Mark R. Cheathem
@markcheathem.bsky.social
Historian, documentary editor, and writer. Views are my own. https://linktr.ee/markcheathem
Reposted by Mark R. Cheathem
Can someone recommend an independent researcher that can visit an archive in New Haven, CT? I really need someone ASAP. I would prefer someone experienced, but in theory anyone that can read these city names and dates in cursive could be fine. It should take 4-6 hours. 🗃️
February 12, 2026 at 7:47 PM
Can someone recommend an independent researcher that can visit an archive in New Haven, CT? I really need someone ASAP. I would prefer someone experienced, but in theory anyone that can read these city names and dates in cursive could be fine. It should take 4-6 hours. 🗃️
Reposted by Mark R. Cheathem
Help! Can anybody more skilled than I in reading crabbing Tudor hands help me read what it is that the 100 oaks were cut down to make (the last word underlined)? [TNA, C 154/1 no. 3] #palaeography #skystorians
February 12, 2026 at 1:13 PM
Help! Can anybody more skilled than I in reading crabbing Tudor hands help me read what it is that the 100 oaks were cut down to make (the last word underlined)? [TNA, C 154/1 no. 3] #palaeography #skystorians
Reposted by Mark R. Cheathem
it's literally impossible for an LLM to do a historian's job
it's not even LLMs sucking it's that they need data input to do anything and where's that data supposed to be coming from without historians
never met a computer that can dig through a thousand year old book in a library
it's not even LLMs sucking it's that they need data input to do anything and where's that data supposed to be coming from without historians
never met a computer that can dig through a thousand year old book in a library
February 11, 2026 at 8:35 PM
it's literally impossible for an LLM to do a historian's job
it's not even LLMs sucking it's that they need data input to do anything and where's that data supposed to be coming from without historians
never met a computer that can dig through a thousand year old book in a library
it's not even LLMs sucking it's that they need data input to do anything and where's that data supposed to be coming from without historians
never met a computer that can dig through a thousand year old book in a library
Reposted by Mark R. Cheathem
Yet another crucial point: the vast majority of the world’s historical archives have not been digitized and are thus totally invisible to LLMs/AI.
bsky.app/profile/jcte...
bsky.app/profile/jcte...
it's literally impossible for an LLM to do a historian's job
it's not even LLMs sucking it's that they need data input to do anything and where's that data supposed to be coming from without historians
never met a computer that can dig through a thousand year old book in a library
it's not even LLMs sucking it's that they need data input to do anything and where's that data supposed to be coming from without historians
never met a computer that can dig through a thousand year old book in a library
February 11, 2026 at 8:40 PM
Yet another crucial point: the vast majority of the world’s historical archives have not been digitized and are thus totally invisible to LLMs/AI.
bsky.app/profile/jcte...
bsky.app/profile/jcte...
Reposted by Mark R. Cheathem
AI simply cannot stand in front of a classroom, gesticulating wildly and writing semi-illegibly on chalkboards, both of which are key to building rapport and convincing your students you are worth learning from
If people think AI can replace historians and political scientists, I have a bridge on the Thames to sell you.
February 11, 2026 at 4:53 PM
AI simply cannot stand in front of a classroom, gesticulating wildly and writing semi-illegibly on chalkboards, both of which are key to building rapport and convincing your students you are worth learning from
Reposted by Mark R. Cheathem
I can't express how happy I am to open this box today.
The Limits of Revolution: Worker Citizens in a Bolivian Mining City, out March 10 from @utexaspress.bsky.social
You can pre-order now!
utpress.utexas.edu/9781477333297/ #skystorians #bolivia #mining #laborhistory #miningfamilies🗄️📁🗃️
The Limits of Revolution: Worker Citizens in a Bolivian Mining City, out March 10 from @utexaspress.bsky.social
You can pre-order now!
utpress.utexas.edu/9781477333297/ #skystorians #bolivia #mining #laborhistory #miningfamilies🗄️📁🗃️
February 11, 2026 at 2:27 PM
I can't express how happy I am to open this box today.
