On the evening of May 6, 1937, spectators and reporters gathered at Lakehurst Naval Air Station in New Jersey to catch a glimpse of the cutting edge of air travel. The German airship LZ-129—better known as the Hindenburg—was landing. At 804 feet long (more than three times the length of a Boeing

The History of Mexico, mural painted within a grand stairwell within the National Palace in Mexico City by Diego Rivera over a period of six years, from 1929 to 1935. Commissioned by the government of Mexico, it describes Mexico from the time before the arrival of Europeans, through conquest and

One of history’s darkest chapters, the Holocaust was the systematic killing of six million Jewish men, women, and children and millions of others by Nazi Germany and its collaborators during World War II (1939–45). Slavs, Roma, gay people, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and others also were singled out for

The Holy Virgin Mary, mixed-media painting on linen that was created in 1996 by British artist Chris Ofili. The painting, one of Ofili’s earliest artworks, created a sensation and brought the artist both fame and notoriety. Ofili, whose parents had immigrated to Britain from Nigeria, attended Roman

The Home Depot, Inc. is the largest retail home improvement and construction supply company in the world, with more than 2,300 stores in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The company was established in 1978, and today employs nearly 475,000 workers. It is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. HD

The Horse Fair, large oil painting created in 1852–55 by French realist artist Rosa Bonheur. Bonheur, who learned the fundamentals of art from her father, artist Raymond Bonheur, was famed for her paintings of animals, and The Horse Fair is widely regarded as her masterpiece. Bonheur’s style

The Hungarian football team, which dominated Europe in the 1950s, came into the 1952 Olympic Games in Helsinki, Finland, as the clear favorite. The players did not disappoint—indeed, the tournament appeared to be only a formality for the “Magnificent Magyars.” Wins over Romania and then Italy

The Hunger Games, series of dystopian best-selling young adult novels by American author Suzanne Collins. The Hunger Games (2008), Catching Fire (2009), and Mockingjay (2010) became international bestsellers, each book selling more than 100 million copies in print and digital formats. The books,

Do you own your own business, or shares of stock in some of your favorite companies? That’s great, but how can you tell if these businesses are doing well? You need to know if a company is making any money—and whether it’s more than they spend to run the place. For companies big and small,

The International Criminal Court (ICC) is a court of last resort that was created to investigate and prosecute individuals accused of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. The ICC was established by the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court in 1998, and it began sittings on

More than a year after Woodstock, the third Isle of Wight Pop Festival was held August 26–31, 1970, on the island of the same name off the coast of southern England. The previous year’s festival had attracted about 200,000 people, most of them drawn by the opportunity to see and hear Bob Dylan,

The 1964 Games in Tokyo saw the introduction of volleyball as an Olympic event. The sport enjoyed wide popularity in the host country, so expectations were high. Chosen to represent Japan was the country’s best women’s team, the Kaizuku Amazons, sponsored by the Dai Nippon spinning mill located

The Kennedy Center, large cultural complex in Washington, D.C., that hosts a variety of theater, dance, and musical performances, both national and international. It is the home of the National Symphony Orchestra and the Washington National Opera. Created by the National Cultural Center Act of

Before the Tax Reform Act of 1986, parents who had some good tax-planning advice were able to put investments in a child’s name so that any investment income would be taxed at the child’s tax rate, which is typically lower than the parents’ marginal tax rate. That loophole was closed with the

The King and I, American musical film, released in 1956, that was scored by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein and features a signature performance by Yul Brynner, who had earlier starred in the hit Broadway adaptation. Brynner portrayed the king of Siam, an imperious monarch who is seen as

The Kiss, oil and gold leaf painting by Gustav Klimt that was completed in 1909. It is considered to be one of the best paintings of the Vienna Sezession and is perhaps the most popular of Klimt’s works. Klimt studied at the Vienna School of Decorative Arts, and his early work was typical of the

