History Notes

Mid-July, 64 CE, in the heart of Rome, tragedy struck as fire erupted into a massive inferno. Did Emperor Nero, regent at the time, purposely set the city ablaze or merely preside over the disaster? Written by Matthew Reich. Narration by Dr. Nicholas Breyfogle. Video production by Laura Seeger and Dr. Nicholas Breyfogle. A textual version of this video is available at https://origins.osu.edu/read/...

On June 30, 1908, a massive mysterious explosion of a cosmic body shook the skies of Tunguska (in Siberia), on a date that would come to be known as International Asteroid Day. But was it an asteroid? Andy Bruno discusses the history surrounding the event. Written by Andy Bruno. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. Video production by Laura Seeger and Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. A textual versio...

Narrator Nicholas Breyfogle gives voice to author Stephen M. Norris' 10 Great World War II films . Video production by Laura Seeger and Nicholas Breyfogle. A textual version of this video is available at https://origins.osu.edu/connecting-history/top-ten-origins-world-war-ii-films . This is a production of Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective at the Goldberg Center in the Departme...

Haile Selassie’s triumphant return to Ethiopia on May 5, 1941, signaled the re‐establishment of the Solomonic Dynasty and a sovereign Ethiopia. Written by Andrew Carlson. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. Production by Laura Seeger and Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. Video and written versions of this podcase are available at https://origins.osu.edu/milestones/may-2016-emperor-haile-selassie-i-re...

According to the traditional narrative of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Joseph Smith was visited on September 21, 1823 by an angel who told him of an ancient record buried nearby his farm in western New York. Written by Benjamin E. Park. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. Production by Laura Seeger and Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. Video and textual versions of this podcast ar...

The Berlin Airlift began on June 26, 1948, only two days after the Soviet Union's blockade of West Berlin. Written by Ian Gammon. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. A textual version of this video is available at https://origins.osu.edu/read/berlin-airlift . Video production by Laura Seeger and Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. Additional resources: To Save a City: The Berlin Airlift, 1948-1949...

On October 1, 1949, Mao Zedong (1893-1976) stood on the rostrum of Tian’anmen (The Gate of Heavenly Peace) and announced the establishment of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in his strong Hunanese accent. This momentous announcement marked the end of China’s chaotic era of foreign domination since the mid-18th century and of frequent governmental upheavals after 1911. Written by Cruz Guan. Na...

In the late 1820s, Joel Roberts Poinsett introduced the poinsettia plant to Americans, who marveled at its foliage. Written by Lindsay Schakenbach Regele. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. A textual version of this video is available at https://origins.osu.edu/read/poinsettia-day-monroe-doctrine-and-us-mexican-relations. Video production by Laura Seeger and Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. Learn M...

Musicals have sought to bring history to life onstage, with varying degrees of creative license. These are our top ten musicals based on real-life people and events that have shaped the theatre. Written by Lauren Henry. Video production by Laura Seeger and Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. Narrated by Nicholas Breyfogle. A textual version of this podcast is available at https://origins.osu.edu/connecting...

In the Year of Africa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo negotiated independence from Belgium to the rhythm of the country’s greatest export: Congolese rumba. The wildly popular and meaningful genre became a soundtrack to global change. Written by Emily Hardick. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. Production by Laura Seeger and Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. Video and text versions of this podc...

Alice in Wonderland, the little girl created by Oxford mathematician and logician Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, also known as Lewis Carroll, came to life in 1865. While her pinafore and his frockcoat and long wavy hair, which were old fashioned even for their time, catch our eye and distance them from us on the other side of the tumultuous 20th century, our ear tells us a very different story. Written...

Few phenomena are so steeped in wonder as the total solar eclipse. Cultures through history have heralded eclipses as portentous, ominous events. Written by Matthew Smith. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. Video and text versions of this podcast are available at https://origins.osu.edu/read/solar-eclipses-american-history . Video production by Laura Seeger and Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. This...

The date, October 23, 1956, marked the beginning of the ill-fated revolution that ended with the re-imposition of Communist rule and the flight of some 200,000 Hungarians to Western Europe and the United States. It remains a somber anniversary of heroism in defeat that continues to resonate with Hungarians across the globe. Written by Harrison King. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. Video an...

