Obscure Histories | Bringing History to Light

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BAKU’S MAIDEN TOWER:

ZOROASTRIAN LEGENDS AND ARCHITECTURAL MYSTERIES

Dr. Mahir Khalifa-Zadeh & Leyla Khalifazadeh

The Baku Maiden Tower in Baku, Azerbaijan has a long and mysterious history, complete with stories of legendary warriors and even its own ballet.

Dr. Mahir Khalifa-zadeh and Leyla Khalifazadeh take us through the rich Zoroastrian tradition associated with the Maiden Tower, and why it's meaningful to people in Azerbaijan and beyond.

Obscure Histories is a collection of original, rigorously researched, and accessible pieces about

overlooked people, places, things, events, and ideas.

We are a community-led online collection and a 501(c)(3). organization.

The OH Community decides on the content.

We welcome all submissions and proposals.

Check out the Submission Guidelines to learn more about our publication process.

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BROWSE RECENT HISTORIES

Baku's Maiden Tower: Zoroastrian Legends & Architectural Mysteries

The Snowman: A brief history of a winter entertainment

The "weird" law against killing camels in Arizona

"Save the Day": The American Civil War origins of a superhero phrase

Frances Perkins: Labor Secretary for FDR, and the brains behind the New Deal

Olga of Kyiv: Ingenious Avenger, Leader, and Saint

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Valentine Greatrakes

This faith healer of the "King's Evil" threatened the newly restored King Charles II in England.

US 22 cent stamp showing Greely and his expedition to northern Greenland

Adolphus Greely's expedition

Established a chain of meteorological stations in Greenland.

An etching of Katterfelto in a wig, pointing at spot on the wall showing illuminated microorganisms

Katterfelto and his Live Insects

This quack 18th Century magician showed microorganisms in his lectures, and ran into some trouble

A stamp of Billy Mitchell with a biplane

Billy Mitchell and US air power

After WWI, Billy Mitchell advocated for the use of airplanes to drop bombs on targets

A black and white image of a young Kate Shelley in a black, high neck shirt with a white collar.

Kate Shelley and the Midnight Train

A teenage girl in Iowa averts a terrible train disaster

A picture of the airship the Wingfoot Express, tethered to the ground and surrounded by a crowd of people.

The Wingfoot Express Disaster

Airships were thought to be the next thing in travel, but the disaster had people thinking otherwise

Phillis Wheatley

Poet who helped define early America

A still from the movie, A Trip To The Moon, with a spaceship stick in the Moon's eye

George Méliès and early film

The magician pioneered special effects in film

Two poses of Dr. Mary Edwards in black trousers and a long black suit coat, leaning up against a chair in a salon

Dr. Mary Edwards Walker

A female surgeon in the Civil War, and the first woman to receive a Medal of Honor

A black and white photograph of an older man in a black suit and tie, with white fluffy hair, glasses, and kind eyes.

Hiram Bingham IV

US Diplomat saved thousands of Jewish people in WWII.

Hanaoka Seishu

Surgeon developed general anesthesia in Edo Japan

A wood panel showing columns of Japanese kanji, with brightly colored shapes above each column

Japanese Geometry

This sacred geometry developed completely independent of the West

Matthew Henson in a fur parka he wore to the North Pole.

Matthew Henson, Explorer

Co-Discover of the North Pole

The fingerprints of Francesca Rojas, which lead to her conviction for murder

The science of fingerprinting

The science of fingerprinting was formalized in Argentina in a sensational murder case

Stinson's drawing of three large shark teeth, "Glossopetrae Maiores"

Niels Stenson & Geology

Used shark teeth to argue for the existence of sedimentation

A public notice banning Christmas festivities in 1659

The Pilgrim Christmas Ban

Some new American colonists through that Christmas was too fun in 1659

An etching of an indigenous man with an ax threatening a priest

Paquiquineo (Don Luis)

The complicated story of an Indigenous man in Virginia, who became a Jesuit and then abandoned the faith

Irene Morgan

Before Rosa Parks, this woman also refused to give up her seat

Little Ice Age

Climate Change was Important Even at Jamestown

Computer Scientist Grace Hopper

Computer Programmer, Mathematician, & Navy Rear Admiral

The Mary Rose

A cautionary tale of over-arming

A War By Any Other Name

Conflicts in the American Colonies

Japanese fire balloons

First intercontinental weapons system

Columbia and the Chinese Question political ad

Columbia: Allegory of America

Columbia was the Spirit of America

The Illusionists of El-Alamein

Magicians on the African front in WWII

Whether you are a lifelong learner, a student looking for a novel paper topic, or a teacher looking for flexible and primary-sourced material, we hope to have something here to entertain and enlighten.

OBSCURE

HISTORIES

BRINGING HISTORY TO LIGHT

OBSCURE
HISTORIES, JR.

THE HISTORY DOCUMENTARY CURRICULUM

Learn to write, edit, and produce a
history documentary video.

NEW HISTORY

BROWSE RECENT HISTORIES

THE RABBIT HOLE

DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH

TRY ME

LINKS GO TO
Sheridan's Ride Cedar Creek
Each post comes with its own curated search.

VIDEO

MORE HISTORIES

HISTORY WITH SCIENCE

BRINGING HISTORY TO LIGHT
Obscure Histories is a 501(c)(3)

OBSCURE

HISTORIES

BRINGING HISTORY TO LIGHT

OBSCURE HISTORIES, JR.

THE HISTORY DOCUMENTARY CURRICULUM

Learn to write, edit, and produce a history documentary video.

NEW HISTORY

BROWSE RECENT HISTORIES

THE RABBIT HOLE

DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH

TRY ME

LINKS GO TO Sheridan's Ride Cedar Creek Each post comes with its own curated search.

VIDEO

MORE HISTORIES

HISTORY WITH SCIENCE

OBSCURE
HISTORIES, JR.

Learn to write, edit, and produce a
history documentary video.

LINKS GO TO
Sheridan's Ride Cedar Creek
Each post comes with its own curated search.