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.

Illustration, by George Alfred Williams, depicting Tiny Tim with his father, Bob Cratchit, from the 1905 edition of "A Christmas Carol."

Pretending to be tough gang members, Tom Sawyer and his pals form a "Band of Robbers."

Chinese laborers help to build the American West, but how are the workers treated as they build their new country?

About two months after the USS Maine exploded, in Havana's harbor, the U.S. declared war on Spain. All but one member of the Maine's championship-winn...

People have been exchanging Valentines for hundreds of years, but what do we know about the origins of this romantic Day of Love called "Valentine's D...

Vincent painted this self-portrait in September of 1888.

Thackeray's drawings, in his 1848 edition of Vanity Fair, tell us something about the way he views his characters (and Victorian society).

This diagram depicts Henry F. Osborn's 1924 drawing of a Velociraptor mongoliensis' skull and claw.

In this clip—from a 1984 performance of Verdi’s Requiem—Herbert von Karajan conducts the Vienna Philharmonic (Wiener Philharmoniker)...

Emotionally upset, and in the throes of depression, Verdi makes a decision. It is 1840, and he's had it with composing music. Then ... an unexpected e...

Joseph Mallord William Turner, a British artist who lived between 1775-1851, created this watercolor called “Vesuvius in Eruption” sometime betwee...

Victor Emmanuel II became the first king of Italy in 1861. Ten years later, the entire country was united under his rule.

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