Public memory of the battle for Manila includes a mixture of gratitude toward the Americans, nationalistic defiance, and horror. The liberation claimed the lives of a thousand Americans, 16,000 Japanese, and 100,000 Manileños, one tenth of the population. Written by Gregory Kupsky. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. Video and textual versions of this podcast are available at https://origins.o...

On December 18, 1898, the Jeantaud electric vehicle set the world’s first automotive land speed record of 63.13 km/hr (39.2 mph) over the course of a single kilometer. Although the only electric vehicle at the competition, the Jeantaud handily beat its gasoline-powered competition at the Parc Agricole d’Achères outside Paris. The Jeantaud electric car of 1898 reminds us that electric vehicles once...

After World War II, canned foods became more and more common, along with a smorgasbord of other pre-prepared, processed foods: Jellos, TV dinners, frozen peas, dehydrated juices, and eventually Tangs. On May 12th, 1965, Donald Goerke invented SpaghettiOs, the round, canned cousins of spaghetti. By 2010, over 150 million cans of SpaghettiOs were sold each year; put another way, on average, 720 mill...

The Soviet-German front that opened with Operation Barbarossa proved to be the decisive theater of the Second World War. Written by Ian Johnson. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. Video and textual versions of this podcast are available at https://origins.osu.edu/milestones/operation-barbarossa . Video production by Katherine Weiss, Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle, and Laura Seeger. This is a produ...

When we think about Martian explorers today, we mostly hear about two rovers that trawl small zones of the planet: the Opportunity rover that exceeded a marathon's distance in 2015, and the Curiosity rover that is trying to track down habitability in the planet's ancient past. Neither of these rovers would have been possible, however, without the Marnier 9 mission, that began in 1971. Writ...

On April 6, 1896, the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games filled a refurbished Panathenaic stadium to its 50,000 capacity, with similar numbers of spectators thronging the adjacent streets and surrounding hillsides. Written by John R. and Margaret M. Gold. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. Video and textual versions of this podcast are available at https://origins.osu.edu/milestones/reviva...

President Harry Truman signed the European Recovery Act into law on April 3, 1948. The Marshall Plan, as it’s more commonly known, was intended to revive the economies of war-torn Western Europe. Extending nearly $13 billion to primarily France, the United Kingdom, Italy, and West Germany, the program was an ambitious foreign aid effort and an unprecedented display of U.S. global power. Written by...

On April 20th, 1914, Colorado state militiamen attacked a massive tent colony erected by striking miners and their families who had been evicted from their company homes, killing eighteen of them, including women and children. The attack sparked a pitched battle. Between September 1913 and the end of April 1914, 75-100 people were killed and dozens more injured and jailed. Written by Scott Ward. N...

Espionage has become more complex and increasingly valuable. The times change, but spies remain. Here are ten of history’s top spies. Written by Robert J. Kodosky. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. Video and textual versions of this podcast are available at https://origins.osu.edu/connecting-history/top-ten-origins-spies-lies-and-moles-oh-my. Video production by Laura Seeger, Dr. Nicholas B....

On March 12, 2004, South Korea’s then President Roh Moo-hyun was impeached, a historic first for the Republic. Written by David Fields and Jinwan Park. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. Video and textual versions of this podcast are available at https://origins.osu.edu/read/impeachment-roh-moo-hyun-and-patterns-south-korean-politics . Production by Katherine Weiss, Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle,...

On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther, a monk and professor of theology at the University of Wittenberg, circulated his 95 Theses—95 statements critiquing what he saw as papal abuses of power. Written by Karen Spierling. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. Textual and video versions of this podcast are available at https://origins.osu.edu/milestones/october-2017-martin-luther-and-reformation . Vi...

When Idi Amin, commander of the Ugandan Army, seized power in Uganda on 25 January 1971, there was hope among many Ugandans that a new beginning beckoned. Written by Richard Reid. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. Textual and video versions of this podcast are available at https://origins.osu.edu/milestones/idi-amins-uganda-coup-1971 . Video production by Katherine Weiss, Dr. Nicholas B. Bre...