Solomon Northup, who was lured away from Saratoga Springs and into slavery before the Civil War, wrote a book, Twelve Years a Slave, following his fortuitous rescue in 1853.

Some of his post-slavery life can be tracked via property records, court documents, and newspaper stories. Thus, it is known that he purchased a home for his family in Glens Falls, that he undertook a lecture tour throughout the Northeast, and was involved in the apprehension and trial of the two men who had kidnapped him.

The cause of Taylor’s death was listed as gastroenteritis, or “cholera morbus,” a term commonly ascribed to those who died from indeterminable causes in the 19th century. For nearly 150 years, this diagnosis went largely unexplored. Then, a retired professor named Clara Rising dug deeper into the medical records.

Among his many literary achievements, Edgar Allan Poe is credited with creating the genre of detective fiction with his 1841 story The Murders in the Rue Morgue, paving the way for fictional sleuths from Sherlock Holmes to Nancy Drew. It is fitting, then, that the author’s own death in 1849 remains one of American literature’s great unsolved mysteries.  

Was the famous author killed from a beating? From carbon monoxide poisoning? From alcohol withdrawal?

It was a mystery that would have tested the skills of a detective with the shrewdness of the fictional Sherlock Holmes. But, a cold trail and an absence of hard facts means the case remains mostly unresolved to this day.

Thomas Simpson, Arctic explorer and cousin of Hudson’s Bay Company governor George Simpson, met an untimely death on June 14, 1840 while returning to the Red River settlement.

On May 26, 1828, a teenager was found wandering a public square in what is now Nuremberg, Germany. He wore tattered clothing and clutched an envelope containing two letters.

According to local legend, a young couple arrived in Alexandria, Virginia by ship in 1816 and rented a room in Gadsby’s Tavern at 138 North Royal St. The woman was gravely ill, and her husband hired a local doctor to help care for her—on the condition that the doctor ask no questions about his or his wife’s identities.

The woman’s condition quickly deteriorated, and she eventually died on October 14, 1816. Her husband borrowed money from a local businessman to bury her in town, repaying him with a note from the Bank of England which later turned out to be a forgery.

'The Half of It’ offers fresh perspective on what a teenage rom-com can be

"All Day and a Night" is rated R for strong violence, pervasive language, drug use and some sexual content/nudity. It's streaming on Netflix now.

Starring: Ashton Sanders, Jeffrey Wright, Isaiah John, Kelly Jenrette

Directed by Joe Robert Cole

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