My grandpa once bitterly complained that Kennedy, who was president during his time in the service, ordered the destruction of the army's excess stockpile of M1 Garands, dramatically and permanently inflating the cost of it for civilians. Is this true? I've never been able to find anything that talks about this.

Can you guys pin the Ukraine megathread?

Hello. I was asked to repost this here.

I know this is probably a very strange question, but I’m a fanfiction writer and I’m currently trying to write a story/make some digital art, and it would be very helpful to my endeavor if some history buffs here could help me to determine some potential shoe designs, styles, colors, etc., that would likely have been worn by the French Poet, Arthur Rimbaud during his time as a poet, from say, ages 16-19 and maybe 20. (roughly 1870-1875)

While I appreciate being linked to books and such, I would prefer an in-depth answer here on the subreddit, perhaps with images included or suggestions on styles to look up and such, or at least for the book suggestions to be available free online, as I do not have the means or opportunity to pay for/acquire physical books due to my living situation.

Thank you for your time and I hope you can help me.

I do not envy God's paradise because I am so satisfied to live in Sicily

Hello guys! To get straight to the point... this quote. Is there anyone who could, kindly, tell me if there is an actual source for it? I've seen it quite a lot and even seem to remember hearing it while on a vacation in Italy but after doing my digging I can't pinpoint where it comes from. At all.

I am writing a paper about the Emperor Frederick II of the Holy Roman Empire and Sicily for my university this semester and thought to use it. If any of you kind people can help, I'll be very grateful :)

Did Donetsk and Luhansk ever try to separate democratically? Like Quebec has in Canada? Or did they go straight to taking up arms? Would Ukraine ever let them vote for their independence?

Did the allies try to supply Poland with additional weapons in the years before 1939?

A recent, highly-upvoted comment on r/worldnews made this claim:

During the 1971 Indo-Pakistan war, the US threatened India with nukes.

Is there any basis to this claim?

Other than the Vikings, what are some other interesting historical cultures who have lived in the areas that are now Denmark, Faroe Islands, Finland, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden?

Asking because I'm creating a discord channel for Dungeons & Dragons gamemasters whose campaign worlds are inspired by Nordic/Scandanavian geography, history, and culture and I want the channel description to contain a wide variety of example cultures and not just the Vikings.

Thanks!

Was Stalin smothered with a pillow?

There was a story that as Stalin was dying he was raving in delirium and giving orders to destroy St. Basil's Cathedral.

Finally a general standing by, afraid someone would actually do it, picked up a pillow and smothered him.

Is there any truth to this or is it an urban legend?

Hello

I paint fantasy characters a lot as a hobby and always draw characters in clothing inspired by medieval times. I realised I draw the clothing based on how I've seen other fantasy artist's depict their characters' clothing. I was hoping to get a more accurate look at what people wore through medieval times. I've tried googling this in the past but I'm not sure how to differentiate between what is historically accurate and what is fantasy.

I know the medieval period is spanning a long time and many different waves of fashion would have happened in those years. But anything historically accurate would be fantastic. I would be hoping to see anything from what peasants wore, right up to what royalty were wearing.

Thank you so much.

On tv, we see many dictators flaunt military medals and awards, earned or otherwise. Was there ever a dictator who legitimately deserved the title of war hero?

Honored scholars! I am looking for interesting cases of high level economic fraud in mediveal or similar societies! Primarily Europe but other places are interesting as well. I am primarily looking for cases of noblemen defrauding the Crown on large sums of money or comparable situations. Complexity can vary, that is, both audaciously simple schemes and super complicated cases that take hours of reading to understand are welcome!

I have googled around for good examples but since I am a layperson, I do not think I really know what tracks to follow or what catch phrases to search for.

Do you have any favourite frauds you want to share or just names of cases I could google up myself?

Great books on the subject I should look for at once?

Specific historian lingo to look for that I might not be knowlegable about? Earlier posts here that I have not found (though I have searched?)

I am grateful for all help!//Torkolla, Hoping for some juicy frauds.

How did Jean de Valette die? The wiki page on him notes that he had a stroke while praying at a chapel, while the wiki page for the great siege of Malta says that he died in a hunting accident, but neither has a source.

Hi!

Why does Norway loop around Sweden and Finland in the North? Why don't Finland and Sweden have access to Arctic sea?

Could anyone recommend me a book on the economic history of Imperial China?

How much is a piece of 8 (old spanish currency) worth in current USD? Any way to compare that? Surely there were exchange rates in the 1700s and early 1800s.