The Limits of Revolution: Worker Citizens in a Bolivian Mining City, out March 10 from @utexaspress.bsky.social
You can pre-order now!
utpress.utexas.edu/9781477333297/ #skystorians #bolivia #mining #laborhistory #miningfamilies🗄️📁🗃️
The Limits of Revolution: Worker Citizens in a Bolivian Mining City, out March 10 from @utexaspress.bsky.social
You can pre-order now!
utpress.utexas.edu/9781477333297/ #skystorians #bolivia #mining #laborhistory #miningfamilies🗄️📁🗃️
Reposted by Mark R. Cheathem
I know some people are embarrassed about promoting the release of a new book, but don't think of it as simply the product of your own mind and effort. Think about all the people at your publisher, who have invested their time and talent into producing your book. Celebrate what is a team effort.
February 11, 2026 at 12:38 PM
I know some people are embarrassed about promoting the release of a new book, but don't think of it as simply the product of your own mind and effort. Think about all the people at your publisher, who have invested their time and talent into producing your book. Celebrate what is a team effort.
Reposted by Mark R. Cheathem
Research/Technology question: Does anyone know of software I can use to create a digital version of this conspiracy chart? Ideally free or cheap software? #History 🗃️
February 10, 2026 at 8:55 PM
Research/Technology question: Does anyone know of software I can use to create a digital version of this conspiracy chart? Ideally free or cheap software? #History 🗃️
Reposted by Mark R. Cheathem
Yes, I'll be flooding my feed with announcements. Sorry!
Please click the "Notify me on Launch" button on our prelaunch page!
www.kickstarter.com/projects/lee...
Please click the "Notify me on Launch" button on our prelaunch page!
www.kickstarter.com/projects/lee...
Coming soon: Hogan's Heroes and Post War America
An 8-episode documentary video pod about the making of the show, the actors' lives, American history, and learning to laugh at Nazis
www.kickstarter.com
February 10, 2026 at 3:06 PM
Yes, I'll be flooding my feed with announcements. Sorry!
Please click the "Notify me on Launch" button on our prelaunch page!
www.kickstarter.com/projects/lee...
Please click the "Notify me on Launch" button on our prelaunch page!
www.kickstarter.com/projects/lee...
Reposted by Mark R. Cheathem
Hi, folks. I’m looking for at least one more person to create a panel for AHA 2027. I have a working paper on the legacies of the Indian slave trade in the 20th and 21st centuries and I’m working with someone who is focusing on slave patrols and the Southern system. Anyone interested? #historians
February 9, 2026 at 6:54 PM
Hi, folks. I’m looking for at least one more person to create a panel for AHA 2027. I have a working paper on the legacies of the Indian slave trade in the 20th and 21st centuries and I’m working with someone who is focusing on slave patrols and the Southern system. Anyone interested? #historians
Reposted by Mark R. Cheathem
I'm convinced AI is our generation's radium - a discovery with genuinely useful applications in specific, controlled circumstances that we stupidly put in everything from kid's toys to toothpaste until we realised the harm far too late where future generations will ask if we were out of our minds.
February 8, 2026 at 10:23 PM
I'm convinced AI is our generation's radium - a discovery with genuinely useful applications in specific, controlled circumstances that we stupidly put in everything from kid's toys to toothpaste until we realised the harm far too late where future generations will ask if we were out of our minds.
Reposted by Mark R. Cheathem
Friends, where do people post CFP these days? I've used H-Net. The fall of twitter history means it's much harder to reach people these days! I've had quite a few great abstracts for the below but I feel like I should be reaching more folks.
I've had a number of exciting abstracts for the Nostalgia and Radical Politics, Past and Present conference but I've decided to EXTEND the deadline to 22 Feb, as I'm away the prior week so won't be reviewing apps then! www.northampton.ac.uk/research-blo... Please share. Ask Qs below! 🗃️
Call For Papers: Nostalgia and Radical Politics, Past and Present | UON
Centre for Historical Studies, University of Northampton, UK Monday 15 – Tuesday 16 June 2026 CFP deadline extended to 22 February...
www.northampton.ac.uk
February 9, 2026 at 1:56 PM
Friends, where do people post CFP these days? I've used H-Net. The fall of twitter history means it's much harder to reach people these days! I've had quite a few great abstracts for the below but I feel like I should be reaching more folks.
