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Black and white headshot of author Matthew Wills

Matthew Wills

Matthew Wills has advanced degrees in library science and film studies and is lapsed in both fields. He has published in Poetry, Huffington Post, and Nature Conservancy Magazine, among other places, and blogs regularly about urban natural history at matthewwills.com.

Byzantine illustration from the 9th century; a robed figure is destroying an icon.

A Short Guide to Iconoclasm in Early History

In the 8th century, the Eastern or Orthodox branch of Christianity gave history the word iconoclasm, from the Greek words for "icon smashing."
Older covered circuit board

AT&T: Birth of the First Social Network

The first transcontinental telephone call was put through on January 25, 1915.
Blue and red flashing police lights

The Roots of Modern Police Work

The beginnings of modern police work have roots in the colonial experience in Ireland.
The word "news" in old typeface on aged paper

Privacy, Journalism, and the Gilded Age

The interview is now such a standard part of journalism that it may come as a surprise to read that the New York Times editorialized against it in 1874.

Orson Welles at 100

2015 marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Orson Welles.
Twelfth century illustration of Byzantines using fire against Thomas the Slav

Ancient Chemical Warfare

The lethal combination of chemistry and warfare has a long history.
The back of a taxi in a busy street

Taxis, Ride-sharing Apps, and Safety: An Age-Old Debate

Current controversies over ride-sharing apps like Uber and Lyft may not be all that new.
Goya, The Speed and Daring of Juanito Apiñani in the Ring of Madrid 1815-16 Etching and aquatint

Goya, The Moors, and The Bulls

An exhibit of Francisco Goya's paintings and prints at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts showcases an amazing talent and a personality who lived through extraordinary and frequently horrifying times.
Back of a soldier's helmet

The Last Formal Declaration of War

The last time Congress formally declared war was in World War II.
Robert Louis Stevenson and His Wife, an oil painting, by John Singer Sargent from 1885

The Culture of Tuberculosis

When perusing the biographies of artists, you'll notice that a large number of them had tuberculosis.
A polar bear walks on a frozen tundra

Anniversary of the Endangered Species Act

41 years after the Endangered Species act, what is its legacy?
Stockings hung above a fireplace next to a Christmas tree and presents

Oh, Christmas Tree!

The ubiquitous Christmas tree has a history, and it isn't biblical.
A modern street in Cuba with vintage cars on the road

Cuban-American Relations Through The Years

After 55 years, diplomatic relations have been re-established between the United States and Cuba.
A Cliff Swallow with sand in its mouth

Driving the Evolution of Cliff Swallows

Charles R. Brown and Mary Bomberger Brown have been studying cliff swallows (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) in southwestern Nebraska since the early 1980s.
Paperback copies J.R.R. Tolkien's classics: The Hobbit; The Fellowship of the Ring; The Two Towers; and The Return of the King

J. R. R. Tolkien the Philologist

Before The Hobbit, J. R. R. Tolkien was a philologist, a specialist in historical texts.
Vultures on tree

How The Near Extinction of Indian Vultures Led to Disaster

The populations of the nine species of Indian vultures began to plummet in the 1990s
British flag

The Anglo-American Relationship: Not Always So Special

The "special relationship" between the United States and the United Kingdom followed a very long century of special enmity.
"I Have a Dream". engraved on a step of the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

Martin Luther King, Jr And The Paradox of Nonviolence

Martin Luther King Jr.'s Nobel Peace Prize was controversial–and that the controversy had nothing to do with his age.
Title page of 1914's journal, The New Republic

The New Republic and the Idea of Progress

The recent shakeup at the The New Republic reminds us that journals of opinion have histories, too
Chains

The Modern History of Slavery

The Walk Free Foundation recently reported that 35 million people in the world today are trapped in different forms of slavery.
A troop of mushrooms

Mushrooms!

Mushrooms may seem like humble life forms, but they are very much wrapped up in the human experience.
Black and white illustration of men dueling from the 1899 bestseller, Richard Carvel

The Other Winston Churchill

Do you know about Winston Churchill, the American novelist? Now you do.
Let's Talk Turkey

Let’s Talk Turkey

First of all, why the name "turkey?"
A shelf of weathered leather bound books

The First English Books

In the rare book world, the earliest printed books are known as incunables or incunabula.