Cool History Topics: 151 Great Historical Events & Ideas

History is one of the most fascinating and influential fields of study. It’s not merely a narration of the events of the past but a constant search for answers. It’s a re-examination of our human experience and understanding of how far we have come.

There are thousands of interesting history topics that a student can write an essay about. From ancient tribes to the modern world issues, there are plenty of things to explore. However, you might still find it challenging to work on your history project, presentation, or research paper.

There are a few reasons why:

First of all, there are too many choices to pick one. Secondly, when it comes to history, saying something new and genuinely original is tough. A lot of people try to find a research topic that will be fun to write about. You can feel as if all the ideas were already examined.

This is why our team has come together to provide you with this list of cool history topics to write about. Find some unique and fresh ideas on our page!

Besides:

For some students, picking a popular topic in history is not enough. They want something unique and cool. If you are one of these students, this list can give you some fresh ideas on cool history topics to write about.

✨ 15 Interesting History Topics

1. World Wonders.
2. Chernobyl Disaster.
3. Ancient Egypt.
4. The Cold War.
5. The Red Scare.
6. The Holocaust.
7. Edo Period.
8. Famous Italian Painters.
9. The Civil War.
10. The 20^th Century.
11. Thirty Years’ War.
12. South African Apartheid.
13. Modern World History.
14. Eiffel Tower.
15. The Great Depression.

😎 What Is a Cool History Topic?

You may still wonder whether the topic you chose to talk about is cool enough. Well, you can ask people around you to determine. Don’t settle for a random history topic. Make sure it is worth your time.

Talk to your friends, your family, and people you know. Question them about the most important event in world history. It is a good topic to talk about with your friends and learn about exciting events in history. Another great option would be looking up free college essays collected in a samples database. They usually cover a variety of topics and include numerous paper types.

If you don’t have time, this list will give you ideas about some cool history topics to write about. Consider the options, pick the most engaging one, and start your paper.

🥇 Most Important Historical Events

Selecting one of the events that changed the world is a daunting task for anyone. You might ask, with everything that has happened in the past 5000 years, how can you choose what was the most important?

Here is our list of the most important historical events ever:

16. Alexander the Great: the political and cultural impact of Alexander the Great’s Conquest. Alexander the Great was one of the most influential kings of the ancient world. In the essay about his political and cultural impact, talk about his military campaigns. How did he, by the age of 30, create one of the biggest Empires in the world? Allow the readers to see how big and powerful the empire was. Elaborate on the legacy that Alexander the Great left after his death.
17. The Factors that contributed to the dissolution of the Roman Empire. Historians agree on several factors that contributed to it. At the beginning of the essay, identify them. You can also decide to focus on several factors that seem the most important.
18. Islam and Christianity Impact on the Middle Ages
19. Nudity in the paintings of the Italian Renaissance
20. Leonardo Da Vinci: Artist, Scientist, Inventor. An essay about this person is destined to be intriguing. Leonardo Da Vinci was one of the most captivating figures in the history of humankind. Just imagine: he was an artist, a scientist, and an inventor at the same time. You can pick several most important paintings to talk about. How about The Mona Lisa or The Last Supper?
21. Could World War II be prevented?
22. How will historians remember the 2010s?
23. Heroes after the Middle Ages
24. Impact of the Black Death: the greatest population disaster
25. American family’s changes since the 20th century
26. Racism and Education in the United States. In this essay, students should focus on the history of discrimination in the United States. You can talk about Brown versus The Board of Education but try to go a bit further. Think about disproportionate funding in the public education sector. See if there is a connection with the minorities. Where do they live and go to school?
27. Was there a need to drop the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki?
28. The Fall of Constantinople – the greatest capital in the world. Your tutor will most probably expect you to write about the greatness of the city. But this essay topic should focus on the fall of it. Talk about the last decades of the city and about the most important factors that contributed to the fall of it.
29. What were the effects of Gutenberg’s Printing Press? The printing revolutions started after Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press. It’s another transformational event in world history. It was crucial in the development of the Renaissance, Reformation, and the Age of Enlightenment. This topic has a lot of things you can talk about.
30. The Ideology of Colonialism
31. Paradoxicality of Christianity and Slavery. Not many people know, but Christian slaveholders used religion to justify slavery. They usually picked up verses from the book of Genesis and interpreted them in the manner that served their needs. Sometimes they used the New Testament to justify slavery. You could compare the attitude early Christians had towards slaves and how it changed.
32. The scar of colonialism and the presence of post-colonialism
33. Impact of the American revolution on women. Women played an integral part during the revolution. Depending on their social status, their involvement varied. They affected the revolution a lot, but also the revolution had a great impact on them. Women did not have any political voice in Colonial America. So, see how it changed after the American Revolution was over.

