AskHistorians

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It appears that the modern insurance industry was one of the consequences of the great fire of London in 1666, as fire insurance was widely sold in London within 15 years, and Lloyd's was formed within 20. Without modern statistical record-keeping, how were they able to set their rates?	168
Many of the the greatest Florentines were exiled at some point (Dante, Machiavelli, the Medicis, Michaelangelo). Was the Florentine Republic exceptionally volatile for its time?	164
As I understand it, Romans of the Augustan period regarded the Republic as a failed state that resulted in incessant civil wars; what led the American founding fathers to hold the Roman Republic in such high regard? Would they have taken imperial Roman critiques of the Republic seriously?	163
Why do English judges and barristers wear wigs? Does it date to the beginnings of the British legal system, as currently constructed? If not, why did they hang on to the tradition when it otherwise fell out if favor in the general public?	159
Nearly half of the people who died from the Spanish Flu of 1918 were 20-to-40 year olds, a normally resistant population. Do we know why? What steps were taken to curb the outbreak (which killed more people than the Great War)? What sort of advances had we made by 1998 to prevent a recurrence?	158
At a time when royal religious disposition was the kind of thing countries fought wars over, the Stuarts produced a mix of Catholics and Protestants. How unusual was this, for a royal family, for this time? How did it come about?	157
In 1895, JP Morgan personally prevented the US government from defaulting by ensuring that the government was able to restore its gold reserves; how had the government gotten into such a desperate situation, and were there any long-term ramifications?	156
Harry Truman held the lowest approval rating for a President that Gallup has ever measured, at 22%, in his final year in office, yet he is generally regarded as 'great or near-great' when historians are surveyed*. What accounts for the discrepancy? What do we see that contemporaries missed?	151
I've read that it was traditional in Europe for people to ride on the left side of the road until the French Revolution, when Napoleon changed it so people rode on the right (and his change spread across the continent). Is this true, and, if so, why did he change it?	149
2nd try: Before inauguration day, Franklin Pierce and his wife suffered a tragedy, witnessing the graphic death of their only remaining child, and he entered office deeply distraught. Did this prompt any consideration of how the government should handle a President emotionally unfit for his duties?	148

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