If time travel were to become possible, most people would choose to visit a significant moment in history. They could witness the first powered flight, Julius Caesar’s assassination in ancient Rome, or the discovery of Tutankhamen’s tomb. These are just a few of the events described in Witness to History . Witness to History is a collection of first-hand accounts written by people who saw major historic events take place. Some of the witnesses were bystanders or non-players in the big events of history. People like Jean Hill, the American schoolteacher who saw the assassination of President John F. Kennedy at close range. They are ordinary people, people like us, who just happened to be there when a world-changing event took place. Other witnesses were major players in the events they describe. Orville Wright describes his historic first flight. They are the makers of history. The mix of people who witness events that become our shared history is both remarkable and fascinating. The collective testimonies of these spectators, with all their intriguing—and sometimes mystifying—inconsistencies and contradictions become the rough draft of the past. Few of us will ever find ourselves in the right place at the right time. Witness to History puts you, the reader, in the privileged position of being there—without the danger it often entails.