34. The Rise and Fall of Napoleon
35. Culture, work, and social change after the Industrial Revolution
36. Why was the Declaration of Independence written?
37. French Revolution: why Marie Antoinette lost her head?
38. The importance of the Berlin Wall in the Cold War
39. Communism Collapse in the USSR. Write about what caused the collapse of the Soviet Union. Discuss Gorbachev’s decision to democratize the Soviet Union and how people reacted to it. Write about the impact that the collapse of the Soviet Union had around the world.

📌 10 Cool Events in History to Write About

40. The Apollo 11 Landing – 1969.
41. Formation of the UN – 1945.
42. The Suffrage Movement – 1847-1920.
43. The American Revolution – 1775-1783.
44. Fall of the Wall – 1989.
45. The Gunpowder Plot – 1605.
46. Discover of DNA – 1860s.
47. 20th Century Space Race – 1955-1975.
48. The Trojan War – 12th Century BCE.
49. The Renaissance – 15th-16th Century.

✨ Most Popular History Topics

This list is great if those who want to pick one of the famous topics in history. The selected ideas have a great depth to them. They are relevant and will be excellent to write about. You will be able to find information in history encyclopedias, journals, articles, and podcasts.

Moreover, your classmates and teacher will like your research too. Here’s our list of popular history essay topic:

50. The Industrial Revolution and how did it change England
51. The Civil Rights Movement in the United States. Elaborate on the political climate before the civil rights movements. Discuss the events that triggered it in the United States. What was the movement able to achieve? If you choose this essay topic, be ready to have a strong opinion about it.

52. Martin Luther King: the life and death. Another idea that, in a way, relates to the civil rights movement essay topic. It’s impossible to explore race relationships without talking about Martin Luther King. He was a bright and influential individual. For sure, this essay topic is among the most popular ones.
53. The autobiography of Malcolm X
54. French Revolution and the Napoleonic Era
55. Causes of the 1812 war. Write about the immediate causes and the remote causes of the 1812 war. You can also talk about the groups that opposed the war and the groups that supported it.
56. Why did William win the battle of Hastings?
57. Mongol’s Conquest Causes, Battles, and Results
58. Music and paintings during the Renaissance in Italy
59. Compare British and American slavery. Examine the differences and similarities between British and American slavery. For a very long time, historians believed that the Southern type of slavery was harsher. Think about it and examine the evidence that you have. You can use slave diaries and the novels they wrote about their experiences.
60. Dehumanizing psychology of slavery: does it still exist?
61. Transatlantic Slave Trade: from West Africa to the Americas
62. African-American cultural identity
63. The history of Buddhism
64. The lasting impact of Karl Marx’s works. Karl Marx was not a politician, nor he ever considered implementing his ideas. However, not that long after his death, his works were picked up. They were interpreted and revolutionized. This is a great essay topic for everyone who is looking for an engaging theme to write about.

