August 24, 79 AD:  Pompeii and Herculaneum Destroyed in Mount Vesuvius Eruption On this day in the year 79 AD, over 16,000 people died from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in the Gulf of Naples, Italy.  The volcano spewed molten rock and pulverized pumice at 1.5 million tons per second, releasing a 100,000 times the thermal energy released by the Hiroshima bombing. As a result, the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum and their citizens were nearly instantly buried beneath a thick layer of volcanic material. Join geo-archaeologists in Secrets of the Dead’s “Herculaneum Uncovered” as they examine how the eruption devastated Herculaneum in a very different manner than to Pompeii. Photo: Mount Versuvius, Library of Congress, 1872.
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August 24, 79 AD:  Pompeii and Herculaneum Destroyed in Mount Vesuvius Eruption

On this day in the year 79 AD, over 16,000 people died from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in the Gulf of Naples, Italy.  The volcano spewed molten rock and pulverized pumice at 1.5 million tons per second, releasing a 100,000 times the thermal energy released by the Hiroshima bombing.

As a result, the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum and their citizens were nearly instantly buried beneath a thick layer of volcanic material.

Join geo-archaeologists in Secrets of the Dead’s “Herculaneum Uncovered” as they examine how the eruption devastated Herculaneum in a very different manner than to Pompeii.


Photo: Mount Versuvius, Library of Congress, 1872.

Source: to.pbs.org

August 9, 1969:  Manson Family Murders Five in Hollywood On this day in 1969, ex-con Charles Manson instructed four members of his cult (known as the Manson Family) to break into filmmaker Roman Polanski’s Hollywood home.  Manson’s crew murdered five individuals inside the house, including Polanski’s pregnant wife, actress Sharon Tate.  The Manson Family murders go down as some of the most notorious crimes of the 20th Century.  Secrets of the Dead examines other crimes of the century — from the Black Dahlia to the Zodiac Killer — that still inspire public curiosity and fascination decades later.
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August 9, 1969:  Manson Family Murders Five in Hollywood

On this day in 1969, ex-con Charles Manson instructed four members of his cult (known as the Manson Family) to break into filmmaker Roman Polanski’s Hollywood home.  Manson’s crew murdered five individuals inside the house, including Polanski’s pregnant wife, actress Sharon Tate. 

The Manson Family murders go down as some of the most notorious crimes of the 20th Century. 

Secrets of the Dead examines other crimes of the century — from the Black Dahlia to the Zodiac Killer — that still inspire public curiosity and fascination decades later.

Source: to.pbs.org

July 18, 64: The Great Fire of Rome On this day in the year 64, a fire broke out in Rome that destroyed much of the city.  Legend has it that Emperor Nero was responsible for starting the fire, despite the lack of evidence supporting this, because he took advantage of the outcomes, commissioning new buildings to replace the ones he didn’t like, and executing hundreds of Christians he believed had something to do with the fire. PBS Secrets of the Dead examines the circumstances around the Great Fire of Rome to determine whether it was accidental or intentional.  Do you know the signs of an accidental fire?  Practice your forensic skills in this Interactive Fire Investigation.
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July 18, 64: The Great Fire of Rome

On this day in the year 64, a fire broke out in Rome that destroyed much of the city.  Legend has it that Emperor Nero was responsible for starting the fire, despite the lack of evidence supporting this, because he took advantage of the outcomes, commissioning new buildings to replace the ones he didn’t like, and executing hundreds of Christians he believed had something to do with the fire.

PBS Secrets of the Dead examines the circumstances around the Great Fire of Rome to determine whether it was accidental or intentional.  Do you know the signs of an accidental fire?  Practice your forensic skills in this Interactive Fire Investigation.

Source: to.pbs.org

MARCH 27, 1958: Nikita Khrushchev Becomes Soviet Union’s PremierAlready  holding the position of Soviet First Secretary, Nikita Khrushchev became the premier for the Soviet Union.Beginning in the 1950s, American and Soviet scientists engaged in a dangerous race to see who could build and detonate the world’s largest bomb. Watch this scene from Secrets of the Dead’s “The World’s Biggest Bomb” of the Soviet leader watching a long-range missile parade as a show of the Soviet Union’s missile strength.
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MARCH 27, 1958: Nikita Khrushchev Becomes Soviet Union’s PremierAlready  holding the position of Soviet First Secretary, Nikita Khrushchev became the premier for the Soviet Union.Beginning in the 1950s, American and Soviet scientists engaged in a dangerous race to see who could build and detonate the world’s largest bomb. Watch this scene from Secrets of the Dead’s “The World’s Biggest Bomb” of the Soviet leader watching a long-range missile parade as a show of the Soviet Union’s missile strength.
Zoom Info
MARCH 27, 1958: Nikita Khrushchev Becomes Soviet Union’s PremierAlready  holding the position of Soviet First Secretary, Nikita Khrushchev became the premier for the Soviet Union.Beginning in the 1950s, American and Soviet scientists engaged in a dangerous race to see who could build and detonate the world’s largest bomb. Watch this scene from Secrets of the Dead’s “The World’s Biggest Bomb” of the Soviet leader watching a long-range missile parade as a show of the Soviet Union’s missile strength.
Zoom Info
MARCH 27, 1958: Nikita Khrushchev Becomes Soviet Union’s PremierAlready  holding the position of Soviet First Secretary, Nikita Khrushchev became the premier for the Soviet Union.Beginning in the 1950s, American and Soviet scientists engaged in a dangerous race to see who could build and detonate the world’s largest bomb. Watch this scene from Secrets of the Dead’s “The World’s Biggest Bomb” of the Soviet leader watching a long-range missile parade as a show of the Soviet Union’s missile strength.
Zoom Info
MARCH 27, 1958: Nikita Khrushchev Becomes Soviet Union’s PremierAlready  holding the position of Soviet First Secretary, Nikita Khrushchev became the premier for the Soviet Union.Beginning in the 1950s, American and Soviet scientists engaged in a dangerous race to see who could build and detonate the world’s largest bomb. Watch this scene from Secrets of the Dead’s “The World’s Biggest Bomb” of the Soviet leader watching a long-range missile parade as a show of the Soviet Union’s missile strength.
Zoom Info

MARCH 27, 1958: Nikita Khrushchev Becomes Soviet Union’s Premier

Already  holding the position of Soviet First Secretary, Nikita Khrushchev became the premier for the Soviet Union.

Beginning in the 1950s, American and Soviet scientists engaged in a dangerous race to see who could build and detonate the world’s largest bomb.

Watch this scene from Secrets of the Dead’s “The World’s Biggest Bomb” of the Soviet leader watching a long-range missile parade as a show of the Soviet Union’s missile strength.

Source: to.pbs.org

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