Learn about the extraordinary life of Sacagawea’s son, Jean Baptiste

Sacagawea endured personal hardships during the expedition

Despite her critical role as interpreter and guide, Sacagawea faced immense challenges on the journey—including caring for her infant and dealing with her abusive husband, Toussaint Charbonneau.

Jefferson’s Lewis and Clark expedition joined the centuries-long hunt for Northwest Passage

For centuries, leaders pursued a direct seafaring trade route from Europe to Asia. Jefferson joined this quest by sending Lewis and Clark west, though they confirmed no such practical interior route existed across the continent.

The expedition included Clark’s enslaved servant, York

York, Clark’s enslaved servant, played a full role in the expedition—hunting, scouting, and aiding diplomacy with Native nations who were fascinated by his appearance. Despite his contributions, York remained enslaved for some time after the journey, though its uncertain if he remained so for the rest of his life. Explore every member of the Corps of Discovery here.

Joseph Chapman, the 'Forrest Gump' of Santa Barbara history

Joseph Chapman was born in Boston and began his career as a pirate, once raiding the Ortega estate in Santa Barbara. Nearly sentenced to death, Chapman was spared by the intervention of Maria Ortega. The two would marry years later after Chapman reformed his ways, contributing to the agriculture and architecture of coastal California.

John Marshall maintained a lifelong connection to George Washington

Marshall served under Washington in the Continental army, later delivered a memorial address following his death, and chaired the funeral arrangements. He also authored a five-volume, 3,200-page biography, "The Life of George Washington."

Montana's Fort Shaw Indian Boarding School was home to a world champion girls' basketball team

In 1904, the school, featuring players from multiple tribes in Montana and Idaho, won the championship at the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition (also known as the St. Louis World Fair).

Jeff Bezos’ grandfather made his own needles by hand for the cattle on his ranch

Jeff Bezos’ mother gave birth to him at 17 years old, and his grandfather was very involved in his life. Bezos spent much of his childhood helping out on his grandfather’s ranch, for instance. In this short clip, Bezos shares some of his thoughts on his family members and his early years of life.

Sartre was an elaborate prankster as a student

After Charles Lindbergh completed his first solo transatlantic voyage in 1927, the French philosopher—then a student at Paris' École normale supérieure—called various newspapers to tell them the American pilot would be granted an honorary degree. Over 500 people showed up to find a Lindbergh lookalike Sartre had hired. "The public fell for it, and an old man even kissed his hand," Sartre later wrote.

Camus contracted tuberculosis as a teenager

There was still little understanding of treatment for the disease at the time; for most people, a tuberculosis diagnosis was a death sentence. The 17-year-old Camus was quarantined in his uncle's house, where he grew into an avid reader. Scholars note that the experience would inform his later work, including his 1947 novel "The Plague."

Loyola's 98-year-old team chaplain became a beloved figure during the 2018 tournament

Sister Jean became an international celebrity in 2018 when she cheered Loyola Chicago's Ramblers to the Final Four at age 98, inspiring bobbleheads and merchandise before passing away in October 2025 at 106.

Prince was known as a genre-crossing polymath

The son of two Minneapolis jazz musicians, Prince was surrounded by music from a young age. His full name, Prince Rogers, was actually derived from his father's group, the Prince Rogers Trio. He eventually learned how to play his father's piano, teaching himself the themes to popular TV shows. Eventually, he learned other instruments and expanded his music tastes, indulging in records by Sly and the Family Stone, Jimi Hendrix, Joni Mitchell, and more. Below is his junior high school yearbook photo.

What one seventh-century European teen might have looked like

A 16-year-old girl believed to have traveled from Central Europe to England in the seventh century was buried with rare, expensive jewelry. Her body was found in Cambridge, England in 2012, and analysis revealed what her face likely looked like. See...

Sculptor and painter Charles M. Russell focused on the Old West

The Montana artist, known for his realistic portrayals of cowboys and Native American life, began to gain national attention after traveling to New York and establishing connections in the art world. Still, he spent most of his time in Great Falls, Montana, where he completed approximately 4,000 works.

Explore the French palace royals fled from during the 1789 revolution

This virtual reality tour lets viewers explore the Palace of Versailles, which King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette were forced to flee during the French Revolution. Versailles was later made a public establishment by order of King...

The ghost of Bobby Dunbar

In 1912, a four-year-old Louisiana boy went missing for eight months. Contemporary accounts differed in his mother's reaction upon seeing him; some claimed she was overjoyed, others that she didn't recognize him. Shortly after, a second woman claimed the child was hers, though he remained with the first woman. In 2004, DNA analysis determined the child had not been related to the family, suggesting the kidnapping was never solved.

Niagara’s honeymoon tourism was influenced by Napoleon's brother

Niagara falls was once dubbed the “honeymoon capital of the world.” This tradition partially began with a visit by Napoleon's brother Jerome and his wife in 1804.

James Beard and Julia Child were close friends and collaborators

The duo met when she was promoting her seminal book “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” in 1961. They quickly bonded, even referring to themselves as “Jiji,” a combination of Julia and Jim. Child, though, was initially prejudiced against Beard for being openly gay, which was rarer at that time.

