Priya Raman

Priya writes the American story, from the colonies to living memory, with a focus on the people history books tend to leave out. She believes every town has at least one story worth a national audience.

Black and white photograph of Senator Birch Bayh speaking at a lectern marked Democratic National Convention, with glass teleprompter screens on either side

The House Voted 338 to 70 to Abolish the Electoral College in 1969

Priya Raman · November 8, 2026

Studio photograph of William W. Belknap in a Union general's uniform, seated, with a long beard

Belknap Quit Hours Before His 1876 Impeachment. The Senate Tried Him Anyway

Priya Raman · November 7, 2026

Aerial photograph of San Quentin prison on a point of land in San Francisco Bay, with hills across the water behind it

California Emptied Death Row in 1972, and Manson Got a Parole Hearing

Priya Raman · November 6, 2026

Photographic portrait of P.B.S. Pinchback, a bearded man in a dark suit

America's First Black Governor Left Office in 1873. The Next Took 117 Years

Priya Raman · November 5, 2026

Press photograph of the crowded House chamber at the swearing-in of Speaker Nicholas Longworth, opening the 69th Congress

Republicans Won the House in 1930 and Lost It to 14 Funerals

Priya Raman · November 4, 2026

Studio photograph of Annie Oakley in a wide hat and long dress, holding a shotgun, her chest covered with shooting medals

Annie Oakley Died 100 Years Ago. Her Longest Fight Was 55 Libel Suits

Priya Raman · November 3, 2026

Thomas Nast cartoon from Harper's Weekly, 1874: a White League man and a Klansman shake hands above a shield showing a Black family kneeling beside a burned schoolhouse

Election Day 1874 in Alabama: Gunfire at the Polls, 700 Ballots Burned

Priya Raman · November 3, 2026

Wood engraving of a family carving the turkey at a Thanksgiving dinner table, from Harper's Weekly, 1858

America's First Cookbook, 1796: An Orphan, a Pumpkin Pie and the Word 'Cookie'

Priya Raman · October 30, 2026

Photograph of the white stone obelisk of the Governor Sevier Monument in Knoxville, Tennessee, about 1900

Franklin Was a 14th State for Four Years. Congress Said No by Two Votes

Priya Raman · October 30, 2026

Albumen photograph by Timothy O'Sullivan, 1867: two men of Clarence King's Fortieth Parallel Survey sit and stand among knobbly tufa rock formations at Pyramid Lake, Nevada

Strange History

Two Prospectors Salted a Mesa With Diamonds in 1872 and Fooled Tiffany's

Priya Raman · October 29, 2026

Photograph of Miller Park in Milwaukee, now American Family Field, under a clear blue sky in 2016, with its arched roof trusses and brick facade

Milwaukee's Last Title Was 1957. Eight Years Later the Braves Were Gone

Priya Raman · October 29, 2026

Oil painting by Edward Moran of the unveiling of the Statue of Liberty in 1886, with the statue above a crowd of flag-decked boats and gun smoke in New York Harbor

The Statue of Liberty Was Unveiled 140 Years Ago Today in Fog, Rain and a Mistimed Speech

Priya Raman · October 28, 2026

Black-and-white photograph of Washington pitcher Walter Johnson walking across the infield past a row of press photographers during the 1925 World Series

The Rays Need Three Straight Wins. Six Teams Have Done It, One With an Umpire's Help

Priya Raman · October 28, 2026

Lithograph of a Salem witch trial courtroom scene, a young woman standing accused before the judges, published in 1892

The Salem Witch Trials Ended With a Fast Day, a Jury's Apology and One Accuser Standing Up in Church

Priya Raman · October 27, 2026

A 1778 Continental Congress thirty-dollar note, printed in Philadelphia, promising the bearer thirty Spanish milled dollars

Why the Dollar Sign Is an S With a Line Through It: Blame the Spanish Peso

Priya Raman · October 27, 2026

Thomas Nast's two-page Harper's Weekly cartoon Andy's Trip, October 1866, with Andrew Johnson in a central medallion surrounded by scenes from his speaking tour

World Figureheads

Andrew Johnson's 1866 Midterm Tour Ended Up in His Impeachment

Priya Raman · October 26, 2026

Reading room of the Kansas City Central Library in Missouri, with wooden tables, lamps and bookshelves, photographed in 2021

25 Years Ago the Patriot Act Passed 98 to 1, and Librarians Fought Back

Priya Raman · October 26, 2026

Photograph of the playing field and stands inside Tropicana Field on opening day 2010

The World Series Comes Monday to a Dome That Waited Eight Years for a Team

Priya Raman · October 25, 2026

Photograph of a head waiter, a waiter and a diner at the Occidental Hotel restaurant in Washington, D.C., 1942

Why Americans Tip: A Habit Copied From Europe That Six States Once Banned

Priya Raman · October 25, 2026

Studio photograph of Harry Houdini in a three-piece suit and bow tie, leaning on a chair, about 1913

Houdini Did His Last Show 100 Years Ago Tonight With a Fever and a Burst Appendix

Priya Raman · October 24, 2026

Old Judge Cigarettes baseball card of pitcher Charles Radbourn in a Boston uniform tagging a sliding runner, 1887

Why It Is Called the World Series: A Freezing Weekend in 1884, Not a Newspaper

Priya Raman · October 24, 2026

Painting of a storm cloud sweeping over the Connecticut River valley at Northampton, Massachusetts, with the river's oxbow bend in sunlight below

Strange History

New England's Dark Day of 1780: Noon Went Black and Tree Rings Explain Why

Priya Raman · October 23, 2026

Engraving of a crowd of men in hats gathered around the porch of a courthouse on election day, with a banner reading The Will of the People the Supreme Law

Why Americans Vote on a Tuesday in November: An 1845 Law for Farmers

Priya Raman · October 23, 2026

The Milwaukee Brewers' ballpark, then called Miller Park, photographed in 2016; it is now American Family Field

The Brewers Were Born When the Seattle Pilots Went Broke After One Season

Priya Raman · October 22, 2026