Stories from History
Stories exploring the origins, people, events, and curiosities that shaped the past.
How Dr. Seuss Got His Name
How a Dartmouth drinking punishment during Prohibition pushed Theodor Geisel to publish under a pseudonym—and helped introduce the world to Dr. Seuss.
Read storyMark Hofmann and the Oath of a Freeman
How a master forger’s counterfeit Oath of a Freeman drew in the Library of Congress—and unraveled through murder.
Read storyMount Rushmore
The unfinished vision behind Mount Rushmore—from a tourism proposal and four presidential faces to an abandoned inscription and hidden Hall of Records.
Read storyThe Great Molasses Flood
The story of the 1919 Boston disaster, when a ruptured storage tank sent a deadly wave of molasses through the North End.
Read storyThe Statue of Liberty
How a French gift became an enduring American icon—and how its meaning evolved through ceremony, immigration, politics, and popular memory.
Read story