Uh, oh. Looks like Beethoven’s daddy might not have been who he thought. DNA hints at an extramarital affair (but finds no cause for his many health problems).

Portrait of Ludwig van Beethoven when composing the Missa Solemnis

In 1802, Ludwig van Beethoven asked his brothers to request that his doctor, J.A. Schmidt, describe his health problems—his progressive hearing loss—to the world upon his death so that “as far as possible, at least the world will be reconciled to me after my death.”

A group of international codebreakers has uncovered a set of secret, coded letters written by Mary Queen of Scots while she was imprisoned in England by Queen Elizabeth I. The contents of the letters were believed to be lost.

How frequent was violence in prehistoric human societies? One way to measure this is to look for trauma in prehistoric human remains.

Low Res Based on the skeletal remains scientists reconstructed the face of a male adult left and a child right CREDIT Prof Caroline Wilkinson Liverpool John Moores Uni.jpg

Construction workers in Norwich, UK, unearthed human skeletal remains that led to a historical mystery. Now British researchers have identified the individuals to be a group of Ashkenazi Jews who may have fallen victim to antisemitic violence.

Tara Roberts with Diving With A Purpose board member Kamau Sadiki

Ahead of Black History Month, National Geographic is launching a powerful new podcast, INTO THE DEPTHS, on Jan. 27, 2022, that uncovers the deep history of the transatlantic slave trade as it follows a group of Black divers who are dedicated to finding and helping to document slave shipwrecks.

Malleus Maleficarum 1519 Hammer of Witches

The Latin Malleus Maleficarum, aka Hammer of Witches, was written in 1486 as a treatise on witchcraft. It describes how a community can determine if a person is a witch using basic questions (and torture) to obtain confessions.

Remains of medieval soldier found at bottom of Lithuanian lake, hidden for centuries beneath the mud.

The oddities and curiosities of the year 2020

Most of us are counting the days until 2021. It seems like this year will never end. Here are the freakish events we endured during this most unusual (and somewhat terrifying) year.

Read former President Barack Obama’s speech to the 2020 Democratic National Convention, as prepared for delivery.

Rainbow plaguq on Leeds City Varieties Theater

You’ve probably heard the language spoken in Doctor Who, Doom Patrol, Filth Rich and Catflap, Velvet Goldmine, or Dragon Quest, sometimes subtitled like a foreign language. Polari is the name of a form of slang that was once used in Britain by some actors, circus and fairground showmen, professional wrestlers, merchant navy sailors, criminals, prostitutes,…

Category: History and Civilization

Uh, oh. Looks like Beethoven’s daddy might not have been who he thought. DNA hints at an extramarital affair (but finds no cause for his many health problems).

Mary Queen of Scots’ lost letters are finally cracked by codebreakers.

Good ol’ scientific ‘detective work’ reveals South American mummies were brutally murdered.

Medieval bodies found in bottom of a UK well show centuries-earlier origin of Ashkenazi Jews genetic disorder – and evidence of antisemitic violence.

National Geographic takes a deep dive into the history of the Transatlantic slave trade with new podcast, magazine feature, and documentary special about the most intact slave shipwreck ever found.

The Malleus Maleficarum, aka Hammer of Witches, was the de facto standard playbook for witchcraft trials in the 17th century. Here is how to officially charge, try – and convict – a witch.

Remains of medieval soldier found at bottom of Lithuanian lake, hidden for centuries beneath the mud.

2020 year in review: Life during annus horribilis – a cheatsheet you can use to tell your grandkids about the most freakish year in human history.

Here is the complete text of Barack Obama’s historical 2020 Democratic Nation Convention speech.

Polari – this bizarre slang has been around for hundreds of years.

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