PODCAST · history
Historical Snapshots
by Short stories about people.
Honor people. Understand the past. historicalsnapshots.substack.com
Episodes
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The Day the Mona Lisa Disappeared
A painter named Louis Béroud walked into the Salon Carré of the Louvre to sketch the Mona Lisa on Tuesday morning, August 22, 1911. But when he arrived at her usual place, Louis found four iron pegs and a blank wall where the painting should have been. Louis asked a guard. The man assumed the...
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John Adams Defends British Troops
March 5, 1770, was a bitterly cold evening in Boston, Massachusetts. A heavy snowstorm had left the narrow streets cloaked in a foot of snow. It was not a night for lingering outdoors. But just after nine o’clock, a bell shattered the stillness, clanging the alarm for a fire in the city, which…
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Isaac Burns Murphy
In the first decades of American thoroughbred racing, black jockeys were among the masters of the sport. They rode the best horses, won the richest races, and helped make racing one of the great spectacles of nineteenth-century America. And among them, none stood higher than Isaac Burns Murphy....
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The Road to Father’s Day
The mines beneath Monongah, West Virginia, blew apart on the morning of December the sixth, 1907. The blast tore through the tunnels and broke airshafts, leaving three hundred and sixty-two men and boys dead by the official count. Many in those hills believed that the count was too low, for the...
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The Love of Theodore Roosevelt and Alice Hathaway Lee
Alice Hathaway Lee exuded grace and was full of energy. Enchanting, some said. She stood 5'7" and was slender, with blue-gray eyes and long, golden hair. Family members called her "sunshine." In so many ways, she was what Theodore Roosevelt was not. History remembers Theodore as tough, an...
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The Statue of Liberty Comes to America
The statue that would become one of the most famous in the world arrived in New York Harbor on the morning of June 17, 1885. The ship that carried her, the French man-of-war Isère, had come to anchor in the Horseshoe, off Sandy Hook, twenty-seven days out from France, the early part of it through...
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Julius Rosenwald
There is a fundamental teaching in Judaism called Tikkun Olam. It means repairing the world. For Julius Rosenwald, this idea was a way of life. Julius had become quite wealthy in his adult years, likely one of the richest men in America at the time. But becoming so had been quite the journey. His...
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The George Washington Presidency
Hi everyone, Welcome back to Historical Snapshots Conversations. Our guest today is Alexis Coe, and our discussion is about George Washington. There are many conversations we can have about him, but our focus today is on Washington becoming President. A little about Alexis: she’s a Presidential...
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East Germany: From Rise to Fall
Hi everyone, Welcome back to Historical Snapshots Conversations. Today I’m joined by Katja Hoyer for a discussion about East Germany, from its rise after World War II in 1949 to its collapse with the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, and some reflections on what has followed. A little about Katja:...
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The Filles du Roi
Hi everyone, Our guest today is Kerry Chaput, and our conversation is about the Filles du Roi (“The King’s Daughters”), a program initiated by the French Crown that sent approximately 800 women to the colony of New France, now part of Canada, between 1663 and 1673. The purpose was to help…
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Queen Elizabeth II: A Conversation with Sally Bedell Smith
Hi everyone, Our guest today is Sally Bedell Smith. This is Sally’s second time on the podcast. In our first conversation, we talked about King George VI and Elizabeth, and how their marriage saved the monarchy. Today, we’ll be discussing the life of their daughter, Queen Elizabeth II. Sally’s...
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The Meiji Restoration
Hi everyone, Our guest today is Christopher Harding and our Conversation is about the Meiji Restoration, which transformed Japan in the late 19th century. A little about Christopher: He’s a cultural historian & broadcaster based at the University of Edinburgh. He writes about Japan, India &...
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The Life of Anne Boleyn
Hi everyone, Welcome back to Historical Snapshots Conversations. Our guest today is Philippa Lacey Brewell. Philippa is a history writer, presenter and owner and founder of British History Tours, a company for those who love British History, and British History Events. One of Philippa’s tours is...
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The 1929 Hebron Massacre
Hi everyone, Our conversation today is with Yardena Schwartz, author of Ghosts of a Holy War. The book tells the story of the 1929 massacre in Mandatory Palestine and its aftershocks which continue to reverberate today. For our conversation, we’ll focus more specifically on the riot in Hebron, in...
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George VI and Elizabeth: The Marriage That Saved the Monarchy
Hi everyone, Our guest today is Sally Bedell Smith, author of George VI and Elizabeth: The Marriage That Saved a Monarchy. The book is the definitive biography of the late Queen Elizabeth II’s mother and father, based for the first time on special access to their letters and diaries in the Royal...
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U.S. Tariffs
Hi everyone, Today's Conversation episode will focus on a current affairs issue. We'll discuss the changes around U.S. tariffs with Alex Yancher, the Co-Founder and CEO of Passport, an end-to-end international solutions provider that helps top ecommerce companies such as Ogee, Hexclad and Ridge...
