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Bite-sized history lessons featuring the world’s greatest historical events and figures.
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Jul 2 22 tweets 5 min read
Joseph of Cupertino reportedly experienced ecstatic visions so intense that he would levitate—often during Mass or prayer.

Pilgrims flocked. Inquisitors followed.

Crowds called it divine, but to the Church it was a problem.

A thread on the saint that rose to heaven. Image The year is 1603.

In a dusty village in southern Italy, a child is born who will one day defy gravity—literally.

His name?

Joseph of Cupertino. Image
Jun 29 23 tweets 7 min read
What fascinates me about Al Capone isn’t just the violence, the style, or the empire, it’s how one man became both a villain and a folk hero at the same time.

This is the story of how crime, charisma, and chaos made one man king. 🧵👇 Cards of History - Al Capone The year is 1919.

The United States has just passed the 18th Amendment: Prohibition.

Alcohol is now illegal.

But that doesn’t stop anyone from drinking.
It just means someone has to supply it. Image
Jun 23 28 tweets 7 min read
He told Americans to stop copying Europe—and start thinking for themselves.

Europe had the past. but Emerson gave America its future.

A thread on his core ideas, and why they still matter. Ralph Waldo Emerson - Cards of History Ralph Waldo Emerson was born in 1803 in Boston.

He grew up in a deeply religious household. His father was a Unitarian minister.

Young Emerson seemed destined to follow in his footsteps. Image
Jun 17 25 tweets 8 min read
Socrates likened the fear of death to a child’s fear of a masked prankster, born not of reason, but of ignorance.

Luckily, he argued, this anxiety can be overcome.

A guide to removing the mask and making peace with the inevitable.

🧵👇 Socrates - Cards of History Death is life’s only certainty, yet it remains our greatest unknown.

But is it something to fear? Or is our dread simply a trick of the mind—like mistaking a shadow for a monster?

Socrates had an answer. Image
Jun 13 32 tweets 8 min read
In 1861, the Union cracked. Southern states began to secede.
The nation stood on the brink of civil war.

And Lincoln had one man in mind to lead the Union Army:
Robert E. Lee.

But Lee chose a different path.

A🧵 on one of the most divisive figures in American History. Robert E. Lee by Cards of History The protagonist of our story was born in 1807 into Virginia nobility.

His father, “Light-Horse Harry” Lee, was a Revolutionary War hero.

But the family’s fortune faded—and Lee grew up with the burden of a great name and no wealth to support it. Image
Jun 4 22 tweets 7 min read
It should have been his crowning achievement… instead, it led to his ruin.

In one of history’s strangest plot twists, he painted his legacy but ruined his life.

This is the tale of how "The Night Watch" destroyed Rembrandt’s career. 🧵 Image Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn was born in 1606 in the Dutch Republic. By the 1630s, he had become one of the most sought-after painters in Amsterdam.

His mastery of light, shadow, and emotion set him apart.

But his greatest gamble would also be his downfall. Image
Jun 1 29 tweets 8 min read
They were told to find a route to the Pacific.

When Thomas Jefferson sent Lewis & Clark they crossed a continent—and nearly lost their lives doing it.

A journey of grizzly tracks, freezing Rivers & tribal Diplomacy

This is the untamed story of America’s greatest expedition. Image The year is 1804.
The United States ends at the Mississippi River.

Beyond it? Wilderness. Mountains. Myths.
President Jefferson has just doubled the nation's size with the Louisiana Purchase.

Now he wants to see what he bought. Image
May 30 33 tweets 8 min read
A group of Navy SEALs are dropped above Panama in total darkness.

There is no backup and no second chances.

Their target? A rogue CIA asset turned dictator with his own private army.

This is the story of Operation Just Cause, and the SEAL raid that nearly went to hell. 👇🧵 US Navy Seals - Cards of History The year is 1989.

Panama is ruled by General Manuel Noriega (nicknamed “Pineapple Face” due to his scars). A dictator, drug trafficker, and former CIA asset gone rogue.

He's holding a country hostage. And the U.S. is done playing nice. General Manuel Noriega
May 27 22 tweets 5 min read
How did a man who lived so quietly come to influence giants like Hegel, Nietzsche, and Einstein?

And why were his ideas considered so dangerous that he was excommunicated from the Jewish community?

A thread about the man who saw God in everything. Baruch Spinoza - Cards of History Baruch Spinoza (1632–1677) led a fascinating yet quiet life, marked by intellectual bravery and personal hardship.

He was born in Amsterdam to a Portuguese-Jewish family that had fled the Inquisition. Image
May 25 15 tweets 5 min read
They rode with ferocious speed to save Western civilization.

Would they arrive on time to save Europe when all seemed lost?

The ground shook as they thundered across the battlefield, lowering their lances and bracing for impact… Winged Hussars - Cards of History The year is 1683 AD.

At this time, the Ottoman Empire had expanded deep into Europe, and Vienna, a critical stronghold, was under siege. Image
May 21 23 tweets 5 min read
The Vatican’s deadliest servant never preached a sermon.
But he did bring salvation.

He served 6 popes and delivered justice over 500 times.

Meet the Pope’s executioner.

