| By J. Robert Parks | The Meiji Restoration, one of the pivotal periods in Japanese history, began in 1868 with the overthrow of the Tokugawa shogunate and the re-establishment of imperial rule. The new emperor, Mutsuhito, was only 16 years old when he came to power, so he initially ruled in conjunction with advisors … Read more
| By J. Robert Parks | The alliance of Britain and the United States with the Soviet Union during World War II was always one of convenience—the three Allied powers had a common enemy in Nazi Germany. So it wasn’t a surprise when that alliance quickly turned tense after the war. Although the United States … Read more
| By J. Robert Parks | Every year on May 26, the country of Australia holds “National Sorry Day.” This is a day to commemorate the terrible ways British colonizers and Australians treated the country’s Indigenous Peoples, the Aborigines and the Torres Strait Islanders, throughout the country’s history. Along with apologizing for past actions and … Read more
| By J. Robert Parks | For students who have grown up with cell phones and their conveniences, trying to understand what life was like before everyone had one can be a challenge. This week provides a useful teaching moment, as it marks the 50th anniversary of the first mobile phone call. On April 3, … Read more
| By J. Robert Parks | In light of the last three years, the 2003 SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) epidemic may strike many as almost quaint. It led to barely 8,000 known cases and was responsible for just 774 deaths worldwide. At the time, however, it was seen as a potentially devastating new illness … Read more
| By Kris Krapp | From abolitionists and authors to entertainers and world leaders, there are countless women worth celebrating during Women’s History Month. Need inspiration for women to highlight in your school or library? Explore ideas to help students learn about women’s history using Gale In Context resources. Start Women’s History Month with Gale’s … Read more
| By J. Robert Parks | Like 1968 and 1989, the year 1848 was a year of revolution in Europe. It began 175 years ago this week (February 22-24) with a revolution in France (not the French Revolution, which happened almost 60 years earlier). Rebellions in Germany, Austria, and Hungary followed in March; smaller uprisings … Read more
|By J. Robert Parks| December 27 marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of Louis Pasteur. Pasteur’s contributions, especially in the fields of chemistry and microbiology, are foundational to modern science, and his developments in the areas of vaccines and immunology are particularly relevant today. Gale In Context: World History has a rich collection of … Read more
| By J. Robert Parks | On October 18, 1922, the British Broadcasting Company was founded. Known throughout the world as the BBC, it was originally a private company that was granted a monopoly on wireless communication. Of course, in those days, wireless communication had nothing to do with cell phones or texting. Instead, it … Read more
Two hundred years ago this week, on September 11, 1822, the Catholic Church formally removed Galileo Galilei’s writings from its Index of Prohibited Books. Despite the fact that Galileo was a devoted Catholic, the conflict between him and the Catholic Church over the view of the sun, and not the earth, as the center of … Read more