Great History Quotes

• History is indeed little more than the register of the crimes, follies, and misfortunes of mankind.

  Edward Gibbon

  War, History, Tourism

  'The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire' (1776-88) ch. 3.

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• History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again.

  Maya Angelou

  Inspirational, Life, Encouragement

  Twitter post from Jan 19, 2016

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• Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing had happened.

  Winston Churchill

  Inspirational, Funny, Life

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• History will be kind to me for I intend to write it.

  Winston Churchill

  Inspirational, Positive, Badass

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• My fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.

  John F. Kennedy

  Inspirational, Inspiring, Country

  Inaugural Address, 20 Jan. 1961

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• I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past.

  Thomas Jefferson

  Love, Inspirational, Graduation

  Thomas Jefferson, Joyce Appleby, Terence Ball (1999). “Jefferson: Political Writings”, p.53, Cambridge University Press

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• There is properly no history, only biography.

  Ralph Waldo Emerson

  Funny Life, History, Historical

  Essays "History" (1841)

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• History is the only laboratory we have in which to test the consequences of thought.

  Etienne Gilson

  History, Historical, Tests

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• History never looks like history when you are living through it. It always looks confusing and messy, and it always feels uncomfortable.

  John W. Gardner

  Inspirational, History, Looks

  "No Easy Victories". Book by John W. Gardner, December, 1968.

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• History - an account, mostly false, of events, mostly unimportant

  John Barth

  History, Knaves, Events

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• In history, a great volume is unrolled for our instruction, drawing the materials of future wisdom from the past errors and infirmities of mankind.

  Edmund Burke

  Wisdom, Past, Errors

  Edmund Burke (1790). “Reflections on the Revolution in France: And on the Proceedings in Certain Societies in London Relative to that Event. In a Letter Intended to Have Been Sent to a Gentleman in Paris”, p.208

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• The only thing we have to fear is fear itself-and possibly teh bogey man.

  Pat Paulsen

  Fear, Breast Cancer, Men

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• Anybody can make history; only a great man can write it.

  Oscar Wilde

  Writing, Greatness, Men

  Intentions "The Critic as Artist" pt. 1 (1891)

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• The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.

  Franklin D. Roosevelt

  Inspirational, Leadership, Bullying

  First Inaugural Address, 4 Mar. 1933 See Francis Bacon 7; Montaigne 4; Thoreau 16; Wellington 3

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• History is an account, mostly false, of events, mostly unimportant, which are brought about by rulers, mostly knaves, and soldiers, mostly fools.

  Ambrose Bierce

  Lying, History, Soldier

  Cynic's Word Book (1906) p. 161

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• We don't want tradition. We want to live in the present and the only history that is worth a tinker's dam is the history we make today.

  Henry Ford

  Life, History, Live In The Moment

  Chicago Tribune 25 May 1916 (interview with Charles N. Wheeler)

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• That men do not learn very much from the lessons of history is the most important of all the lessons of history.

  Aldous Huxley

  Learning, Health, Men

  Collected Essays (1959) "Case of Voluntary Ignorance"

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• I've failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed.

  Michael Jordan

  Inspirational, Life, Motivational

  "Nike Culture : The Sign of the Swoosh". Book by Robert Goldman, Stephen Papson (p. 49), 1998.

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• Few will have the greatness to bend history itself; but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total; of all those acts will be written the history of this generation.

  Robert Kennedy

  Change, Courage, Creativity

  Robert F. Kennedy (1998). “Make Gentle the Life of the World: The Vision of Robert F. Kennedy”, Harcourt

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• History is a guide to navigation in perilous times. History is who we are and why we are the way we are.

  David McCullough

  History, Who We Are, Way

  FaceBook post by David McCullough from Aug 13, 2012

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• I am delighted to be here at Arsenal and to be part of one of the great teams in English football. It's a huge satisfaction to join this great club and it’s been a dream since I was young to play in the Premier League. I was attracted by the philosophy of football and Arsène Wenger’s 'touch' at this club. I have always admired Arsenal with its great history and reputation, and I now hope to achieve great things here. I’m very proud to be a Gunner and I will give my best for all the Arsenal fans.

  Olivier Giroud

  Football, Dream, Philosophy

  "Arsenal complete signing of Olivier Giroud from Montpellier", www.theguardian.com. June 26, 2012.

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• A Lady with a Lamp shall stand In the great history of the land, A noble type of good, Heroic womanhood.

  Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

  Land, History, Lamps

  "Santa Filomena" st. 10 (1858).

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• Well, let's see. There's -- of course -- in the great history of America rulings there have been rulings.

  Sarah Palin

  America, Ruling, Roe V Wade

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• John Lewis has great history as a civil rights fighter.As a young man, he was one of the guys out there who was leading the parades during the [Martin Luther] King [Jr.] era. So, we all respect his history. But then I hear him crying the blues about Mr. [Donald] Trump and saying he's an illegitimate president, I take offense to that. If it's illegitimate, why is he going on?

  Jim Brown

  Kings, Men, Rights

  Source: www.usatoday.com

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• Yes, I know, it's not the truth, but in a great history little truths can be altered so that the greater truth emerges.

  Umberto Eco

  Littles, Altered, Knows

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