ABOUT
PEOPLE
Obscure Histories is a collection of original, short, and accessible pieces about overlooked people, places, things, events, and ideas, with an emphasis on histories about marginalized people around the world. Obscure Histories looks to illuminate ideas, events, and people who have been traditionally overlooked - intentionally or unintentionally - in the historical record. Obscure Histories is a completely free resource, without paywall or subscription.
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Written and edited by historians, each Obscure History is based on primary materials and uses reliable sources from original documents, government agencies, journals, respected publications, as well as other media, visual and otherwise. We encourage people to do their own research! - The Rabbit Hole curated searches will lead you to related material, always up to date thanks to the power of the internet.
Obscure Histories is community led, and strives for equity in our topics and our authors. Our authors range from professional and amateur historians, educators, and interested hobbyists. If you want to contribute to Obscure Histories, we want to hear from you!
DANA ROVANG, PhD, Founder
MICHAEL GOTT, Researcher
BRENDAN WOLFE, Senior Fellow
JULIA CHEN, Researcher
Dana is writer, editor, and video producer. She has worked on many corporate, government, and educational projects. Her specialization is 18th-Century performance magicians, but she is drawn to all underrepresented histories.
Michael Gott has a B.A. in History and Secondary Education, with an endorsement in the social sciences, from Saint Xavier University. He has traveled the world and also taught in private education in Chicago. His historical interests are in European and East Asian History, and most recently in Colonial Latin America.
Julia is a writer, producer, and researcher who has worked on projects about the Nixon administration, American immigration policy, and technology.
Brendan Wolfe has his MFA in Nonfiction Writing from the University of Iowa. Brendan is a regular contributor as well as a member of the OH Advisory Board. He lives and works in Charlotteville, VA, where is currently working as a genealogist. He is also an accomplished essayist and historian.
Ernesto has worked in video design and motion graphics for over a decade, primarily creating corporate explainer and B2B videos. He is also a passionate gamer and is always trying to figure out how to incorporate either 3D elements or 8-bit motifs into every project.
Herb Wignall was a passionate collector of stamps and regularly gave talks at his stamp club in Pearland, Texas about the thrilling histories behind them. Herb was a lifelong historian in addition to being a consummate teller of jokes. He was also the beloved grandfather of OH founder, Dana Rovang. Herb passed away August 5, 2022, but his histories about stamps will live here forever.
Ronen is a rising middle-schooler. He is very interested in the history of WWI, which he says is underrepresented in martial history. Ronen is the inspiration for Obscure Histories, Jr. and he is the primary consultant for OH, Jr. content and curriculum ideas.