Children carried out of the caves on Okinawa in the summer of 1945 did not even have the strength to cry. An American correspondent described them as caked in mud and shivering in the heat, making a sound quieter than crying. The private holding one of them had no instructions for what to do next, … Read more
On the morning of May 2, 1947, Dorothea Binz walked to the gallows at Hamelin prison in British-occupied Germany. Witnesses described her as composed, almost unnervingly so. Her final recorded words were not a confession, nor an apology to the thousands of women she had terrorized. She expressed a hope that those watching would not … Read more
In 2007, inside a notary’s office in Paris, the wealthiest woman in the world signed a will naming photographer François-Marie Banier as her sole heir. The same notary witnessed her asking, in front of the will documents, that he formally adopt her as his son. She was 85 years old and suffering from moderate Alzheimer’s … Read more
In the summer of 1863, a young woman named Jennie Wade found herself at the center of one of the most pivotal battles in American history. Born in Gettysburg twenty years before the conflict, she was one of six children. To help support her family, she worked as a seamstress alongside her mother, Mary Ann … Read more
When the Civil War began, W.H.L. Wallace volunteered as a private with the 11th Illinois Infantry, which was assembled in Springfield. He was soon elected as the unit's colonel. Wallace quickly rose through the ranks. He went on to command a brigade in a division of Ulysses S. Grant’s Army of Tennessee at the Battle … Read more
Elden Merrick was a 46-year-old freight hauler known for his practical, no-nonsense nature. In the winter of 1883, he accepted a job to winter a remote relay station on a mesa, a solitary post that required him to keep the spring from freezing and the buildings intact through the harsh season. The pay was six … Read more
In October 1918, during the final months of World War I, nine companies of the 77th Division became isolated by German forces in the Argonne Forest. The unit, which would become known as the Lost Battalion, was roughly 555 men strong at the start of the action. They were led by Major Charles Whittlesey. The … Read more
Zsa Zsa Gabor was one of the most photographed women of the 20th century, a glamorous Hungarian-born celebrity known for her thick accent, her sharp wit, and her nine marriages. But behind the fur coats, the diamonds, and the quotable one-liners was a life far more complicated, and far more painful, than any headline ever … Read more
In the spring of 1891, a veteran well driller named Emil Rantala stopped his drill at 78 feet on a farm 11 miles west of Tower, Minnesota. The bit wasn’t broken. But the marks it carried were unlike anything he had seen in 14 years of drilling in that region—the scratches were parallel, evenly spaced, … Read more
Early in the making of The Andy Griffith Show, Andy Griffith made a decision that would define the series. As the proven star, the natural arrangement was obvious: he would deliver the jokes. But when Don Knotts joined the show as Deputy Barney Fife, Griffith watched the balance change. By the second episode, he understood … Read more