Forgotten History


The Winchester Mansion is a Queen Anne/Victorian styled mansion, with yellow walls and red shingles, located in San Jose, California.
The Winchester Mansion is a Queen Anne/Victorian styled mansion, with yellow walls and red shingles, located in San Jose, California.

Here’s why Silicon Valley is haunted

Helena Ong

Hurrem Sultan was the Ottoman empire’s femme fatale

Safa Shoaib
[Image Description: A boy in a refugee camp in Delhi during the Partition in 1947.] via Margaret Bourke-White, Life Magazine
[Image Description: A boy in a refugee camp in Delhi during the Partition in 1947.] via Margaret Bourke-White, Life Magazine

The “alternative” history of the Partition that school didn’t tell you about

Safa Shoaib

A manuscript illustration of Marie de France as a woman in white and blue clothing, sitting on a bench and writing in a book.
A manuscript illustration of Marie de France as a woman in white and blue clothing, sitting on a bench and writing in a book.

No one knows who Marie de France was, but we should know what she wrote

Helena Ong
Two portraits of Jahanara Begum side by side.
Two portraits of Jahanara Begum side by side.

Jahanara Begum was the princess we should aspire to be

Neha Merchant
Black and white photo of actress Nadira in the film Shree 420. Nadira is wearing a black dress and long necklace with her hair up, holding a cigarette holder, surrounded by people.
Black and white photo of actress Nadira in the film Shree 420. Nadira is wearing a black dress and long necklace with her hair up, holding a cigarette holder, surrounded by people.

The forgotten tale of Indian Jewish actresses who dominated Bollywood

Rebecca Azad

[Image description: Black and white photographs of Minnette de Silva, and the only available photograph of her mother, Agnes de Silva] via pulse.lk and architectural-review.com
[Image description: Black and white photographs of Minnette de Silva, and the only available photograph of her mother, Agnes de Silva] via pulse.lk and architectural-review.com

An ode to two forgotten generations of Sri Lanka’s history makers

Amandi Fernando
Seated woman looking into a mirror by Crispijn the Passe the Elder. To her right is a jester; a devil ruffles her hair, and another devil is seated to her left, starting a fire. via Wikimedia Commons
Seated woman looking into a mirror by Crispijn the Passe the Elder. To her right is a jester; a devil ruffles her hair, and another devil is seated to her left, starting a fire. via Wikimedia Commons

Laughter as weapon, the subversive power of fools and jesters

Thira Mohamad

Before Rumi there was Rabia Basri, the first female Muslim Saint

Safa Shoaib

Portrait of Fatima Al-Fihri
Portrait of Fatima Al-Fihri

Fatima al-Fihri: Founder of the world’s first university

Rebecca Azad

The jazz you listen to today is actually full of sexism – here’s the history

Aliza Schuler
Andrea Camassei, Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons
Andrea Camassei, Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons

The real history of Valentine’s Day is pretty gory

Paulina Rowe