By: Simon Devereaux Their Own Executioners Shortly after two o’clock on the afternoon of Saturday, 19 September 1789, the last act of the sessions at Justice Hall in the Old Bailey began. London’s accused capital offenders were tried here eight times yearly. Those who were convicted and received sentence of death or transportation remained …
By: David S. Jones The decimation of American Indian populations that followed European arrival in the Americas was one of the most shocking demographic events of the last millennium. Indian populations declined by as much as 95 percent in the first century after the arrival of Christopher Columbus, prompting one historian to conclude that “early …
By: Edmund Russell IT WAS, evolutionary biologist Theodosius Dobzhansky wrote in 1937, “probably the best proof of the effectiveness of natural selection yet obtained.”1 If we were guessing what Dobzhansky had in mind, we might nominate some of the classic examples from evolutionary biology and paleontology. Charles Darwin’s tortoises in the Galapagos Islands? The rise and …
The invention of paper is attributed to ancient China. Papermaking is traditionally believed to have been invented by Cai Lun, a Chinese eunuch and official during the Eastern Han Dynasty, around 105 CE. Cai Lun’s contribution to papermaking involved the refinement of the process, making it more consistent and practical for widespread use. This invention …
Chinese mythology refers to the myths, legends, and folklore of the collective regions that make up modern China. Originating from rich oral tradition, Chinese mythology and the vibrant history surrounding it are eons old. Today, most of China practices some form of folk religion, Buddhism, or Taoism. Other mainstay religions include Christianity and Islam. What …
The princes in the Tower were the two child princes imprisoned and later killed during the War of the Roses in England. Their story is a very tragic and mysterious one. With so many power-hungry players and ambitious men featured in the story, historians still have not been able to figure out exactly what happened …