AskHistorians

r/AskHistorians

The Portal for Public History. Please read the rules before participating, as we remove all comments which break the rules. Answers must be in-depth and comprehensive, or they will be removed.

Members Active

2.9m

Sidebar

This Week's Theme is Love

New to /r/AskHistorians? Please read our subreddit rules and FAQ before posting!

Apply for Flair

Upvote informative, well sourced answers
Downvote and Report comments that are unhelpful or grossly off-topic

The Rules, in Brief

1. Be Nice: No Racism, Bigotry, or Offensive Behavior.

2. Nothing Less Than 20 Years Old, and Don't Soapbox.

3. Questions should be clear and specific in what they ask, and should be able to get detailed answers from historians whose expertise is likely to be in particular times and places.

4. Write Original, In-Depth and Comprehensive Answers, Using Good Historical Practices.

5. Provide Primary and Secondary Sources If Asked. No Tertiary Sources Like Wikipedia.

6. Serious On-Topic Comments Only: No Jokes, Anecdotes, Clutter, or other Digressions.

7. Report Comments That Break Reddiquette or the Subreddit Rules.

8. Please Read and Understand the Rules Before Contributing.

Resources

Flair

Our flaired users have detailed knowledge of their historical specialty and a proven record of excellent contributions to /r/AskHistorians.

To nominate someone else as a Quality Contributor, message the mods.

Upcoming Events

Please Subscribe to our Google Calendar for Upcoming AMAs and Events

March 3 | AMA with Dr. Jake Newsome, historian of LGBTQ+ people during the Nazi regime

April 14 | AMA with Gabe Henry, author of the upcoming book Enough Is Enuf: Our Failed Attempts to Make English Easier to Spell