“Now We Can Begin”: Annotated
To mark the 1920 ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment to the US Constitution, activist Crystal Eastman described the path to full freedom for American women.
Temperance Melodrama on the Nineteenth-Century Stage
Produced by the master entertainer P. T. Barnum, a melodrama about the dangers of alcohol was the first show to run for a hundred performances in New York City.
The “Trapeze Disrobing Act”
Strongwoman Charmion used Thomas Edison’s experiments with moving pictures to encourage women to embrace strength and physical activity.
A Phrenologist’s Dream of an Octagon House
Orson S. Fowler thought houses without right angles would offer a better life, but his own architectural experiments did not end well.
The Internet’s Baby Pictures, 25 Years After the Birth of the Web
Tim Berners-Lee set up HTML (hypertext markup language) and HTTP (hypertext transfer protocol) twenty-five years ago today.
A Brief History of the Income Tax
The significance of the date April 15 is not lost on anyone in the modern United States. But ...
The Immortal Life of Joice Heth: How P. T. Barnum Used an Elderly Slave To Launch His Career
P. T. Barnum's career as a Kentucky show man began with his ownership and exploitation of African American slave Joice Heth.
Mourning the Death of the American Railway
Just as the Titanic had redefined passenger liners, so too would the Zephyr transform the American railway.
“The Phantom of Hollywood” and the Demise of the MGM Film Musical
The Hollywood musical was slaughtered onscreen for the entertainment of the spectator in The Phantom of Hollywood, a horribly tacky made-for-TV movie.