Original title
Unsolved History
Released
10/9/2002
Origin country
US
Genre
Documentary, Mystery
Status
Returning series
Number of seasons
3
Number of episodes
51
Unsolved History is an American documentary television series that aired from 2002 to 2005. The program was produced by MorningStar Entertainment, Termite Art Productions, Lions Gate Television, and Discovery Communications for the Discovery Channel. The series lasted over three seasons and had a total of 47 episodes, in which a team of people, each with different skills, try to solve historical mysteries. As of 2007, the series airs on Investigation Discovery and occasionally on the Science Channel. However, episodes regarding the military are sometimes aired on the Military Channel.
Using the original plans and the latest in virtual mapping technology, the bunker complex where Adolf Hitler lived and died is reconstructed.
A team of Secret Service officers, historians and forensic scientists unravel the mysteries behind some of the most high-profile deaths and assassination attempts in the White House. The 1881 shooting of James Garfield prompted Alexander Graham Bell to invent a metal detector in order to locate the assassin's bullet and try to save his life. Zachary Taylor's body was exhumed to determine if he had been poisoned instead of dying from gastroenteritis. An assassination attempt on Franklin D. Roosevelt helped shape the function of today's Secret Service. And a plot to crash a passenger jet into the White House in order to assassinate Richard Nixon was foiled.
Scientists study the world's oldest mummy, a 5,300-year-old prehistoric man called ""Otzi"", discovered in the Alps in September 1991. The discovery of an arrowhead lodged in the mummy's back suggests that the Iceman may have been murdered. Forensic techniques are used to examine the various theories surrounding how and why the mummy died.
The destruction of the U.S.S. Arizona by the Japanese on December 7, 1941 was the defining moment for America's entry into World War II. Rarely-seen footage shows the entire sequence of events, and a National Park Service dive team explores the wreck.
On March 5, 1770, 5 people were killed by British soldiers in Boston. The most common theory is that the soldiers immediately used their muskets against the crowd. However, some experts think that there were other reasons behind this.
The Roman Colosseum, completed in 80 A.D., was a showcase of gladiatorial contests, wild beast hunts, public executions and variety shows. The Colosseum is brought to life with a virtual reality simulation, based on a detailed study of the archaeological evidence. The rules of the gladiatorial games are examined and modern-day gladiators recreate the legendary battles. Scientists try to determine the truth behind the legend of the Naumachia, a mock naval battle which involved the flooding of the entire arena.
Italian forensic investigator Luciano Garofano and Harvard criminologist Harold Bursztajn examine the death of Julius Caesar and theorize that his assassination may have been contrived by Caesar himself in order to hide a debilitating illness. Ancient documents and ruins are examined with 21st-century forensics, and Caesar's strange behavior, such as the dismissal of his bodyguard prior to the assassination, gives insight into the state of his mind.
In the last ten years of his life, John F. Kennedy suffered from Addison's disease, a disorder in which the adrenal glands fail to produce the hormone cortisol, which helps the body respond to stress. While JFK denied allegations that he had the disease, one of its side effects was to give him a bronzed glow, which may have helped him look healthy in TV debates against Richard Nixon. JFK was taking the drug cortisone to treat the disease; the possibility is examined that he may have been overdosing on this drug, causing increased anxiety, panic attacks, insomnia and an increased sex drive. JFK also suffered from chronic back pain for which he took painkillers. ""Dr. Feelgood"" Max Jacobsen supplied JFK with amphetamines, but claimed they were vitamins, hormones and enzymes. Drug addiction may have played a role in the Cuban missile crisis, JFK's rumored infidelity, and even his own assassination.
On August 31, 1997, the world learned of the tragic death of Princess Diana. Her car hit a concrete pillar at high speed in the Pont De L'Alma tunnel in Paris. The driver, Henri Paul, had consumed alcohol, but what other factors lead to the accident?
In 1962, Marilyn Monroe was found dead in her California home. While the coroner ruled her death a probable suicide, there was minimal investigation and rumors of conspiracy and cover-up persist to this day. Find out how Marilyn Monroe really died.
The Salem Witch trials of 1692 were one of the darkest periods in early American history. Over 100 people were imprisoned and 37 were killed because of their purported involvement with witchcraft. Find out what caused the hysteria.
After 40 years, the assassination of President Kennedy remains unsolved. Government investigations have provided the American public with few answers. Dramatic demonstrations of the events in Dealey Plaza shed new light on the web of conspiracy theories.
On February 14, 1929, four men armed with submachine guns cut down seven mobsters in Chicago. Ironically, this famous mob event spawned the Chicago crime lab, introducing ballistics, polygraph, chemical analysis and forensic pathology to police work.
An Aztec sacrifice of 20,000 people over a period of four days in 1411 is examined. The sacrifice consisted of a sacrificial priest cutting the person's skin beneath the rib cage, reaching up and cutting the arteries and veins attached to their heart and pulling it out. Then the body was pushed down the stairs of the altar. After an examination, it is proven that this many people could be sacrificed in such a small amount of time.
Before he was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth, President Lincoln was the target of at least five other assassination conspiracies. Using forensic analysis and reenactments, each of these forgotten plots are examined.
Experts use forensic techniques to translate and verify what Nostradamus ""really"" predicted. Fact is separated from fiction as it relates to the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.
On July 20, 1944, members of Hitler's General Staff detonated a bomb designed to kill their leader and his henchman. The bombing was to lead to the overthrow of Nazi Germany and an early end to the war. Find out why this famous coup failed.
In 1968 as Senator Robert F. Kennedy left a political rally in a Los Angeles hotel, shots rang out leaving him mortally wounded. Who really fired the fatal shot that killed Senator Kennedy? Was it a lone gunman, a young Palestinian, named Sirhan Sirhan?
After World War II almost 30,000 war criminals escaped from Europe. Was Dr. Mengele part of a Fourth Reich dedicated to evil plots to restore Nazi power? The truth is that Mengele, like many ex-Nazis, led a pathetic hunted animal existence after the war.
An ancient story tells us that a mighty Greek armada of a thousand ships sailed across the Mediterranean Sea to wage war on Troy. Bent on vengeance for the abduction of the beautiful Helen by the Trojan prince Paris, the Greeks lay siege to the great city.
The myths surrounding the Ninja, the mysterious elite fighting force of feudal Japan, are explored
The Korean Airlines 747 shot down in 1983 is investigated using 21st century technology and science.
Forensic techniques are used to examine the disappearance of D.B. Cooper, who parachuted from an airplane in 1971 with a stolen $200,000.
The rumored survival of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid from their famous 1908 shootout in Bolivia is investigated.
The mysterious disappearances of boats and planes in the Bermuda Triangle are investigated.
The Area 51 is a famous place of the USA due to the popular myths that say that there are hidden aliens in that place.
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