History Notes

On April 13, 1919, in Jallianwala Bagh, a square near the Sikh Golden Temple of Amritsar in India, British soldiers led by Colonel Reginald Dyer fired on an unarmed, non-violent crowd of Indians. Learn  what led up to the massacre and its repercussions.   Written by Archana Venkatesh. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. A textual version of this video is available at http://origins.o...

The Black Death was the second pandemic of bubonic plague and the most devastating pandemic in world history. It was a descendant of the ancient plague that had afflicted Rome, from 541 to 549 CE, during the time of emperor Justinian. The bubonic plague, caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, persisted for centuries in wild rodent colonies in Central Asia and, somewhere in the early 1300s, mutat...

Because of COVID-19, N95 respirators and cloth masks—their availability and their efficacy—now dominate the news and are at the heart of often vitriolic public debates. Both futuristic and somehow archaic at the same time, millions now depend on their use to prevent infection of a potentially deadly illness.   Written by James Esposito. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. A textual versio...

Recent estimates suggest that the 1918 flu claimed as many as 50 million lives around the world between 1918 and 1919, killing more people in a single year than the entire “Black Death” of the 14th century. On its centennial anniversary, it is worth remembering the history of the “Spanish” flu and how it set us on the path towards our modern flu vaccine.   Written by Dr. Jim Harris. Narration...

As the world grapples with the ongoing pandemic of COVID-19, it is important to remember that this is not the first but rather the seventh human coronavirus that scientists have discovered since the mid-1960s (four of which just cause a common cold in humans).   Written by Dr. Jim Harris. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. A textual version of this video is available at http://origins.os...

2017 marked the 70th anniversary of two nations, India and Pakistan. Their independence from the British Empire in 1947 prompted a wave of decolonization that spread across Asia and Africa. Yet alongside the victories of independence came the tragedies of partition, whereby British-ruled India was divided into two separate, independent states.   Written by Mytheli Sreenivas. Narration by Dr....

A pivotal date in Russian history is October 24, 1917, when the Bolsheviks began what is known as the October revolution.    Written by David Hoffmann. Narration by Nicholas B. Breyfogle. A textual version of this video is available at http://go.osu.edu/october-revolution-... .   This is a production of Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective at the Goldberg Center in the...

Elizabeth Cady Stanton, famed women’s rights activist, is most closely associated with advocating the right to vote for women and helping to orchestrate the first women’s rights convention at Seneca Falls, NY in 1848.   Written by Peggy Solic. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. A textual version of this video is available at http://go.osu.edu/ecstanton .   This is a production of Or...

More than any other event of the eighteenth century, the French Revolution, which began in 1789, changed the face of modern politics across Europe and the world.   Written by Mircea Platon. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. A textual version of this video is available at http://origins.osu.edu/milestones/jul... .   This is a production of Origins: Current Events in Historical Persp...

Bartolomé de las Casas, sickened by the exploitation and physical degradation of the indigenous peoples in the Spanish colonies of the Caribbean, gave up his extensive land holdings and slaves and traveled to his homeland in Spain in 1515 to petition the Spanish Crown to stop the abuses that European colonists were inflicting upon the natives of the New World. Learn more about Bartolomé de las Cas...

Written and narrated by Dr. Hasan Kwame Jeffries. A textual version of this video is available at http://origins.osu.edu/milestones/apr... .   This is a production of Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective at the Goldberg Center in the Department of History at The Ohio State University and the Department of History at Miami University. Be sure to subscribe to our channel to receive...

Written and narrated by Jessica Viñas-Nelson.   In the wake of Donald Trump’s failure to immediately condemn the Ku Klux Klan and neo-Nazis following the events in Charlottesville, VA by condemning violence “on both sides,” he repeated a long history of blaming others for acts of terror perpetrated by white supremacists. To put Charlottesville in context, in this video we'll  review the...

A Top Ten Origins Video. In the midst of a migration crisis in Europe and strident talk by some American politicians about Mexican immigrants coming to the United States, people around the world are resorting to an old strategy: building walls. Historically, walls have a decidedly mixed record in achieving their goals to keep some people in and other out. While good fences may make good neighbors,...

Written by Dr. Elizabeth Bond. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle.  A textual version of this video is available at http://origins.osu.edu/milestones/jan... .   This is a production of Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective at the Goldberg Center in the Department of History at The Ohio State University and the Department of History at Miami University. Be sure to subscrib...

With the release of Marvel's "Black Panther" film, historian Thomas F. McDow explores the real historical origins of the fictional country of Wakanda and its roots in a Cold War crisis and an African mine.   Written and narrated by Prof. Thomas McDow. A textual version of this video is available at   http://origins.osu.edu/connecting-his... .    This is a production of Origins:...

The Normandy Invasion (June 6, 1944) was the supreme joint effort of the Western Allies in Europe in World War II and remains today one of the best known campaigns of the war.   Written by Greg Hope and narrated by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. A textual version of this video is available at http://origins.osu.edu/connecting-his... .   This is a production of Origins: Current Events in Hist...

Organized by the U.S. Socialist Party, it brought together an audience of 1,500 women who demanded economic and political equality, on a day officially dedicated to “the female workers’ causes.” The following year, women gathered in New York for a similar celebration. Inspired by these American initiatives, European socialists soon followed suit. Find out more in this video about International Wom...

There is perhaps no greater challenge facing humanity (and all species on the planet) than climate change. This podcast explores the top ten most important things you should know about it.   Written by Sam White. Narration by Patrick Potyondy. Audio production by Paul Kotheimer.