How WWI began with the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand

Who started WWI?

World War I started with the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg. That's certainly one of the biggest catalysts for the war, but who started it? Ten historians offer their interpretations of which nations bore the brunt of the responsibility. As this article unsurprisingly discovers, it's complicated.

Five key causes of World War I

What caused World War I? The ready answer refers to the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. But there was more to it than that. This article, accompanied by a short explanatory video, outlines how mutual defense alliances, imperialism, militarism, and nationalism also had a heavy hand in the start of what some considered a "preventable war."

Everything you need to know about WWI

Summarizing World War I seems like an impossible task, but this article makes a great effort at providing a easily digested survey of the Great War. Read about WWI from the first shots fired by assassin Gavrilo Princip at the Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie, to the various campaigns waged by the war's participants, to the equipment provided to the various fighting forces.

World War I causes

World War I was, as the name says, truly war on the global scale. Fought between the French, Russian, British, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman, and Russian Empires, it was in part, a battle for territory. And after the war ended, several of these empires collapsed. Explore the different causes of World War II in this article.

Illustrating the beginning and end of WWI through maps

In August of 1914, Germany invaded an ostensibly neutral Belgium, kick-starting World War I. The war became one of the deadliest conflicts in human history, decimating Europe and reshaping global politics for the next century. It also brought forward sweeping and terrifying new military technologies, a product of the Industrial Revolution. Explore 40 maps explaining the Great War in detail.

The Concert of Europe's collapse contributed to World War I

The 19th-century great power system gradually unraveled due to rising nationalism, imperial rivalry, and shifting alliances—leading to its collapse in 1914 and the outbreak of the deadliest war the world had yet seen.

How the US entered WWI in 1917

Originally taking a position of neutrality during the course of World War I, the United States of America eventually relented. Entering the war in 1917, support for the British and French had risen and Americans were incensed by Germany's overtures to Mexico and U-boat attacks that sank ships and ended American lives. See how and why the US entered WWI in this article.

How the Great Depression and end of WWI paved the way for Hitler’s rise to power

The end of WWI was triggered by an armistice that blamed the conflict on Germany and required the financially struggling country to pay reparations. This outraged nationalists and ignited conspiracies that Hitler was able to capitalize on, according to this six-minute video. It was during this financial strain that the Great Depression hit.

The 1915 sinking of the Lusitania precipitated World War I

In 1915, the British RMS Lusitania sank after being torpedoed by a German submarine. The Germans claimed the ocean liner was transporting munitions. Almost 1,200 civilians were killed in the disaster, which became a symbol of German aggression in the lead-up to World War I.

Why wasn't German emperor Kaiser Wilhelm punished for starting WWI?

The accusations were explosive: a head of state had not only begun an illegal war, but egged his troops on to a series of horrific atrocities that left

Was WWI really the first world war?

Was World War I the first true international conflict? This article thoroughly explores the meaning of the term world war. It also suggests a few previous conflicts, some of which involved battles in the Americas as well as Europe, that might have been more accurately described as a "world wars."

The widespread violence of World War I birthed surrealism

Following World War I, artists used unconventional forms of expression to make sense of the death and destruction they'd witnessed for years. Life as they knew it had ended, and movements like Surrealism, founded by André Breton, rebelled against tradition.

Why did the Ottoman Empire violently target Armenians during WWI?

In anticipation of threatened Allied landings at the strategically important Gallipoli peninsula, Ottoman authorities arrested 240 Armenian leaders in Constantinople on April 24, 1915, and deported them east. This roundup is commemorated today by Armenians as the beginning of the genocide, according to this article.

Why were tanks invented?

Tanks first appeared in warfare in World War I. As old methods of conducting battles proved ineffective, the idea of an armored vehicle that could traverse almost any terrain and carry a cannon came to fruition. World War I provided the impetus and finances to develop the modern tank. Learn more in this short but detailed article.

What happened on WWI's Italian Front?

The battle in the Dolomites, or the White War, might have been the roughest, most arduous, and deadliest conflict during World War I. Italian and Austrian troops fought for control of the Dolomites mountain range over the course of three years, leading to the deaths of 700,000 Italian soldiers and 350,000 Austro-Hungarian troops. A grim account of a dirty little war high in the Dolomites.

Some argue that Queen Victoria's wedding started the ripple effect that led to the modern-day wedding-industrial complex

This Vogue article takes you inside the details of Queen Victoria's nuptials, from the dress to the bridesmaids drama. Learn all about the wedding that changed the wedding industry forever.

Taliesin’s first fire also involved the tragic murder of seven people

In 1914, while Frank Lloyd Wright was out working in Chicago, one of his servants at Taliesin brutally murdered his mistress, Martha “Mamah” Borthwick Cheney, her two children, and three other people in the home. The massacre left a deep impression on Wright, who spent much of his career restoring the home.

