The Leopard (Il Gattopardo) has been regarded as a classic of European literature since soon after its publication in 1958. It recounts the decline and fall of Sicily’s aristocracy.
The squares of medieval European cities bore witness to the reopening of economies after plagues.
(Shutterstock)
The cities of Europe have experienced disease outbreaks for centuries, but they were able to bounce back using quarantine, economic stimulus and patience. Not all were successful.
French President Emmanuel Macron, left, and U.S. President Donald Trump meet the press at the 2019 NATO summit in London.
AP Photo/ Evan Vucci
As the North Atlantic Treaty Organization celebrates its 70th anniversary with a leaders’ meeting in London, five US scholars shed light on NATO’s history and its potential future.
The coast of Greenland is not for sale.
Shutterstock
The USA has a long colonial history – as does Denmark. The USA has even tried to buy Greenland before. But this time, Greenland isn’t Denmark’s to sell.
European stereotypes: a Dutch satirical cartoon of Europe from 1870.
Humoristische Kaart van Europa via Wikimedia Commons
The battle between nationalism and a wider European identity in the 19th century has influenced philosophy to this day.
US marines walk through the rebuilt palace of King Nebuchadnezzar, in the ancient town of Babylon, in April 2003. The ruins suffered serious damage when American troops set up a military base amid the ruins during the Iraq War.
Reuters/Jerry Lampen
A scholar analyzed data about UNESCO World Heritage sites to explain why European cultural relics like Notre Dame are so beloved, while splendid monuments elsewhere remain relatively unknown.
A toxic mix of wishful thinking, brinksmanship, finger-pointing, and fatalism in July 1914 bear similarities to Brexit.
This undated score, written by Joseph Mohr and titled ‘Weynachts Lied’ (‘Christmas Carol’), is the earliest known surviving copy of ‘Silent Night.’
Salzburg Museum
Over 200 years ago, an Austrian priest teamed up with a schoolteacher to perform the first rendition of ‘Silent Night.’ Little did they know that it would one day be sung in over 300 languages.
Magnus Hirschfeld, on the right, sits with his partner, Tao Li, at the fourth conference of the World League for Sexual Reform in 1932.
Wellcome Images
Physician Magnus Hirschfeld advocated for those he called ‘sexual intermediaries.’ His activism began before World War I – and ended only when the Nazis came to power.
Jean-Baptiste Belley, Deputy of Saint-Domingue and French National Convention member (1793-97) with a bust of Abbé Raynal.
Some today declare that “Western civilisation” is something we should all be simply “for”. But the enlightenment, central to this civilisation, shows how things are rarely so simple.
Ugandan Asian family at Tonfanau Camp, April 1973.
Jim Arnould, Nova
In the 19th century, Russian intellectuals launched a search for historical evidence of their moral and military superiority. What they found drives what today some call “Russian aggression.”
Agricultural Building at the World’s Columbian Exposition, Chicago, Illinois, circa 1893.
University of Maryland Digital Collections