History

History Detectives

America's top gumshoes are on the case to prove once again that an object found in an attic or backyard might be anything but ordinary. Exploring historical objects and the stories behind them, History Detectives crisscrosses the country delving into legends, folklore and personal histories to discover potentially extraordinary objects in everyday American homes.

HDSI - Texas Servant Girl Murders

54m 41s

Before Jack the Ripper, a serial killer walked the streets of Austin, Texas. Can modern forensics help the History Detectives crack the case?

Episodes

  • Season 8, Episode 11: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Season 8, Episode 11

    S8 E11 - 55m 10s

    Chicago Clock: How could one clock regulate time for an entire region, and is this it? Universal Friends: A document seems connected to an early controversial religion, the first founded by an American-born woman. War Dogs: What went wrong during a WWII dog-training program on Cat Island?

  • Season 8, Episode 10: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Season 8, Episode 10

    S8 E12 - 55m 10s

    WB Cartoons:This box of cartoon drawings and cels tells an unexpected story about animation's early days. Galvez Papers: Why did a regional governor care enough about a slave to sign her emancipation papers? Mussolini's Dagger: Did this dagger once belong to Benito Mussolini?

  • Season 8, Episode 7: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Season 8, Episode 7

    S8 E7 - 56m 10s

    St.Valentine's Day Massacre: Family lore says their shotgun played a role in the Chicago St. Valentine's Day Massacre. G. Washington Miniature: Why is this miniature of Washington more than a piece of art? Stalag 17 Portrait: A portrait sketched in a WWII prison leads to a meeting 65 years later.

  • Season 8, Episode 4: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Season 8, Episode 4

    S8 E4 - 53m 9s

    Barton Letter: Why did Clara Barton, founder of the American Red Cross, write a letter about a Civil War soldier? Andrew Jackson's Mouth: The reunification of two halves of a vandalized sculpture of President Andrew Jackson? Spybook: Does a Pennsylvania man have a notebook that once belonged to a World War I spy?

  • Season 8: Episode 1: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Season 8: Episode 1

    S8 E1 - 55m 9s

    Was this magnetic boot designed to allow walking in space? Could a three-inch square of metallic material be part of America's first satellite program? Did the Apollo 12 space mission smuggle Andy Warhol's artwork to the moon?

Extras + Features

  • Space Boot: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Space Boot

    S8 E1 - 15m 59s

    Our contributor inherited a peculiar object from his father: a jerry-rigged ski boot with a magnetic metal brick bolted to the bottom. In the 1960s, his father worked as an engineer for Westinghouse, which played a role in the space program. Could this be the prototype for a NASA space boot? History Detectives finds out what place this boot has in space history.

  • Moon Museum: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Moon Museum

    S8 E1 - 17m 26s

    A Florida art curator purchased a a tiny ceramic chip with six images. The seller told him the tiny images were the works of several prominent artists and the chip was made as a miniature art museum to attach to the Apollo 12 lunar module. Did NASA actually deliver the artwork of Andy Warhol to the moon? Gwendolyn Wright tracks down three eyewitnesses to this historic moment.

  • Satelloon: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Satelloon

    S8 E1 - 18m 14s

    A radio operator made contact with another radio hobbyist who said he was a NASA engineer. He promised to send a memento of their conversation. Our Florida contributor received a square of metallic fabric, along with a hand-drawn diagram. Piecing together information from the radio exchange and notes on the diagram, our contributor believes this could be a piece of an early space satellite.

Schedule

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