Why did novels from the 19th century or so redact the names of streets or places? For instance Dostoevsky novels will say "he walked through K----- Boulevard" or they went to "N---- province". Thanks

I stumbled upon this TikTok of an elderly Auschwitz survivor discussing why they didn't have periods while they were in the camp. It's explained in a comment on the video that she worked in the camp kitchens and that she was instructed to put the medication in the soup pot, and that it looked like pink wet sand.

I always assumed they didn't have periods due to stress and malnutrition. Does anyone know what the name of the medication was?

What are the best books that would provide an overview of the history of the Soviet Union?

What is the best single-volume biography of Martin Luther King, Jr.?

I've tried looking for one via the subreddit search bar, but the most recent substantive discussions or posts I've found are several years old, and I don't know if better biographies have been released in that time. The ones I'm aware of are King's autobiography, Stephen B. Oates' Let the Trumpet Sound; Marshall Frady's Martin Luther King, Jr.: A Life; Lerone Bennett Jr.'s What Manner of Man; and Peniel E. Joseph's double-biography of King and Malcolm X, The Sword and the Shield. I'm also aware of Taylor Branch's monumental America in the King Years series, but since it's three volumes and not one, it isn't an answer to this question.

Which Frederick III is this painting of?

From what I can find it's supposedly Emperor Frederick III of the HRE as painted in the 19th century. However the face and armor makes me think it's actually Frederick III "The Fair" who was King of Germany but not emperor.

My guess is that the Artist accidentally combined the Fred 3s together thinking they're the same person.

It's been hard to research. Sites are also calling this to be Philip IV the fair of France. Which is ridiculous not only because the name is on top, but that's the HRE imperial crown and the imperial eagle on his armor.

Does anyone know the history of an egg topper/egg cracker/eierkopfer? I cant find anything about them online

Do we know when humanity started getting haircuts?

Did any German generals who were present in the Führerbunker give their thoughts on Hitler's rants against the army and, let's say, optimistic plans for relief?

How did users of Hindu-Arabic numbers write quantities above nine before "0" was added?

I was watching Historia Civilis' excellent videoes on the Congress of Vienna on Youtube and he brought up how Austria had mostly acquired its empire through diplomatic royal marriages, they were not the only country to do this but they were certainly the most successful. Marrying the prince and the princess of the two feudal kingdoms to unite them is well known trope at least in European culture. So I was thinking, is this a common practice in other cultures? How about in polygamist cultures like the Islamic world? I've heard of ancient conquerors taking wives from the royal families they defeated but that's not what I mean, I'm referring to a diplomatic marriage. I'd also like to hear if diplomatic marriage was used to unite states in India or clans in Japan, just any examples outside of the Christian world I am interested in. Thank you!

Does anyone here have any recommendations on books to read regarding the ‘anni di piombo’ in Italy in the 60s and 70s? Not specifically about the Aldo Moro incident, but more about all the context and violence that happened before and after. Preferably in English!

If purple dye was super hard to make and expensive why didn't people just mix red and blue dyes together?

Are there any books that provide detailed information on clothing patterns around the world (Tartan, Shippou, etc)? I'm trying to find the widest compendium.

How big was the discovery of Machu Picchu?

I've struggled to remember names of "peoples" from late antiquity to middle ages. I hope my following question is not too stupid.

Are the following people of the same origins? Normans, Vikings, Sicilians. If so, since they didn't form a single empire, did they consider them to be the same "people" and have a close relationship?

In the middle aged, were Jews generally treated better in Muslim states than in Christendom?

Is there any record of human interaction with asteroids that hit the earth?

Was the Europe first doctrine mostly forgotten after the battle of midway? As far as I’m aware, the initial plan was for America to merely hold off Japanese attacks until Germany was defeat. However shortly after the hobbling of the Japanese fleet, America starts its island hopping campaign.

How does Bill derive from William and Dick from Richard?

