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Notorious Gangster Al Capone

Mugshot of Chicago gangster Al Capone.

Al Capone was glamorous and he was deadly. He was a gangster in Prohibition-era Chicago that survived a dangerous life only to die from syphilis. Learn more about Al Capone, a.k.a. "Scarface."

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20th Century History Spotlight10

Muppets Going to a NY Museum

Friday May 24, 2013

The Museum of the Moving Image in Queens, New York, is the lucky recipient of a number of well-loved Muppets characters and historical items. Over 400 items are being donated by Jim Henson's family and will be displayed in a new, 2,200 square-foot gallery.

Among the 400 items are 200 puppets (which include Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Bert and Ernie, and Elmo), costumes, behind-the-scenes footage, and props from some of Henson's most memorable works.

The exhibit is expected to officially open near the end of 2014.

Jailed Argentinian Dictator Dies

Friday May 24, 2013

Dictator of Argentina from 1976 to 1981, Jorge Rafael Videla presided over the "Dirty War," in which an estimated 20,000 civilians were secretly captured, tortured, and murdered in an attempt to curb communism.

Among the horrible acts committed by Videla's regime was the capture of pregnant women; the mothers were allowed to have their babies and then were killed (sometimes by being dropped naked out of an airplane), while the newborns were then given to Christian Argentinian families to be raised with a new identity.

Videla was tried in 1985 and convicted of human rights abuses. Although he was sentenced to life in prison, he was pardoned in 1990. In 1998, he was charged with kidnapping and then later with more human rights abuses. Jorge Rafael Videla died on Friday, May 17, 2013 at age 87 while serving a life sentence at the Marcos Paz Prison in Buenos Aires.

New Pictures From the Romanov's Last Years Found

Thursday May 23, 2013

Recently, over 200 private pictures of the Romanovs were found in a vault in the small, local Zlatoust Museum in the Urals. This is a very rare find as it shows the Romanovs, the last Russian czar and his family, enjoying their last carefree moments in the years proceeding their murder.

The Siberian Times has posted a handful of the pictures, including one of Czar Nicholas II taking an elephant for a walk, young Anastasia smoking a cigarette, and little Alexei sitting in a tree with his favorite dog.

Margaret Thatcher: The Iron Lady

Thursday May 23, 2013
Whether you hated her or loved her, Margaret Thatcher made history when she became the first female prime minister of the United Kingdom, serving three terms from 1979 to 1990. Yet there was more to Margaret Thatcher than this one major accomplishment. Find out why she was called "the Iron Lady," read about the assassination attempt that nearly took her life, learn about her husband and twin children, and much more in this short biography of Margaret Thatcher.

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