Reposted by Mark R. Cheathem
Do any historians know what type of certificate would possibly be useful for a voter in a 1853 Connecticut election? It’s far too early for it to have been a birth certificate, and a naturalization certificate seems unlikely to be important for Whig voters after 1852.
🗃️
🗃️
February 9, 2026 at 11:47 AM
Do any historians know what type of certificate would possibly be useful for a voter in a 1853 Connecticut election? It’s far too early for it to have been a birth certificate, and a naturalization certificate seems unlikely to be important for Whig voters after 1852.
🗃️
🗃️
Reposted by Mark R. Cheathem
Today is the paperback release day for my book The Contagion of Liberty! It’s about how Americans demanded that their governments provide inoculations for smallpox to the public as their right and also to affirm that public health is a foremost duty of government. www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/...
The Contagion of Liberty
The Politics of Smallpox in the American Revolution
www.press.jhu.edu
February 3, 2026 at 11:45 AM
Today is the paperback release day for my book The Contagion of Liberty! It’s about how Americans demanded that their governments provide inoculations for smallpox to the public as their right and also to affirm that public health is a foremost duty of government. www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/...
Reposted by Mark R. Cheathem
Two weeks from today, we will be celebrating the 10th anniversary of our project!
February 2, 2026 at 8:01 PM
Two weeks from today, we will be celebrating the 10th anniversary of our project!
Reposted by Mark R. Cheathem
You can pre-order the 2nd edition. Now in paperback. 📘🗃️ @uncpress.bsky.social #abolishice
No Common Ground, Second Edition: Confederate Monuments and the Ongoing Fight for Racial Justice
Confederate Monuments and the Ongoing Fight for Racial Justice
bookshop.org
January 29, 2026 at 1:26 PM
You can pre-order the 2nd edition. Now in paperback. 📘🗃️ @uncpress.bsky.social #abolishice
Reposted by Mark R. Cheathem
welcome to zoom. as punishment for launching the app two (2) minutes before the meeting you're running, we are downloading ten (10) minutes of updates... now
January 29, 2026 at 3:22 PM
welcome to zoom. as punishment for launching the app two (2) minutes before the meeting you're running, we are downloading ten (10) minutes of updates... now
Reposted by Mark R. Cheathem
Today is publication day! Wow. Thanks to everyone who preordered the book. I really appreciate it. If you have not preordered, then you can go to your local bookstore and pick up a copy.
Please send me a pic if you already have a copy or when you go pick it up! I'd love to see it!
Please send me a pic if you already have a copy or when you go pick it up! I'd love to see it!
January 27, 2026 at 4:42 PM
Today is publication day! Wow. Thanks to everyone who preordered the book. I really appreciate it. If you have not preordered, then you can go to your local bookstore and pick up a copy.
Please send me a pic if you already have a copy or when you go pick it up! I'd love to see it!
Please send me a pic if you already have a copy or when you go pick it up! I'd love to see it!
I was in the 7th grade and had stayed home alone from school because I was sick. I had just turned off a movie and saw the launch and explosion by chance.
The Space Shuttle Challenger disaster took place on this day 40 years ago: Jan. 28, 1986. All seven astronauts aboard (photo) were killed.
I was in 7th grade and remember the school principal coming on the PA system and telling the entire school what had happened.
Image: NASA via AP.
I was in 7th grade and remember the school principal coming on the PA system and telling the entire school what had happened.
Image: NASA via AP.
January 28, 2026 at 1:51 PM
I was in the 7th grade and had stayed home alone from school because I was sick. I had just turned off a movie and saw the launch and explosion by chance.