65. The history of math
66. The fall of the Roman Empire and the rise of feudalism
67. When did Pearl Harbor become a naval base?
68. Economic Recession in the United States in the 2000s
69. Mental Illness in America: Nellie Bly, Kate Chopin, and Charlotte Perkins Gilman
70. Canadian history through sports. Canada is all about sports. In this essay, write about how the image of Canada was continuously shaped by sports victories. It’s a fascinating and cool topic to explore.
71. The space race during the Cold War
72. Positive and Negative Effects of the Cold War. The Cold War was a different type of conflict. While it created a lot of calamity and negativity, there were some positive sides to it as well. Talk about those effects. For instance, focus on political stability, or economic growth, or the space race.
73. The history of aviation
74. Post-Civil war reconstruction in American history
75. The role of Capitalism and the life of workers
76. Arab-Israeli conflict

🔥 Top 76 Coolest History Topics

If you are looking for the coolest history topic, you are in the right place. Find a title that interests you personally and start writing. Be sure the process of writing won’t be tedious. Instead, it should make you curious about more historical events of the past.

We combined this list of topics to help you get inspired.

💡 Cool American History Topics

77. How did the Civil War affect the distribution of wealth in the United States?
78. The 1992 Los Angeles Riots
79. African Communities in America. African Communities in America have a long history. It’s full of discrimination, slavery, the oppression. Despite all of that, African communities in the United States are among the fastest-growing.
80. Condition of Women and Minorities During the War
81. The first wave of immigration to the United States
82. Racism and segregation in the US
83. The first civilizations of the Native Americans
84. Did Barack Obama change America? Barack Obama was the first African American President in the United States. Look at the political reforms, foreign and immigration policies implemented during his presidency. Then, try to answer this question for yourself.
85. A bill of rights and an amendment
86. The origins of automobile drag racing in the U.S.

87. How did the highway system change US culture? America has one of the best highways in the world. All thanks to the 1921 Federal-Aid Highway Act and 1956 Federal-Aid Highway Acts. They led to a highway system to become faster and even more efficient. It allowed America to be interconnected. Talk about the effects it had on economic, political, cultural life.
88. Events after the Pearl Harbor invasion
89. The American red and blue state divide. Every single state had both conservative and liberal voters. However, since the 2000 United States Presidential elections, blue and red states were referred. The respective voters predominantly choose the Democratic party or the Republican party. In this essay, write about this divide. Talk about the differences between both groups of voters.
90. The development of clinical psychology in America
91. The founders of clinical psychology in the United States. In this essay, talk about the founders of clinical psychology in the United States. Discuss what is clinical psychology and what makes it different from general psychology. Explore how this field evolved in the world and how it started in the United States.
92. African American soldiers during the Vietnam War
93. Civil Rights Movement and the Vietnam War
94. How did the media shape Americans’ perceptions of the Vietnam War?
95. Native American Weaponry
96. History of American Stock Market
97. How did the Great Depression end?

🌍 Cool World History Topics

98. How Capitalism beat Communism
99. The Cold war and its consequences for the world
100. How Genghis Khan conquered Persia
101. How Aborigines made Australia
102. The history of the Mayan Civilization
103. How did women’s rights in America change over the last century. In this essay, talk about how far women’s rights advanced in the previous century. Look at the 1920 and 2020 to see what actual steps were taken and what has been changed.

104. The most important events in the history of the Ottoman Empire.
105. Enlightening and Revolution: Europe and India
106. Gender Inequality and Socio-Economic Development
107. The Decolonization of Africa. The road to independence for African countries was paved with blood and tears. The decolonization of Africa is a period between 1950 and 1975. During this time, African countries fought for independence. Examine the external and internal causes. Elaborate on the economic and political effects of decolonization.
108. The influences between Greece, Egypt, and Rome.
109. Nuclear Arms Race between the US and the USSR
110. Chairman Mao and the Great Chinese Revolution
111. History of Modern South Africa. This beautiful Southern African nation had extremely upsetting pages in its modern history. From nationalism to apartheid, terrorism, and racial segregation and oppression. Nowadays, South Africa is among one of the strongest economies in Africa. In this essay topic, you have a lot to talk about.
112. The importance of teaching boys and girls about gender equality
113. The social psychology of gender inequality
114. Women in World War II
115. China in Revolution
116. History of Jews and the Holocaust
117. European Image of the African 1400-1600
118. American and French Revolution
119. What happened at the Nuremberg trials? Talk about the Nuremberg trials and what is the importance of it. Gladly, we have the trials recorded, so you can just see it for yourself.
120. History of the Cuban Missile Crisis. This moment during the Cold War is crucial. The confrontation is considered the closest the Cold War came to escalating into a nuclear war. Comment on the blockade, the international response. How did the crisis end? What effect did this event have for the people of Cuba?
121. The European Union and the European crisis
122. East versus West
123. Totalitarian regimes in Germany and USSR

