Christopher's Articles:

In addition to my four books, I have written hundreds of articles about history, travel, and sports. I am a regular contributor to History.com, the web site of the History Channel, where I have covered everything from Harvard’s secret colonial-era body-snatching club to the surprisingly real history of Chef Boy-Ar-Dee. I have also written for the Boston Globe, New York Times, National Geographic Traveler, Harvard Magazine, Red Sox Magazine, Preservation, Mental Floss, B Magazine, The Daily, The Boston Phoenix, GO, AAA Horizons, The Patriot Ledger, St. Petersburg Times, New England Travel, JSTOR Daily, Public Domain Review, NationalGeographic.com, ESPN.com, Biography.com, SI.com, Smithsonian.com, and AmericanHeritage.com. Below is some of my work.

Buried Alive: Inside the 19th-Century Panic Over Premature Burial
Hitchcock’s ‘The Birds’ Was Partly Inspired by a Real-Life Event
Inside the Real House of Guinness: 7 Surprising Facts
How the World War I Era Broke the British Aristocracy
What Makes the Bayeux Tapestry a Medieval Wonder?
Pepsi’s Cold War Trade With the USSR: Cola for…Submarines?
Air Force One: A Timeline of Presidential Planes
Was Julius Caesar Really Abducted by Pirates?
5 Imperfect Fathers Who Shaped Future Presidents
When Cattle Barons Hired Hit Men to Take Out Small Ranchers
The Ancient Warfare Tactics Behind Modern Cyber Attacks
The History Behind the Installation of a New Pope
7 Popes Who Changed History
The forgotten history of New York’s first electric taxi fleet—in the 1800s
How Alfred Nobel's Invention of Dynamite Reshaped the World
6 Spring Equinox Rituals That Celebrate Renewal
How St. Patrick’s Day in 1776 Marked a Step Towards American Independence
How Thomas Jefferson Made Monticello a Laboratory of Innovation
8 Presidential Inauguration Traditions
Why Thomas Jefferson Faced Opposition to the Louisiana Purchase
How Ronald Reagan Tried to Shrink Government Spending
Why Is the Gettysburg Address Is One of the Most Famous Speeches in History?
The St. Francis Dam Collapse: Los Angeles' Forgotten Disaster
How the Mafia Infiltrated American Labor Unions
The Real‑Life Olympic History Behind ‘Chariots of Fire’
America’s First Female Olympic Champion Never Knew She Won
Lafayette’s Triumphant Farewell Tour of the United States
Two teen prodigies shocked America with a cynical murder 100 years ago
The Heroic WWI Homing Pigeons That Saved Countless Lives
What Caused the 10 Plagues of Egypt?
‘Ghost Army’ That Fooled Hitler Will Receive Congress’s Highest Honor
The Unsolved Mysteries of 8 Missing Passenger Flights
The Bizarre Plan to Bring George Washington Back to Life
Before the Super Bowl, the NFL staged the ‘Toilet Bowl’
A 1901 Smallpox Epidemic, A Charismatic Quack, and the Rise of Anti-Vax Propaganda in Boston
How Green Berets Became the US Army’s Elite Special Forces
The WWI-Era Women’s Soccer Team Who Could Beat the Men
How Lewis Strauss Shaped the Atomic Age—and Orchestrated Robert Oppenheimer’s Downfall
Julius Caesar: 6 Ways He Shaped the World
How Upton Sinclair’s ‘The Jungle’ Led to US Food Safety Reforms
FDR and Eleanor Roosevelt’s Children: Who Were They?
Inside FDR’s Isolated Childhood—and Privileged Upbringing
How the 1904 World’s Fair Showcased New American Foods
The Multiple Scandals of President Warren G. Harding
Inside FDR’s Lifelong Health Struggles—And His Sudden Death
Apollo 17: Inside NASA’s Final Moon Landing Mission
West Point’s Critical Role in the American Revolution
8 Fascinating Facts About Ancient Roman Medicine
How Cyrus the Great Turned Ancient Persia Into a Superpower
China's Overlooked Role in World War II
What Happened at the Wounded Knee Massacre?
Inside Theodore Roosevelt's Gilded Age Upbringing
How Teddy Roosevelt Ascended in New York Politics
How German U-Boats Were Used in WWI—And Perfected in WWII
What Countries Were Part of the Soviet Union?
The Top-Secret WWII Unit That Fooled the Nazis
10 Things You May Not Know About the Lincoln Memorial
8 Unusual Winter Olympics Sports
Abraham Lincoln’s Funeral Train: How America Mourned for Three Weeks
How Winter Olympics Have Dealt With Snow Shortages
How Abraham Lincoln Was Portrayed in Political Cartoons
How Figure Skating Originated—and Became a Winter Olympics Favorite
How Bobby Grier Integrated One of College Football's Biggest Games
How the Forward Pass Saved Football
Tailgating: How the Pre-Game Tradition Can Be Traced to Ancient Times
How 38 IRA Members Pulled Off the UK’s Biggest Prison Escape
The Surprising Stories of 7 Heisman Trophy Winners
How the First Thanksgiving College Football Game Kicked Off a Holiday Tradition
How Jim Thorpe Became America's First Multi-Sport Star
The NFL's Last Helmetless Player Didn't Even Like Hats
How Military Service Teams Dominated College Football During World War II
7 Bizarre Sports Curses
Why the Construction of the Panama Canal Was So Difficult—and Deadly
The Crime of Passion That Led to Babe Ruth's Epic World Series Home Run
10 of the Biggest Blunders in World Series History
7 of the Most Devastating US Plane Crashes
How Puerto Rican Baseball Icon Roberto Clemente Left a Legacy Off the Field
The Most Dramatic Home Run in World Series History
What Was the Curse of the Bambino—and How Was Baseball's Greatest Hex Broken?
