Footnoting History

(Host: Lucy)

How much is it impossible to know about an icon? This episode investigates Tadeusz Kościuszko’s place in historical memory. From the early 19th century onwards, myths coalesced around him and his role in the Polish struggle for independence. Paradoxically, his contemporary fame can make it harder for historians to find facts. As a disabled war veteran who fought for racial and religious equality, moreover, Kościuszko is a figure more complex than the heroic narratives that have often formed around him.

(Host: Lucy)

Tadeusz Kościuszko was a leader in the Age of Revolutions, lending strategic expertise to the Continental Army during the American Revolution, and trying on no fewer than three occasions to secure lasting independence for his native Poland. He also managed to personally offend Napoleon. This podcast gets into lost love, international politics, peasants with pitchforks, the anti-slavery movement, and why Kościuszko crossed the Atlantic so many times.

(Host: Josh)

When someone says "Washington" and "revolution" in the same sentence, George immediately comes to mind. But there's another Washington that we should know, one that George Washington enslaved. Harry Washington escaped from his enslavement, fought for the British in during the American Revolution, and eventually fought in his own revolution in Sierra Leone. Let's take another look at the American Revolution in this episode of Footnoting History.

(Host: Christine) 

In 1884, a yacht called Mignonette left England for Australia but never reached its destination. After it was lost, those aboard were adrift at sea for weeks, resorting to desperate measures for survival. Here, Christine covers the ill-fated voyage, the murder trial it sparked, and how the story lives on in pop culture. 

(Hosts: Christine, Kristin, Josh)

A tradition continues! Celebrate with us through this episode about the history surrounding a selection of end-of-the-year holidays.

(Christine and Josh) One of the most powerful popes of the Middle Ages, Innocent III made sure to have his hand in everything from religious wars like the Crusades to political squabbles with kings. Here, Josh and Christine take a look at some of the most interesting points in the life of the controversial pontiff. 

(Host: Lucy) 

What ties together a Revolutionary War hero, a Hollywood film director, and twentieth-century Poland’s quest for political independence? The Kościuszko Squadron was an international flying squad, whose airmen included former prisoners of war, idealistic Americans, and international adventurers. The Polish-Soviet War is a conflict that, having taken place in the shadow of the First World War, is largely overlooked in the US today. But at the time, the conflict and the Kościuszko Squadron, named after Tadeusz Kościuszko, generated international enthusiasm and publications from Polish-American presses. This podcast explores this flamboyant, neglected history.

(Hosts: Christine, Kristin, Lucy) It's hard to believe but here we are celebrating a decade of creepy stories from history for our favorite scary holiday!

(Kristin) 

In 1324, a woman named Alice Kyteler was accused of witchcraft in Kilkenny, Ireland. Her story is mysterious and fascinating and considered a landmark case in the history of European witch trials. Find out what happened – or didn’t – this week on Footnoting History!

(Christine) In 1913, Leo Frank was arrested for the murder of 13-year-old Mary Phagan in Atlanta, Georgia. Two years later, he, too, was dead. In this episode, Christine explores the complicated case and its perhaps unexpected musical theatre legacy.

(Kristin) Ever stopped to think about how amazing it is that you have this box, in your home, that keeps food cold? Reliable, at-home refrigeration is pretty new to history – and utterly transformative of how we live. Learn about how this technology came to be so commonplace – and how it changed the world, this week on Footnoting History! 

(Samantha) In the summer of 1678 a defrocked preacher named Titus Oates claimed to have knowledge of a Catholic plot to kill King Charles II and to replace him with his crypto-Catholic brother. At first the story gained no traction, reported as it was by a man of dubious reputation, but when Sir Edmund Berry Godfrey (the man who had first investigated Oates’ story) was found dead people started listening. This week we’ll lay it all out for you: who was Titus Oats? What’s the deal with Godfrey’s death? And what happened when people came to believe that there was a plot against Charles? 

(Christine) Of the four sons of King Henry II of England and Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine who lived to adulthood, only one was never called king. In this episode we look at the life of Geoffrey, duke of Brittany, including why he has a reputation for being conniving and the fates of the children he left behind. 

