At Richard nixons election campaign, there were badges made which read "you can't lick our dick". Did the word dick not have other connotations back then (similar to todays)?

Did Mary Washington (mother of George) own slaves?

I can't find any information on this, beyond the fact that her husband, son, and daughter-in-law Martha (and her family) owned slaves.

She lived about 46 years after the death of her husband so I'm curious if she acquired his slaves, if she freed them, etc.

Thanks!

Did the Soviets actually wait for the Germans to be done fighting the Polish during the Warsaw Uprising before moving in? or is it an internet pop history meme

Have there been any movements to rename continents like the Americas or Africa and revert them to a name that wasn't assigned by external colonizing forces?

Sorry if this post isn’t allowed, delete if it isn’t.

How does the general r/askhistorians crowd feel about all the confederate statues being torn down currently. In an objective, historical way that is. Or maybe just a true historians opinion (as I’m not a wise historian).

Is it historically proven true that these statues need to be torn down in order to “start fresh” or move past that part of our history?

Or should they be left up and simply be a part of our history? Learn from our mistakes and let them be a reminder of past wrongs?

Maybe there isn’t an objective way to answer this question. I’m just torn, because while I understand the wrong that they stand for, I still believe it’s wrong to tear them down. It is our history.

Why did the Axis not attempt to bomb the Suez Canal to hamper Allied supply movement during WWII?

hi, i have a small question about the name roxanne

i just read a book that tells how alexander the great married a bactrian princess from modern day afganhistan whose name was misspelled/hellenized as roxanne

did the greek and macedonians use a name of greek origin that was similar or is the origin of the name roxanne, one of the most popular ones in the western world something as mundane as bad mispelling of a foreign born royal with a lot of celebrity to her?

Hello! Tank/tracked vehicle query.

Currently doing some research on Soviet tracked vehicles for a project and my sources are (surprisingly) in Russian. I'm having a few issues translating some terms. The particular tracked vehicle they talk about had a terrible tendency, it seems, to break 'fingers' and throw tracks:

On this site, 490 fingers and 56 tracks were replaced.

Can someone with better knowledge of tanks help me understand what components are breaking here? It seems that the treads had been widened and that was causing them to break, but I'm struggling to understand how it all works- maybe if anyone has any resources for track construction that can clear it up for me? This vehicle is based on the T54 tank, if that helps.

Why didn’t East Germans escape to the main part of West German where there wasn’t a wall instead of trying to escape into West Berlin?

Did Jimmy carter really suggest americans to "put on a sweater" during the energy crisis?

I can find relevant quote on that...

Can anyone recommend me some books about the history of videogames?

Were gas masks issued in world war 2 and were they even used? I know about their use in the blitz but I mean by soldiers

What was the name of Teslas bird wife? I've looked everywhere I can to find this information but I can't seem to find the name of the all white female pigeon that Tesla loved "as a man loves a woman".

When and why were Confederate statues placed in the Capitol building?

Is there any reliable information on French arms stocks in 1939-40?

Simple question. What did the elite use to mow their lawns before the lawnmower?

I understand that regular wool would be cleaned, bleached then dyed whatever color wanted but did any region or peoples keep black sheep to make black cloth?

Particularly in medieval Europe where black was a popular monastic color. I could see the Monastery buying the cheaper black sheep to make even cheaper black cloth.

I owned a book years ago that described a system Mozart had invented that used dice to randomly generate music. It included pictures of the tables that he had created for this. Is there any reference to this that can be found online?

I'm looking for a good book about Mehmed the Conquerer to gift. Any recommendations?

Did Caribbean pirates ever team up to fight against military?

I am looking for sources on old time letters and other communications.

Personal letters would be best, but diplomatic are also ok.

By old i mean ww2 and before. I just want to see how people in history spoke to eachother.

Thanks!

The Wikipedia page on Jewish surnames says "in the 18th century, a custom developed amongst the Eastern European Jews of the Austro-Hungarian and Russian Empires where surnames began being passed from mother to son as opposed from father to son, however the trend seems to have died out by the early 20th century" but doesn't give a specific citation or indication as to which Jewish communities this refers to. The Austrian Empire would almost certainly be (true) Galitzianers, but the Russian Empire, particularly The Pale, included quite a few different groups. Does anyone know which "Russian" communities did this? In particular, do you know whether this extended into Litvak communities (and how far) or was limited to Ukrainers (Ukrainaks?)? I identify as Litvak, so I'm wondering whether matrilinial surnames may have been in my minhag.

I listed to the most recent podcast, #150, Church, State and Colonialism in Southeast Congo. The discussion thread is here. (Poster and interviewer was /u/Commustar; interviewee was Dr. Reuben A. Loffman.)

I've seen the AH book list on African colonialism.

Are there any general overview books on African colonialism? Topics I can imagine: when Europeans started arriving and how their coastal trading ports worked, how they spread inland, their purposes, differences between colonizers and changes in time, how did Europeans rule (settler, direct, indirect through chiefs), why the methods were chosen, the drawbacks of their methods (both in cruelty to the locals and practical difficulties for themselves), African responses and agency (the book list has "African Perspectives on Colonialism by A. Adu Boahen" for 1880-1900), the fall of the system.

