On two separate trips, he traveled throughout the southeastern corner of the North American continent. He collected plants, and seeds, which he sent to interested amateur plantsmen and gardeners, as w

In the early 11th century, an English monk wrote an imaginary conversation between two men haggling over the price of a book. After finally agreeing to a price, they then needed to establish what mea

For more than two centuries, the American South has fascinated Americansand increasingly those outside North America. Its economy, politics, religion, race relations, literature, and food have influe

John Singer Sargent, Henry Cabot Lodge - At the 1920 Republican Convention the journalist and H.L. Mencken observed with great amusement and interest the behavior of Senator Henry Cabot Lodge, the cha

On a wall outside the reading room of the Museo Correr hangs a map of the world. It is not just any map. The oceans are painted cerulean blue, and on their waves travel ships of every nation. On land,

Its no secret that historians love to create periods and errors, and then physically argue about them. We love to talk about the long 18th century, the short 18th century, the long 19th century, the

"The Three-Story Head" - When the Republican convention reconvened on the morning of June 8, 1880, Congressman James A. Garfield of Ohio had precisely two nominations to be the Republican candidate fo

Caravaggio, David and Goliath: a dangling self-portrait - My guest Scott Samuelson didnt visit Rome until he was in his mid 30s. Since then, with COVID exceptions, he has gone to Rome every summer.

When on April 9, 1865, Ulysses S Grant received the surrender of Robert E Lee, one of the staff officers who accompanied him was Ely S. Parker. He was a Lieutenant Colonel in the Union Army, an engin

As the President of the United States prepared to travel to Morocco for a wartime conference, his closest aide and advisor wrote down just why he was going to make the arduous trip. Franklin Roosevelt