Robert J. McNamara has been writing and editing about history for ThoughtCo.com since 2007. Robert began working professionally as a journalist during his sophomore year of college in New York City. During his magazine career he worked on the staff at Rolling Stone, and as a freelance writer and fact checker he was affiliated with major magazines including New York, Esquire, Spy, and the magazine sections of major newspapers including the Chicago Tribune and New York Daily News. In the digital era, Robert was was one of the first freelance editors hired in 1996 by a then-upstart company on the Web, Amazon.com. He stayed with Amazon.com for seven years, and was the company’s first nonfiction editor and later its first history editor. During the years that Amazon.com employed a thriving editorial department, Robert wrote articles about books and authors, interviewed historians, and published countless reviews. With About.com (now ThoughtCo.com), Robert launched the History1800s site in late 2007. During the site’s existence it has attracted a large audience of history buffs, students, and general readers who often arrive while Googling an endless variety of questions about history.