Past events, present tense.
History Facts brings the past to life both in your inbox and on the web. Each day we publish a daily digest highlighting a lesser-known event from yesteryear, one your textbooks probably didn’t cover but we think you’ll enjoy learning about.
For example, did you know Ohio and Michigan went to war in 1835? How about the fact that Andrew Jackson’s pet parrot was kicked out of the President’s funeral for swearing? And have you ever heard of Blackout Cake, the dessert created during WWII to remind Brooklyn residents of mandatory blackouts? It’s delicious.
History Facts gives you the chance to step back in time every morning. Subscribe now to receive the daily digest along with featured articles that shed even more light on fascinating moments and people from times gone by.
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Meghan Neal
History Facts Editor
Meghan is a journalist with 18 years of experience in writing, editing, and editorial leadership. A lifelong student of history, she brings a deep curiosity and passion for the past to her role as editor of History Facts. Prior to joining History Facts, she held managing editor and senior editor positions at Atlas Obscura, Gizmodo, Vice, GOOD magazine, and the Huffington Post, and worked as a reporter at newspapers in New York, San Francisco, and Boston. Her writing has appeared in The Atlantic, Popular Mechanics, The Awl, and other publications. She is based in Brooklyn, New York, where she spends her free time playing guitar, singing, and watching history documentaries.
Mike Newman
Chief Brand Officer
Mike is a media executive with more than 20 years of professional experience. He’s worked as a reporter, editor, and senior leader in digital media, radio, and print. His work has appeared on ESPN, the Huffington Post, and Buzzfeed, among others. Before joining History Facts, Mike led the editorial efforts at Rotary Digital, a newsletter-first media company. A lifelong history lover, Mike is fascinated by the peculiarities of ancient customs and ways of living, among many other topics.
Allie Takeda
Senior Managing Editor
Allie is a writer, editor, and content strategist with nearly 20 years of experience in print and digital media. Her work has appeared in Elle, Us Weekly, and Parade, among other publications. Prior to joining History Facts, Allie led the news and entertainment team as an executive editor at Brit + Co.
Michael Nordine
Senior Editor
Michael is a writer and film critic from Los Angeles. Prior to joining History Facts, he served as Weekend Editor at IndieWire and Film Copy Editor at Voice Media Group. His writing and criticism have appeared in the Los Angeles Times, Variety, the Washington Post, the Village Voice, and Vice, among others.
Bennett Kleinman
Senior Staff Writer
Bennett is a New York City-based writer covering a range of topics. He previously contributed to Late Show With David Letterman, The Onion, as well as several other television programs and publications. When it comes to history, Bennett is particularly fascinated by U.S. presidents and elections.
Zoie Griffin
Senior Photo Editor
Zoie is a photo editor with five years of experience in digital media. After earning a degree in cinema and television with a minor in photography, Zoie took her interest in bringing written content to life through visuals to History Facts in 2021. She has covered a range of topics including travel, commerce, lifestyle, and linguistics, with a particular interest in history, arts, and culture.
Rachel Callahan
Photo Editor
Rachel has been a photo editor for more than 10 years. She has worked at companies including Time Inc. and Dotdash Meredith for publications including Life, the History Channel, Time, and People.
Bess Lovejoy
Contributing Writer
Bess is the author of Rest in Pieces: The Curious Fates of Famous Corpses, Northwest Know-How: Haunts, and other work around the subjects of obscure history.
Kristina Wright
Contributing Writer
Kristina is a Virginia-based freelance writer who has written for publications including the Washington Post, USA Today, Business Insider, Mental Floss, and the Huffington Post.
Nicole Villeneuve
Contributing Writer
Nicole is a writer, editor, and researcher with more than 15 years experience covering arts and culture, lifestyle, and media. Her work has appeared in PureWow, Brit + Co, Exclaim, AUX TV, and CBC. She lives in Ontario, Canada.
Tim Ott
Contributing Writer
Tim pursued a freelance writing path after nearly a decade spent as an editorial producer at MLB.com. His work has appeared in such outlets as History.com and Biography.com.
Tony Dunnell
Contributing Writer
Tony has written for numerous publications including Vice, Mental Floss, and Paste magazine, while his speculative fiction has appeared in magazines such as Escape Pod, Fusion Fragment, and Sci Phi Journal.
Sarah Anne Lloyd
Contributing Writer
Sarah is a freelance writer whose work covers a bit of everything, including politics, design, the environment, and yoga. Her work has appeared in Curbed, the Seattle Times, the Stranger, the Verge, and others.
Denis Cummings
Fact-Checker
Denis Cummings has worked as a writer, editor, and fact-checker for Dulcinea Media, Choose2Matter, Newsela, and the New York Times Learning Network’s On This Day series.
Our Editorial Policy
History Facts is an Optimism publication. We believe in accurate and informative content that improves the lives of our readers. We aim to educate, entertain, and inspire by delivering content to our readers worthy of their time.
Our full-time editorial staff works with a network of over 100 freelance contributors to produce the stories you read daily. Every piece is fact-checked by our team and reviewed by at least two editors before publication.
We rely on reputable outlets when sourcing our information and require a minimum of two of these sources to confirm the information we share with our readers.
We stand behind everything we produce. However, we encourage you to reach out via our Contact Us page if you notice an error or omission. We respond to messages and rectify issues within a few business days.
We believe in the importance of human-created content. We work with established writers with requisite subject matter expertise. We use AI tools during our ideation process, leveraging these platforms to help us develop story concepts we produce ourselves. Occasionally, we use AI tools to help us craft subject lines for our emails, but the stories themselves are always written, fact-checked, and produced by humans.
We follow an in-house style guide our company has developed. Though informed by AP Style, it includes alterations adapted to improve clarity.
Our advertising partners do not influence our editorial content. Optimism’s editorial team is independent and operates only with our readers’ best interests in mind. If a piece of content is sponsored, it is clearly labeled as such.
As an independent editorial team, we strive to eliminate any biases or personal opinions from our content. We remain an impartial team dedicated to providing factual information without prejudice or favoritism. We do not allow for bigotry, stereotyping, or one-sidedness in anything we publish. We value inclusivity, curiosity, community, and accessibility.
Our photography is sourced from reputable partners, checked for accuracy by our staff, and credited with appropriate names and sources. We do not substantially edit any historical photography, and we do not use images generated by AI tools. Our in-house creative team does all the design work you see on History Facts, from brand identity to website design.
If you have questions or concerns, please reach out via our Contact Us page.