When was it realized that the Eastern Hemisphere was a day ahead of the Western Hemisphere?

I've just read Nathan Sivin's New and Old Daoisms, and he mentions the great diversity of translations used for common terms by scholars as something unusual ("In most academic fields, if someone comes up with an innovative concept, interpretation, technical term, etc., colleagues either challenge it or, if they cannot, they accept it. In botany, anthropology, or European history, the notion of eternally competing nomenclature in the same language for the same phenomenon is risible. In others, such as classical Sinology, religious studies, and political science, the multiplication of terminology is merely a sign of eminence (or at least ambition)") and undesirable, as it makes works in the field more difficult to access for a nonspecialist (and because some of them are just bad).

To what extent is this the case in other fields of history?

Who is this British political or royal figure from the late 1920s/early 1930s?

I found this photo in a box of negatives belonging to my grandmother from (I think) the early 1930s in England and think the man who is in focus is a political or royal figure of the time, but not sure who or what event it might be.

Image on imgur here: https://imgur.com/a/FsLG4sq (I can't add it directly here)

Is the man any of the following:

Neville Chamberlain

Ramsay Macdonald

Sir Herbert Samuel (Home Secretary)

There is another photo of Liverpool from a similar era and my grandmother lived there briefly in the early 1920s so it could be there/then.

Many thanks in advance

How much traction did the average European men's shoe during the late 18th/early 19th century have?

Would it be a bad idea to do parkour in them?

What language would a historian of later Byzantine-era Roman history generally learn? I'm assuming it'd be some form of medieval Greek, but I'm not too knowledgeable on how the language has evolved throughout time. The Alexiad was (according to Wikipedia) written in "Attic Greek," so I'm guessing that would be useful for reading medieval sources.

Did Wilhelm II say this quote to either Franz Josef or Franz Ferdinand?

"I do so love the german parts of your empire. I look forward to absorbing them into the Reich."

I've heard that he said this probably in the 1890s on a hunting trip with probably Franz Ferdinand, and that it's one of the many examples of Wilhelm just stuffing his foot into his mouth and alienating people around him.

And if he did say it, What would he have considered the "German Parts" of Austria-Hungary? Obviously Austria but Bohemia had been a vital part of the HRE and the German confederation, and had roughly 1/3 german population.

Was there an idea that in the near future that the German Empire would have an Archduchy of Austria and a Kingdom of Bohemia joining it?

Did people ever try to forge Berlin iron jewellery?

I saw a ticktok the other day about some fashion sketches that were apparently made by a teenage girl somewhere in the UK (maybe Scotland?) and somehow ended up in the historical record. Not sure what the time period was but remember it being vaguely victorian/geometric designs (I could be off by centuries here).
Any chance one of you know what I'm talking about? I remember next to nothing about them, but want to make a book of them as a present for someone!

I vaguely recall reading in one of the askhistorians threads a couple years ago that one of the founding fathers, signers of the declaration of independence, or American revolutionary figure was black. The question went something like "XXX, one of the founding fathers, was black. Why is he so unknown instead of being a celebrated civil rights icon?" Does anybody remember this question and what the answer to it was?

I'm wondering if there is an online resource for household accounts and court records. I'm specifically looking for Richard, Duke of York and Cecily Neville but I have no idea where to even start looking for that information. Is there such a resource? And if not, do you have to be a bona fide historian to actually go look at such things?

Why did Ford's pardon of Nixon date back to July 20, 1969? Was it a coincidence that this date was the date of the first moon landing?

I came across this bite of text a bit ago and am really curious about it and any information relating to it, but I haven't been able to find anything on it to even verify whether it's factual so I was wondering if anyone here knows about it or could point me in the right direction? Would really love any sources and information on it. The 'bite of text' in question is:

'if a crossdressing woman who had sex with women was determined to have a ‘female penis’ (enlarged clitoris), they could be in some jurisdictions be convicted of sodomy which was a capital crime as opposed to merely convicted of crossdressing, which was not. (Protestant Reformation in Europe)'

What was the Pay like for Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen of the First World War? I'm especially interested in that of Austria-Hungary, Germany and the Ottomans i.e. the Central Powers as there isn't much in the way for them online.

