Stuff You Missed In History Class

The history of mammography begins with the discovery of X-rays in 1895. But it took a very long time for breast imaging to advance, in part because it wasn't prioritized.  Research: “The St George’s Four: Meet the women that shaped St George’s.” St. George’s University of London. 3/8/2019. https://www.sgul.ac.uk/news/the-st-george-s-four-meet-the-women-that-shaped-st-george-s American Physical Society. “This Month in Physics History.” November 2001 (Volume 10, Number 10). https://www.aps.org/publications/apsnews/200111/history.cfm Bassett, Lawrence W. and Richard H. Gold. “The Evolution of Mammography.” AJR 150:493-498, March 1988. Bhidé, Amar et al. “Case Histories of Significant Medical Advances: Mammography.” Harvard Business School Working Paper 20-002. 2021. CROWTHER, J. Röntgen Centenary and Fifty Years of X-Rays. Nature 155, 351–353 (1945). https://doi.org/10.1038/155351a0 Davis, Devra. “The Secret History Of Mammography.” HuffPost. 11/17/2011. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-secret-history-of-mam_

Anthony van Dyck was a commercially successful painter in Antwerp and Italy, but he may have had the most influence in England when he served as court painter to King Charles I. Research: Blake, Robin. “Anthony Van Dyck.”  Ivan R. Dee. 2009. “Anthony Van Dyck.” The Art Story. https://www.theartstory.org/artist/van-dyck-anthony/ Maddicott, Hilary. “‘Qualis vita, finis ita’: The life and death of Margaret Lemon, mistress of Van Dyck.” The Burlington Magazine. February 2018. https://www.burlington.org.uk/media/_file/generic/article-42279.pdf?fbclid=IwAR2dE5AscipktnTy4QDCc0CN_cYOlVYCPkNerrHsR0oi0V4zCUdiOpEz2to Solly, Meilan. “Digital Art Detectives Identify Original van Dyck Portrait.” Smithsonian. Oct. 10, 2019. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/digital-art-detectives-identify-original-van-dyck-portrait-spanish-royal-180973308/ Liedtke, Walter. “Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640) and Anthony van Dyck (1599–1641): Paintings.” The Met. October 2003. https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/rvd_p/hd_rvd_p.htm Vance, H

This 2013 episode covers a tsunami that struck the coast of Japan in January 1700, . It took a while -- a long while -- to figure out where the catalyzing earthquake had been.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Holly talks about her infatuation with the show "Succession," and why Tracy might not like it. Tracy talks about a unique bridge designed by John Roebling. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Emily Warren Roebling played a crucial role in the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge after her husband became disabled. It’s a story of an engineering marvel and what mainstream U.S. society expected of women and disabled people in the 19th century.  Research: American Monthly Magazine. “Mrs. Washington A. Roebling.” Daughters of the American Revolution. 1892. https://archive.org/details/americanmonthlymv17daug/ Ashworth, William B. Jr. “Emily Warren Roebling.” Linda Hall Library. https://www.lindahall.org/about/news/scientist-of-the-day/emily-warren-roebling/ Bennett, Jessica. “Emily Warren Roebling.” New York Times. 2018. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/obituaries/overlooked-emily-warren-roebling.html Bowery Boys. “PODCAST: The Brooklyn Bridge.” 1/11/2008. https://www.boweryboyshistory.com/2008/01/brooklyn-bridge.html Brady, Sean. “The Brooklyn Bridge: Tragedy Overcome (Part 1).” The Structural Engineer. March 2015. Brady, Sean. “The Brooklyn Bridge: Tragedy Overcome (Part 2).” The Structural En

In 1935, miner Alexei Stakhanov became a hero of labor in the Soviet Union, and the Stakhanovite movement began. But what was touted as an organic step forward to greater productivity by Stalin was truly a carefully planned PR effort. Research: Applebaum, Anne. "Holodomor". Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 Jan. 2024, https://www.britannica.com/event/Holodomor Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "kulak". Encyclopedia Britannica, 24 Nov. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/topic/kulak Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Stakhanov". Encyclopedia Britannica, 10 Jun. 2008, https://www.britannica.com/place/Stakhanov Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “Industrialization, 1929-34.” https://www.britannica.com/place/Soviet-Union/Industrialization-1929-34 Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Lavrenty Beria". Encyclopedia Britannica, 19 Dec. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Lavrenty-Beria Kotkin, Stephen. “Stalin: Waiting for Hitler, 1929-1941.” Penguin. 2017. “Soviet leaders' gifts go on show

