Discovery History

When gold was first discovered on the American River above Sutter's Fort in January 1848, California was sparsely populated frontier territory not yet ceded to the United States from Mexixo. The discovery triggered a massive influx as hundreds of thousands of people scrambled to California in search of riches, braving dangerous journeys across the Pacific, around Cape Horn, and through the Isthmus of Panama, as well as across America's vast, unsettled wilderness. Cities sprang up overnight, in response to the demand for supplies and services of all kinds.

Did Peary reach the North Pole? Was Admiral Byrd the first to fly over it? Did Frederick Cook actually make the first ascent of Mt. McKinley? Spanning 450 years of history, Great Exploration Hoaxes tells the spellbinding stories of ten men who pursued glory at any cost even the truth.

It was November 1806. The explorers had gone without food for one day, then two. Their leader, not yet thirty, drove on, determined to ascend the great mountain. Waist deep in snow, he reluctantly turned back. But Zebulon Pike had not been defeated. His name remained on the unclimbed peak-and new adventures lay ahead of him and his republic. In Citizen Explorer, historian Jared Orsi provides the first modern biography of this soldier and explorer, who rivaled contemporaries Meriwether Lewis and William Clark.

Leif Erikson was born to be an explorer. His father, Erik the Red, had established the first European settlement in present-day Greenland, and although he didn't yet know it, Leif was destined to embark on an adventure of his own. The wise and striking Viking landed in the area known as Vinland almost five centuries before Christopher Columbus even set sail! "Leif the Lucky" and the other fierce, sea-fearing pirates were accomplished navigators who raided foreign lands for resources, hunted for their food, and passed down Old Norse myths from one generation to the next.

Reaching the top of the world in 1953 was one of the most significant achievements in the history of human endurance.

"The golden age of piracy" generally refers to the era when history's most famous pirates roamed the seas of the West Indies from 1670-1720.

Nazi Germany's North African defeat opened up the possibility of taking the war in the West to the European continent for the first time since France's lightning conquest by the Wehrmacht in 1940. The British chose Sicily as the target for military operations in the summer of 1943. The preparations included bombing missions over Italy ahead of an amphibious landing, and on April 4, 1943, one of the planes that took off from Libya to bomb Naples was the Lady Be Good, a B-24D Liberator bomber with a crew that had never flown a combat mission.

Is there more than one history of the world? This is the question Pierce Moffett is seeking to answer when, jilted and newly jobless, he gets off a bus by chance in the Faraway Hills and steps unawares into a story that has been awaiting him there. His search will bring him into contact with Rosie Rasmussen, another seeker marked by loss. And it will lead them both on a path toward the longed-for country of our oldest dreams and most unanswerable desires, toward a magnificent discovery.

When twenty-two-year-old aspiring geologist Charles Darwin boarded HMS Beagle in 1831 with his microscopes and specimen bottles—invited by ship’s captain Robert FitzRoy who wanted a travel companion at least as much as a ship’s naturalist—he hardly thought he was embarking on what would become perhaps the most important and epoch-changing voyage in scientific history.

The Voyage of the Beagle - or, to give it its full title, Journal of researches into the Natural History and Geology of the Countries visited during the Voyage round the World of H.M.S. Beagle under command of Captain FitzRoy, R.N. - is much more than merely an account of Darwin's scientific observations in his 1831 - 36 travels across the globe: it is fine travel writing in its own right.

Thousands of American settlers endured the long trip of more than 2,000 miles between Missouri and Oregon in the mid-1800s. They were determined to make a better life for themselves. They faced many hardships and made tough choices. Now the choices are yours. Would you rather run out of food supplies or spare wagon parts? Would you ford the river and get across faster but risk your wagon overturning? Or would you take apart your wagon and float it across but risk delaying your time-sensitive journey? It's your turn to pick this or that!

Unlock the hidden history and fascinating developments in the world of forensic science with Historical Milestones in Forensic Science. This comprehensive eBook embarks on a captivating journey through time, exploring the moments and breakthroughs that have defined forensic science as we know it today. Begin with an insightful introduction that sets the stage for the evolution of forensic practices from ancient Egypt, China, and Rome, demonstrating the foundational role these civilizations played in shaping forensic techniques. Uncover the birth of medicolegal death investigation, tracing ...

A woman’s passion; a Viking’s fury: Together their love conquered all…… She was a beautiful young Irish woman, he was a bold Viking--mortal enemies drawn together by an emotion much stronger than hatred. Despite the differences of their worlds their love will overcome incredible odds. Sold into slavery by his own brother and taken to the Province of Munster, Wolfram spent his days in despair until Deidre’s kindness touched his heart. Not only did she bring him food and soothing words, she gave him hope for his future, setting him free from his bondage despite the threat of her own...

John Wesley Powell’s first descent of the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon in 1869 counts among the most dramatic chapters in American exploration history. When the Canyon spit out the surviving members of the expedition - starving, battered, and nearly naked - they had accomplished what others thought impossible and finished the exploration of continental America that Lewis and Clark had begun almost 70 years before.

On 22 August 1485, Richard III was killed at Bosworth Field, the last king of England to die in battle. His victorious opponent, Henry Tudor (the future Henry VII), went on to found one of our most famous ruling dynasties. Richard's body was displayed in undignified fashion for two days in nearby Leicester and then hurriedly buried in the church of the Greyfriars. Fifty years later, at the time of the dissolution of the monasteries, the king's grave was lost - its contents believed to be emptied into the river Soar - and Richard III's reputation buried under a mound of Tudor propaganda.

Impossible Monsters reveals the central role of dinosaurs and their discovery in toppling traditional religious authority, and in changing perceptions about the Bible, history, and mankind's place in the world.

Have you ever craved a book that combines quirky facts with awe-inspiring insights? Looking for a fun way to share intriguing stories with family and friends? "Fun Facts Book: Wacky Inventions and Surprising Discoveries" is your gateway to a world of unexpected breakthroughs designed to captivate explorers of all ages without being too simplistic or complex.

Latitude is a gloriously exciting tale of adventure and scientific discovery that has never been told before. Nicholas Crane, the former president of the Royal Geographic Society, documents the remarkable expedition undertaken by a group of 12 European adventurer-scientists in the mid-18th century. The team spent years in South America, scaling volcanoes and traversing jungles, before they achieved their goal of establishing the exact shape of the Earth by measuring the length of one degree latitude at the equator.

Brimming with enthralling details and personalities, Toby Lester's The Fourth Part of the World spotlights Martin Waldseemüller's 1507 world map and recounts the epic tale of the mariners and scholars who facilitated this watershed of Western history.

At once an incredible adventure narrative and a penetrating biographical portrait, The River of Doubt is the true story of Theodore Roosevelt's harrowing exploration of one of the most dangerous rivers on earth.