The sun was just coming up over the Normandy coast at about 5 a.m. on June 6, 1944 – D-Day.
The Allied navies – Canadian, British, American – had brought a huge invasion fleet from England to France in total darkness. For men on the ships, first light showed the black shapes of other nearby vessels. [...]

Yuan Shikai (September 16, 1859 – June 6, 1916) was an important Chinese general and politician famous for his influence during the late Qing Dynasty, his role in the events leading up to the abdication of the last Qing Emperor of China, his autocratic rule as the second President of the Republic of China, and [...]

At the beginning of the 18th century, five thousand opium chests a year were entering China; by 1838, that number had reached forty thousand. The fact that the import and use of opium was illegal in China meant it had to be bought with silver. The huge profits made from its sale gave rise to [...]

Besides the Canadian Mounties and the maple leaf, what could be more iconic of Canada than Niagara Falls? So it is fitting that the first photograph of Canada is of the Niagara Falls. And it is!

This image of Niagara Falls was discovered twelve years ago in a box at Newcastle University in England. The box, [...]

The Charlottetown Conference was held in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, for representatives from the colonies of British North America to discuss Canadian Confederation. The conference took place between 1–9 September 1864. The above image is of delegates of the Charlottetown Conference on the steps of Government House.
Canadian Confederation was the process by which the federal [...]

Penang is one of the thirteen states that make up Malaysia. It is an island off of the West coast of Peninsular Malaysia, separated by the Straits of Malacca. When I was young, my parents would often take me to Penang for weekend vacations. What I remember most of these vacations were the (excellent) food, [...]

Western Canada’s oldest racetrack, Sasketchewan International Raceway was built in 1966 by Les Howard. It was first called “Southwinds Dragway” and later changed to “Saskatoon International Raceway” (SIR). In 1986, the Saskatchewan Drag Racing Association (SDRA) became the track operators and changed the name to “Saskatchewan International Raceway”. In the ‘70’s SIR was a regular [...]

I often visited museums when I was young as part of educational field trips. Like every other 10-year-old boy, my mind was more preoccupied with pranks than history. However, there were sections of the museum where I was afraid and would remain silent and obedient - such as the section on Malay customs including ‘bersunat’ [...]

As I age, I find myself getting increasingly more interested in history. I didn’t grow up in Vancouver, so the only history I know of it is through textbooks. However, textbooks do not offer personal accounts, of which I am even more interested in. Living life, especially through years before I was even born, through [...]

An aerial view taken on April 29, 1935, showing the Hell Gate Bridge (foreground) linking Wards Island (right) with Astoria across the East River. In the rear of the Hell Gate Bridge can be seen the cable strands for the new Triboro Bridge. Further down the East River can be seen Welfare Island and above [...]