Missing Masterpieces: Exploring the 1990 Isabella Gardner Museum Robbery, History's Largest Art Heist

On an April night in 1775 hundreds of British troops were been rallied for the express purpose of bringing to justice a pair of revolutionaries that had set the entire city of Boston on fire - Samuel Adams and John Hancock.

This week we'll complete the trajectory of Napoleon's rise to power, focusing not as much on his military might but instead on his political savvy that culminated in his personal rubicon moment, where he took on the Revolutionary Government itself in a coup attempt that came within a hair's width of complete failure.

In the 19th century there was one man who disrupted the political order of Europe in a way that nobody had since the days of Julius Caesar - Napoleon Bonaparte. The French General turned self declared Emperor emerged at a time when the once promising French revolution had fallen into chaos and bloodshed. But Napoleon took the seeds of the revolution and transformed them into a new political order that turned Europe on its head. In the process Napoleon would find himself battling the kings and rulers of the old system in not just one, but seven different wars designed to reign in his influence on the continent.

In 1952 in the city of Springfield, Illinois a young college student made a discovery of something that was not supposed to exist. He uncovered the only photo of Abraham Lincoln in his coffin, which was supposed to have been destroyed decades before. In this week's episode we will look at the dramatic history behind the photo, the story of Abraham Lincoln's Funeral Train which took the fascinating 1,6000 mile long trip carrying Lincoln's body from Washington D.C. to his final resting place in Springfield, Illinois. Over these many mile which made up the last days of Lincoln's public life, the deceased President would pull off one final political miracle, turning his death into a collective cry for reconciliation across the entire nation.

Happy Halloween. Our story this week centers around the question of how one ends a Witch Hunt. In the case of the Salem Witch Trials, the cost of ending the hysteria would come through simple tactics by a few courageous men. It would cost these men dearly, but it ultimately revealed the true hysteria of the Salem Witch Trials and it would be made clear for all the members of the Massachusetts Colony to see. Support the show: Patreon.com/historyfeels Email: [email protected]