On May 21, 1796, George Washington’s family sat down for dinner at a house on Market Street in Philadelphia. In another room, a young woman finished packing her belongings. Her name was Ona Judge. For twelve years, she had been the personal maid to the first lady of the United States. She was not escaping … Read more
A sensational murder trial that captivated the nation at the turn of the 20th century began when John Collins, a respected real estate businessman in Kansas, was found shot dead in his home. His wife, Grace, claimed a stranger had entered their home in the early hours of May 13, 1898, and committed the murder. … Read more
I am sixty-eight years old, and I never imagined that at my age I would still have to prove my worth to anyone. But there I was, sitting in the cold, sterile waiting room of my own lawyer’s office, the very office my ex-husband had once called a “quaint little hobby,” trying to convince a … Read more
Most of what the outside world believed about Lowell, Massachusetts in the 19th century traces back to a single visit by a man who was there for less than 12 hours. He said as much in *American Notes*. He did not stay long enough to learn that the entire system ran on a supply chain … Read more
Vito Guzzo Jr. , a former Colombo crime family mobster who served nearly three decades behind bars after pleading guilty to five murders, is now a free man—and those who know him are split on what happens next. Guzzo Jr. was released from prison earlier this year after being sentenced to nearly 40 years in … Read more
John Dillinger, the man the FBI once called Public Enemy Number One, was gunned down by federal agents outside the Biograph Theater in Chicago on July 22, 1934. The confrontation ended a nearly year-long manhunt and a crime spree that had terrorized the Midwest during the Great Depression. For years, Dillinger’s gang was accused of … Read more
Elle m’a envoyé un texto pour me dire qu’on avait besoin d’une pause et de ne pas la contacter. J’ai répondu : « D’accord. » Puis j’ai tranquillement annulé chaque réservation de mariage faite à mon nom. Des semaines plus tard, elle a appelé, prête à reprendre les choses là où on les avait laissées, … Read more
Mit navn er Tessa Whitmore, og jeg indså, at mit ægteskab var ved at gå i stykker, før bryllupsblomsterne overhovedet var visnet. Tre nætter efter vi kom hjem, stod min svigermor, Diane, i døråbningen til vores soveværelse, som om hun inspicerede en ejendom. “Dette værelse giver mest mening for mig,” sagde hun og kastede et … Read more
Omar Sharif, one of the most famous actors of the 20th century, died on July 12, 2015, at the age of 83. The Egyptian actor, who had been suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, suffered a heart attack in a Paris hospital, according to his agent. Sharif was a global superstar thanks to his roles in “Lawrence … Read more
The Walton family, founders of Walmart, is the richest family in modern American history, yet they produced exactly one significant building, and it was not a home. The distance between Sam Walton’s modest fieldstone house in small-town Arkansas and his daughter Alice’s $800 million museum reveals more about the family’s trajectory than any financial report … Read more