History Notes

Explore how the World Health Organization led one of the greatest public health achievements in human history: the global eradication of smallpox. Responsible for an estimated 300 million deaths in the 20th century alone, smallpox was eliminated through decades of international cooperation, mass vaccination campaigns, innovative surveillance strategies, and Cold War-era collaboration between rival nations. Trace the long road from early eradication efforts in the 1950s to the last naturally occurring cases in Bangladesh and Somalia, culminating in the WHO’s historic declaration in 1980 that the disease had been eradicated worldwide.Written by Jim Harris. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. Video production by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle, Dr. Michael J. Corsi, and Justin Troyer. A transcript is available at https://origins.osu.edu/read/who-and-eradication-smallpox. This is a production of Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective at the Goldberg Center in the Department of History at The Ohio State University and the Department of History at Miami University. Be sure to subscribe to our channel to receive updates about our videos and podcasts. For more information about Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective, please visit origins.osu.edu.

The Investiture Controversy was a pivotal 11th-century conflict between King Henry IV of Germany and Pope Gregory VII over whether secular rulers or the papacy held authority to appoint church officials. The dispute led to Henry’s excommunications, political turmoil, and civil war within the German kingdom, symbolized by his famous penance at Canossa in 1077. Although the conflict was not resolved until 1122, it reshaped the relationship between church and state and sparked enduring debates about the limits of religious and secular power.Written by Emily Lovett. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. Video production by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle, Justin Troyer, Hannah Keller, and Victoria Paige. A transcript is available at https://origins.osu.edu/read/investiture-controversy.This is a production of Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective at the Goldberg Center in the Department of History at The Ohio State University and the Department of History at Miami University. Be sure to subscribe to our channel to receive updates about our videos and podcasts. For more information about Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective, please visit origins.osu.edu.

The Ottoman Empire’s end was not a single event but the culmination of a decade of wars, displacement, ethnic violence, and political upheaval between 1911 and 1923. These conflicts, especially World War I, devastated the empire, contributed to the Armenian genocide, shattered long-standing multiethnic coexistence, and fueled nationalist movements that led to the abolition of the Ottoman dynasty. Following the nationalist victory under Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne replaced the Treaty of Sèvres, secured international recognition for the new Republic of Turkey, and reshaped the modern Middle East through new borders and a massive forced population exchange.Written by Yiğit Akın. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. Video production by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle, Justin Troyer, Hannah Keller, and Victoria Paige. A transcript is available at https://origins.osu.edu/read/long-end-ottoman-empire.This is a production of Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective at the Goldberg Center in the Department of History at The Ohio State University and the Department of History at Miami University. Be sure to subscribe to our channel to receive updates about our videos and podcasts. For more information about Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective, please visit origins.osu.edu.

Alcoholics Anonymous began with a chance meeting between Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith in Akron, Ohio, on June 10, 1935, as both men sought lasting recovery from alcoholism. Emerging from influences such as the Oxford Group and early spiritual recovery principles, AA developed its now-famous Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, creating a decentralized, peer-led fellowship that has grown to nearly two million members worldwide.Written by Tom Gregoire Mike Broman Keith Warren. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. Video production by Hannah Keller, Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle, Justin Troyer, and Victoria Paige. A transcript is available at https://origins.osu.edu/read/brief-history-alcoholics-anonymous. This is a production of Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective at the Goldberg Center in the Department of History at The Ohio State University and the Department of History at Miami University. Be sure to subscribe to our channel to receive updates about our videos and podcasts. For more information about Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective, please visit origins.osu.edu.

Over six weekends in the summer of 1969, nearly 300,000 Black people gathered in Harlem’s Mount Morris Park for the Harlem Cultural Festival, a series of concerts celebrating Black music. A star-studded roster of artists appeared, representing Black sounds from West Africa to Motown and beyond. These performances are documented in the Oscar-winning 2021 documentary Summer of Soul.Written by Charles L. Hughes. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. Video production by Hannah Keller, Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle, Justin Troyer, and Victoria Paige. A transcript is available at https://origins.osu.edu/read/black-woodstock-1969-harlem-cultural-festival.This is a production of Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective at the Goldberg Center in the Department of History at The Ohio State University and the Department of History at Miami University. Be sure to subscribe to our channel to receive updates about our videos and podcasts. For more information about Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective, please visit origins.osu.edu.

