I often have a problem with historic and historical.
I learned when to use one or the other, but I can’t remember, so I was happy to hear a Grammar Girl podcast that explained the difference.
If you want all the details, listen to the podcast. I’m going to jump to the critical part.
A historic event, person, or item is important. The Revolutionary War is historic. Martin Luther King, Jr. is historic. The Rosetta Stone is historic.
A historical event, person, or item is in the past. People rode wagons to historical state fairs. Steven Pressfield writes historical fiction, Historical pottery shards are found in ancient Egypt. All these things are about the past but are common and not important.
So how can we remember the difference? Historical ends in “al,” which is similar to “all.” So if the topic is common or applies to all events of the past, then it is historical. Historic doesn’t end in “al,” so it is important and singular. Easy.
I’m glad that my historical problem of not remembering the difference between historic and historical is solved.