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Conversations

Living History

Search anyone in history,
then talk with them.

Search for any historical figure from the past

Conversations with the people who made history

Living History lets you talk with historical figures in their own voice. Ask Marie Curie how she isolated radium, ask Abraham Lincoln what the war cost him, or ask Socrates to question your assumptions. Every conversation starts from the person's documented life and is brought to life with AI.

How it works

  1. Search for anyone. Type a name and Living History looks them up on Wikipedia and Wikidata, from pharaohs and philosophers to inventors and artists.
  2. Choose the right person. Each match shows their dates and a short biography, so you can tell one John Adams from another.
  3. Start talking. They answer in the first person, from inside their own lifetime. Save the best moments to your notebook and export it to Word when you're done.

Start with someone well known

See all featured figures

Common questions

Who is Living History for?

Adults 18 and over, including teachers, university students, and lifelong learners. You'll need to verify an email address to start chatting. Younger students can explore history with a parent, guardian, or teacher who leads the conversation from their own account, but anyone under 18 shouldn't use Living History on their own.

Who can I talk to?

Anyone with an English Wikipedia article and a recorded date of death. Living people are left out on purpose. If a search doesn't find someone, try their full name or a different spelling.

How accurate are the conversations?

Each figure draws on the sources listed under Sources, such as the National Park Service, the Nobel Prize, and Wikipedia, plus corrections our team makes when we find mistakes. Figures are asked to stay within what's documented about their life, including the difficult parts. The replies are written by AI, though, so treat a conversation as an informed, imaginative starting point and check anything you plan to quote or cite.

Where does the information come from?

Figures draw on published sources. Biographies: National Park Service, The Nobel Prize, French National Library (BnF), and Wikipedia. Pictures and maps: Library of Congress, Europeana, Wikimedia Commons, Open Library, and OpenStreetMap.

When our team finds a mistake, we check it against reliable sources like these and may add a short correction for that figure so it isn't repeated. See every source and what it contains.

Do they know what happened after they died?

No. Each person speaks from inside their own lifetime and treats later events as an unknown future. Ask Abraham Lincoln about airplanes and he'll speculate the way a man of the 1860s might.

Is it free?

You get 5 free messages once you verify your email address, with no card needed. When you want more, there are monthly plans and one-off message packs.

Can I save my conversations?

The Gold plan saves your conversations and notebook between visits. On any plan, you can export your notebook to a Word document before you leave.