Accounts Quote by John Barth

History is an account, mostly false, of events, mostly unimportant, which are brought about by rulers, mostly knaves, and soldiers, mostly fools.

— Ambrose Bierce

“History – An account mostly false, of events unimportant, which are brought about by rulers mostly knaves, and soldiers mostly fools.”

— Ambrose Bierce

History is a pack of lies about events that never happened told by people who weren't there.

— George Santayana

There are two histories : official history, lying, and then secret history, where you find the real causes of events.

— Honore de Balzac

History is principally the inaccurate narration of events which ought not to have happened.

— Earnest Hooton

History seems not so much a record of past events, more a catalogue of preferred beliefs expounded by people who have a vested interest.

— Anthony Storr

History is what we bring to it, not just the events themselves, but how we interpret those events.

— Robert Harris

History is often not what actually happened but what is recorded as such.

— Henry L. Stimson

History is an intricate web of of timing, people, circumstances, and serendipity.

— Don Rittner

A lot of what we think of as history is actually just a version of events which may or may not be true.

— Sandi Toksvig

What is history, indeed, but a record of change?

— Jawaharlal Nehru

History is the story of events, with praise or blame.

— Cotton Mather