Reposted by Mark R. Cheathem
The Space Shuttle Challenger disaster took place on this day 40 years ago: Jan. 28, 1986. All seven astronauts aboard (photo) were killed.
I was in 7th grade and remember the school principal coming on the PA system and telling the entire school what had happened.
Image: NASA via AP.
I was in 7th grade and remember the school principal coming on the PA system and telling the entire school what had happened.
Image: NASA via AP.
January 28, 2026 at 12:09 PM
The Space Shuttle Challenger disaster took place on this day 40 years ago: Jan. 28, 1986. All seven astronauts aboard (photo) were killed.
I was in 7th grade and remember the school principal coming on the PA system and telling the entire school what had happened.
Image: NASA via AP.
I was in 7th grade and remember the school principal coming on the PA system and telling the entire school what had happened.
Image: NASA via AP.
Reposted by Mark R. Cheathem
I wondered if anyone can help with deciphering this signature please? It's on a confidential letter to the Metropolitan Police in 1876 regarding a murder suspect. I can't quite make out the name and all suggestions would be gratefully received!
January 28, 2026 at 12:02 PM
I wondered if anyone can help with deciphering this signature please? It's on a confidential letter to the Metropolitan Police in 1876 regarding a murder suspect. I can't quite make out the name and all suggestions would be gratefully received!
I recently had the privilege of writing updated essays on Martin Van Buren for the University of Virginia's Miller Center.
millercenter.org/president/va...
millercenter.org/president/va...
Martin Van Buren | Miller Center
Scholarly essays, speeches, photos, and other resources on Martin Van Buren, the 8th US president (1837-1841), including information about Democratic politics, his vice presidency, and the 1837 depres...
millercenter.org
January 27, 2026 at 3:03 PM
I recently had the privilege of writing updated essays on Martin Van Buren for the University of Virginia's Miller Center.
millercenter.org/president/va...
millercenter.org/president/va...
Reposted by Mark R. Cheathem
Thank you thank you🙏 to everyone who has preordered my new book, THE CROWN’S SILENCE, and made it the TOP NEW RELEASE in English history!! I’m beyond grateful for your support! Out this Tuesday!! www.harpercollins.com/products/the...
January 24, 2026 at 12:05 PM
Thank you thank you🙏 to everyone who has preordered my new book, THE CROWN’S SILENCE, and made it the TOP NEW RELEASE in English history!! I’m beyond grateful for your support! Out this Tuesday!! www.harpercollins.com/products/the...
Reposted by Mark R. Cheathem
An important new book by @brookenewman.bsky.social featured in @theguardian.com:
www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...
www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...
British crown was world’s largest buyer of enslaved people by 1807, book reveals
Exclusive: Author of The Crown’s Silence tells how navy and monarchy protected slave trade for hundreds of years
www.theguardian.com
January 23, 2026 at 7:07 PM
An important new book by @brookenewman.bsky.social featured in @theguardian.com:
www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...
www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...
Reposted by Mark R. Cheathem
Well this is humiliating.
Should be trivial yes but certified palaeogrpahic clown that I am, for the life of me I can't figure out the trailing word at the end of each line of this ledger. England ≈1550
Bonus: or this first name 🤡
Put me out of my misery?
#palaeography #earlymodern #skystorians
Should be trivial yes but certified palaeogrpahic clown that I am, for the life of me I can't figure out the trailing word at the end of each line of this ledger. England ≈1550
Bonus: or this first name 🤡
Put me out of my misery?
#palaeography #earlymodern #skystorians
January 25, 2026 at 11:52 AM
Well this is humiliating.
Should be trivial yes but certified palaeogrpahic clown that I am, for the life of me I can't figure out the trailing word at the end of each line of this ledger. England ≈1550
Bonus: or this first name 🤡
Put me out of my misery?
#palaeography #earlymodern #skystorians
Should be trivial yes but certified palaeogrpahic clown that I am, for the life of me I can't figure out the trailing word at the end of each line of this ledger. England ≈1550
Bonus: or this first name 🤡
Put me out of my misery?
#palaeography #earlymodern #skystorians