Historic YouTube

Good morning!  I am going to do something a little bit different in today’s blog.  There is a world of YouTube History creators out there and I would be remiss in not including them on this website as well.  I hope that you notice that there is a new section on the website listing YouTube channels for YouTube Historians.  Their creations are often times short videos, however, despite their shortness they are rich in historical content.  These videos would be excellent to share at the start of a class or the start of a unit.

In one of my earlier posts, I reviewed the Ask a Mortician YouTube Channel, as well as the Biographics YouTube Channel.  I hope I will be able to expand your arsenal of resources to use in the classroom with students with some new YouTube Channels.

The People Profiles - YouTube
This is a channel devoted to the people of history.  This channel was founded in 2018 and presents recorded biographies of historical figures.  The documentaries are written and produced by historians who have Master’s Degrees in History.  Initially, the documentaries lasted forty-five minutes however eventually grew to be an hour long.  These documentaries are carefully written and put together.  This would be a good starting point for biographical projects on historical figures. 

The Untold Past - YouTube
The channel features stories from World War I, World War II, British History, and World History.  New content is posted weekly.  The majority of videos have a run time from eight minutes to ten minutes.  These videos cover a variety of topics from people who were running the concentration camps, to executions that occurred after World War II, and some Tudor Topics.  The documentaries on the executions of Concentration Camp Officers were interesting and very detailed.  There are also some unknown stories such as the story of Noor Inayat Khan, a spy from World War II, Princess Mafalda, and Sir Thomas Overbury among others.

Biographics – YouTube
Biographics cover individual people from history.  The tag line for this page is “providing biographic profiles of the men and women who -- for better or for worse -- helped write the pages of human history.”  Videos are posted three times a week.  The videos have a run time from fifteen minutes to twenty-five minutes.  This channel covers a variety of people such as Abigail Adams, William Howard Taft, and Mary, Queen of Scots.  This channel also covers lesser-known people such as Toyotomi Hideyoshi, William Walker, and Luigi Cadorna.  If a student has a project on a historical person, this should be their first stop to help get a good summary of the person they are researching.

David Starkey Talks – YouTube
Controversial historian David Starkey is back and has launched his own YouTube channel: David Starkey Talks.  He is one of Britain’s leading historians and has narrated documentary series featuring royalty and the Tudors.  This channel was launched in October and covers a variety of topics beyond the Tudors, such as Parliament, the House of Windsor, royal titles, and academic freedom.  He also provides commentary on modern events such as the war between Russia and Ukraine.  Some of the short videos last twelve to twenty minutes, however, he does feature longer lectures that could run up to an hour or even longer. 

Part-Time Explorer – YouTube
This explorer takes his time and travels through history, exploring the history of transportation, particularly ocean liners.  I first discovered his channel through his documentary about the SS Atlantic.  He recently worked on a series about one former steamship company called the Collins Line.  These short documentaries are well done and he and his partners do the animation for the videos.  Additionally to ships and shipwrecks, he also travels on land to explore ghost towns.  One interesting project this man is tackling is putting together a virtual museum of the Lusitania.  Run time for these videos runs from three minutes to one hour.

Ask a Mortician – YouTube
Ask a Mortician does not just talk about death and funeral preparations, but addresses the history of death and the funeral industry.  Videos have a run time from two minutes to fifty minutes.  Her historical topics include the Bubonic Plague in San Francisco, the United States’ First Cremation, and Lake Superior.  She also has done recreation of Victorian funeral practices and has covered scandals in the funeral industry.  Kaitlyn is an excellent narrator when it comes to exploring iconic corpses or interesting historical stories.  I would recommend giving this channel a chance if you find something that matches your class unit.

The Anne Boleyn Files - YouTube
Claire Ridgeway posts daily content on the Tudor Period, if you have a question about the Tudor Period then this is the page to get your questions answered.  She runs the popular Anne Boleyn Files Website which features articles about the life and times of Anne Boleyn.   Her special feature is “On This Day in Tudor History.”  Her current works include reaction videos about the Becoming Elizabeth series on HBO.