History

Lots of people love tennis. But do you know where it comes from?
Recent years have seen an upswing in people playing tennis (or at least dressing like it). But it's not just a phase. The sport — at least some version of it — has been around since medieval times.
100 years after evolution went on trial, the Scopes case still reverberates
One hundred years ago, the small town of Dayton, Tenn., became the unlikely stage for one of the most sensational trials in American history, over the teaching of Darwin's theory of evolution.
The shadow fighters of the Civil War
Historian Patrick O’Donnell spotted an intriguing roadside marker and then spent six years researching a part of the Civil War long forgotten. His 2024 book, “The Unvanquished,” tells the story of shape-shifting spies, fearless guerilla fighters and military leaders straight out of a movie.
Daughter of assassinated civil rights leader sees painful echoes of political violence in America
Civil and voting rights activists gathered in Jackson, Mississippi, to honor what would have been the 100th birthday of civil rights leader Medgar Evers. Evers was assassinated by a white supremacist in 1963.
From Eiffel Tower to bistro chairs: Paris expos take center stage in new release by Minnesota author
After losing Minneapolis bid for Expo 2027, Charles Pappas took a dispirited walk in Paris that led him to realize how deeply the city’s iconic identity was shaped by its World Expos — an epiphany that inspired his new book, “Nobody Sits Like the French,” a historical exploration of Paris through its expos from 1855 to 1937.
Ancient Roman masterpieces emerge from a London demolition pit
Thousands of newly discovered fragments, which once adorned a high-status Roman building, offer an unprecedented glimpse into the artistic sophistication and daily life of ancient Londinium.
Marking Juneteenth with the Minnesota Orchestra
Black American composers are at the heart of the Minnesota Orchestra’s Juneteenth holiday concert tonight. MPR News host Angela Davis talks with the concert’s organizer and the guest conductor about how African American music is expanding the classical tradition.