10 World Engineering Marvels
The Freezer Bowl: The Coldest Game in NFL History
Muhammad Ali: Boxing Legend ... and 2-Time Grammy Nominee
6 of the Wildest Moments from the 1986 New York Mets Championship Season
How the South Helped Win the American Revolution
How Julius Caesar’s Assassination Triggered the Fall of the Roman Republic
How Ancient Rome Thrived During Pax Romana
7 of History's Most Devastating Bridge Collapses
A Timeline of U.S. Anti-War Movements
6 People Who Made Big Money During the Great Depression
How America's Aviation Industry Got Its Start Transporting Mail
Chocolate’s Sweet History: From Elite Treat to Food for the Masses
Josephine Baker's Daring Double Life as a World War II Spy
Why Labor Unions Declined in the 1920s
Was Andover Nurse a Serial Poisoner?
The 1919 Murder Trial That Gripped Andover
How Gilded Age Corruption Led to the Progressive Era
Why FDR's Fourth Presidential Inauguration Lasted Only 15 Minutes
Why Did the Pilgrims Come to America?
Inside John Wilkes Booth's Famous Family
How a Rogue Navy of Private Ships Helped Win the American Revolution
When the US Government Tried to Fast-Track a Flu Vaccine
5 Times Hurricanes Changed History
How Did World War II End?
How Teddy Roosevelt's Belief in a Racial Hierarchy Shaped His Policies
Anti-Slavery Fight Roiled Andover Campus
In 1835, Anti-Slavery Fight Came to Andover
How Abraham Lincoln Used the Telegraph to Help Win the Civil War
Alexander Hamilton's Complicated Relationship to Slavery
How the 'Big Three' Teed Up the Cold War at the 1945 Yalta Conference
When Biosphere 2 Became a Grand Experiment in Self-Isolation
Bankrupt and Dying from Cancer, Ulysses S. Grant Waged His Greatest Battle
How Nixon’s Presidency Became Increasingly Erratic After Kent State
When a US Hospital Ship Was Attacked by a Kamikaze Pilot During WWII
How Lincoln and Grant's Partnership Won the Civil War
Steps Leading to the Fall of Saigon—And the Final, Chaotic Airlifts
How Pandemics Spurred Cities to Make More Green Space for People
When America Voted for a "Return to Normalcy"
Why John Adams Defended British Soldiers in the Boston Massacre Trials
How America Struggled to Bury the Dead During the 1918 Flu Pandemic
The Martin Luther King Comic Book That Inspired Generations of Civil Rights Activists
How the Gilded Age's Top 1 Percent Thrived on Corruption
Why John Tyler May Be the Most Reviled U.S. President Ever
11 Key People Who Shaped George Washington's Life
Filipino Americans Fought With U.S. in WWII, Then Had to Fight for Veterans Benefits
How Native Americans Struggled to Survive on the Trail of Tears
The United States Began Protecting Whistleblowers in 1777
How Did Food Stamps Begin?
John O’Neill & the Fenian Raids into Canada
Andrew Carnegie Claimed to Support Unions, But Then Destroyed Them in His Steel Empire
Construction of the Brooklyn Bridge Took 14 Years—And Multiple Lives
An Irish-American invasion sparked Canada’s birth
5 Undersung Moments in History You Probably Didn’t Learn About in Class
How Much Did the First-Ever Social Security Check Pay Out?
Why the Bay of Pigs Invasion Went So Wrong
The Epic Motorcycle Trip That Turned Che Guevara Into a Revolutionary
Mobster Al Capone Ran a Soup Kitchen During the Great Depression
When Irish-Americans Attacked Canada—With the White House's Blessing
How St. Patrick's Day Was Made in America
The Fenian Raids — How an Army of Irish-American Civil War Vets Took On the British Empire
An Irish-American Army Invaded Canada in 1866. Here's What Happened
St Patrick: Kidnapped by Pirates and Enslaved at 16
Why Did Pontius Pilate Have Jesus Executed?
Before FDR, Herbert Hoover Tried His Own 'New Deal'
The Bible Says Jesus Was Real. What Other Proof Exists?
When a Horse Raced Against a Locomotive During the Industrial Revolution
Did Investors Really Jump Out of Windows After the 1929 Stock Market Crash?
How Economic Turmoil After WWI Led to the Great Depression
The Lawless Border With Canada Was Once America's Main Security Concern
Coldest. Month. Ever.
See All The Crafty Ways Americans Hid Alcohol During Prohibition
How an Assassination Attempt Affirmed MLK’s Faith in Nonviolence
The Spies Who Launched America’s Industrial Revolution
The Original Luddites Raged Against the Machine of the Industrial Revolution
How Japan’s Kamikaze Attacks Went From Last Resort at Pearl Harbor to WWII Strategy
St. Louis’ Gateway Arch Beat Out 172 Other Monument Designs
How Blackbeard Lost His Head in a Bloody, Sword-Swinging Battle