Lost in History


"A Quaker's Meeting" by Egbert van Heemskerck (photo of original oil painting, Public Domain).
"A Quaker's Meeting" by Egbert van Heemskerck (photo of original oil painting, Public Domain).

There’s no better friend than Public Universal Friend

Jamie Saoirse O'Duibhir
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
A woman sits cross-legged with her smiling toddler outdoors.
A woman sits cross-legged with her smiling toddler outdoors.

Why is Mother’s Day celebrated on different dates throughout the world?

Thira Mohamad

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
classical dance
classical dance

Have you heard of Bharatnatyam, an endangered form of classical dance?

Haddiqua Siddiqui

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
Bessie Coleman stands on the wheel of a plane.
Bessie Coleman stands on the wheel of a plane.

Meet Bessie Coleman: the Black woman who became a pilot before Amelia Earhart

Carol Wright
Andrea Camassei, Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons
Andrea Camassei, Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons

The real history of Valentine’s Day is pretty gory

Paulina Rowe

[Image description: A Black women in the 20th century getting dressed for a Harlem fashion show.] Via New York Daily News Archive/Getty Images
[Image description: A Black women in the 20th century getting dressed for a Harlem fashion show.] Via New York Daily News Archive/Getty Images

Black women were at the core of the Harlem Renaissance

Bashirat Oladele
A collation of images of Noor Inayat Khan
A collation of images of Noor Inayat Khan

Noor Inayat Khan: the Muslim princess and British spy who fought against the Nazis

Rebecca Azad
A photo of Mileva Marić, with her husband, Albert Einstein.
A photo of Mileva Marić, with her husband, Albert Einstein.

Mileva Marić’s complicated history with Albert Einstein

Natalia Ahmed