(Lucy and Rachel) In the often-chaotic society of sixteenth-century England, many people enthusiastically consumed true crime narratives in songs, news, and theater plays. Then as now, true crime narratives often centered on community crime-solving as a way of dealing with sensational and upsetting violence. Whether in the form of domestic tragedies or elaborate revenge dramas, true crime played to packed houses in the theaters of Elizabethan London. Amid religious and political upheaval, the popularity of true crime attested not just to evolving habits of media consumption, but also to powerful desires for communal order and mutual responsibility. In this episode, Lucy and guest host Dr. Rachel Clark examine true love, strong hate, and swift revenge – and why audiences tend to love a good murder.

(Josh) In 1896, retired from his life in the so-called "Wild West," Wyatt Earp was asked to referee a boxing match. But not just any boxing match - a bout that would determine the new heavyweight champion. Two legendary boxers, Bob Fitzsimmons and Tom Sharkey, duked it out in San Francisco. The legendary lawman Earp allegedly fixed the fight. On this episode of Footnoting History, come along from a walk through the seedy underbelly of illegal prizefighting and learn how Earp found himself at the center of tremendous controversy.

(Kristin) The 19th-century was on the cutting edge of some new technology and a new religious movement, and they intersected in some interesting – and surprising – ways. Find out how spirit photography became A Thing and how William Mumler “captured” the ghost of Abraham Lincoln in this week’s episode of Footnoting History. 

(Lucy) Defying Nazis and gender norms, Marlene Dietrich was far more than an Oscar-nominated actress… though she was that too. From Weimar Berlin’s cabaret scene to golden-age Hollywood and beyond, Dietrich carved a distinctive path for herself, and crafted an iconic star image. While that star image relied in large part on a cloud of golden hair and long, elegant legs, Dietrich was also often gender-non-conforming, on and off the stage and screen. This podcast episode looks at her international, multilingual, and intermittently scandalous life and career.

(Samantha) During his coronation ceremony Charles III will sit on a chair built by Edward I over 725 years ago to house the Stone of Destiny (also called the Stone of Scone), that he had recently stolen from the Scots. Tune in today to learn more about the Stone of Destiny, where it comes from, and why it mattered so much that a bunch of students from Glasgow bothered to steal it in 1950.

(Josh) While one of the safest cities in the United States today, El Paso, Texas was one of America's most dangerous cities in the 1880s. Run by gunslingers, gambling brokers, and brothel madams, the city often descended into significant bouts of violence. One such episode occurred when the most renowned madams in the city, Alice Abbott, invaded the home of her chief rival, Etta Clark. The dispute ended with Alice Abbot shot and Etta Clark arrested for attempted murder. Eventually, Clark's brothel burned down. On this episode we unpack these events and get to the root of what they can tell us about this lively border town.

(Christine) In the summer of 1899, young New York newspaper sellers took a stand against publishing magnates Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst. In this episode, Christine looks at the causes, events, and outcome of the strike, as well as how it inspired a Disney cult classic film almost a century later.

(Kristin) In 1800, Levi Weeks was accused of the murder of Elma Sands in New York City and throwing her body down a well. His defense team included Henry Livingston, Aaron Burr, and Alexander Hamilton. His is the first murder trial in the United States to have a recorded transcript … but there are still many unanswered questions as to what happened the night of December 22, 1799. Join Kristin as she looks at the most sensational trial of the new 19th century this week on Footnoting History!

(Christine) In January of 1829, a widow named Margaret O'Neale Timberlake married John Eaton, a United States Senator with his star on the rise. Inspired by the suggestion of a Footnoting History listener, Christine uses this episode to dive into the details of her life, including the marriage that caused tempers to flare in President Andrew Jackson’s Cabinet and the lesser-discussed drama of her later years.

(Samantha) Often it is hard to get any sense of what life was like in the past. This week, Sam will take you into the Norwich Leet Roll of 1288. This local court record that listed fines for everyday transgressions provides unique insights to the lived experience in a medieval city. Join her to consider the social realities that it exposes.

(Christine, Kristin, Josh, Lucy, Samantha) It's our birthday! Footnoting History first launched in February of 2013. To celebrate turning ten, all of our current hosts (yes, all!) picked out their favorite historical footnotes to share. This episode contains anecdotes from a variety of centuries covering things like music, fruit, medieval royalty, and presidential inaugurations. We hope you'll enjoy them as much as we do.

