Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) .
Privies: Vaults of the Past
Privies were the standard urban and rural toilet right into the 20th century in the U.S.
F is for Falconry
Since so few do falconry in the U.S. today, and hawking hasn't made it to the wide world of TV sports, some background is probably in order here.