Lily Rothman

Rothman is managing editor at TIME. She was also the founding editor of TIME’s history section.

Recent Articles

Bishop Michael Curry's Royal Wedding Sermon Included a Martin Luther King Jr. Quote. Here's Its Surprising Political Message

In the address delivered by Rev. Michael Curry at the wedding of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, this MLK quote played a prominent role

By Lily Rothman

Meghan Markle Didn't Promise to 'Obey' Prince Harry in Her Vows. Her Decision Is Actually Part of a Long Tradition

British brides have been skipping that promise for nearly a century

By Lily Rothman

Meghan Markle's Father Didn't Walk Her Down the Aisle. That Choice Has More History Behind It Than You May Think

In early English Christian weddings the aisle wasn't really involved much at all

By Lily Rothman

This Mysterious Long-Lost Film of the Brooklyn Bridge Wasn't Seen for a Century

It was part of a collection discovered in a basement by an Iowa history teacher

By Lily Rothman

The Real Incendiary History Behind Book Burning and 'Fahrenheit 451'

TIME coined the word "bibliocaust" in 1933

By Lily Rothman

Why Tom Wolfe First Started Wearing His Signature White Suit

It was a happy accident, he told TIME in 1989

By Lily Rothman

Zora Neale Hurston’s Long-Unpublished Barracoon Finds Its Place After Decades of Delay

In 1927, a man in Alabama–the last survivor of the last known ship ever to bring enslaved humans from Africa to the U.S.–received a visitor. A young anthropologist, working on her first big assignment, wanted...

By Lily Rothman

How the Real Pilots of 'Mercury 13' Made the Case for the U.S. to Send Women to Space

'A woman in space today is no more preposterous than a woman in a field hospital 100 years ago'

By Lily Rothman

The Long, Brutal History of Chemical Weapons

When President Donald Trump announced on Friday night that he had ordered airstrikes on Syria, he explained the decision with an appeal to a longstanding international consensus that the use of chemical weapons — such...

By Lily Rothman

Most Americans Believe the Holocaust Could Happen Again

The results were released in time for Holocaust Remembrance Day

By Lily Rothman

'You Have to Stand Up to Evil': Madeleine Albright on Facing Fascism and What She Worries About Most Right Now

"Fascism is a disease and there are symptoms. So I think it’s important to warn about that"

By Lily Rothman

5 Things Written by Martin Luther King Jr. That Everyone Should Read, According to an Expert

A King expert selects the ones to know

By Lily Rothman

See Poignant Footage From Martin Luther King Jr.'s Final Birthday Party

See an exclusive clip from the HBO documentary King in the Wilderness

By Lily Rothman

Linda Brown's Legacy and the Hidden Ripple Effect of 'Brown v. Board of Education'

"It was absolutely crucial not just in schools but for the whole fabric of American life," says historian Mary Frances Berry

By Lily Rothman

Pioneering Labor Activist Dolores Huerta: Women 'Never Think of Getting Credit' But Now That's Changing

She coined the slogan "Yes, we can"

By Lily Rothman

Why John Bolton Couldn't Get Confirmed as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations

"John was always a strong friend of his own opinion," a former State Department lawyer once told TIME

By Lily Rothman

New Orleans Mayor on Fixing the Story of Race in America: ‘If It Was Taught One Way, It Can Be Unlearned’

"I wanted to, at least from a Southerner’s perspective, speak very clearly about the verdict that history has now rendered"

By Lily Rothman

This Historian Studied Decades of American Resistance. Here's Her Advice for the Parkland Students

"The first reaction of those who have power is to believe that you will go away soon"

By Lily Rothman

President Trump Offered a History Lesson on Tariffs. Here’s What He Left Out

He cited the pro-tariff views of everyone from George Washington to Teddy Roosevelt

By Lily Rothman

Armando Iannucci on 'The Death of Stalin' and Making a Funny Movie About Real Historical Trauma

"The first thing I said as we started shooting was that we had to be very respectful to what happened to the people. There’s no comedy there."

By Lily Rothman
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