The Armchair Historian

The Armchair Historian
Born
Griffin Johnsen
YouTube information
Channels
GenreHistory
Subscribers2.49 million
Views405.02 million
Last updated: January 2nd, 2026
Websitehttps://armchairhistory.tv/

Armchair Historian is an American production company founded by American youtuber Griffin Johnsen. The company is known for producing documentaries about armed conflicts on YouTube, in an animated format.[1][2] Johnsen's animated history content has been used in the Marine Corps Times[3] and highlighted in Forbes.[4]

History

Johnsen created the Armchair Historian in 2016 while still in high school[5]. Later, he created Armchair History TV to avoid self-censoring videos,[5][6] particularly after repeated challenges with YouTube's demonetization policies lead to Johnsen taking a break from content production in 2019.[7][8]

The company later expanded to include the game development studio Armchair History Interactive[9], which developed and released in 2023 the videogame Fire & Maneuver, set in the Victorian era,[10] as well as the videogame Master of Command, set during the Seven Years' War,[11] released in 2025.

In 2025 Griffin Johnsen decided to halt production of new videos at the end of 2025,[12] though explicitly stating this was not in response to monetization challenges on YouTube.[13]

Personal life

Johnsen's grandfather fought in World War II.[2]

References

  1. ^ Corbeil, Shannon (2019-09-12). "This is why old armies used to fight in lines". We Are The Mighty. Retrieved 2025-02-13.
  2. ^ a b "VIDEO Ce s-a întâmplat, de fapt, în Războiul din Vietnam. Animaţia care explică pe înţelesul tuturor". adevarul.ro (in Romanian). 2018-12-18. Retrieved 2025-02-13.
  3. ^ "Video: How Armistice Day became Veterans Day". Vol. Marine Corps Times. 8 November 2019. Retrieved 5 January 2026.
  4. ^ Suciu, Peter (24 February 2020). "Influencing History On YouTube". Forbes. Retrieved 5 January 2026.
  5. ^ a b "YouTube Demonetization: How The Armchair Historian Launched a Members-Only Platform". Fourthwall. Retrieved 5 January 2026.
  6. ^ Johnsen, Griffin (29 August 2019). A New Place for Historical Content. Youtube. Retrieved 5 January 2026.
  7. ^ Kobek, Patricio (16 September 2019). "The Armchair Historian Quits YouTube Because His Videos Are Getting Demonetized". The Gamer. Retrieved 5 January 2026.
  8. ^ Griffin Johnsen [@ArmchairHist] (September 14, 2019). "Youtube manually reviewed my newest video isn't advertiser-friendly, after telling me it was advertiser-friendly last night. With this happening two times in a row, effectively destroying over a month worth of income I'm taking a break from making videos" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  9. ^ Holmes, Mike (29 August 2025). "Master of Command Preview: we take a look behind enemy lines on the eve of total war". Rogue Liker. Retrieved 5 January 2026.
  10. ^ L., Bertrand (12 April 2023). "Fire and Maneuver: D-5 before the capitulation of Free to play". Gazette du wargamer (in French). Retrieved 13 February 2025.
  11. ^ "Master of Command". Kotaku. Retrieved 2025-02-13.
  12. ^ "Post from The Armchair Historian". YouTube. Retrieved 2025-12-14.
  13. ^ Griffin Johnson [@ArmchairHist] (December 5, 2025). "I wasn't expecting so much attention on this post. Just to clear things up, I'm doing completely fine and I have no issue with demonetization. This is primarily a personal decision. I will make a dedicated video about this in January" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
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