Britannica

Bats are members of the only group of mammals capable of flight and have the ability to navigate at night by using a system of acoustic orientation (echolocation). There are more than 1,200 species and bats are particularly abundant in the tropics. Most bats are insectivorous, and they are important to humans primarily for their predation on insects, for pollination, and for seed dispersal. Image credit: Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

In 1960, Democratic candidate Senator John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts and Vice President Richard M. Nixon took part in the first-ever televised debate between US presidential candidates, which pulled in 85 to 120 million viewers. Sen. Kennedy supporters wore political buttons like the one pictured here. Sen. Kennedy won the 1960 election with 303 electoral votes to Vice President Nixon's 219, although Nixon later won the 1968 presidential election. Image credit: Encyclopaedia Britannica, In...

Western lowlands gorillas are 1 of 2 subspecies of western gorillas, inhabiting lowland rain forests from Cameroon to the Congo River. Once classified as critically endangered, the population estimate doubled in 2008 with the discovery of another population, numbering more than 100,000, in the swamps of the Lac Télé Community Reserve in the Republic of the Congo. Gorillas are only found in the tropical forests of equatorial Africa. Illustration by Christine McCabe, Encyclopaedia Britannica, ...

On February 27, 2010, a magnitude-8.8 earthquake struck Chile, followed by hundreds of aftershocks as well as a tsunami, ultimately leading to more than 500 deaths in the region. The epicentre was about 200 miles southwest of Santiago, Chile, but the earthquake was felt as far away as Sao Paolo, Brazil, and Buenos Aires, Argentina. Image credit: Kenny Chmielewski, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

This illustration of the muscles of the human head is from the first edition of Encyclopaedia Britannica, and was most likely drawn by Britannica cofounder and engraver Andrew Bell. Anatomy images like this were common in the first edition, offering a series of detailed and labelled drawings, extremely accurate for that time. Image credit: Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

Diatoms are unicellular organisms, often the base of ocean food chains. Phytoplankton populations (which include diatoms) rise and fall in cycles, but the overall ocean population has dropped about 40% due to rising sea surface temperatures, which is problematic. If the phytoplankton dies, so do the small aquatic animals that eat the phytoplankton. If the small aquatic animals die, so do the small fish who prey on them, and so on. Image credit: The Illustrators of Encyclopaedia Britannica,In...

Fewer than 500 Siberian tigers are left in the wild, primarily in eastern Russia. They are 1 of 6 remaining tiger subspecies, all endangered. Three subspecies of tiger went extinct in the 20th century. The number of tigers in the wild is now growing slowly, thanks to international efforts to stop deforestation and poaching, including the World Wide Fund for Nature, and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. Drawing by Christine McCabe, Encyclopaedia Britannica, INC.

Native Americans have long served in the US military. In WWI, Choctaw men in France used their language for telephone communications. In WWII, a Navajo marine named Philip Johnston suggested the Marine Corps develop a secret code based on the Navajo language. About 400 Native American soldiers from at least 19 different tribes served as code talkers. It was the only unbroken military code in modern history. Pictured: A Native American naval soldier. Image credit: Encyclopaedia Britannica, In...

On March 15, 1939, an ill-equipped Czechoslovakia failed to prevent a takeover by Nazi Germany and became a German protectorate prior to WWII. This came several months after the Munich Pact was signed in September 1938, in which heads of state from Germany, Italy, France, and Great Britain, had allotted a region of Czechoslovakia, as well as the majority of the country’s coal, iron, steel, and electrical power, to Germany. Image credit: Encyclopaedia Britannica, INC.

Aleppo is one of the world’s oldest continuously inhabited cities and a commercial center in Syria. As the 2011 Syrian civil war spread, Aleppo became enmeshed in the ongoing violent struggle between Pres. Bashar al-Assad’s forces and armed opposition. Thousands have become casualties and hundreds of thousands forced to flee, contributing to the Syrian refugee crisis. The Old City of Aleppo, a UNESCO World Heritage site, has been severely damaged. Image credit: Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

Geraldine Ferraro was the 1st female vice-presidential nominee for a major political party in the U.S. Ferraro served in the House of Representatives and was chair of the 1984 Democratic platform committee. She was selected by Democrat Walter Mondale as running mate in the 1984 election, which they lost to Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush. To learn more, read Britannica’s article on Ferraro: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Geraldine-A-Ferraro Image credit: Encyclopaedia Britannica, In...

Encyclopaedia Britannica cofounder Andrew Bell produced 160 illustrations for the first edition by engraving them on copperplate for printing, including this map of North America in 1771. Britannica still creates maps to reflect changing country borders, regional impacts of natural disasters, and finer topographical detail. For more Britannica-made maps of North America, visit: https://www.britannica.com/place/North-America/images-videos. Image credit: Andrew Bell, Encyclopedia Britannica, I...

Encyclopaedia Britannica most likely commissioned this piece from artist Willy Pogány to serve as the cover for one of Encyclopaedia Britannica’s 13th edition advertisement booklets in 1926. The pamphlet shows Britannica’s commitment to innovation, rigorous research, and attention to detail. Just like in 1926, Britannica is still evolving today to provide the best information possible. Image credit: Willy Pogany, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.