Manhattan mit World Trade Center / New York(GERMANY OUT) New York (Stadt). New York, USA: Skyline von Manhattan mit den Türmen des World Trade Centers. WTC, Twin Towers.

The first Soviet atomic bomb test, 1949. (Credit: Sovfoto/UIG via Getty Images)

How Portugal Kicked Off the Age of Exploration

Ousamequin, chief of the Wampanoag signs a peace treaty with Governor John Carver (1576 - 1621).

Author Zora Neale Hurston (1903-1960). (Credit: Corbis/Getty Images)

Columbus fleet: Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria

Writer, feminist, poet and civil-rights activist Audre Lorde (1934-1992) poses for a photograph during her 1983 residency at the Atlantic Center for the Arts in New Smyrna Beach, Florida.

All the Ways Teddy Roosevelt Supported Women’s Rights

How the Salem Witch Trials Influenced the U.S. Justice System

Who Were the Main Accusers in the Salem Witch Trials?

Sarah Pruitt is a writer and editor based in seacoast New Hampshire. She has been a frequent contributor to History.com since 2005, and is the author of Breaking History: Vanished! (Lyons Press, 2017), which chronicles some of history's most famous disappearances.

Sarah Pruitt

Sarah Pruitt is a writer and editor based in seacoast New Hampshire. She has been a frequent contributor to History.com since 2005, and is the author of Breaking History: Vanished! (Lyons Press, 2017), which chronicles some of history&#8217;s most famous disappearances.

Sarah Pruitt Archives | History.com

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Sarah Pruitt is a writer and editor based in seacoast New Hampshire. She has been a frequent contributor to History.com since 2005, and is the author of Breaking History: Vanished! (Lyons Press, 2017), which chronicles some of history's most famous disappearances.

Nuclear Weapons

Great Britain

Colonial America was a vast land settled by Spanish, Dutch, French and English immigrants who established colonies such as St. Augustine, Florida; Jamestown, Virginia; and Roanoke in present-day North Carolina.

Colonial America

Thanksgiving, which occurs on the fourth Thursday in November, is based on the colonial Pilgrims' 1621 harvest meal. The holiday continues to be a day for Americans to gather for a day of feasting, football and family.

Thanksgiving

In the 15th century, Europeans began to sail west across the Atlantic Ocean in search of new routes to China and the East, but in the process they discovered an entirely New World: North and South America, plus many other lands.

Exploration

Native American history spans an array of diverse groups and leaders like Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse and Tecumseh, and events like the Trail of Tears, the French and Indian War and the Battle of the Little Bighorn.

Native American History

The fight for women's rights and women's suffrage, which predated the famous Seneca Falls Convention of 1848, is one of the most important civil rights struggles in U.S. history.

Women's Rights

From raising families to leading armies, women such as Catherine the Great, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Queen Elizabeth I, Susan B. Anthony, Marie Curie and countless others have played a vital role in human civilization.

Women’s History

Cowboy. Soldier. Statesman. Conservationist. Adventurer. Reformer. Theodore Roosevelt was the youngest president in American history—and arguably one of the most fascinating. Deeply ambitious and endlessly resilient—he once delivered an 84-minute speech bleeding from a gunshot wound to the chest—Roosevelt helped propel the nation into the 20th century with his progressive domestic reforms and his expansive, “big stick” foreign policy.

Roosevelt

In the Roaring Twenties, a surging economy created an era of mass consumerism, as Jazz-Age flappers flouted Prohibition laws and the Harlem Renaissance redefined arts and culture.

Roaring Twenties

Explore centuries of Native American history and heritage.&nbsp;

Native Americans

Folklore is the age-old traditions, music, stories and superstitions that help define human culture. Discover the truth behind legends such as the Bermuda Triangle, zombies, werewolves, witches, vampires, Robin Hood and more.

Folklore

September-11-pentagon-attack-survivors-evacuation

Queen Elizabeth II

South America is a large continent with a rich history including fascinating people and places like the Inca, Machu Picchu, Che Guevara, Augusto Pinochet, Easter Island and more.

South America

From religious and patriotic observances to celebrations of ethnic pride, explore the history of Halloween, Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, St. Patrick's Day, New Year's Day, Valentine's Day, Memorial Day and more.

Holidays

<a href="https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/world-war-ii-history">World War II</a> was the biggest and deadliest war in history, involving more than 30 countries. Sparked by the 1939 Nazi invasion of Poland, the war dragged on for six bloody years until the Allies defeated Nazi Germany and Japan in 1945.

World War II

The Middle Ages, the medieval period of European history between the fall of the Roman Empire and the beginning of the Renaissance, are sometimes referred to as the "Dark Ages."

Middle Ages

The Cold War rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union lasted for decades and resulted in anti-communist suspicions and international incidents that led the two superpowers to the brink of nuclear disaster.

Cold War

Black History Month is an annual celebration of achievements by African Americans and a time for recognizing their central role in U.S. history. From Harriet Tubman’s Underground Railroad to the Montgomery Bus Boycott to Selma to Montgomery March to the Black Lives Matter movement, Black leaders, artists and writers have helped shaped the character and identity of a nation.

Black History

February is dedicated as Black History Month, honoring the triumphs and struggles of African Americans throughout U.S. history, including the civil rights movement and their artistic, cultural and political achievements.

Women’s History Month is an annual celebration of women’s contributions to history, culture and society. Women’s history in the United States has been full of trailblazers and pioneers: Women who fought for their rights, worked hard to be treated equally and made great strides in fields like science, politics, sports, literature and art.

Women's History

Russia, the largest nation in the world, has a colorful history that includes the Romanov family, the Russian Revolution, Vladimir Lenin, Joseph Stalin, pogroms, the KGB, the fall of the Soviet Union and more.

Russia

The U.S. Constitution, signed on September 17, 1787, created America’s federal government, established fundamental laws and legal structures while guaranteeing certain basic rights for American citizens.

Sarah Pruitt ‑ Stories

Queen Elizabeth II, UK’s Longest Serving Monarch, Dies at 96

How Teddy Roosevelt Supported Women’s Rights

What Are the Four Waves of Feminism?

7 Writers of the Harlem Renaissance

Why the Wampanoag Signed a Peace Treaty with the Mayflower Pilgrims

How Inca Mummies Ruled Over the Living

How the Salem Witch Trials Influenced the American Legal System

Salem Witch Trials: Who Were the Main Accusers?

How Portugal’s Seafaring Expertise Launched the Age of Exploration

How the Columbian Exchange Brought Globalization—And Disease

7 Facts About the 1993 World Trade Center Bombing

8 Spies Who Leaked Atomic Bomb Intelligence to the Soviets