(Lucy) Rebecca Gratz helped to shape the vibrant cultural life of Philadelphia after the Revolutionary War. A second-generation immigrant, she supported artists and public institutions, and pioneered co-ed religious and cultural education for American Jewish children. She lived a remarkable life, and lived long enough to be photographed. She is also sometimes credited with being the real-life prototype for one of the nineteenth century’s most popular heroines, Sir Walter Scott’s Rebecca.

(Josh) It’s POPE NAVY time! When Church leaders gathered at the Council of Vienne in 1311, King Henry II of Cyprus promised Pope Clement V a fleet of ships which would have the purpose of enforcing trade embargoes the papacy had enacted. These trade embargoes aimed to prevent Latin Christians from engaging in trade with Muslims and certain non-Latin Christians. While not built until later in the fourteenth century, the papal fleet appeared in many crusade proposals in the first few decades of that century. Come sail the heretical sea on this voyage of Footnoting History.

(Christine, Josh, Kristin) The so-called holiday season that ends every year is filled with fascinating history. For our second year in a row, we are bringing you some holiday-themed history to help you say goodbye to 2022 in style.

(Christine, Kristin) Continuing our look at the career of one of medieval England's most famous knights, Christine and Kristin turn their eyes to William Marshal's older years, including his marriage, his continued association with kings, and that time he was named regent of the kingdom.

(Christine, Kristin) What did a man have to do in the Middle Ages to have many call him 'the greatest knight'? Join Christine and Kristin for their dive into the life of William Marshal, from his beginning as a younger son with few prospects to his place in a royal household.

(Christine, Lucy, Kristin) From haunted houses to hysterical historical happenings, our team is here again with snippets of creepy stories from the past to celebrate Halloween.

(Kristin) It’s an unsolved mystery: Licoricia of Winchester, once the wealthiest woman in England, was found stabbed to death, with her maid, in 1277. Licoricia was a businessperson, whose clients included the king of England. She was a wife and a mother. She was also Jewish. The life, times, and circumstances of this extraordinary woman reveal a lot about the history of women and Jews in medieval England, and her death remains a puzzle to historians. 

(Christine) Picking up where we left off in Part I, Christine looks at World War II through as experienced by the Milnes (both on the home front and in the military), explains how post-war life saw a dramatic change in the family's dynamics, and follows Christopher as he becomes a family man with his own career and interesting insights into topics like war, disability, and the book industry. 

(Christine) In January, Christine brought you the story of that silly old bear, Winnie-the-Pooh. Now, she’s back (thanks to listener requests!) with an in-depth look at the family that brought him to life: A.A. Milne, his wife, Daphne, and their son, Christopher. 
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(Josh) The Industrial Revolution of the 1830s provoked a considerable amount of anxiety in the United States. While some turned their attention to combatting the scourge of alcohol, others ran away from the new society created by industrialization. Looking for connection and a return to simpler times, many Americans joined groups that offered the perfect society. One such community, in Oneida, New York promised such a society, but as we'll continue to discover this week, they found a bit more than they may have bargained for. 

(Josh) The Industrial Revolution of the 1830s provoked a considerable amount of anxiety in the United States. While some turned their attention to combatting the scourge of alcohol, others ran away from the new society created by industrialization. Looking for connection and a return to simpler times, many Americans joined groups that offered the perfect society. One such community, in Oneida, New York promised such a society, but as we'll discover, they found a bit more than they may have bargained for. 

(Lucy) Dancer, court favorite, and popular celebrity in late 17th-century England, Jeffrey Hudson was distinguished not chiefly by his achievements, but by his size. Born with dwarfism, Hudson was known as “Lord Minimus.” His diminutive stature and social ableism meant that his court career was dependent in some ways on his novelty. A favorite of Queen Henrietta Maria, Jeffrey Hudson was painted by Van Dyck, and frequently figured in court entertainments. This podcast looks at his life, and what it can tell us about disability in early modern England.

(Samantha) Maria Sibylla Merian was born in 1647 – a time when women were not expected to thrive as artists or scientists but she defied all odds to become both and in the process she illuminated the process of metamorphosis.

(Christine and Kristin) You asked, we answered! Join Footnoting History's producers for our first-ever episode entirely dedicated to answering your questions about everything and anything related to history and our show.