The Lady from Shanghai, American film noir, released in 1947, that was adapted from the Sherwood King novel If I Die Before I Wake. Director, writer, and star Orson Welles cast his estranged wife, Rita Hayworth, opposite himself in a film that became famous for its confounding plot and for the

Quite a few islands around the world are very large, and many of them are countries. Australia is technically an island because it is unconnected to any other body of land, but it is more commonly considered a continental landmass. Of the seven continents, Australia is the smallest, at 2,969,976

God Sends Sunday was the last book of the Harlem Renaissance. It was published in 1931 by one of New York’s major publishers. It appeared in bookstores more than a decade after the start of the concentrated upsurge in artistic creation by African Americans, centered in Harlem, that came to be known

The Last of Us, American post-apocalyptic television drama series, adapted from a popular video game franchise of the same name developed by the studio Naughty Dog. Showrunner Craig Mazin cocreated the television series with Neil Druckmann, who is also the writer and creative director of the video

The Laughing Cavalier, oil painting created in 1624 by Dutch artist Frans Hals. This painting belongs to the artist’s middle period, when the joie de vivre that characterized his early work had begun to disappear, and it gained its title when it was exhibited in London in the 1870s. Hals was born

On Feb. 19, 1942, Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, granting Secretary of War Henry Lewis Stimson and his commanders the power “to prescribe military areas in such places and of such extent as he or the appropriate Military Commander may determine, from which any or all

When Nintendo released The Legend of Zelda for the Japanese market in 1986, it marked a new era in the culture, technology, and business of video games. The game’s designer, Miyamoto Shigeru, was already a star, having produced Donkey Kong and the Mario Brothers series. Now he wanted to push

Financial trading on today’s platforms looks easy. Log into your account, hit that big green BUY button, and you’ve just exchanged money for shares of a stock. On the surface, that’s how it appears the market works. Behind that smooth transaction, however, is a web of complex systems that ensures

Stars begin their life cycle in molecular clouds. These clouds contain dense clumps of gas and dust, which can collapse under their own gravity to form protostars. The collapse is often triggered by external forces such as shock waves from nearby supernovae. As the cloud collapses, it heats up and

In the 1940s, economist Franco Modigliani was researching how increases in income affect economic growth, and he was struck by how variable it was. It wasn’t clear how much a change in income would translate to changes in consumer spending and savings, and that made economic forecasting difficult.

Liquefied natural gas, or LNG, has transformed natural gas from a regional to a global commodity. With that shift, investment in LNG stocks has surged. Natural gas, which is primarily methane, is most often transported in its gaseous form by pipeline, which has previously limited distribution to

In 1587 a small colony was founded on an island off the eastern coast of North America. The settlement would have been the first permanent English colony in the New World, had the settlers not disappeared owing to unknown circumstances. The lost colony of Roanoke is one of the most notorious

Germany’s annual Love Parade was the temporary centre of the world of electronic dance music during its two-decade run. First organized in 1989 in West Berlin by planetcom, a company affiliated with the defunct E-Werk club, the parade was registered with the city as a political demonstration for

The Matrix, groundbreaking science-fiction film, released in 1999. The Matrix was written and directed by Lilly and Lana Wachowski, and it stars Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Laurence Fishburne, and Hugo Weaving. The film’s innovative visual effects and seminal plot that questions the nature of

In 1769 a Hungarian civil servant named Wolfgang von Kempelen went to a magic show in Vienna. It wasn’t just any magic show, though. It was being performed in the court of Empress Maria Theresa, and Kempelen, who had training in physics and mathematics, had been invited by the empress herself to

The Mirabal sisters (also known as “Las Mariposas”) were Dominican revolutionaries and activists. Three of them, Patria Mirabal (1924–60), Minerva Mirabal (1926–60), and María Teresa Mirabal (1935–60), engaged in resistance activities against Rafael Trujillo’s dictatorship, leading to their brutal

The humble potato is native to the Peruvian-Bolivian Andes and was cultivated by the Incas as early as 1,800 years ago. Although the Incas domesticated hundreds of types of potatoes, the invading Spaniards only brought a handful of varieties back with them to Europe during the second half of the

