History Notes

On July 28, 1951, representatives of 26 states, meeting in Geneva under the auspices of the United Nations, signed the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees.

Written by Eric H. Limbach. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. A textual version of this podcast is available at https://origins.osu.edu/milestones/defining-refugees-1921-and-1951. Production by Katherine Weiss, Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle, and Laura Seeger.

Rosetta Tharpe crossed many boundaries: of genre (playing both gospel and secular music), of gender (playing in a “male” style on a “male” instrument), and even of sexuality.

Written by Delano Lopez. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. A textual version of this podcast is available at https://origins.osu.edu/milestones/march-2015-mother-rock-and-roll. Video production by Katherine Weiss, Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle, and Laura Seeger.

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 July 1, 1927, the Nicaraguan revolutionary leader Augusto Nicolás Calderón de Sandino, a.k.a. Augusto “César” Sandino, proclaimed his manifesto extolling continued Nicaraguan resistance against U.S. intervention in his country.

Written by Craig Verniest. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. A textual version of this video is available at https://origins.osu.edu/read/sandino-manifesto-nicaraguan-revolution. Video production by Katherine Weiss, Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle, and Laura Seeger.

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.

Besides the Wilsonian internationalists, who wanted the Treaty and Covenant ratified unchanged, there were those who wanted to add so-called reservations to the treaties: conditions to U.S. acceptance and participation in the League that the other signatories would have to accept.

Written by Thomas W. Bottelier. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. A textual version of this video is available at https://origins.osu.edu/milestones/treaty-of-versailles-us-ratification-fight. Audio production by Katherine Weiss, Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle, and Laura Seeger.

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 Sunday, 18 March 1962 the Algerian War for Independence came to an end. At least, on paper. That paper, simply entitled “Declarations Drawn up in Common Agreement,” was signed in a town on the French side of Lake Geneva better known for its bottled water than its role in diplomatic history: Evian-les-Bains.

Written by Andrew H. Bellisari. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. A textual version of this video is available at https://origins.osu.edu/milestones/march-2017-evian-accords-uncertain-peace. Video production by Katherine Weiss, Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle, and Laura Seeger.

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 March 9, 1848, the twenty-three members of the Hanau People’s Commission—leading citizens of the small German city on the Main River, upstream from Frankfurt—declared their participation in the quickly-spreading upheaval of the March Revolutions of 1848.

Written by Eric H. Limbach. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. Video production by Katherine Weiss, Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle, and Laura Seeger. A textual version of this video is available at https://origins.osu.edu/read/march-1848-german-revolutions.

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.

Here, David Harmon offers ten “Moments of Insight” that he has had in the parks over the years. The list should be understood as a representative sample of the kinds of introspective experiences the parks offer, rather than as a ranking of the best—something that really is impossible, since all of us bring different sets of values and expectations to our national park experiences. 

(Author’s Note, November 2023: My essay was originally written for Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective in 2016.  Were I writing it today, I would include an important addition to

Written by David Harmon. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. Video production by Laura Seeger, Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle, and Katherine Weiss. 

A textual version of this video is available at

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

On May 23rd 1951, the "Seventeen Point Agreement of the Central People’s Government and the Local Government of Tibet on Measures for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet" was signed. This agreement legitimized claims of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) over Tibet and retroactively justified the previous year’s military invasion of eastern Tibet by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).

Written by Jigme Yeshe Lama. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. A textual version of this video is available at https://origins.osu.edu/milestones/seventeen-point-agreement-seventy-years-china-s-occupation-tibet. Video production by Katherine Weiss, Laura Seeger, and Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle.

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.

Fifty years ago, in December 1969, the Provisional IRA was born from the widespread religious violence that had wracked the six counties of Northern Ireland since the preceding August. From modest beginnings, the Provisionals became the most important and dangerous separatist paramilitary group during the thirty-year conflict in Northern Ireland known as the Troubles.

Written by Jeffrey W. Lewis. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. Textual and video versions of this podcast are available at https://origins.osu.edu/milestones/december-2019-provisional-irish-republican-army. Video production by Katherine Weiss, Laura Seeger, and Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle.

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 the early morning of May 13, 1862, several enslaved crewmembers of the Confederate steamer CSS Planter boarded the vessel along with their families. Taking advantage of the fact that their white officers had left the ship against regulations, they successfully maneuvered the ship through the Charleston harbor, past Confederate fortifications, and to the Union fleet blockading the city.