At age 22, Washington inadvertently started the French and Indian War

In 1754, while leading a small Virginia militia force in the Ohio Valley, Washington's troops ambushed a French scouting party. The clash heightened tensions between Britain and France and sparked a broader conflict that soon spread across North America, Europe, and parts of Africa and Asia.

How the 1918 pandemic spurred developments in virology and vaccines

This article provides an in-depth historical account of the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic, including its impact on the global population and how its occurrence spurred significant advancements in the study of viruses—laying the groundwork for the...

The origin of the National Science Foundation and why World War II led to its founding

Before World War II, research institutions were funded by endowments or private companies whose priorities stifled the curiosity-driven science that fueled significant breakthroughs and innovation. The NSF was established in 1950 to promote independent scientific progress through basic research, which is focused on knowledge acquisition rather than commercial applications, conducted at national colleges and universities.

Some believe Princess Diana's fatal car crash in 1997 was planned

The tragedy that killed the Princess of Wales; her partner, Dodi Fayed; and their driver, Henri Paul; in Paris has been the subject of popular conspiracies. Diana, known to have a difficult relationship with the royal family, was believed by many to have been the victim of a murder plot.

For centuries, European aristocrats made travel a rite of passage

Starting in the 16th century, young English aristocrats mounted “Grand Tours” of Europe. Accompanying tutors provided lessons in the continent’s architecture, art, history, and literature. A Grand Tour wasn’t just for classical education, though; it was also an opportunity for young men to indulge in vices away from their parents.

How Scotland's war on witchcraft started

This 31-minute podcast episode details the beginning of Scotland's witch hunts and their relation to King James VI and I. Between 1589 and 1590, Princess Anne of Denmark set sail for Scotland, where she planned to marry James, the king of Scots in line for the English throne. Storms plague Anne's journey, and Anne's homeland finds the storms suspicious, putting supposed witches on trial for the inclement and threatening weather.

Learn more about the history of fireworks, which date back to an accidental invention during an alchemist's quest for information about immortality

When bamboo in China was tossed into fire in 200 BCE, there was an explosion. About 1000 years later, around 800 CE, an alchemist searching for secrets to immortality mixed sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate together, leading to gunpowder. That mixture was then packed into bamboo or paper tubes, leading to fireworks.

Learn more about the history of fireworks, which dates back to an accidental invention during an alchemist's quest for information about immortality.

The dark origins of Valentine's Day.

The holiday began as a feast to celebrate the decapitation of a third-century Christian martyr, or perhaps two. So how did it become all about love?

Abraham Lincoln was almost assassinated weeks before his inauguration as he traveled from Illinois to DC through Baltimore in 1861; it took two independent claims for Lincoln to be convinced the threat was real

Volcanic activity may have triggered the Black Death by spewing gases that led to crop failures in Europe, thus forcing the import of grain ships with plague-infested fleas.

In 1915, workers recovered a submarine-like vessel from the Chicago River, prompting fears of German espionage

The US first hosted the World Cup in 1994, a tournament that lives in soccer infamy for its poor planning and the murder of Colombian player Andres Escobar, who'd accidentally scored on his own net.

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.

At the beginning of the 20th century, a group of young men ate standard American food—replete with food additives like borax and formaldehyde—as part of government research to better understand food safety.

The concept of phantom limbs, the perception that amputated limbs are still present, dates back to a French military surgeon in the 16th century.

The Dracula character, now seen as the vampire archetype, was inspired by a seafood-induced nightmare its creator experienced.

The Russia-Ukraine conflict is the largest ground war in Europe since World War II in casualties, forces mobilized, and displacement of civilians.

The power and influence of the American presidency have expanded significantly over time—far beyond what the founders envisioned.

Walt Disney's early film 'Alice's Wonderland' was a groundbreaking innovation in the silent film era

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

See the most iconic photos from four decades of LIFE magazine

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

The name 'Silicon Valley' arose from the founding of Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory in Fairchild Semiconductor in 1956-57, founded near Stanford University in Palo Alto

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.

The Brothers Grimm were lawyers before they were storytellers, but became interested in fairy tales as they began investigating how rules and customs had been passed down through cultures.

Poison ivy's characteristic rash is caused by an allergic response to an oily compound in the plant called urushiol.

The term 'algorithm' originated from the Latinized name of al-Khwārizmī, a 9th-century mathematician whose works introduced Arabic numerals and the decimal-based numeral system to Europe and whose treatise 'Al-Jabr' gave algebra its name.

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

Stars appear to twinkle because turbulence in the motion of molecules in Earth's atmosphere causes light to bend and wiggle rapidly on its way to the surface—a phenomenon called scintillation.

The price of gas is a composite made up of several different factors, with the federal gas tax making up less than 20% of what drivers pay at the pump.

Animal phobias are likely the most common type of phobias, followed by an extreme fear of heights.

View the ten deadliest tornadoes in US history.