This 2013 episode covers Hypatia, one of the earliest female mathematicians and astronomers. Though she wasn't the very first, she was among the greatest. At the time of her murder, she was the foremost mathematician and astronomer in the West, and possibly in the world.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tracy explains why there aren't any repatriations or exhumations in this week's edition of Unearthed! There's also discussion of all the ways a sandal might end up in a well. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

  Finishing out discussion of things literally and figuratively dug up in the last months of 2023, we're covering shipwrecks, art, animals, and the miscellaneous category we call potpourri. Research: Alberge, Dalya. “That’s not a potato: mystery of Egyptian treasures found buried in grounds of Scottish school.” The Guardian. 11/19/2023. https://www.theguardian.com/science/2023/nov/19/thats-not-a-potato-mystery-of-egyptian-treasures-found-buried-in-grounds-of-scottish-school Anderson, Sonja. “This Mysterious Hillside Carving Is Actually Hercules, Researchers Say.” Smithsonian. 1/2/2024. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/england-cerne-abbas-giant-is-really-hercules-once-used-to-rally-troops-180983522/ “Runestones reveal the power of a Viking queen.” Phys.org. 10/13/2023. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-runestones-reveal-power-viking-queen.html Babbs, Verity. “Archaeologists Discover Ancient Roman Baths Beneath a Museum in Croatia.” Artnet. 12/12/2023. https://news.artnet.com/art-world/roman-baths-split-c

We're closing out the last three months of 2023 by talking about things literally and figuratively dug up during that time, kicking it off with lots of updates of prior episodes, things dug up from the garden, edibles and potables, and books and letters. Research: Alberge, Dalya. “That’s not a potato: mystery of Egyptian treasures found buried in grounds of Scottish school.” The Guardian. 11/19/2023. https://www.theguardian.com/science/2023/nov/19/thats-not-a-potato-mystery-of-egyptian-treasures-found-buried-in-grounds-of-scottish-school Anderson, Sonja. “This Mysterious Hillside Carving Is Actually Hercules, Researchers Say.” Smithsonian. 1/2/2024. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/england-cerne-abbas-giant-is-really-hercules-once-used-to-rally-troops-180983522/ “Runestones reveal the power of a Viking queen.” Phys.org. 10/13/2023. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-runestones-reveal-power-viking-queen.html Babbs, Verity. “Archaeologists Discover Ancient Roman Baths Beneath a Museum in Croatia.” Artnet.

This 2013 episode covers Benjamin Banneker, a man of color in Colonial America who became an accomplished scholar despite having almost no formal schooling.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Holly and Tracy talk about how actuarial science informs other fields, the book "The Player," and insurance mentions in Terry Pratchett's writing. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As life insurance and assurance became more common, companies that offered coverage ran into in problems in the 18th and 19th century. Part 2 also covers how Insurance has been used by gamblers as a grisly amusement. Research: Bell, John. “London’s Remembrancer … “ E. Cotes. London. 1665. Accessed online: https://quod.lib.umich.edu/e/eebo2/A27350.0001.001?rgn=main;view=fulltext Bellhouse, David R. “A New Look at Halley’s Life Table.” Journal of the Royal Statistical Society.” 174, Part 3, pp. 823–832. 2011. https://www.medicine.mcgill.ca/epidemiology/hanley/c609/material/BellhouseHalleyTable2011JRSS.pdf Bennetts, N., (2019). MORGAN, WILLIAM (1750 - 1833), actuary and scientist. Dictionary of Welsh Biography. Retrieved 22 Dec 2023, from https://biography.wales/article/s12-MORG-WIL-1750 Boyce, Niall. “Bills of Mortality: tracking disease in early modern London.” The Lancet. April 11, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30725-X Chatfield, Michael and Vangermeersch, Richard, "History of Accounting: An In

