TIME’s top history stories of the year

The most popular history stories on TIME.com |

Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser.

By Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer As 2021 comes to a close, here’s a look back at some of the year’s most popular history stories on TIME.com. In a year marred with misinformation and conspiracy theories, articles that debunked historical myths struck a chord. The most-read story in our section was “We've Been Telling the Alamo Story Wrong for Nearly 200 Years. Now It's Time to Correct the Record” —apt for a year when Texas enacted a bill designed to restrict the way history is taught, amid a wave of similar laws nationwide. The rest of the chart-toppers are an eclectic bunch: World War II continues to be a popular topic for readers, especially around the 80th anniversary of Pearl Harbor. We saw continued interest in the British royals, between the death of Queen Elizabeth II’s husband Prince Philip and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s primetime interview with Oprah Winfrey. And in a year when Americans have to show proof of vaccination in many contexts, it’s perhaps unsurprising that a story on smallpox vaccine passports in the 19th and 20th centuries was widely-read. Happy New Year, and we look forward to bringing you more stories in 2022. Here’s the history that made news this year:

HISTORY ON TIME.COM We’ve Been Telling the Alamo Story Wrong for Nearly 200 Years. Now It’s Time to Correct the Record By Bryan Burrough and Jason Stanford So much of what we "know" about the battle at the Alamo is provably wrong Read More » 3 Myths About Pearl Harbor, According to a Military Historian By Olivia B. Waxman A few common misconceptions about how, and where, Pearl Harbor fits in World War II history Read More » 3 Presidents Who Skipped Successors' Inauguration By Olivia B. Waxman The image of the past and present President at the U.S. Capitol is seen as an image of the continuity of government Read More » How Members of the Native American Tribe That Fed the Pilgrims Spend Thanksgiving By Olivia B. Waxman The chairman of the Mashpee Wampanoag reflects on Thanksgiving and struggling to hold onto the tribe's land Read More » The Real Biggest Myths About World War II, According to a Military Historian By Olivia B. Waxman TIME asked the Senior Historian at the National World War II Museum which myths he has spent the most time debunking Read More » The Little-Known History Behind the People of Color Who Joined the Royal Family Long Before Meghan By Suyin Haynes The Royal Family's treatment of Meghan Markle has prompted comparisons to Queen Victoria Read More » Prince Philip Was Queen Elizabeth's ‘Strength and Stay.’ Their Marriage Was Also Incredibly Complex The Queen once noted that Philip was an often-hidden force in keeping her steady Read More » Declared Insane for Speaking Up: The Dark American History of Silencing Women Through Psychiatry By Kate Moore The received medical wisdom of the 19th century was that assertive, ambitious women were unnatural, and therefore sick Read More » One Writer Uncovered the Lost Histories of 999 Women and Girls Sent to Auschwitz By Suyin Haynes "Intellectual men have owned Holocaust literature. I truly believe it is misogyny, and I also think it's classist" Read More » Column: The U.S. Has Had 'Vaccine Passports' Before—And They Worked By Jordan E. Taylor The benefits of such a system can extend far beyond the venues into which such a passport would grant admission, argues historian Jordan E. Taylor Read More »

Want more from TIME? Sign up for our other newsletters. Subscribe to TIME

TIME may receive compensation for some links to products and services in this email. Offers may be subject to change without notice.   Connect with TIME via Facebook | Twitter | Newsletters   UPDATE EMAIL     UNSUBSCRIBE    PRIVACY POLICY   YOUR CALIFORNIA PRIVACY RIGHTS   TIME Customer Service, P.O. Box 37508, Boone, IA 50037-0508   Questions? Contact history@time.com   Copyright © 2021 TIME USA, LLC. All rights reserved.