History

"Anaemic little spinner in North Pownal Cotton Mill" is what Hine wrote.

Through the Mill

Because of a Lewis Hine photograph, Addie Card became the poster child of child labor. But what became of Addie Card?

The roots of the women's suffrage movement can be located here: in Seneca Falls, the home of Elizabeth Cady Stanton (seated, with Susan B. Anthony) is a historic landmark. Of the right to vote, Stanton declared: "Have it we must."

How New York's Finger Lakes Inspired American Notables

New York's breathtaking Finger Lakes district has influenced historical figures from Mark Twain to Harriet Tubman

Steve Fossett is the first person to fly alone around the world nonstop.

Steve Fossett

On March 3, 2005, after 67 hours aboard his Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer, he became the first person to fly alone around the world nonstop

Lorenzo Da Ponte

Encore! Encore!

Lorenzo Da Ponte was a hit in Europe: a courtier, a cad, the librettist for Mozart's finest operas. But the New World truly tested his creative powers

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September Anniversaries

Momentous or merely memorable

Balloon Jupiter had to land after 30 miles; its mail (here) was sent on by train.

Airmail Letter

Stale Mail: The nation's first hot-air balloon postal deliveries barely got off the ground

Scourges of the sea: Dashing Jean Laffite (left) and his swashbuckling brother Alexandre, although a study in contrasts, were equally intrepid.

Saving New Orleans

In a new book, the author of "Forrest Gump" paints an uncommonly vivid picture of an overlooked chapter in American history and its unlikely hero

Beth Claypool, a Navy parachute rigger, holds a key find from the Laotian dig, the remains of a metal insole believed to be Bat Masterson's.

Lost Over Laos

Scientists and soldiers combine forensics and archaeology to search for pilot Bat Masterson, one of 88,000 Americans missing in action from recent wars

On March 25, 1911, 146 workers perished when a fire broke out in a garment factory in New York City. For 90 years, it stood as New York's deadliest workplace disaster.

Uncovering the History of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire

The author behind the authoritative retelling of the 1911 fire describes how he researched the tragedy that killed 146 people

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Interview with Andrew Lawler, Author of "A Mystery Fit for a Pharaoh"

Andrew Lawler discusses imperialism and the natural romance of studying ancient cultures.

The last piece of the building's makeover, a $50 million glass roof over the courtyard by British architect Norman Foster is scheduled for completion in late 2007.

Back To The Future

One of Washington's most exuberant monuments—the old Patent Office Building —gets the renovation it deserves

The entrance to the new found tomb was hidden for more than 3,000 years beneath the remains of ancient workmen's huts.

A Mystery Fit For A Pharaoh

The first tomb to be discovered in the Valley of the Kings since King Tut's is raising questions for archaeologists about ancient Egypt's burial practices

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For Studs Terkel, Chicago Was a City Called Heaven

Studs Terkel, America’s best-known oral historian, never wavered in his devotion to the Windy City

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What's Eating America

Corn is one of the plant kingdom's biggest successes. That's not necessarily good for the United States

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Patent Pending

After a glorious renovation the old Patent Office Building opens its doors anew

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Today In History

Daily anniversaries for the month of June

Vision of St Maria Magdalena di Pazzi from the Museo de Bellas Artes, Granada

Ask Smithsonian

Who Was Mary Magdalene?

From the writing of the New Testament to the filming of The Da Vinci Code, her image has been repeatedly conscripted, contorted and contradicted

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Ruins and Secrets

Probing the Grand Canyon's mysterious prehistory

The Shamans' Gallery, a rock art panel that stretches across 60 feet of sandstone in a side canyon, displays an array of humanlike figures. One expert dates it to 1000 B.C. and believes it embodies the visions of unknown religious seers.

Below the Rim

Humans have roamed the Grand Canyon for more than 8,000 years. But the chasm is only slowly yielding clues to the ancient peoples who lived below the rim

After the shooting at Ford's Theatre, sentiments ran high, both for the slain president and against the actor who had killed him (on whose likeness a War Department telegraph operator wrote out his thoughts).

An Assassin's Final Hours

John Wilkes Booth, cornered in a Virginia barn, wanted to go down fighting: "I have too great a soul to die like a criminal"

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