historybriefs
Topic

Weather

The system that is forecast daily and understood partially.

1
in history
13:33
average
14 min
in total
10
across the network
Weather across the network →
Refine26
Strands
Ancient 32Classical 14Medieval 59Early modern 9119th century 6420th century 170Contemporary 40War & conflict 132Empires & states 83Revolutions 70Economy & trade 25Science & technology 28Exploration 13Religion 25Everyday life 4Crime & disaster 58
Verdict
Worth your time 439Worth it in part 52
Topics
War 116Empire 75Britain 51Colonialism 51Revolution 46The Cold War 39Religion 37France 35All 133 topics →
All briefs1
video still
13:33

1931 China floods

June to August 1931

The 1931 China floods were a meteorologically driven, multi-phase disaster spanning June–August 1931 across China — especially Wuhan and Nanjing — culminating in a dike breach at Lake Gaoyou on 25 August. Verified evidence includes hydrological extremes (record water levels, nine cyclones in July, >600 mm rainfall), systematic fatality estimation (University of Nanking survey, official reports), institutional responses (National Flood Relief Commission, League of Nations, Lindbergh aerial survey), and disease outcomes (31,974 cholera deaths in 1932). Disputed claims include total death tolls: Buck’s survey estimated 150,000 drowned — less than a quarter of all fatalities in the first 100 days — while an official report claimed 140,000 drowned and 2 million dead from drowning or starvation. No source reconciles these figures with the verified cholera toll or provides demographic corroboration. The event exposed limits of Kuomintang governance and flood-control infrastructure but did not trigger structural reform.

More from history

All briefs →
video still
12:35

Baghdad

762 AD

Baghdad’s founding in 762 was a decisive, documented act of imperial design — not evolution, not accident. It created a new kind of capital: planned, symbolic, and engineered for intellectual and administrative dominance. Its scale, longevity and influence are verifiable. Its motives and internal politics are not.

video still
9:42

Catherine the Great

1762–1796

Catherine the Great’s reign was defined by method, not motive: coup, favouritism, military appointment, and diplomatic intervention produced imperial expansion and cultural renaissance — and elevated Russia to great-power status — without requiring Enlightenment ideals to be operationalised in governance.

video still
9:32

Cesar Chavez

1965–1970

Cesar Chavez co-founded the National Farm Workers Association in Delano, California in 1962. He launched an insurance scheme, credit union, and El Malcriado newspaper. He led the Delano grape strike from 1965 to 1970. His NFWA merged with Larry Itliong’s Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee in 1967 to form the United Farm Workers. He used nonviolent resistance — picketing, boycotting, public processions, Masses, and fasts — inspired by Gandhi and infused with Catholic symbolism. In the early 1970s, he opened UFW branches outside California.