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The JFK Memorial at Runnymede provides a link between America’s and Britain’s founding documents.

From medieval myths to Shakespeare’s plays and modern cinema, British culture kept the Roman Empire alive long after its fall.

An extraordinary haberdasher obsessed with buttons, lace collars, and death pioneered modern statistical analysis during the Age of Reason.

Thanks to protocols established centuries ago in Europe, world leaders no longer need to worry about having their heads bashed with an axe.

The documents that convicted the infamous traitor were all kept in this unassuming leather pouch.

Televising the coronation was thought to be an affront to the dignity of the event.

If you don’t mourn in North Korea, you risk being executed.

“Isn’t it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too?”

The debate goes back at least 400 years.

The most celebrated genius in human history didn’t just revolutionize physics, but taught many valuable lessons about living a better life.

From Ramses II to Alexander the Great, these leaders helped shaped the world we know today.

The popular game has a backstory rife with segregation, inequality, intellectual theft, and outlandish political theories.

Its apples taste bad, but institutions all over the world want a descendant or clone of the tree, anyway.

Privateers pillaged British merchant ships in the name of liberty — and profit.

“To be ignorant of causes is to be frustrated in action.” So wrote Francis Bacon, counsel to Queen Elizabeth I of England and key architect of the scientific method. In […]

When the mutual relatives of two royal families died, the countries were likelier to go to war.

The unfamiliar landscape of America’s medical past is marked by bizarre incidents, forgotten breakthroughs and selfless sacrifice.

A bit of planning goes a long way.

Prince William and Kate Middleton have welcomed their third child to the royal family. Find out where the new royal baby falls in the line of succession to the throne.

What do puppies, world monarchies, and Abraham Lincoln have in common? Why, they’re all part of our awesome series (drumroll, please) Random Fact Roundup!

Sibling rivalries can lead to some impressive moments in history, how did these seven sets of siblings do?

The U.S. government has shut down 18 times in the past four decades, but this most recent instance has proven unique.

Most marriages end in resentment. Why should longevity be the sole marker of a successful marriage?    

A handful of noble families own large tracts of the British capital – and have done so for centuries

History’s most powerful female leaders, ranked.

Did you know the Metro to Embarcadero Station passes through a buried Gold Rush ship?

Late night comedians are taking on The Man like it’s their job.

Two recent announcements—well, one announcement and one pronouncement—are making the rounds: popular self-help author Marianne Williamson has thrown herself into the political ring by running for the congressional seat in […]

There’s no simple answer. Recently in the New Yorker, Elizabeth Kolbert gave us an evenhanded review of two conflicting perspectives on population levels, offering a sobering assessment of our near […]

On May 24, 1813, just months after publishing Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen went to a show in search of her female hero. ”I dare say Mrs. D[arcy] will be […]