I'm reading The Civilizations of Africa right now.

How do I pronounce "*wap'er"?

Is there a good resource online for pronunciation of non-Latin characters?

Hi folks... I'm looking for books relating to the history of the dog - more in terms of breed relationships and histories than evolution of wolf to dog. The 'who bred what type of dog for whom when' sort of thing. I really don't know where to start, but would like a book that has a bibliography section, if possible.

I get that this might not be the best place to post this question, so I'm also taking suggestions for better subreddits to post to.

The press keeps expressing their surprise at the Russian invasion of Ukraine, after all, "this isn't a place like Iraq, or Afghanistan". It's obvious that in their eyes, Europe is a more civilised continent, less prone to war (gosh, is Europe mostly populated by white people? They hadn't noticed, what a coincidence! They certainly didn't mean to imply that people of colour were in any way less "civilised", honest...)

It's clearly nonsense, Europe has had tons of conflicts! So which continent is the most peaceful, and which is the most warlike?

Thank you!

During WWII, were there any documented cases of espionage or sabotage committed by Japanese-American citizens or Japanese immigrants living in the US?

It's implied on Wikipedia and History.com that there was never any such act committed by an agent of the Empire of Japan on American soil. This seems hard to believe when considering Germany's extensive sabotage operations during WWI and the USSR's vast network of spies during WWII.

I'm not in any way suggesting that maybe the internment camps were justified. I just find it hard to accept that such extreme measures were taken without a shred of evidence of the existence of Japanese saboteurs.

During WWII, what (estimated) percentage of news coverage was dedicated to the war and war related stories in major US newspapers?

Were there any US Army Air Force personnel on the ground in the Battle of the Bulge? If so, which units were they from?

Would a Roman legionary ever only wear his lorica, cingulum, and gladius but not his galea and scutum?

​

I am planning on participating in a costume contest for a local Latin convention. I am able to make the lorica segmentata and the cingulum, as well as carrying a fencing sabre (I do fencing) instead of a gladius. However, the galea and scutum would both be too hard to make for me. My question is, would my outfit be at least semi historically accurate? As in there was a possibility that a Roman soldier would be seen without his scutum or galea in any circumstance? This includes in battle, guard duty, free time around the camp, etc.

​

Thanks

what was the attitude of the anglican church (both parish priests and bishops/royal hierarchies)towards the UK-Argentina war of the 70's? did the fact Argentina was a catholic country and a Republic exacerbate monarchical-anglicanized sentiments among the clergy? did anglican chaplains encourage humane treatment of POWs, or the opposite?

Was the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal the second largest naval battle in terms of lives lost of the Pacific War? the second deadliest naval battle of all of world war 2?

I am looking for books on post-WWII military logistics, especially focusing on Soviet Union if possible. Any recommendations?

Has there been any historical precedence where a declining empire (Rome? China?) invaded its neighbor as an attempt to reclaim its past glory but instead led to its own downfall?

Is there a name for history books that are just collections of source texts with some loose explanations to tie them together?

I read a book like this about the witch hunts in Europe once and it is by far my favorite history book. The source texts were mostly old German and made up at least 80% of the content. The additional content were some statistics on famines and the author explaining a few cultural concepts or movements.

I'd like to read more books like this, but I don't know how to find them since I don't know what they're called.

Who is the last monarch with an epithet?

I'm trying to source a quotation I distinctly remember hearing in on of my classes about ancient Rome for quite a while now. I believe it was attributed to some Emperor and a Stoic philosopher, but I'm honestly at a point where I'm not even sure anymore if the quote is real or if I imagine things or confuse them with something else.

It was about a philosopher who was asked to debate an Emperor, sort of acting as his rhetoric sparring partner. The philosopher however refused or just agreed with everything the Emperor said and when called out about this said something along the lines of "You can't argue with someone commanding a Legion"

Has Russia or the Soviet Union broken any of their promises since 1941?

I understand why Japan declared war on the united states and china during ww2, however was it pure coincidence that they attacked pearl harbor during the war in Europe? ww2 is often thought of as a global war, but it really seems like two or more unrelated wars that just by chance all happened at the same time.

Can anyone recommend a book on the history of Hollywood? I’m really fascinated by the development of the film industry, and would love some recommendations but I can’t seem to find any

Can anyone identify anything about this sculpture?.

The only info I have on it is that it's really heavy.

Thank you!