Held in Monterey, California, on June 16–18, 1967, the Monterey Pop Festival was the first commercial American rock festival. Dunhill Records executive Lou Adler and John Phillips of the Mamas and the Papas organized the festival around the concept of the successful Monterey Jazz Festival and

In 1432 the Flemish painter Jan van Eyck—with help from his brother Hubert—completed his masterpiece, Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, which was later put on display in St. Bavo’s Cathedral in Ghent, Belgium. The enormous work—measuring approximately 14.5 by 11.5 feet (4.4 by 3.5 meters) and weighing

Among his many literary achievements, Edgar Allan Poe is credited with creating the genre of detective fiction with his 1841 story The Murders in the Rue Morgue, paving the way for fictional sleuths from Sherlock Holmes to Nancy Drew. It is fitting, then, that the author’s own death in 1849 remains

Naked mole rats (Heterocephalus glaber) are unlikely to win any beauty contests in the animal world, but they have some amazing abilities. Naked mole rats belong to a group of about a dozen species of burrowing African rodents called blesmols. They have strong blunt heads with incisor teeth that

The National Museum of Modern Art at the Pompidou Centre in Paris is one of the world’s most important museums housed in one of the world’s most iconic buildings. This list includes just 15 of the museum’s tens of thousands of artworks by a diverse range of artists. Earlier versions of the

As more consumers weigh the environmental and health consequences of traditional funeral practices, green burials have naturally been attracting more interest. Unlike ordinary burials, which often involve embalming fluids, concrete vaults, and nonbiodegradable caskets and/or grave liners, green

As massive social, technological, and economic changes continue to unfold over the coming decades, our single greatest challenge will be to compose a new civilizational story line that will guide the evolution of our species. Just as religious narratives led humanity through the agrarian era, and

Starting a new job? Bring a pen and perhaps a financial plan. You’ve got a few forms to fill out and decisions to make. Even if it’s not your first new job, the W-4 form isn’t what it used to be, and there’s a brand new I-9 as of August 2023. Do you have a strategy for your company 401(k) (or

In the first decades of the 21st century, a new space race emerged between India, China, and Japan. This infographic presents a map showing where the missions went or are planned to go and a timeline of past and future missions. Spotlight, new space race, infographic, Earth, Mars, Moon, asteroid,

The Nightmare, oil painting that was created in 1781 and is Swiss-born artist Henry Fuseli’s most famous painting, as well as a landmark in the development of the Romantic movement. It has become an iconic image that is familiar in popular culture and much parodied. Fuseli studied theology in

Millennium Dome, massive construction project and tourist attraction in Greenwich, London, England. It was initiated to house an exhibition for the approach of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium ce (the official start of which was January 1, 2001). The central structure is the largest dome in

The Odyssey, upcoming epic action film from writer-director Christopher Nolan that is set to be released on July 17, 2026. The film is a screen adaptation of the epic poem the Odyssey, attributed to the ancient Greek poet Homer. The eagerly anticipated film will be the first that Nolan has released

The Office, popular American television situation comedy series following the daily lives of a group of employees working at the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company in Scranton, Pennsylvania, that aired on the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) network from 2005 to 2013. Although The Office

The Office, British sitcom series that was created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant and aired on BBC Television between 2001 and 2003. The show follows the daily work life of employees at a regional branch of a fictional paper supply company that is threatened with downsizing. The series was

The Old Testament Trinity, tempera icon created about 1410 by Andrey Rublyov, who is regarded as one of the greatest medieval Russian painters of icons and frescoes. The Old Testament Trinity is perhaps the most revered and valued icon in Russia. Rublyov is thought to have received his training

In 2017, our family tree got a little taller: an international team of scientists identified well-preserved fossils of a primitive sea creature that they say is the oldest known ancestor of a wide range of animals, including humans. The microscopic creature—named Saccorhytus after its baglike body

