History

The view inside Pompeii's old granary

The Fall and Rise and Fall of Pompeii

The famous archaeological treasure is falling into scandalous decline, even as its sister city Herculaneum is rising from the ashes

An 1898 portrait of Twain painted by Italian artist Ignace Spiridon, which now hangs in the Mark Twain Library in Redding.

The Library Mark Twain Built

The author helped create a library in the last town he called home—and it's full of great summer reading suggestions

Introduced in 1946, frozen orange juice concentrate was quickly adopted by consumers who welcomed its time-saving convenience.

What Makes the Orange Juice Can Worthy of Display in a Museum

A new exhibition explains why the everyday objects of today and the recent past are so important to understanding who we are

Rumi Colca gateway, Cusco, Peru, 2014

Smithsonian Journeys Travel Quarterly: Inca Road

How the Inca Empire Engineered a Road Across Some of the World's Most Extreme Terrain

For a new exhibition, a Smithsonian curator conducted oral histories with contemporary indigenous cultures to recover lost Inca traditions

This 5,300 Year-Old Corpse Was Found by Accident

Hikers Erika and Helmut Simon stumbled upon a frozen body deep in the Ötztal Alps, little did they know it belonged to one of the oldest preserved corpses

The Foods Americans Once Loved to Eat

Turtles, beavers and eel were once beloved staples of the continental diet. What happened?

The famous Cyclone roller coaster in Coney Island, New York.

Urban Explorations

Ride America's Most Historic Roller Coasters

This summer, ride the coasters that add history to their thrills

Smithsonian Channel

The Roller Coaster Was Invented to Save America From Satan

In the 1880s, LaMarcus Thompson was troubled by America's slide into hedonism and immorality. Out of that concern, we got the roller coaster

How to Avoid Your Neighbors

J.S. Lovering Wharton built this house on a rock off the coast of Rhode Island because, as legend has it, he wanted a place where no one could bother him

Previous analysis of the Kennewick Man's skull suggested that he might be closely related to Asian populations and Polynesians. But new genetic analysis indicates his ancestral roots are in the Americas.

New Research

Genome Analysis Links Kennewick Man to Native Americans

Ancient DNA sequenced from the skeleton adds to the controversy over the individual's ancestry

A ward in Carver Hospital in Washington, D.C., during the Civil War. One key innovation during this period was the division of hospitals into wards based on disease.

Six Ways the Civil War Changed American Medicine

150 years ago, the historic conflict forced doctors to get creative and to reframe the way they thought about medicine

A wolf enters the Colosseum via the lift in the hypogeum.

A New Recreation Shows How Ancient Romans Lifted Wild Animals Into the Colosseum

An elaborate system of elevators and trap doors lifted ferocious beasts onto the Colosseum floor

The Most Loved and Hated Novel About World War I

An international bestseller, Erich Maria Remarque's <em>All Quiet on the Western Front</em> was banned and burned in Nazi Germany

Battle of Waterloo on 18 June 1815, by Artaria

The American at the Battle of Waterloo

The British remember William Howe De Lancey, an American friend to the Duke of Wellington, as a hero for the role he played in the 1815 clash

A Horrific Tragedy at Frank Lloyd Wright's Home

One of Frank Lloyd Wright's most beloved properties, Taliesin, was inspired by Wisconsin's natural beauty. But its history is mired in tragedy

The Stars and Stripes are enjoying an extraordinary status in American public culture.

Americans Are Not the Only Ones Obsessed With Their Flag

From the mild-mannered Danes to crazed soccer fans, people all over the world go nuts for their national colors

The Very Reverend June Osborne, Dean of Salisbury, takes a selfie with a laminated copy of the 1215 Magna Carta that is on display at Salisbury Cathedral.

How Magna Carta Went Viral

In a world before the printing press, how did news of the famous document make the rounds?

Chasseur, Chasseurs à Cheval de la Garde Impériale, France

Relive the Battle of Waterloo With These Astonishing Portraits of War Reenactors

Photographer Sam Faulkner shoots a portrait series that gives a face to the more than 200,000 soldiers who fought in the historic conflict

Why the Germans Torpedoed the Lusitania

When German U-boat Commander Walther Schwieger ordered a torpedo strike on the Lusitania, he didn't know it would be the shot that eventually led the U.S.

Scientists found what appear to be red blood cells in this claw from an unidentified theropod dinosaur.

New Research

Dinosaur Soft Tissue Recovered From Eight Cretaceous-Era Fossils

New sampling methods yielded cells and fibers from relatively ordinary fossils, broadening the possibilities for paleontology

Page 176 of 279