easy, action

shakespearisms:

Dockworkers in Chicago, photographed circa 1890-1900 (via)

lostsplendor:

Newspaper Vendor, Paris c. 1929 (via Retronaut)

collectivehistory:

Sinclair Dinosaurs on the Hudson being transported by barge to the New York World’s fair ca. 1964 (via Imgur) 

thevictorianlady:

Snapshots of Virginia Woolf and T. S. Eliot taken by Lady Ottoline Morrell at her home, Garsington.

history meme ∙ 3 Inventions (1/3)  The cinematograph by the Lumière brothers

Louis Lumière worked with his brother Auguste to create a motion picture camera superior to Edison’s kinetoscope. The Lumières endeavored to correct the flaws they perceived in the kinetoscope to create a machine capable of both sharper images and better illumination. The Cinématographe weighed only 16 lbs. which allowed for ease of transportation and placement. The cinematograph is sometimes associated with the “birth” of cinema or the dawn of a new age of film that replaced the pre-cinema era (x)

penthesileas:

HISTORY MEME - nine royals: empress theodora [4/9]

Theodora was empress of the Byzantine Empire and perhaps the most influential and powerful woman in its history. She worked as an actress, earning a living through a combination of theatrical and sexual skills. After traveling to North Africa as the companion of a Syrian official, she returned to Constantinople and worked as a wool spinner, and attracted the attention of the heir to the Byzantine throne, Justinian, who wanted to marry her. Though a law prohibited court officials from wedding actresses, the Emperor eventually repealed the law and Justinian and Theodora were wed. Theodora is famous for her role during the Nika Riots, proving herself a worthy and admirable leader. She spoke out against her husband’s wishes to flee the palace, claiming that it was better to die as an emperor than live on in fear and exile. She and Justinian rebuilt Constantinople after the riots, building more than twenty-five churches, including the Hagia Sophia. She participated in Justinian’s legal and spiritual reforms, and was especially involved in expanding the rights of women. She had laws passed to outlaw forced prostitution and exposure of unwanted infants, instituted the death penalty for rape, and had laws passed which expand the rights of women in divorce, property ownership, and guardianship rights over children. She died at the age of 48. (x)

1940s Bathing Beauties

history meme: 02/10 moments | Orson Welles “War of the Worlds” Radio Broadcast

On the night of October 30, 1938, families everywhere were gathered around their radios for another episode of CBS’s Mercury Theater On The Air. The evening’s episode was a radio adaptation of the H.G. Wells classic War Of The Worlds, in which the Earth is invaded from outer space and narrated by actor and future filmmaker Orson Welles, The story was familiar to many, but was about to be presented in a way that had never been heard before. Instead of simply telling the story, the broadcast presented it as a series of newscasts that interrupted “regular programming” to describe a martian invasion that started in a small town in New Jersey.
While the live news format had been used in radio drama before, it had never been done as realistically or for as long without commercial interruption. The episode prompted many listeners to flee their homes and call friends and family for verification, suggesting to many that an actual alien invasion by Martians was currently in progress. While somewhat primitive by today’s standards, the broadcast was far ahead of its time and was an early demonstration of the power of radio for both news and entertainment. [more]

youcantcancelquidditch:

the assassination of franz ferdinand was actually the most hilariously botched assassination attempt of all time though like i can’t even explain to you how badly it went i mean there were six guys and the first one chickened out and the second one forgot to factor in the delay on a hand grenade so it exploded like three cars past the archduke’s so the guy took a cyanide pill and threw himself into a river, but the cyanide was expired and the river was six inches deep so the police just pulled him out and took him off to jail and then everyone else basically gave up and headed home, and then the driver of the archduke took a wrong turn and the car stalled next to the last of the six guys, and he was just like “what a crazy random happenstance” and started world war one

donothaveagentleheart:

history meme | one/seven pairings | bonnie parker & clyde barrow

bonnie elizabeth parker and clyde chestnut barrow were well-known american outlaws, robbers, and criminals who traveled the central united states with their gang during the great depression. their exploits captured the attention of the american public during the “public enemy era” between 1931 and 1934. they and their gang are believed to have killed at least nine police officers and committed several civilian murders. the couple themselves were eventually ambushed and killed in north louisiana by law officers. [read more]

Divorced, beheaded, died. Divorced, beheaded, survived.

donothaveagentleheart:

history meme | ‘one’ war | the wars of the roses

the wars of the roses were a series of dynastic wars fought between supporters of two rival branches of the royal house of plantagenet: the houses of lancaster and york (whose heraldic symbols were the red and the white rose, respectively) for the throne of england. they were fought in several sporadic episodes between 1455 and 1485, although there was related fighting both before and after this period. they resulted from the social and financial troubles following the hundred years’ war. the final victory went to a relatively remote lancastrian claimant, henry tudor, who defeated the last yorkist king richard iii and married edward iv’s daughter elizabeth of york to unite the two houses. the house of tudor subsequently ruled england and wales for 117 years. [read more]