On August 6, 1962, the island of Jamaica became an independent nation, making it the first sovereign English-speaking country in the Caribbean. The tremendous victory of this likkle but tallawah island (“small but mighty” in Jamaican) was one triumph in the long history of Black sovereignty and nationalism that led to the disintegration of the British empire in the Caribbean.Written by Dr. Alexandria Miller. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. Video production by Hannah Keller, Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle, Justin Troyer, and Victoria Paige. A transcript is available at https://origins.osu.edu/index.php/read/jamaican-independence. This is a production of Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective at the Goldberg Center in the Department of History at The Ohio State University and the Department of History at Miami University. Be sure to subscribe to our channel to receive updates about our videos and podcasts. For more information about Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective, please visit origins.osu.edu.

The Greco-Turkish war erupted on May 15, 1919. The war resulted in the largest compulsory population exchange in history up to that time (2 million people) and helped define the concept of ethnic conflict. The war also brought about the Turkish Republic and its severity indelibly shaped modern Greece and Turkey to this day.Written by Christopher Kinley. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. Video production by Hannah Keller, Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle, Justin Troyer, and Victoria Paige. A transcript is available at https://origins.osu.edu/milestones/may-2019-greco-turkish-war-smyrna-sakarya-kemal-ottoman. This is a production of Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective at the Goldberg Center in the Department of History at The Ohio State University and the Department of History at Miami University. Be sure to subscribe to our channel to receive updates about our videos and podcasts. For more information about Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective, please visit origins.osu.edu.

On February 6, New Zealanders will mark Waitangi Day on the 180th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi. Following the treaty, the British Crown claimed sovereignty over the country, citing what it claimed was the free consent of over 500 rangatira (chiefs) and the tribal communities they represented.Written by Michael Belgrave. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. Video production by Hannah Keller, Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle, Justin Troyer, and Victoria Paige. A transcript is available at https://origins.osu.edu/milestones/treaty-waitangi-new-zealand-maori. This is a production of Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective at the Goldberg Center in the Department of History at The Ohio State University and the Department of History at Miami University. Be sure to subscribe to our channel to receive updates about our videos and podcasts. For more information about Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective, please visit origins.osu.edu.

On July 9, 1868, the last of the 28 states needed to approve the Fourteenth Amendment acted, and Secretary of State William Henry Seward formally announced the ratification on July 28. It was a momentous event, a change to our constitutional system so fundamental that historians have put it on a par with the ratification of the original Constitution itself. In many ways, it gave Americans a new constitution.Written by Michael Les Benedict. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. Video production by Victoria Paige, Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle, Justin Troyer, and Hannah Keller. A transcript is available at https://origins.osu.edu/milestones/july-2018-150-years-fourteenth-amendment.This is a production of Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective at the Goldberg Center in the Department of History at The Ohio State University and the Department of History at Miami University. Be sure to subscribe to our channel to receive updates about our videos and podcasts. For more information about Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective, please visit origins.osu.edu. 

On July 11, 1804, former TreasurySecretary Alexander Hamilton and Vice President Aaron Burr faced off in the most infamous duel in American history. Burr fatally wounded Hamilton, who died the next day. Hamilton’s premature death transformed him from one of the last stalwarts of the fading Federalist Party to an American martyr, the namesake of towns across the country, and the face of theten-dollar bill. Written by Josh Wood, basedon the excellent work by Joanne B. Freeman, The Field of Blood:Violence in Congress and the Road to the Civil War (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2018) and Affairsof Honor: National Politics in the New Republic (Yale University Press,2002). Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. Video productionby Hannah Keller, Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle, and Laura Seeger. A transcript isavailable at https://origins.osu.edu/milestones/july-2019-hamilton-burr-duel This is a production of Origins: CurrentEvents in Historical Perspective at the Goldberg Center in the Department ofHistory at The Ohio State University and the Department of History at MiamiUniversity. Be sure to subscribe to our channel to receive updates about ourvideos and podcasts. For more information about Origins: Current Events inHistorical Perspective, please visit origins.osu.edu.