History Notes

On the night of 2-3 December 1984, a Union Carbide chemical facility at Bhopal leaked over 27 tons of the highly toxic gas methyl isocyanate, poisoning tens of thousands of people in the middle of the night, most of whom were sleeping in their homes nearby.

Written by Madhumita Dutta. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B.Breyfogle. Video production by Hannah Keller, Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle, and Laura Seeger. A textual version of this video is available at https://origins.osu.edu/read/bhopal-chemical-gas-disaster.

This is a production of Origins: Current Events inHistorical 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.

Learn More:

“40 Years of Confronting Corporate Crime: Commemorating the 40th Anniversary of the Bhopal Gas Disaster,”  https://www.bhopal.net/40th/ 

“Remembering Bhopal: The World's Worst Industrial Disaster,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Aa2DMsXzEM 

“The BhopalMedical Appeal,” https://www.bhopal.org/continuing-disaster/the-bhopal-gas-disaster/union-carbides-disaster/basic-facts-figures-numbers-of-dead-and-injured-bhopal-disaster/

“Bhopal gas leak: Battling water woes in land of tragedy,”

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/39-years-after-the-bhopal-gas-tragedy-water-contamination-worries-survivors/article67598837.ece

Bhopal Plant Disaster. Appendix A: Chronology  

1969-1979: Union Carbide Enters Bhopal

 https://www.bhopal.net/what-happened/setting-the-stage-for-tragedy-1969-1984/1969-1979-union-carbide-enters-bhopal/

June 15, 1215, witnessed the signing of the landmark Magna Carta, the medieval English historic legal document that is seen as the origin of many modern-day legal rights and constitutional principles. At that time, England was in civil war as disaffected barons took up arms against King John, who reigned 1199-1216.

Written by Rebecca Favorito. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. Video production by Hannah Keller, Katherine Weiss, Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle, and Laura Seeger. A textual version of this video is available at https://origins.osu.edu/milestones/january-2015-magna-carta-and-its-legacy.

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 October 17, 1945, hundreds of thousands of Juan Perón's supporters clogged the streets of Buenos Aires marking a consequential moment in Argentina’s history and the birth of Peronism.

Written by Steven Hyland. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. Video production by Laura Seeger and Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. A textual version of this video is available at https://origins.osu.edu/milestones/argentina-s-day-loyalty-and-birth-peronism.

More Resources:

Mariano Ben Plotkin, Mañana es San Perón: A Cultural History of Perón's Argentina (2002).

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.

Professor Kristina Sessa, an historian of Late Antiquity, presents her top 10 popes based on overall historical significance, appetite for intrigue, and messy electoral politics.

Written and narrated by Dr. Kristina Sessa. Video production by Laura Seeger and Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. A textual version of this video is available at https://origins.osu.edu/read/top-ten-popes-1500.

10. St. Peter (01:42)

9. Alexander VI (03:08)

8. Symmachus and Laurentius (04:05)

7. Damasus (05:16)

6. Boniface VIII (06:07)

5. Silvester I (06:50

4. Gregory I (07:49)

3. Vigilius (08:30)

2. Gregory VII (09:31)

1. John Anglicus, aka “Pope Joan” (10:07)

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.

In November 1938, Albert Hofmann November 1938, first created a derivative of ergot that would later be dubbed lysergic acid diethalyamide: LSD.

Written by Dr. Benjamin Breen. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. Video production by Laura Seeger and Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. A textual version of this video is available at https://origins.osu.edu/milestones/april-2013-albert-hofmann-discovers-lsd.

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 September 2, 1998, the first conviction for the crime of genocide was entered by an international tribunal. The date is an essential milestone in the development of criminal responsibility imposed by the international community for the commission of mass atrocities.

Written by Dr. John B. Quigley. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. Video production by Laura Seeger and Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. A textual version of this video is available at https://origins.osu.edu/milestones/september-2018-genocide-and-rwanda.

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.

Mid-July, 64 CE, in the heart of Rome, tragedy struck as fire erupted into a massive inferno. Did Emperor Nero, regent at the time, purposely set the city ablaze or merely preside over the disaster?

Written by Matthew Reich. Narration by Dr. Nicholas Breyfogle. Video production by Laura Seeger and Dr. Nicholas Breyfogle. A textual version of this video is available at https://origins.osu.edu/read/great-fire-rome.

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.

Learn more -

Roman History Introduction:

Potter, David S. Ancient Rome: A New History. Third Edition. New York, New York: Thames & Hudson, 2018.

On the Great Fire:

Walsh, Joseph J. The Great Fire of Rome: Life and Death in the Ancient City. Witness to Ancient History. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2019.

Dando-Collins, Stephen. The Great Fire of Rome: The Fall of the Emperor Nero and His City. 1. ed. Cambridge, Mass: Da Capo Press, 2010.

Ancient Authors:

Tacitus, Annals, https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/e/roman/texts/tacitus/annals/15b*.html

Suetonius, The Lives of the Twelve Caesars, https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Nero*.html

On June 30, 1908, a massive mysterious explosion of a cosmic body shook the skies of Tunguska (in Siberia), on a date that would come to be known as International Asteroid Day. But was it an asteroid? Andy Bruno discusses the history surrounding the event.

Written by Andy Bruno. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. Video production by Laura Seeger and Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. A textual version of this video is available at https://origins.osu.edu/milestones/june-2018-1908-tunguska-event-and-threats-tomorrow.

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.

Narrator Nicholas Breyfogle gives voice to author Stephen M. Norris' 10 Great World War II films. Video production by Laura Seeger and Nicholas Breyfogle. A textual version of this video is available at https://origins.osu.edu/connecting-history/top-ten-origins-world-war-ii-films.

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.

Haile Selassie’s triumphant return to Ethiopia on May 5, 1941, signaled the re‐establishment of the Solomonic Dynasty and a sovereign Ethiopia.

Written by Andrew Carlson. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. Production by Laura Seeger and Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. Video and written versions of this podcase are available athttps://origins.osu.edu/milestones/may-2016-emperor-haile-selassie-i-returns-triumphant-ethiopia.

This is a production ofOrigins: 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 aboutOrigins: Current Events in Historical Perspective, please visitorigins.osu.edu.