History Quotes

History is philosophy teaching by example, and also warning; its two eyes are geography and chronology.

James A. Garfield

History is little else than a picture of human crimes and misfortunes.

Francois Marie Arouet Voltaire

Indeed, history is nothing more than a tableau of crimes and misfortunes.

Voltaire

If we have learned one thing from the history of invention and discovery, it is that, in the long run - And often in the short one - The most daring prophecies seem laughably conservative.

Arthur C. Clarke, The Exploration of Space, 1951

Mathematics is a vast adventure in ideas; its history reflects some of the noblest thoughts of countless generations.

Dirk Struik, A Concise History of Mathematics, vol. I

History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

For aught that I could ever read, Could ever hear by tale or history, The course of true love never did run smooth.

William Shakespeare

Whether you like it or not, history is on our side. We will bury you.

Nikita Khrushchev, remark at the Polish embasy in Moscow, Nov. 18, 1956

The essential matter of history is not what happened but what people thought or said about it.

Frederic William Maitland

From the beginning of our history the country has been afflicted with compromise. It is by compromise that human rights have been abandoned. I insist that this shall cease. The country needs repose after all its trials; it deserves repose. And repose can only be found in everlasting principles.

Charles Sumne

I believe that the supreme duty of the historian is to write history, that is to say, to attempt to record in one sweeping sequence the greater events and movements that have swayed the destiny of man.

Steven Runciman