The creation of the Ekecheiria, the Olympic truce, lies within the traditional story of the founding of the ancient Olympic Games. Two warring kings of the area around Olympia, Iphitos and Cleomenes, joined with the Spartan lawgiver Lycurgus in an agreement to hold the Games and to enact and

Explore other Botanize! episodes and learn more about orchids and fungi. Melissa Petruzzello: Welcome, listeners! Thanks for tuning in to Botanize! I’m your host, Melissa Petruzzello, Encyclopædia Britannica’s plant and environmental science editor. Today we are going to be talking about orchids,

The first organized international competition involving winter sports was introduced just five years after the birth of the modern Olympics in 1896. Known as the Nordic Games, this competition included athletes predominantly from Nordic countries (such as Norway and Sweden). It was held eight times

In the long history of the relationship between Native Americans and the European settlers and their descendents who so widely displaced North America’s Indigenous people, there has been much injustice and tragedy. Stories of violence and broken treaties, mendacity, mistreatment, and massacres have

The Painter’s Studio, oil painting created in 1854–55 by French artist Gustave Courbet. The most mysterious of his paintings, this relatively early work initially garnered the praise of Eugène Delacroix alone. When this painting was rejected for the Universal Exposition, Courbet opened his own

The paradox of thrift is a concept developed by legendary economist John Maynard Keynes. He noted that, during a recession, individuals tend to save money so they can manage through a tough time—when what the economy needs is for people to spend and invest. After all, historically, recessions, and

Did you take out parent PLUS loans to help finance your child’s education? Although these loans offer one way to pay for college, they might be one of the last resorts. Loan forgiveness and income-driven repayment (IDR) options are generally limited with parent PLUS loans unless you take specific

The Mimi of Nachtigal and the Mimi of Gaudefroy-Demombynes, both of whom speak a Maban language of the Nilo-Saharan language family, are identified by the names of their first investigators: Gustav Nachtigal and Maurice Gaudefroy-Demombynes, respectively. The name Mimi sometimes is applied to a

Outside of the tropics, the spring season is a time of renewal as buds and leaves begin to sprout on trees and other plants, insects and other animals emerge from their winter slumber, birds return from their warm-weather refuges near the Equator, and the pace of outdoor cultural events picks up in

The fires of industry have long been stoked with sweat and toil. But often, they claim an even higher human price. Britannica examines 10 of the world’s worst industrial disasters. This list was adapted from a post that originally appeared on the Britannica Blog. list, encyclopedia, britannica,

the personal is political, political slogan expressing a common belief among feminists that the personal experiences of women are rooted in their political situation and gender inequality. Although the origin of the phrase “the personal is political” is uncertain, it became popular following the

The Phantom of the Opera, award-winning stage musical by composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyricists Charles Hart and Richard Stilgoe, adapted from Gaston Leroux’s 1910 novel of the same name. A romantic melodrama, The Phantom of the Opera premiered in London’s West End on October 9, 1986, and began

The Philadelphia Art Museum was founded in 1876 as the Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Art; it adopted its current name in 2025. Today its collection consists of more than 240,000 artworks. This list focuses on just 12 of its paintings. Earlier versions of the descriptions of these

From the oral culture of its distant past to its vibrant present and buoyed by its scholarly discourses, Yoruba philosophy is best understood as a folk philosophy, a set of narratives and cultural practices that attempt to explain the causes and the nature of things affecting the corporeal and the

Holocaust: Artistic responses to the Holocaust: …adaptation of Władysław Szpilman’s autobiography, The Pianist: The Extraordinary Story of One Man’s Survival in Warsaw, 1939–45 (1999); The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life (2013), a short documentary focusing on the world’s oldest living Holocaust survivor at the time of the film’s release; and Saul fia (2015;…

The history of the United States would not be the same without George Washington. During the American Revolution he was commander in chief of the American colonies’ military. He was the first president of the United States and set the precedent for a peaceful transition of power. His face is on

The Princess Bride, is an American romantic comedy adventure film released in 1987 that was produced and directed by Rob Reiner. It was adapted for the screen by author William Goldman from his 1973 novel entitled The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern’s Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure,

