Articles - Christopher Klein

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.

The forgotten history of New York’s first electric taxi fleet—in the 1800s

Why the Gettysburg Address Is One of the Most Famous Speeches in History?

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

How Blackbeard Lost His Head in a Bloody, Sword-Swinging Battle

CHRISTOPHER KLEIN

History Author | Writer

Christopher's Articles: