Manchurian Incident: Did you mean...?

Theodora reigned as empress of the Byzantine Empire alongside her husband, Emperor Justinian I, from 527 CE until her death in 548 CE. Rising from a humble background and overcoming the prejudices of her somewhat disreputable early career...

Melusine (pronounced Mel-ew-seen, also given as Melusina) is a legendary figure from European folklore depicted as a mermaid, sometimes with two tails, as a serpent from the waist down, or as a dragon. She is associated with the ruling houses...

The Lewis and Clark Expedition (1804-1806) was a US military expedition of exploration, led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, whose goal was to explore the newly acquired western lands that comprised the Louisiana Purchase and to reach...

Mary, Queen of Scots was the queen of both Scotland (r. 1542-1567) and briefly, France (r. 1559-1560). Obliged to flee Scotland, the queen was imprisoned for 19 years by Elizabeth I of England (r. 1558-1603) and finally executed for treason...

The U-boat, short for Unterseeboot (undersea boat), was the name for submarines used by the German Navy during the First World War (1914-18) and Second World War (1939-45). In the two Battles of the Atlantic, U-boats sank thousands of ships...

Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) was a Dutch post-impressionist artist whose paintings are amongst the most popular and recognizable in history. His dramatic brushwork, exuberant palette, and mastery at capturing moments in time and light revolutionised...

Ancient Egyptian literature comprises a wide array of narrative and poetic forms including inscriptions on tombs, stele, obelisks, and temples; myths, stories, and legends; religious writings; philosophical works; wisdom literature; autobiographies...

Diogenes of Sinope (l. c. 404-323 BCE) was a Greek Cynic philosopher best known for holding a lantern (or candle) to the faces of the citizens of Athens claiming he was searching for an honest man. He rejected the concept of "manners" as...

George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) was a composer of baroque music who was born in Germany but became an English citizen. His most famous works include his Messiah, Water Music, baroque Italian operas, and English oratorios. A hugely successful...

Andrew Jackson (1767-1845) was an American military officer and politician who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. From humble beginnings as a frontier lawyer in Tennessee, he rose to national prominence...