James Madison spoke six languages

James Madison was competent in six languages: Latin, Greek, French, Italian, Spanish, and English. This shaped his classical education and informed his political philosophy. He later also studied Hebrew at the College of New Jersey (now Princeton).

12 things we learned about Champagne

Champagne isn’t just sparkling wine—it’s a protected name tied to France’s Champagne region and made using the strict champenoise method. This explainer looks at its surprising history, from early fermentation mishaps to how it became a global symbol of celebration.

How a Nazi leader became known as the 'living Buddha' of Nanjing

Nazi party leader John Rabe helped Chinese civilians and soldiers survive Japan’s World War II invasion, earning the title living Buddha of Nanjing, previously anglicized as Nanking. Read more about his efforts in this article.

Hear a quick but insightful analysis of Mary Cassatt's 'The Boating Party'

Karen Jackson travels to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., to study an oil painting from 1893, walking listeners through a close reading of the canvas. Even if you can't make it to the museum, you can pull the image up and follow her guided analysis.

LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault's children are involved in the business

Arnault has five children, and each of them hold executive roles under LVMH. His daughter Delphine Arnault, for instance, is the CEO of Christian Dior Couture as of this writing.

Unconditional birthright citizenship is rare outside the Americas

Around 30 countries, mostly in the Americas, grant automatic citizenship by birthplace. Elsewhere—especially in Europe, Asia, and Africa—citizenship typically follows jus sanguinis, based on parental descent rather than location of birth.

Review an historical exploration of Charles Darwin's expeditions

Darwin spent more than half of the Beagle expedition in Patagonia, discovering large mammal fossils, including extinct sloths. He journaled about the Argentine genocide of Indigenous peoples in the regions while making findings that would contribute to his theory of evolution.

New Orleans' Congo Square birthed what would become jazz

The city's enslaved people congregated in the city square on Sundays, bringing together the musical traditions of their disparate cultures through drum circles, communal dancing, and call-and-response singing. The rhythmic style that evolved in the area would eventually give rise to ragtime and, subsequently, jazz.

Many legends about George Washington, including his supposed wooden teeth and the story of cutting down the cherry tree, lack evidence.

NBA superstar Victor Wembanyama spent the 2025 summer training with monks in central China to enhance his body and mind.

During the French Revolution, a botanist's letter asking about "dear Rhus" (poison ivy) was intercepted, leading authorities to suspect he was conspiring with the Russians.

Explore the archaeological treasures of Pompeii, the city buried under volcanic ash when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 CE.

Salvador Dalí believed he was his own dead brother, who had died nine months before he was born

The Mona Lisa's celebrity status and repeated restorations have obscured what made the painting so revolutionary for its time

'Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone,' a work by American painter Thomas Moran, inspired Congress to establish Yellowstone National Park.

One of the most famous portraits ever taken is 'Afghan Girl' (1984) by Steve McCurry, yet the subject Sharbat Gula went much of her life without being identified or benefitting from the image's success.

In 2009, the nation was gripped by the story of a missing young boy who was believed to be floating over Colorado in a homemade balloon, until it was revealed that he was at home the whole time.

Explore an interactive map of battles from the American Revolution, along with detailed summaries of each engagement

In 2018, 26-year-old missionary John Allen Chau was killed by tribesmen after attempting to reach and evangelize on India's isolated North Sentinel Island

Warren Buffett's former professor Benjamin Graham is known as the 'father of value investing,' a strategy in which investors seek to buy stocks trading below their intrinsic worth.

American dance legend Martha Graham, sometimes called 'the Picasso of dance,' refused to perform at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin and conceived the piece 'Chronicle' in response to the experience.

See how Budweiser's famous Clydesdales spend their days at Warm Springs Ranch, where roughly 70 to 80 of the beer brand's giant horses can be found at any given time.

The Great Salt Lake's distinct dual coloration results from high-salinity organisms that only live in the northern portion and produce a purple protein.

The word 'jazz' evolved from 'jasm,' 19th-century American slang for 'energy'

Hear about the 250-year history of the United States Postal Service, complete with some of its strangest deliveries, important innovations, and the figures that made it an American institution.

When a Paris department store hesitated to sell Estée Lauder's perfume, she 'accidentally' broke a bottle, causing the smell to spread throughout the store and shoppers to start asking to buy the scent.

El Niño, Spanish for 'the boy,' was named after Jesus Christ because the phenomenon resembled the weather changes observed around Christmastime.

After her fellow cult members tried to kill her with an LSD-infused hamburger, one member of the Manson Family, the murderous cult led by Charles Manson, decided to testify against the group's leader.

SpongeBob exemplifies Aristotle's philosophy for living well because he understands that happiness doesn't come from external factors like money, recognition, or power.

Legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright designed the SC Johnson headquarters in Wisconsin, aiming to make a cathedral-like workplace

Some Pokémon have been named after real and fictional organisms, while some real-world species have been named after Pokémon, such as Chilicola charizard and Binburrum zapdos.

About 2,000 US babies are born annually without some portion of their limbs, potentially leading to a lifetime of pricey prosthetics.

Explore chaos in this simulation of two double pendulums, where small differences in the release angles produce wildly different outcomes.