The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, (1904–05), thesis by Max Weber that asserts a connection between success in capitalist ventures and the accidental psychological consequences of Calvinist Christian doctrines, especially predestination. Weber began his thesis by noting the

The Protestant Heritage, Protestantism originated in the 16th-century Reformation, and its basic doctrines, in addition to those of the ancient Christian creeds, are justification by grace alone through faith, the priesthood of all believers, and the supremacy of Holy Scripture in matters of faith

The stock market has historically risen over time, but it also goes through significant cycles of bull and bear markets. And if you know the basics of trading options, you know that put and call options may be used to—among other things—speculate on the market’s direction. Put options in particular

In the 2010s Australia’s Indigenous population constituted approximately 3 percent of the country’s total population, with some 745,000 people identifying themselves as being of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander origin. This total represented a considerable increase over the comparable

The Rape of Europa, oil painting created in 1559–62 by the Venetian artist Titian. It is a superb example of Titian’s late style and demonstrates his full power as a painter. The oeuvre of Titian was subject to a number of shifts in import and sensibility over the course of his career. Whereas the

For those of us who got our introduction to Dr. Frankenstein and his monster from the movies, reading Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus for the first time can be a surprising experience. The 1931 Universal Studios film is a classic in its own right, but it doesn’t

The Red Studio, oil painting created in 1911 by French artist Henri Matisse. It is a challenging painting that has confounded critics and viewers and is regarded as a foundational piece of modern art. Matisse is known as the great colourist of the 20th century, and The Red Studio is one of the best

As rock and roll made its way to continental Europe in the late 1950s, several nightclub owners in the red-light district of Hamburg, West Germany—the Reeperbahn, named for the street that was its main artery—decided that the new music should supplant the jazz they had been featuring. British

The Renaissance was a period in European history when new ideas about art and science were developed and when new technologies, such as paper and gunpowder, were widely adopted. It began in Italy during the 14th century, and it marked the end of the Middle Ages. The Renaissance’s influence spread

The Republic, one of the most important dialogues of the ancient Greek philosopher Plato, renowned for its detailed expositions of political and ethical justice and its account of the organization of the ideal state (or city-state)—hence the traditional title of the work. As do other dialogues from

In the 1980s and ’90s, the Sistine Chapel underwent a long and elaborate restoration scheme sponsored by a Japanese television corporation and carried out by top Italian and international experts. The cleaning removed centuries of grime, dust, and candle smoke from the frescoes and revealed

Are you ready for retirement? You’re in the homestretch when the kids have flown the coop, your mortgage has been paid down (or if you’re lucky, paid off in full), and you’re thinking a pullback from the labor force might be in your future. Choosing an annuityIn search of retirement income

The Rev. Robert Walker Skating on Duddingston Loch, painting created in about 1795 by Scottish portraitist Sir Henry Raeburn that has become one of the best known and most iconic artworks in the National Galleries of Scotland. The painting, often called The Skating Minister, is a departure from

The “Summer of Love” in the United States took place alongside rising racial tensions in many of the country’s cities. Nearly 160 riots occurred across the United States in the summer of 1967. While young white Americans traveled to California and other locations to push against one set of cultural

The Rise of Andrew Jackson, This detailed original account of the life of Andrew Jackson written for Encyclopædia Britannica by David S. Heidler and Jeanne T. Heidler, authors of The Rise of Andrew Jackson: Myth, Manipulation, and the Making of Modern Politics (2018), describes how the seventh

Tech industry insiders have been talking about “hyperscalers” since at least the early 2010s, but only recently has the term gone mainstream. Now, financial and tech reporters are increasingly pointing to these powerful companies as the backbone of tomorrow’s digital economy. As an investor, you’re

The Industrial Revolution, the period in which agrarian and handicraft economies shifted rapidly to industrial and machine-manufacturing-dominated ones, began in the United Kingdom in the 18th century and later spread throughout many other parts of the world. This economic transformation changed

