History Notes

Although observations and attempted treatments of diabetes date back to ancient times, the most important milestone occurred when a new treatment—insulin injection—was first successfully used on January 23, 1922. Written by Jim Harris. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. A textual version of this podcast is available at https://origins.osu.edu/read/first-insulin-injection-treatment-diabetes ....

Beginning on November 20, 1945, the International Military Tribunal consisting of representatives from the United States, Great Britain, France, and the Soviet Union—the four major Allied powers—worked together to bring 22 former Nazi leaders and their organizations to justice. Written by Francine Hirsch. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. A textual version of this podcast is available at htt...

Augustus had an almost unmatched impact on Roman politics, culture, and society and—through the widespread influence of Rome—on the way modern countries structure and imagine themselves. Written by Brendan McCarthy. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. A textual version of this podcast is available at https://origins.osu.edu/milestones/august-2014-celebrating-roman-emperor-augustus . Production...

Few place names in American history produce such a visceral response as Pearl Harbor, the Hawaiian bay that housed the U.S. Pacific Fleet in 1941. Learn about the history of the attack on Pearl Harbor. Written by Greg Hope. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. A textual version of this video is available at https://origins.osu.edu/milestones/december-2016-pearl-harbor . Video production by Laur...

On July 28, 1951, representatives of 26 states, meeting in Geneva under the auspices of the United Nations, signed the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees. Written by Eric H. Limbach. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. A textual version of this podcast is available at https://origins.osu.edu/milestones/defining-refugees-1921-and-1951 . Production by Katherine Weiss, Dr. Nicholas B....

Rosetta Tharpe crossed many boundaries: of genre (playing both gospel and secular music), of gender (playing in a “male” style on a “male” instrument), and even of sexuality. Written by Delano Lopez. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. A textual version of this podcast is available at https://origins.osu.edu/milestones/march-2015-mother-rock-and-roll . Video production by Katherine Weiss, Dr....

On July 1, 1927, the Nicaraguan revolutionary leader Augusto Nicolás Calderón de Sandino, a.k.a. Augusto “César” Sandino, proclaimed his manifesto extolling continued Nicaraguan resistance against U.S. intervention in his country. Written by Craig Verniest. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. A textual version of this video is available at https://origins.osu.edu/read/sandino-manifesto-nicarag...

Besides the Wilsonian internationalists, who wanted the Treaty and Covenant ratified unchanged, there were those who wanted to add so-called reservations to the treaties: conditions to U.S. acceptance and participation in the League that the other signatories would have to accept. Written by Thomas W. Bottelier. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. A textual version of this video is available a...

On Sunday, 18 March 1962 the Algerian War for Independence came to an end. At least, on paper. That paper, simply entitled “Declarations Drawn up in Common Agreement,” was signed in a town on the French side of Lake Geneva better known for its bottled water than its role in diplomatic history: Evian-les-Bains. Written by Andrew H. Bellisari. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. A textual versio...

On March 9, 1848, the twenty-three members of the Hanau People’s Commission—leading citizens of the small German city on the Main River, upstream from Frankfurt—declared their participation in the quickly-spreading upheaval of the March Revolutions of 1848. Written by Eric H. Limbach. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. Video production by Katherine Weiss, Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle, and Laura...

Here, David Harmon offers ten “Moments of Insight” that he has had in the parks over the years. The list should be understood as a representative sample of the kinds of introspective experiences the parks offer, rather than as a ranking of the best—something that really is impossible, since all of us bring different sets of values and expectations to our national park experiences.  (Author’s Note,...

On May 23rd 1951, the "Seventeen Point Agreement of the Central People’s Government and the Local Government of Tibet on Measures for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet" was signed. This agreement legitimized claims of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) over Tibet and retroactively justified the previous year’s military invasion of eastern Tibet by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Wri...

Fifty years ago, in December 1969, the Provisional IRA was born from the widespread religious violence that had wracked the six counties of Northern Ireland since the preceding August. From modest beginnings, the Provisionals became the most important and dangerous separatist paramilitary group during the thirty-year conflict in Northern Ireland known as the Troubles. Written by Jeffrey W. Lewis....

In the early morning of May 13, 1862, several enslaved crewmembers of the Confederate steamer CSS Planter boarded the vessel along with their families. Taking advantage of the fact that their white officers had left the ship against regulations, they successfully maneuvered the ship through the Charleston harbor, past Confederate fortifications, and to the Union fleet blockading the city. The arch...

Japan’s Meiji Restoration, or Meiji Ishin , occurred on January 3, 1868, and marked the return of the Japanese emperor to a position of power for the first time in more than 500 years. Written by Tristan Grunow. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. Video and textual versions of this video are available at https://origins.osu.edu/read/japans-meiji-restoration . Video production by Cody Patton, L...

The Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified on August 18, 1920, stating “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.” Written by By Maxine Wagenhoffer. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. Audio and video production by Cody Patton, Laura Seeger, and Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. Textua...

After John, Paul, George and Ringo brought the British Invasion across the Atlantic, rock and roll saw a resurgence that helped cement what many people called “race music” as a core part of American identity. Written by Karen Robertson. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. Audio production by Laura Seeger, Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle, and Cody Patton. Textual and video versions of this podcast ar...

On June 28th, 1969 a belligerent and diverse crowd led an uprising at New York’s Stonewall Inn. The event has become iconic in popular memory as the spark for a new radical lesbian and gay activism. Written by Marc Arenberg. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. Podcast production by Cody Patton, Laura Seeger, and Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. Textual and video versions of this podcast are availabl...

Among the many states with eugenics legislation, Virginia is infamous for its legal campaign to forcibly sterilize Carrie Buck in 1927 and thereby entrench sterilization abuse as the law of the land. Written by Alexandra Fair. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. Podcast production by Laura Seeger, Cody Patton, and Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. A video and textual version of this podcast is availa...

The “Boston Massacre,” was a turning-point in relations between American colonists and British authorities, and provided one of the sparks that would ignite the American Revolution. Written by Michael Kraemer. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. Video production by Cody Patton, Laura Seeger, and Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. A textual version of this video is available at https://origins.osu.edu/...

The 1887 passage of the Dawes Act upended this system of communal land ownership and, in doing so, struck a historic blow at Native Americans’ political rights, economic sufficiency, and cultural heritage. Written by John Bickers. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. Video production by Cody Patton, Laura Seeger, and Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. A textual version of this video is available at htt...

The Zaporozhian Cossacks were a daring and fearsome people of the fifteenth through eighteenth centuries whose adventures fill Ukrainian lore and inspire an enduring Ukrainian spirit of independence and daring. Written by Alisa Ballard Lin. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. Video production by Svetlana Ter-Grigoryan, Laura Seeger, and Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. A textual version of this vide...

Many observers have been surprised that this war has a religious dimension. Yet its roots lie in the intertwined but separate religious histories of Ukraine and Russia. Written by Heather J. Coleman. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. Audio production by Svetlana Ter-Grigoryan, Laura Seeger, and Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. Textual and video versions of this podcast are available at https://ori...

Just past noon on Monday May 4, 1970, a squadron of Ohio National Guardsmen opened fire at a loose collection of students gathered across an expanse of leafy lawns and campus parking lots at Kent State University in northeastern Ohio. Four students were killed. Nine others were wounded. With that, the forces of order in the United States had launched a shooting war against their own children. Writ...

On the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, the Armistice went into effect, silencing the guns of the Western Front and ending the First World War. Or so the story goes. But when did the First World War end? November 11, 1918? June 28, 1919? Or was it later? Written by Julie M. Powell. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. Audio production by Cody Patton, Laura Seeger, and Dr...