On this day 55 years ago, a group of girls, aged eleven to fifteen, were abducted by the police and unlawfully imprisoned in a condemned stockade for taking part in a peaceful protest. The girls were subjected to inhumane conditions and unable to contact their families for rescue. …

This script was recorded for the GirlSpeak podcast in early 2021. To listen to the episode, click here. How old was Pocahontas? In Disney’s movie version, she’s a young unmarried woman — fully developed, falling in love with the adventurous hero John Smith, later marrying the wholesome John Rolfe. In…

Originally appearing at GirlMuseum.org In December 2021, Heritage Daily published “The early life of Cleopatra” to describe the fascinating rise of power of Pharaoh Cleopatra VII (69 BC to 10 BC), who solely ruled Egypt from age 18 to her death. The problem is, Heritage Daily just wrote the dry…

This article originally appeared as a presentation at the Brian Bertoti Innovative Perspectives in History Graduate Research Conference, Virginia Tech, where it won the Brian Bertoti Award for 2013. Barbie. No word evokes more joy or controversy than the name of the doll created by Ruth Handler of Mattel. Born…

Five million years ago, the island of Kaua’i was created as part of the Hawaiian archipelago. Over the eons, the island became a tropical paradise, filled with all the resources needed to sustain human occupation. Yet it was only in the last thousand years that the island became home to…

Do you know Virginia Dare? Born in August 1587, Virginia was the first English baby born in the Americas (of which we know — more on that in a moment). She was the granddaughter of John White, a founder of the Roanoke Colony in what is now North Carolina, born…

Around 1050 CE, something extraordinary happened in the floodplain of the Mississippi River. Centered around what is now Collinsville, Illinois, a city arose that has astounded explorers and archaeologists for over two centuries: Cahokia. As part of a trio of sites — the East St. Louis mounds, St. Louis mounds…

In this article, we’re talking about childhood in the Early Modern period, which followed the Middle Ages — or Medieval — period. It began roughly around 1450 CE and lasted to about 1815. Like other times, the Early Modern was experienced in a variety of ways based on where and…

Americas, Ottomans, Qing China, and Pirates — In this article, we’re talking about childhood in the Early Modern period, which followed the Middle Ages — or Medieval — period. It began roughly around 1450 CE and lasted to about 1815. Like other times, the Early Modern was experienced in a variety of ways based on where and…