Although the animals that live in rainforests on different continents can differ significantly, the environments they live in are very similar. These environments, therefore, exert similar pressures on the evolution of the animals living in each. As a result, unrelated species may be similar in

From precolonial times to the early 21st century, the role and status of women in Nigeria have continuously evolved. However, the image of a helpless, oppressed, and marginalized group has undermined their proper study, and little recognition has been granted to the various integral functions that

Repurchase agreements (“repos”)—and their counterparts, reverse repos—are somewhat complex transactions that are based on a simple premise. To temporarily obtain money, one party sells an asset with the promise to buy it back at a specified time and price. The other side buys it with the promise

Have you ever wondered whether it’s possible to withdraw some of your 401(k) savings before you turn 59 1/2 without paying a penalty? The happy answer is yes, thanks to the so-called rule of 55. Of course, as with all things that involve retirement plans (and the IRS), you need to understand the

The Sandman, comic book series published by DC Comics from November 29, 1988, to January 31, 1996. Written by Neil Gaiman and drawn by multiple artists, the title’s original 75-issue run has greatly influenced both the comics medium and the fantasy genre in general. The series focuses on the

If your kids—including adult children—still need you at the same time your aging parents need support, you’re likely part of the sandwich generation. Many adults, particularly those in their 40s, 50s, and 60s, find themselves giving time, mental and physical energy, and often financial resources to

On April 2, 1863, during the American Civil War, American photographers William D. McPherson and J. Oliver, who were active in Louisiana during the 1860s, documented the physical brutality of American chattel slavery when they created an image of the severely scarred back of a formerly enslaved

The Sea, The Sea, novel by British writer Iris Murdoch. Published in 1978, it was her 19th novel and her only work to win the Booker Prize. The Sea, The Sea is written in the first person, narrated by Charles Arrowby, a noted and self-satisfied thespian who retires from London to a dilapidated and

At the beginning of Elizabeth II’s reign, colour-coded maps provided a quick guide to the far-flung colonial possessions of Europe’s empires. By the 1960s and ’70s, however, nationalist independence movements had helped bring about widespread decolonization of British, French, Dutch, Belgian, and

The Roman Catholic Church has seven holy sacraments that are seen as mystical channels of divine grace, instituted by Christ. Each is celebrated with a visible rite, which reflects the invisible, spiritual essence of the sacrament. Whereas some sacraments are received only once, others require

The Shard, skyscraper in London that was designed by architect Renzo Piano and completed in 2012. Piano took its inspiration from church spires and ships’ masts, but the Shard’s appearance better resembles the shaft of a stiletto switchblade. At a height of 1,016 feet (309.6 meters) with 95 stories

Empowered by the Clean Air Act of 1970, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) quickly established air quality standards to protect public health and the environment. Focusing on six “criteria” air pollutants—sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, particulate matter, carbon monoxide, ozone, and

As king of England from 1509 to 1547, Henry VIII may have presided over the beginnings of the English Renaissance and the English Reformation and incorporated Wales within the realm of England, but he is largely remembered for having six wives. The six queens can be hard to keep straight, and many

The Sleeping Gypsy, oil painting created in 1897 by French naïve artist Henri Rousseau. This work is perhaps the most important of the period when Rousseau began to receive recognition as an artist and is one of the most famous images of the modern era. Rousseau was entirely self-taught and did not

What, if anything, justifies the authority of the state? What are the proper limits of state power? Under what circumstances, if any, is it morally right to overthrow a state? Within Western political philosophy, one of the most influential approaches to such questions asserts that the state exists

Your age when you start taking Social Security has a big impact on how much you receive in benefits each month. That’s because the Social Security Administration (SSA) pays a different amount depending on whether you start at age 62; at age 67 (that’s the full retirement age, or “FRA” for anyone

In February 1919 two teams of astronomers from the Greenwich and Cambridge observatories set out for Sobral, Brazil, and Príncipe (an island off the coast of Africa), respectively, with sophisticated equipment that would allow them to photograph a solar eclipse as it cut across South America, the