What does stand for the abbreviation "O-Rtr"?

Speaking of a military Rank in Germany, WW2

Had there been a period in history where women had as much power as nowadays?

I'm high school AP level. Mostly interested in European-American answers

Does anyone have any good reading recommendations on the history of the Indian Ocean and the interplay between India, the Arab states and East Africa? I'm encountering it a lot in my (non academic) job at the moment and would love to know more of the historical context.

How long was a governorship during the Roman Republic?

Many positions in the Republic were annual, but did governors have a defined term during most of the Republic era?

Since they were meant to be drawn for consuls (and later praetors) whose terms were just ending it would make sense that they'd be annual, and the list of governors for the first province of Sicilia shows an annual pattern early on. However the Wikipedia article on proconsuls mentions that Sulla "made the governorships annual." Was an annual switch always striven for and Sulla simply codified it?

Also mentioned is that Sulla increased the number of praetors so that the total of proconsuls and propraetors would match the number of provinces, ensuring enough people to serve as a governor each year. Was that a notable change made by Sulla? Had there been a mismatch between the numbers for some time previous? And if there had been, how did that affect the appointment of governors?

Thanks (Reposted to here from its own thread as requested.)

What are the origins of the English regional saying, "stood here like clem", as in "I was waiting for you, stood here like clem." I have only heard it in the East Midlands/Sheffield area. There is a story that it comes from a time when Clement Atlee was left waiting by the King after becoming PM, but that sounds apocryphal.

What is the actual Austro-Hungarian Anthem?

Has study of new religious movements been used to provide insights into the founding and development of non new religious movements?

Where did the quote ''Russia's borders end where it is stopped'' come from?

This is more a question for a mod here than about history itself.

I want to post a question that’s really a recommendation post for the best all-encompassing history books, so that we can all generally discuss and recommend things to each other. It’s a very open ended question (as I wasn’t going to specify a place or time, just a “best books on any time period/country/lineage/etc” post), does that mean I’m not allowed to post it?

Were Brigades as a formation unit not used in US Army during WWII?

From what I know, in WWI, there were brigades in the formation between divisions and regiments. A division had 2 infantry brigades and each brigade had 2 regiments.

But in WWII, brigades don't seem to be present? A division has multiple regiments and supporting units.

Am I correct here? What was the reason for this change?

Hello all, i am looking for Renaissance manuscripts written by women that still survive today. I’ve found one for: Margery Kempe, Julian of Norwich, and Christine de Pizan (all housed at the Brit Library) if y’all have any off the top of your heads please let me know!

Looking specifically for mystics, esoteric themes (alchemy, Astrology, hermeticism, and the ‘mancy’s). However, I would take common place books or anything really at this point as long as it’s penned by a woman!

Hey all I remember reading a in a book sometime back a special message from Hitler to German soldiers on the eve of The Kursk invasion. It was something along the lines of the" fight you are about to undertake will determine the fate of Germany for the next 1000 years "or something I can't seem to find that original message just wondering if anyone here could link it?

What are some symbols that appeared across multiple ancient civilisations, for example the bag symbol appeared in ancient Egypt and gobekli tepe and the eagle with a snake in its talons appears on the Mexican flag and in Hindu mythology

I read that there was some kind of illness cauesed to kings and aristocracy in medieval times due to not eating side dish with their main dishes. Any idea what was the name of it? The illness eradicated after side dish was more common. Please help!

Can a community (say 100 to 500) have amazing memories?

(For example, say i give someone a page to read, then the person remembers it 1 month later exactly as it was)

Has there ever been a community with that memory power?