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Secret Servants of the Crown: The Forgotten Women of British Intelligence
Hi everyone, Our guest today is historian Dr. Claire Hubbard-Hall, author of Secret Servants of the Crown: The Forgotten Women of British Intelligence. The book shares the remarkable and important story of the many vital contributions women in British Intelligence have made and whose stories...
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Palestine 1936: The Great Revolt and the Roots of the Middle East Conflict
Hi everyone, Our guest today is Oren Kessler, author of the book Palestine 1936: The Great Revolt and the Roots of the Middle East Conflict, which won the 2024 Sami Rohr Prize and the Wall Street Journal named one of the 10 Best Books of 2023. It’ll be the topic of our discussion. Oren is a…
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Conversation with Sasha Vasilyuk
Hi everyone, Welcome to the debut episode of the Historical Snapshots Conversations podcast. Our first guest is Sasha Vasilyuk, journalist and author of the new novel Your Presence Is Mandatory, a historical fiction story based on real events about a Soviet WWII soldier with a lifelong secret and...
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A History of the Word "Salary"
Today, the word "salary" conjures images of modern work and paychecks. Yet, how did the word come to be? To trace its history is to walk the corridors of time back to a Rome defined by legions, colosseums, and a vital substance that shaped its economy. Salt. In modern times, salt is an unassuming...
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Julie London
Many remember Julie London for her acting. Particularly for playing Nurse Dixie McCall in the TV series Emergency!. The role earned her a Golden Globe Award nomination in 1974. But Julie was also a music star, a jazz singer who released over thirty albums between 1955 and 1969. While many of her...
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Edith Cowan
Summary: The life story of Edith Cowan, Australia’s first female parliamentarian, who shattered barriers and championed women’s rights and equality. -- On a bright day in 1921, history was made in West Perth, Australia. Edith Cowan, a mother of six and grandmother in her sixties, stood at the...
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Jeanne Baret
We've had a theme recently of writing about women who dressed as men simply to do what women at the time weren't allowed to. Today, we add Jeanne Baret to that list. She became the first woman to circumnavigate the globe when she sailed around the world in the 1760s and 70s. It was amidst the...
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Josephine Cochrane
"If nobody else is going to invent a dishwashing machine, I'll do it myself." - Josephine Cochrane The plate was delicate, a soft white with blue floral edges, and so thin it seemed the sun could shine through it if you held it to the light. It had come from her mother and from her mother before...
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Julius Rosenwald
There is a fundamental teaching in Judaism called Tikkun Olam. It means repairing the world. For Julius Rosenwald, this idea was a way of life. Julius had become quite wealthy in his adult years, likely one of the richest men in America at the time. But becoming so had been quite the journey. His...
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Helen Sawyer Hogg
"During the thousands of years that man has walked upright on this earth, he has looked up with admiration at the beauties of the heavens around him. For less than four centuries of this vast time he has had the advantage of a telescope to help him interpret the lights in the sky. Although the...
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Matthew Henson
Summary: A snapshot biography of Matthew Henson, Arctic explorer and unsung hero, who overcame adversity to reach the North Pole in 1909. -- Matthew Henson was one of the world's great explorers, achieving one of the most sought-after firsts amongst adventurers when he and a small group of men…
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Dr. Adélaïde Hautval
Summary: Snapshot biography of Dr. Adélaïde Hautval, who risked her life to help and save Jewish people during the Holocaust in World War II. Courage has faces. One of those is undoubtedly Adélaïde Hautval. Born on January 1, 1906, in Hohwald, a small Alsatian village nestled in the Vosges...
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John Adams Defends British Troops
Summary: John Adams defends British soldiers after the Boston Massacre, balancing justice and public outrage in a pivotal moment in history. Please note: we’ve kept all quotes in this snapshot in their original form. March 5, 1770, was a bitterly cold evening in Boston, Massachusetts. A heavy...
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Suzanne Lenglen
Summary: Snapshot biography of French tennis legend Suzanne Lenglen, who captivated the world with her victories and style. The numbers are astounding. 250 championships won. Three Olympic medals, six Wimbledon and six French Championship titles. Over her remarkable career, Suzanne Lenglen…
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Nellie Bly
SummaryA short biography of journalist Nellie Bly, who's daring exposé in a New York insane asylum revealed shocking truths and drove reform. -- In 1887, 23-year-old Elizabeth Cochrane, who would become known to the world as Nellie Bly, was an inspiring journalist looking for her next assignment....
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Sarah Josepha Hale
Summary: snapshot biography of Sarah Josepha Hale, writer of the nursery rhyme "Mary Had a Little Lamb," and an advocate for Thanksgiving as a national holiday. Sarah Josepha Hale is known as the "Mother of Thanksgiving." It's a well-deserved nickname. In 1846, Sarah, who became famous in part…
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Gertrude Ederle
Summary: Snapshot biography of Gertrude Ederle, who was a champion swimmer and the first woman to swim across the English Channel. On a breezy morning in August 1926, nineteen-year-old Gertrude Ederle jumped into the cold waters of the English Channel. With her muscles relaxed from some rest…
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The First Car
Summary: Snapshot history of the world's first car. Transcript: The world was changing rapidly in the late 19th century. Railways crisscrossed continents, and factories hummed with the sounds of industrialization. Yet, transportation in cities and towns remained stubbornly tethered to horse-drawn...