🏺 Cool Ancient History Topics

124. Mesopotamian influence on the Oman Peninsula
125. Why were the pyramids built? This essay will be fun to write about. Who isn’t intrigued by the Egyptian pyramids? There are plenty of legends, stories, and myths that surround the architectural monuments. We suggest you look into the facts. Make your arguments based on proven historical findings and evidence.
126. The kings of Ancient Egypt
127. Alexander the Great’s Reign
128. Fall of the Ancient Roman Empire. The fall of the Ancient Roman Empire, without any doubt, is one of the most important historical topics. Explore how gradual the process of decline was. Discuss the military, political, and financial reasons for the fall.
129. The culture of Ancient Greece
130. Race in Ancient Egypt
131. Religion in Ancient Greece
132. The government organization of Ancient Rome
133. Life of Julius Caesar. Julius Caesar wasn’t only an Emperor. He was a writer, philosopher, and historian. In this essay, talk about military victories of the Roman leader. Explore his influence on the rise of the Roman empire and the demise of the Roman Republic.
134. Agricultural aspects of ancient Egypt
135. Social issues of ancient Egyptians
136. History of Athenian democracy
137. Factors that influenced the development of human civilizations
138. The military forces of the Roman Empire
139. Famous scholars of Ancient Greece. Some of the most influential and prominent philosophers of all time were from Ancient Greece. Socrates, Sophocles, Plato, Aristotle, and many others. Don’t try to write about each one of them. Instead, elaborate on the position the poets and the philosophers had in the Ancient Greek Society.
140. Evolution of Greek Acropolis

141. The societies of Ancient Mesoamerica
142. Romans and Barbarians: the decline of the Roman Empire
143. The daily life of the ancient Maya
144. Maya, Aztec, and Inca collapse
145. Civilization in Mesopotamia and Egypt
146. Historical analysis of Sparta and its pop-culture depiction. Do you have a favorite movie or a book about Sparta? Compare the depiction with historical facts. Write about the differences and similarities between these two representations. Think about why it is so frequently used in pop culture.
147. Hunting and gathering societies in the Americas
148. The fall of Pompeii. Pompeii was an ancient city buried under the ashes left after the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Due to this sudden event, historians can examine the life of the people of Pompeii. It remained almost untouched. Several historians recorded first-hand accounts of Mount Vesuvius’ eruption. Read them to have a vivid picture of what was going on in the city before the tragedy.
149. The battle of Pharsalus
150. The Western Roman Empire: the significance of its collapse
151. The Great Wall of China: cultural and historical analysis

Being able to select your essay topic can seem like a lot of fun at the beginning. However, it is also a big responsibility and a challenge at times. Hopefully, one of these essay topics will help you with the ideas for your essay.

Thank you for reading it, and the best of luck with your assignment! Leave a comment below and share the article with those who may need it.

🔗 References

1. The 10 Most Important Moments and Events in History: Rebecca Graf for Owlcation
2. Psychology Research Paper Topics, 50+ Great Ideas: Kendra Cherry for Verywell Mind
3. Historical Topics: In-Depth Articles from HistoryExtra
4. History Topics: National Women’s History Museum
5. Hot Topics in World History: World History Center, University of Pittsburgh
6. World History Topic: Newspapers.com
7. Effective Writing: Grammar Rules
8. Cliché, Examples and Definition of Cliché: Literary Devices
9. Writing Guides: Colorado State University
10. What Good Writers Know: Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning
11. Resources: University of Alberta