Though history books referencing Robert E. Lee's 1865 surrender at Appomattox put forth a straightforward narrative of how the Civil War ended, the truth is much more complex.

Though Alberta Williams King is often viewed as a footnote to the Martin Luther King Jr. story, she played a crucial role in shaping her son's thinking about race in America.

These tiny marine fossils date back 460 million years, when an ocean covered the entirety of Wales.

Carrot the fish might be the largest goldfish ever caught.

Dubbed Leviathanochelys aenigmatica, this massive creature weighed two tons and stretched 12 feet long.

Santa Claus is based on a real man named St. Nicholas who lived in the third century, but the generous monk also spawned countless other legends of Santa-like figures.

The circumstances surrounding death of 70-year-old Il Hun Ro of Los Angeles are unknown, but Yellowstone officials do not suspect foul play.

For thousands of years, smallpox ravaged populations around the world, killing 30 percent of those it infected — until Edward Jenner discovered a vaccine in 1796 that eventually helped lead to the disease's eradication in the 1970s.

Researchers believe that 3,000-year-old bronze irons used by ancient Egyptians were too small for cattle or horses, and may have been used for enslaved people instead.

The minks may have been set loose by the Animal Liberation Front, an activist group dedicated to ending the abuse and exploitation of animals.

Discover 11 of the most bizarre ways royals have died, from the Greek King killed by a monkey to the English Conqueror who buckled under his own weight.