I'm looking for more contemporary histories of Ukraine, preferably from the Ukrainian point of view if possible. Anyone know of some good books they can point me to on this?

Just wanted to ask about “Ayr” added to a date in an autograph book from the 1880s Ontario, Ca. Anyone know what this means and if it was regional or a common practice?

Are there any famous WW2 American snipers, and if so, who?

Is the 1962 documentary "T. E. Lawrence 1888-1935" Directed by Malcolm Brown, Philip Donnellan. available anywhere online or offline?

https://m.imdb.com/title/ tt4953288/

It's the only filmed footage of certain people who knew T.E.L talking about him. Does anyone know where to find it?

What is the most accurate figure for how many native Americans died from smallpox after exposure to the west, and how were historians able to calculate? Is it based on forensic evidence/mass grave sites?

Can someone recommend a good single-volume history of the Korean War with a military/political focus? I see that the sub's book list recommends three books, but the one that looks the most like what I'm looking for (Korea: The Limited War by David Rees) is over 50 years old, so I was wondering if there's something that incorporates later scholarship. Thanks!

Do we have examples of civilizations choosing not to use a specific technology that would give them an advantage? If so, what were their reasons for not using that technology? And if they ever did change their minds, what convinced them to move past their reservations and use the technology?

What are some good examples of peaceful exchanges of power/ land? Can they serve as good cases to argue that war is unnecessary?

Does any place have a chart of the Russian Ruble exchange rate (against USD or GBP or JPY) from the 1980s to after 2000?

Yes, I know it was liberalized in 1992 and there was a black market rate different from the official one, but I am looking for a chart of the official Ruble value from before 1992, preferably before 1990, to after 2000, even to today if possible.

I have found some charts that are cut off at 1995 or so, which I think hides the effects of the '92 liberalization, and most online finacial places don't go back that far, or even to 2000.

I am looking for any detailed, recent surveys of the development of British foreign policy in the 19th century leading up to the First World War. As a bonus, it would be great if I could also get a book that surveyed the foreign policies of all the great powers. I know AJP Taylor did this in his Struggle For Mastery in Europe, but I was hoping for a more updated view.

What's the name of the theory that great powers have always been from a specific zone in Asia while superpowers like UK and US have been geographically more isolated?

Who's the ruler who have tried to invade a country who was the oldest in age when he did so?

Did the Monroe Doctrine influence the policy or behaviour of European powers, or did they just ignore it?

Are there any surviving primary accounts of Shakespeare's performances as an actor? If not, what primary accounts do we have describing specific actors or performances from around Shakespeare's lifetime?

Can I have some recommendations of old books documenting on what’s around?

What I mean by this are old books written for exemple by an explorator or a merchant documenting their life or other cultures they encounter, how life was around them. Is there a name for those types of books and I would like some recommendations.

There was a popular canard that English longbowmen around the time of the Hundred Years War were recruited on the basis of being able to shoot 5 or 6 arrows in the span of a minute. While I believe this is now counted among the many historical myths of English longbows and their archers--did the sort of communities longbowmen were recruited from in the late 14th-early 15th centuries generally have access to timekeeping that precise?

How was the border between Iran and Afghanistan created?

What was the punishment for desertion from the Red Army in the 1970s and 1980s? It seems that military authorities went to really great lengths to track deserters down, but what punishment did they face when they were recaptured? I'm especially interested in soldiers stationed in Eastern Europe, if anyone has any specific information about that.

Were there any Army Air Force personnel on the ground in the Battle of the Bulge? If so, which units were they from?

Elcano was gifted armor after returning from the molucca's that was engraved with "thou first circled me"

it was given to him by king Charles I of Spain.

does anyone have an idea of what the saying means?

I'm wondering if it's a power move on king charles' part...like, "remember where you came from" kind of thing.

What was the population of the Kingdom of David?

What was the population of Jerusalem at that time?

All I want to know is if British spitfires were built with German parts, never heard of that happening before but someone outright said all spitfires were built with German steel in an attempt to discredit the British war effort

I am doing an essay on the historical development of technology and its effect on economic growth. Are there any books you recommend on this topic I could read? Or some articles as well?

I know that Teddy Roosevelt was the first U.S. president to travel outside the country while in office (to Panama, to inspect the canal construction). But who was the first foreign head of state to visit the U.S.?

Did Confucius really say "When words lose their meaning, people lose their freedom"?

Every time I searched it on Google, the only thing that came out were articles that just mentioned it without giving any sources, also, I couldn't find it on any site dedicated to quotes of famous people.