Unsolved History

Most Americans know about the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, during which Japanese forces launched a surprise assault on a United States naval base. However, few know that an American Navy vessel actually fired the first shot that morning.

On April 18, 1906, an earthquake of devastating proportions ripped through San Francisco, leaving over 400,000 people homeless and incurring $400 million in damage. "Unsolved History" investigates an alleged conspiracy to downplay the quake as the primary cause of the damage.

On August 5, 1962, Marilyn Monroe was found dead in her California home. The coroner ruled her death a probable suicide, but there was minimal investigation; rumors of conspiracy persist to this day. In this episode, historians attempt to find out how Marilyn Monroe really died.

"Unsolved History" hunts for the truth behind the Roswell UFO incident. Was this America's largest military cover-up, or one of the greatest hoaxes in history?

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.

The Great Chicago Fire of 1871, the worst metropolitan fire in history, was allegedly started by a cow and an unsupervised lantern. "Unsolved History" puts this story to the test as experts recreate the three-day devastation.

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, "Unsolved History" examines each of these forgotten plots.

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.

On July 20, 1944, members of Hitler's general staff detonated a bomb designed to kill their leader and his henchman. The conspirators hoped the bombing would destabilize Nazi Germany and bring an early end to the war. "Unsolved History" investigates possible explanations for the failure of this famous coup.