Actuarial science is all about calculating risk – risk of injury, illness, death, risk of market shifts and financial outcomes. Part one covers the earliest population tables and early examples of life insurance and assurance.  Research: Bell, John. “London’s Remembrancer … “ E. Cotes. London. 1665. Accessed online: https://quod.lib.umich.edu/e/eebo2/A27350.0001.001?rgn=main;view=fulltext Bellhouse, David R. “A New Look at Halley’s Life Table.” Journal of the Royal Statistical Society.” 174, Part 3, pp. 823–832. 2011. https://www.medicine.mcgill.ca/epidemiology/hanley/c609/material/BellhouseHalleyTable2011JRSS.pdf Bennetts, N., (2019). MORGAN, WILLIAM (1750 - 1833), actuary and scientist. Dictionary of Welsh Biography. Retrieved 22 Dec 2023, from https://biography.wales/article/s12-MORG-WIL-1750 Boyce, Niall. “Bills of Mortality: tracking disease in early modern London.” The Lancet. April 11, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30725-X Chatfield, Michael and Vangermeersch, Richard, "History of Accoun

This 2019 episode covers the career Alfred Wegener had outside of his ideas around what we now understand as plate tectonics, which had both detractors and supporters. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Holly and Tracy talk about the new year and the ways they use calendars. Tracy mentions the birds that often receive ire from humans.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the 19th century, a heated dispute arose over the house sparrow and its introduction into North America. Elliot Coues and Thomas Mayo Brewer held opposing opinions on the matter which they defended their entire lives.  Research: Mosco, Rosemary. “Meet the Little Brown Bird That Holds a Mirror Up to Humanity.” Audubon. 4/5/2023. https://www.audubon.org/news/meet-little-brown-bird-holds-mirror-humanity Wills, Matthew. “The Great Sparrow War of the 1870s.” JSTOR Daily. 6/23/2016. https://daily.jstor.org/the-great-sparrow-war-of-the-1870s/ Sterling, Keir B. et al, editors. “Thomas Mayo Brewer.” From Biographical Dictionary of American and Canadian Naturalists and Environmentalists.” Greenwood Press. 1997. https://academicworks.cuny.edu/yc_pubs/9/ Glass, Chris. “The House Sparrow in Boston, Part I.” Boston Public Library Blog. 7/28/2022. https://www.bpl.org/blogs/post/the-house-sparrow-in-boston-part-i/ Glass, Chris. “The House Sparrow in Boston, Part II.” Boston Public Library Blog. 7/28/2022. https://www.bpl

People have kept diaries and recorded notes since writing was invented. But planners as we think of them today have their roots in almanacs.  Research: Atkins, Samuel. “Kalendarium Pennsilvaniense.” W. Bradford. 1685. https://books.google.com/books/about/Kalendarium_Pennsilvaniense_Or_America_s.html?id=wT0wAAAAYAAJ Nichols, Charles L. “Notes on the Almanacs of Massachusetts.” American Antiquarian Society. 1912. https://www.americanantiquarian.org/proceedings/45647891.pdf Railton, Stephen. “Anti-Slavery Almanacs.” University of Virginia. https://utc.iath.virginia.edu/abolitn/gallaaaf.html Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "almanac". Encyclopedia Britannica, 9 Oct. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/topic/almanac Badian, E.. "fasti". Encyclopedia Britannica, 22 Dec. 2021, https://www.britannica.com/topic/fasti-Roman-calendar Winlock, H. E. “The Origin of the Ancient Egyptian Calendar.” Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, vol. 83, no. 3, 1940, pp. 447–64. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/

For New Year's Eve, we're resharing our Sept 2021 episode on the history of gin. Happy New Year to all our listeners, and cheers to you no matter your drink of choice!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 2014, the show covered the 1903 fire at the new Iroquois Theater. The horrible, incredibly tragic incident was the result of multiple code violations and wrongdoings.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.