I have my doubts that one exists, if for no other reason than that this would be an extremely high-level overview. For example, colonizer differences might well receive only a short chapter when entire theses and journal debates might not do the subject justice. Even a Wikipedia article touches only on a few aspects, and of course briefly.

Still, however unlikely, I thought I should ask.

Hello, I’m looking for some advice on books I should pick up in order to understand the history of slavery in the world. I recently came across a post that stated whites were sold in North Africa up until the Ottoman Empire was no more. This really sparked my curiosity and was wondering if anyone had any recommendations?

What are some good books on India/China relations and interactions since independence, please?

When was the last time Code: Broken Arrow was actually used in terms of a nuclear weapon being lost, stolen, or detonated?

Do we know when the lands of the former Roman Empire's population surpassed the Empire's population at its height?

Simple question, I always thought that in medieval times a master of multiple weapons was called a Master of Arms, but ive since been told that title was actually the man charged with training the troops during peace time. Is there a title such as the one im looking for?

What is the source of the quote, "To be free, one must be chained"? This quote is prevalent in high school US Government classes, but I can't find an accurate citation (I've seen it attributed to Ben Franklin and Jean-Jacques Rousseau).

Can anyone direct me towards some in depth books about the French Revolution and Soviet Union. I don't care too much about length, more about something I can read and be conversationally fluent in topics regarding them. I'd say I know like the US High School versions of them, and I'm looking for some more social and political history.

What percentage of the population were patrician vs. plebian at the time of the Conflict of the Orders?

More broadly/not just at that time frame: Wiki notes that are the plebian branches of gens that are patrician (e.g., Antonia, Cassia, Junia) - how did a branch get "downgraded"? Did you have to be the children of two patricians to be patrician or did the status run through just the male or female line?

Who are the figures depicted on these two medallions? For context, I believe they are Catholic devotional medals from my old Polish neighbour's home. Thanks.

https://imgur.com/a/RDus2pQ

https://imgur.com/a/Nzkdbcq

I know, It's not a history question, but thought that maybe here someone can point me in the right path.

From the wikipedia page this is Enkidu in ancient sumerian 𒂗𒆠𒆕, how is "Enkida" translated?

I'm trying to identify what substance is being inhaled nasally in the 1970 "Waterloo" film. The precise scene is here. Would anyone know what substance is likely to have been used then?

I was looking at Norse confrontations with Native Americans and saw this description:
The natives used catapults, hoisting "a large sphere on a pole; it was dark blue in color" and about the size of a sheep's belly, which flew over the heads of the men and made an ugly din.

What's "dark blue" and makes an "ugly din"?
Also, the natives had catapults?

How far back does /r/askhistorians cover ? If I wanted to learn about human civilization, such as it was, during the last glaciation, would another subreddit be more appropriate ?

Did gladiators ever fight against slaves in the arena? I’ve heard that this was not pleasing at all for those watching because of the lack of a real fight.

Were foundational discoveries/theories from the Scientific Revolution/Enlightenment disseminated to the rest of the world from Europe, or were they independently reproduced elsewhere?

I'm most interested in the development of physics but would be curious about other physical sciences as well.

How long would it take for an early 1600s vessel to travel from Surabaya to Bangkok? and what would be some likely stops along the way? Assuming favorable conditions and no major setbacks. I'm writing an alternate history story where the Majapahit empire survives, and I'd like to be as accurate as possible.

wrt East India Company, whenever the word factory is meantioned, is it meant a place where thungs are produced or something that is akin to a trading post?

In pop culture, there's a familiar image of a wandering minstrel playing the lute. Was the lute an instrument actually available to minstrels? It seems like it would have been too expensive and rare. If not, what kind of instruments did minstrels typically play, particularly wandering minstrels?

What was the illumination range of a WW2-era star shell, of the kind employed by the British Navy?

I remember hearing once that the US (well, the northern part) sent troops overseas to fight in some sort of external conflict, while the civil war was on (and thus had troops committed on multiple fronts, not just fighting in the civil war). Is that true, and if so, what war/conflict?

How can one become a military aviation historian? Is it possible only through self-taught? I noticed that there is not a specific university degree focusing on the history of aviation.

I beg your pardon if the question is not proper.

Could non-violence have be effective against Hitler?

Are confederates from the civil war Democrats?

I know that some clock and watch faces have IIII instead of IV for the number 4. Was it also common to write XXXX instead of XL for 40? I've never seen myself the Roman number written like this but a building had been renovated in my town and to commemorate the original date of building they put on the number 'MDCCCXXXXIV'. It can't be a mistake, right?

How welcoming were medieval villages? If you were a traveler who came across the village, how would they react? Would they provide food for trade? What would they do as you walk in the village? Talk to you?

Can anybody identify the hugely tall officer in the centre of this picture of Nazi and Soviet official meeting in approx 1939?

https://www.bmmhs.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Soviet-Ambassador-Hitler.jpg

Google suggests it might be "Richard Schulze-Kossens" but he was in the SS and this officer is not wearing an SS uniform. Maybe Luftwaffe?

Were the Avars and Magyars the same people?