It is nearly impossible to study genealogy without also studying geography and history. Indeed, most genealogists are "micro historians." That is, they study the world in which their ancestors lived. Genealogists tend to spend less time studying the great politicians, generals, and wars of the day, but more time studying economic issues, the progress of inventions, and other factors that had direct impact on ancestors at home and at work.
One of the better history sites around is HistoryBuff.com. This site focuses primarily on how newspapers covered major - and not so major - events in American history. Material on the site includes transcripts of newspaper coverage of events important to American history; articles about how the news made it to the press and how they covered the events; as well as an online newspaper archive where original newspapers can be read full size. A special section is devoted to collectors of old and historic newspapers.
However, HistoryBuff.com isn't all newspapers. In fact, there are recordings available of P.T. Barnum, Teddy Roosevelt, Amelia Earhart, John F. Kennedy's inaugural address and the famous narrative of the airship Hindenburg bursting into flames made at Lakehurst Naval Air Station in New Jersey. A recording of P.T. Barnum is the oldest, made in 1890. It is believed to be the first recorded commercial message as Barnum plugs his circus in the recording. I could barely understand the low-fidelity recording. However, the idea of even listening to an 1890 recording of this famous showman seems fascinating.
HistoryBuff.com has a lot of trivia available. It lists the state flower, bird, and nickname of every state, along with the date that each state was admitted to the Union. It also has lists of all the governors of all the states, including the years in which they served.
All in all, this site is an excellent place for genealogists to spend an hour or so. You can find a lot of interesting information at http://www.historybuff.com.