(Samantha) Today, the name Godiva evokes two things: fine chocolates, and a gorgeous blonde nude astride a horse. But in her own time Godgifu was best known as the wife of the earl of Mercia and as the generous benefactor of religious houses in Coventry and Lincolnshire. This episode will take you through what we know about this woman and will hint at the origins and growth of her legend through the middle ages and beyond.

(Lucy) ​Ambitious, resilient, and internationally famous, Anna May Wong was one of the biggest movie stars of the 1930s. She had her first starring role in Hollywood before she was 20. She had also left Hollywood twice by the time she was 30, frustrated by the racism she faced as a Chinese-American woman. Throughout her career, she had to fight racism and censorship rules to get leading roles. But she also made international headlines for her performances on stage and screen. Though comparatively obscure today, Anna May Wong was a celebrity and style icon in a time when the options for women’s roles were being redefined in art and life.

(Josh) To know American History is to know the history of substance abuse. Whether alcohol, tobacco, or narcotics, Americans have sought the comfort of substances to ease the pains of the world and to "lubricate" life. And as long as there have been addicts in the United States, there have been others who claim to know the way out of addiction. At the end of the nineteenth century, Dr. Leslie Keeley claimed to have invented a cure to solve the addiction crisis he saw in the US. In order to deliver this cure, Keeley opened at least one treatment center in every US state. His cure? Injecting gold into the veins of patients. Chase a dragon along a gilded path on this episode of Footnoting History.

(Christine) When we last left the Brothers York, Edmund was dead for several years, while Edward had become King Edward IV of England, Richard was his staunch ally, and George was imprisoned after periods of rebellion and dramatic behavior. In this episode, Christine picks up the narrative and discusses George’s fate, the end of Edward IV’s reign, the rise and fall of Richard III, and the end of the Wars of the Roses.

(Christine) Richard, Duke of York, and his wife Cecily Neville had four famous sons: Edward, Edmund, George, and Richard. In this episode and the next, Christine will take a look at the lives of the four brothers whose lives were consumed by a fight for the crown known as the Wars of the Roses, and sometimes succeeded in winning it.

(Lucy) Poet and activist, scholar and politician, Sarojini Naidu inhabited many roles. The daughter of privilege, she enjoyed an elite education... and defied her family in marrying for love. Before women students could receive degrees, she studied at universities in both India and England, including at Girton College, Cambridge. A gifted poet, she was known as the "Nightingale of India," and wrote about topics including her own experience of chronic illness. She was involved in activism and politics, supporting women's suffrage in England, and working internationally for the cause of Indian independence from the 1920s onwards. This podcast examines both her extraordinary life and her distinctive literary voice.

(Samantha) When his father died in 1846, Levi Strauss was left with few opportunities as a Jewish youth in his native Bavaria and so he left with his mother and sisters for New York where he joined his brothers’ modest dry good business. A few years later he moved to San Francisco to run the west coast branch of the family firm. Levi went on to build up a successful business and to become a well-respected, millionaire philanthropist while popularizing a new form of clothing: blue jeans.

(Kristin) Ever wondered about the origins of Valentine’s Day and whether it was purely the invention of the greeting card industry? Join Kristin this week on Footnoting History to explore the development of our modern celebration of St. Valentine’s Day.  

(Kristin) Think you know how the Salem Witch Trials started? You may be surprised. Join Kristin on this week’s episode of Footnoting History to explore the origins of the 1692 trials and find out what historians know … and what we only wish we knew. 

(Christine) Winnie-the-Pooh has lived in the the hearts of people of all ages since the 1920s. Here, Christine traces the life of the famous bear (and his friends) from his origins in the family of author A.A. Milne and his acquisition by the Disney Company, all the way to his current place of residence.

For more information, please visit FootnotingHistory.com

(Christine, Josh, Kristin) Join us as we say goodbye to 2021 with a series of historical anecdotes related to holidays, from Hanukkah to Christmas to New Year's.

 

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(Elizabeth) How did Joel Chandler Harris's stories on Br'er Rabbit, Br'er Bear, and Br'er Fox go from beloved to problematic in the mid-twentieth century? In this episode, Elizabeth traces the story of how Joel Chandler Harris's work became Song of the South.  

 

Click here for tips for Teaching with Podcasts! Or here to buy some FH Merch! We are now on Youtube with accessible captions checked by members of our team!

And you can find out how to support us through our FH Patreon to help keep our content open access!