Nineteenth Century Life Story Briefs

What made the 19th century an interesting but tumultuous time? What technological, cultural and social changes influenced life then? Explore those issues in this story collection.

Charles Darwin was grief stricken when his daughter Annie died (most likely from tuberculosis).

How did Charles Dickens, who released his famous Christmas story on 13 December 1843, become such a famous writer?

Children who helped to build Victorian Britain worked incredibly long hours.

This image - of children working in Britain's coal mines - is from an 1842 report prepared by Lord Ashley (Anthony Ashley Cooper), later known asLord ...

Ebenezer Scrooge is a miserly old grump of a man when he is visited by three ghosts (also called spirits). The Spirit of Christmas Present shows him ...

Prince Albert, who was born in Germany, brought his childhood love of Christmas traditions to his growing family.

Even before the Civil War was over, President Lincoln wanted an Amendment to the U.S. Constitution which freed slaves throughout the country. The Amen...

America's Civil War significantly impacted Missouri, then a ''Slave State'' (but one that remained in the Union). Refugees, from Missouri's northern-b...

Bass Reeves carried two revolvers known as "Peacemakers." The guns were made by Colt and were also called (among other things) a six-shooter.

Edgar Allan Poe, the creator of the detective-story genre, left-behind a major mystery involving his own death. Was he the victim of cooping, an illeg...

After the U.S. Civil War, Texans who fought for the Confederacy returned home to find their herds of Longhorns had significantly multiplied. With litt...

Mexico's independence began with an event called "The Cry of Dolores" when a priest challenged his parishioners: "Will you free yourselves?"

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