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Dr. James Barry
A snapshot biography of Dr. James Barry, who unbeknownst to most was a woman practicing medicine for decades as a man during the 19th century. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit...
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The Boston Tea Party
Snapshot of the Boston Tea Party, which was an act of defiance that helped ignite the path to the American Revolution. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit historicalsnapshots.substack.com/subscribe
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Isaac Burns Murphy
A snapshot biography of Isaac Burns Murphy, who is widely regarded as the greatest jockey of all time. Sources and text: https://historicalsnaps.com/2024/11/11/the-greatest-jockey-isaac-burns-murphy/ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to...
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Doris Miller
On the morning of December 7th, 1941, Doris Miller, or Dorie as his friends called him, was working as a mess attendant, serving breakfast and collecting laundry, on the battleship West Virginia in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. He had been a U.S. Navy veteran for two years now, joining at the age of…
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Leonie von Zesch
In profession, Leonie von Zesch was a dentist. In personality, she was the greatest of adventurers. Nothing seemed to scare her, and she found creative solutions to seemingly any problem. Leonie grew up in a time when women rarely went to college and even less earned advanced degrees. Yet, she...
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Fyodor Dostoevsky
December 22, 1849, Saint Petersburg, Russia. Fyodor Dostoevsky, just twenty-eight years old, stands with five other men facing a firing squad, awaiting execution. But then, just as the firing squad prepares to begin, a messenger arrives. He delivers a reprieve from the Tsar - there will be no...
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Anna & Her Sister
Anna Stein took her first breath on a makeshift bed in a crowded Warsaw Ghetto apartment in 1940. At the time, not even a year had passed since the Nazis took over Poland and mandated all Warsaw Jewish people to live within a small neighborhood confined by ten-foot walls. The Warsaw Ghetto, as it...
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Sissieretta Jones
She was an enormous talent who could sing with the best. One could argue that she was the best. Sissieretta Jones, or Madame Jones as she liked to be called, captivated audiences with her beautiful and pleasing voice. And in a time when black performers tended to entertain black audiences, she…
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Robert Gould Shaw
It is desirable to paint a pure picture of a man as special in history as Robert Gould Shaw. He deserves that for the sacrifices he made during the U.S. Civil War. Yet, part of life is growing and recognizing misshaped or uninformed perspectives. Robert did just that, and that, too, is a part of...
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John Mercer Langston
John Mercer Langston was born to a mixed-race couple in 1829, a time when interracial relationships were highly taboo and often illegal. His father, Ralph Quarles, was a white plantation owner who held enslaved people, including John's mother, Lucy Langston. Despite the prevailing social norms,...
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Isadora Duncan
Isadora Duncan, often hailed as the "Mother of Modern Dance," revolutionized the art form with her free-spirited and expressive style. She became a pivotal figure in the dance world, breaking away from traditional ballet and laying the groundwork for modern dance. "Before I was born my mother was...
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Abraham Lincoln: The President with a Patent
Text for story: https://historicalsnaps.com/2024/05/23/abraham-lincoln-the-president-with-a-patent/ Historical Snapshots is a reader-supported publication. Become a paid subscriber to receive long-form stories and help support history storytelling. Sources: * “6469 : Abraham Lincoln, Springfield,...
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Charles Alfred Anderson
Text for story available here: https://historicalsnaps.com/2024/05/21/aviation-pioneer-the-charles-alfred-chief-anderson-story/ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit historicalsnapshots.substack.com/subscribe
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The Homestead Act of 1862
On May 20, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln, the man with a face as etched and weathered as the divided land he governs, takes his place at his desk. Before him is a document destined to change the American landscape and the lives of millions of Americans. With deliberate care, President Lincoln...
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Dr. Anandibai Joshi
Anandibai Joshi journeyed from India to the U.S. to pursue a medical school education in 1883. Prior to leaving, she wrote her sponsor, a wealthy woman from New Jersey who, over years of correspondence, had become akin to family, “You have reason to think that this very distant voyage will be...
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Dr. Rosalyn Sussman Yalow
Dr. Rosalyn Sussman Yalow was born to Russian immigrant parents in New York City on July 19, 1921, and grew up in the Bronx. Her upbringing was modest yet deeply enriched by her parents' emphasis on education. Encouraged by her father, a laborer in the garment industry, and her mother, a...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Honor people. Understand the past.
historicalsnapshots.substack.com
HOSTED BY
Short stories about people.
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Historical Snapshots currently has 54 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
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Honor people. Understand the past. historicalsnapshots.substack.com
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Historical Snapshots has 54 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
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