Showing results by author "History Hour" in All Categories

The following book introduces the listener to the biographies of four key figures who led the American Revolution against the Kingdom of Great Britain: George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin.

Hosted by Dr. Sarah C. Schaefer (Assistant Professor, Art History, University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee) and Dr. Tina Rivers Ryan (Assistant Curator, Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY).

In the 20th century, the nation had come of age, a brand-new political landscape was taking shape. It was during the 20th century that the US president became not just the leader of the United States but the Leader of the Free World. The US essentially inherited this hegemony from the British Empire at the close of World War II and retained it for the remainder of the century, which gave the country’s presidents a whole new set of problems to deal with. While the Monroe Doctrine had long dictated concern for events in the Americas, the US now became the policeman of the entire world.

Frida Kahlo was ahead of her time. She was bisexual and would have fit in perfectly in the time we live in now. Her disabilities would be acceptable in our society of today and her husband, Diego would probably be run out of town by the Real Housewives of “Cheaters”. Frida came with a lot of baggage in her life starting when she was only six years old and even more baggage piled on when she was in high school. Her suffering was more than anyone can imagine but she kept her head held high and forged her way forward.

Discover the lives and poltical history of German politician and demagogue Adolf Hitler - leader of the Nazi Party, chancellor of Germany, and führer of Nazi Germany - and Joseph Stalin, dictator of the Soviet Union.

It goes without saying that Eleanor of Aquitaine was a force of nature. She was the wife of kings, the mother of kings, a duchess in her own right, and a tool of no man. She was headstrong and independent in an age when women were essentially to be seen and not heard.

Adolf Hitler was a German politician, demagogue, and Pan-German revolutionary who was the leader of the Nazi Party, chancellor of Germany, and führer ("leader") of Nazi Germany. As dictator, Hitler initiated World War II in Europe with the invasion of Poland and was central to the Holocaust.

Isaac Newton’s main body of work was as a physicist and mathematician. He was a part of a scientific revolution in the 17th century, which would fundamentally change the way that people would see the world. In the field of optics, he would advance our understanding of light and how we saw it.

Unlike most artists, Van Gogh developed very slowly, beginning with work as an art dealer that exposed him to many great works. He undertook this work for several years, after which he spent time as a missionary for the Dutch Reformed Church. Thereafter, he drifted for several years before returning home to his parents’ house, where he took up painting, largely self-taught with books on anatomy and painting. His great works all date from the later years of his life.

Did Christopher Columbus discover America or a route to the Far East? He was an Italian explorer, navigator, and colonist who had a singular goal toward which he was driven. His courage was astounding, as he and his three small ships set sail across the Atlantic Ocean. Columbus and his men took precarious and dangerous journeys toward a blue horizon. All they had to depend upon were nautical charts, an astrolabe, and a quadrant. The maps he used were developed by more ancient astronomers such as Ptolemy and Eratosthenes – men who had never sailed the great sea.

Nikola Tesla pursued his ideas for wireless lighting and worldwide wireless electric power distribution in his high-voltage, high-frequency power experiments. Hear more about Tesla in this audiobook.

Fidel Castro ruled the country of Cuba for almost 60 years, and he changed the political structure of the country to a one-party socialist state. He ruled firstly as a Prime Minister before converting it to the title of President and Commander-in-Chief of Cuba. Castro’s political journey started on a rebellious note as he participated in the revolt against right-wing administrations in Colombia and the Dominican Republic. He later rose to become the leader of the communist revolution.

Cook, an 18th-century explorer, lived during a time when humankind was yet naive and inexperienced in terms of understanding their environment. His legacy is quite astounding, given the fact that mankind had only begun to develop instrumentation. The people from Europe had never before seen Hawaii, Tahiti, Australia, New Zealand, Antarctica, nor crossed the Antarctic circle.

Unlike most artists, Van Gogh developed very slowly, beginning with work as an art dealer that exposed him to many great works. He undertook this work for several years, after which he spent time as a missionary for the Dutch Reformed Church. After that, he drifted for several years before re-turning home to his parents’ house, where he took up painting, largely self-taught with books on anatomy and painting. His great works all date from the later years of his life.

Marcus Aurelius was an outstanding person and Emperor of Ancient Rome. He was far more concerned with ways of thinking than with warfare. Being a small boy he applied himself to task with education. Marcus preferred others over himself, putting his own welfare aside for the good of other people.

Vlad III, known as Vlad the Impaler was voivode of Wallachia three times. The tales about the burning of the lazy, the poor, and the lame at Vlad's order and the execution of the woman who had made her husband too short a shirt can also be found among the German and Slavic anecdotes. Books describing Vlad's cruel acts were among the first best sellers in the German-speaking territories.

John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy was an American politician who served as the 35th President of the United States from January 1961 until his assassination in November 1963. He served at the height of the Cold War, and the majority of his presidency dealt with managing relations with the Soviet Union. At age 43, he became the youngest man to be elected as U.S. president as well as being the first (and only) Roman Catholic to occupy that office. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested for the state crime, but he was never prosecuted.

Cleopatra VII Philopator was the last active ruler of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt, nominally survived as pharaoh by her son Caesarion. She was also a diplomat, naval commander, polyglot, and medical author. As a member of the Ptolemaic dynasty, she was a descendant of its founder, Ptolemy I Soter, a Macedonian Greek general and companion of Alexander the Great.

Initially presiding over an oligarchic one-party regime that governed by plurality, Joseph Stalin became the de facto dictator of the Soviet Union. Stalin raised funds for Vladimir Lenin's Bolshevik faction via robberies, kidnappings, and protection rackets. To eradicate those regarded as "enemies of the working class", Stalin instituted the "Great Purge" in which more than a million were imprisoned and at least 700,000 were executed from 1934 to 1939.

Caligula was born into the first ruling family of the Roman Empire, conventionally known as the Julio-Claudian dynasty. He is described as a noble and moderate emperor during the first six months of his rule. After this, the sources about the reign of Caligula focus upon his cruelty, sadism, extravagance, and sexual perversion, presenting him as an insane tyrant.