A man of faith, and of the blade. 👇🧵 Giovanni Battista Bugatti - By Cards of History
Giovanni Battista Bugatti - By Cards of History
His name was Giovanni Battista Bugatti, but Rome called him Mastro Titta. (Master of Justice)

He was the official executioner of the Papal States for nearly 70 years. Image
May 19 29 tweets 7 min read
A sword in a stone. A king in waiting.

Excalibur wasn't about war but about worthiness.
It was a test not for strength, but for character.

Did you ever feel like you're meant for more?
Perhaps there is a reason this thread found you... 👇🧵 Image The sword in the stone is one of the most enduring symbols in all mythology.

It appears simple:
Pull the sword, become king.

But the truth behind it is far more profound. Image
May 18 18 tweets 6 min read
During WWII, the Germans unleashed a colossal behemoth onto the battlefield.

Capable of firing shells the weight of a car, it required a 2,000-person crew to operate and left craters the size of buildings in its wake.

A 🧵 on the Schwerer Gustav, complete with rare footage. Schwerer Gustav - Cards of History In the annals of military history, few weapons stand out for their sheer audacity and size as the Schwerer Gustav, a massive German railway gun designed during World War II.

While it may seem straight out of a sci-fi movie, it was very much real.
May 16 23 tweets 7 min read
Nixon mocked it. “The most faggy goddamn thing you could ever imagine.”

Then secret footage leaked—confirming the conspiracy.

A hidden forest retreat for the world elite.
A stone owl.
An effigy in flames.

Step lightly, we are entering Bohemian Grove... 👇🧵 Bohemian Grove - by Cards of History The year is 2000.

A shaky handheld camera, footage captures hooded men, fires crackling, and a towering stone owl.

What was once dismissed as conspiracy is now in plain view.
May 12 22 tweets 6 min read
Are you living up to your full potential?

In a world of endless content, distraction is your greatest adversary.

Saint Augustine lamented the chains of habit and the lure of fleeting pleasures that pulled him from his purpose.

A🧵 on how to break free and reclaim your soul. Saint Augustine of Hippo - Cards of History Before he was a saint, Augustine was lost.

He chased pleasure, fame, and intellectual pride.

In Confessions, he describes how his soul was “torn to pieces” by desires he could not control. Image
May 9 31 tweets 8 min read
She ruled American imagination for over a century.

A Roman goddess reborn for the New World.

Her name was Columbia, but America forgot about her.

This is the tale of her rise and fall, and why we need her back.

🧵👇 Lady Columbia - Cards of History Before there was “Uncle Sam.”
Before the Statue of Liberty.
Before America saw herself as a businessman, a cowboy, or a soldier...

She saw herself as a goddess. Statue of Liberty - Cards of History
May 4 20 tweets 6 min read
What does it take to challenge an Empire?

Meet the mysterious seer whose visions inspired the tribes to unite and take up arms against Roman imperial might.

She became a symbol of defiance and ignited a savage rebellion that would shake the region to its very core.

🧵👇 Nr 109 - Veleda - Cards of History - The Roman Empire The year was 69 AD, and the Roman Empire was mired in chaos.

The death of Emperor Nero had plunged the empire into civil war, a turbulent period known as the Year of the Four Emperors. Image
May 2 40 tweets 10 min read
In the 8th century, the fate of Europe teetered on a knife’s edge.

A vast caliphate swept westward—unstoppable, unchallenged.

But in the heart of Gaul a man rose to stop the Muslim invasion in a final battle that saved Western Civilization. 🧵👇 Charles Martel - Cards of History The year is 732.

In the heart of Europe, the world holds its breath.

A storm approaches from the south—an empire on horseback, forged in the deserts of Arabia, now sweeping westward with the force of destiny itself. The Frankish kingdoms at the time of death of Pepin of Herstal (Father of Charles Martel)
Apr 27 20 tweets 5 min read
Christianity today is often portrayed as soft.
Passive.
Forgiving to a fault.

But the truth is older than that.
Older than the modern world.
Older than peace.

It understood that history isn't made by the timid. 🧵 Cards of History - Volume II The first sacred stories weren’t about peace.
They were about war.

About gods striking giants.
Prophets defying kings.
Angels slaying dragons. The Archangel Michael slaying a dragon.
Apr 26 16 tweets 6 min read
To travel is to be transformed.

Marco Polo didn’t set out to make history.

Across scorching deserts & foreign empires, he followed curiosity like a compass until travel became a way of life.

A young man from Venice mastered the art of travel, and now you can do to.🧵👇 Marco Polo - Cards of History Born in 1254, Marco Polo grew up in a Venice alive with trade.
But his father and uncle were already gone—on a trading mission deep into Asia.

When they returned 15 years later, they brought tales no one believed…

Tales of a Mongol emperor named Kublai Khan. Image
Apr 23 26 tweets 6 min read
A supply ship docks at a remote Scottish lighthouse.

Only to find out the keepers vanished without a trace.
No sign of struggle. No bodies.

Just a dinner table set for a meal, a toppled chair and a final log entry...

🧵 Nr 140 - Flannan Isles Disappearances - Cards of History The Flannan Isles are a group of small, rocky islands off the coast of Scotland.
Barren. Isolated.

Beaten by the Atlantic.
Only one thing stands on them: a lighthouse. Image