Dave Roos

1 day ago | history.com | Dave Roos

The ancient office of the pope is rich in symbols and insignia. VINCENZO PINTO/AFP via Getty ImagesPublished: April 23, 2025Last Updated: April 23, 2025In the Roman Catholic Church, the pope is the sucessor to St. Peter, who was given authority by Jesus to establish His church on Earth, according to the New Testament. The pope is the Bishop of Rome and the chief pastor of the Roman Catholic Church, which claims nearly 1.4 billion adherents worldwide.

3 days ago | history.com | Dave Roos

Visiting great museums is like stepping into a time machine. For the cost of admission, you admire priceless art and artifacts from every age of history and all corners of the globe. But the art and antiquities market has always been tainted by theft, looting and colonial-era crimes. And for too long, museums (and museum-goers) failed to ask questions about how remarkable objects were acquired.

1 week ago | history.com | Dave Roos

Some of history’s greatest unsolved mysteries are cases of high-profile people who disappear, with few or no clues as to what happened to them. Here are nine historic vanishing accounts that defy explanation. Charles ‘Black Bart’ Boles, aka the ‘Gentleman Bandit’In the late 19th century, one of the most famous stagecoach robbers was Black Bart, who was also known as a “gentleman bandit.” Black Bart—whose real name was Charles E.

2 weeks ago | history.com | Dave Roos

In a recession, the financial toll on households and businesses is significant, but manageable. In a depression, it’s overwhelming. franckreporter/Getty ImagesPublished: April 09, 2025Last Updated: April 09, 2025Recession and depression are both terms for a contracting economy.

2 weeks ago | history.com | Dave Roos

Roughly 3.5 million years ago, a group of ape-like human ancestors called Australopithecus afarensis left 70 fossilized footprints in the volcanic ash of Laetoli, Tanzania. Near those remarkable footprints—discovered in 1978 by a team led by Mary Leakey—was another rare find: a clutch of fossilized bird eggs. The eggs belonged to a francolin, a species of terrestrial guinea fowl that roosts in trees, but makes their nests on the ground.