History

At the gravesite of Mercy Lena Brown, right, sightseers leave offerings such as plastic vampire teeth and jewelry.

The Great New England Vampire Panic

Two hundred years after the Salem witch trials, farmers became convinced that their relatives were returning from the grave to feed on the living

The Dark Side of Thomas Jefferson

A new portrait of the founding father challenges the long-held perception of Thomas Jefferson as a benevolent slaveholder

The fireman Tom Sawyer was lionized by local reporters for battling the “flames which destroyed the . . . landmarks of a boom town.”

The Adventures of the Real Tom Sawyer

Mark Twain prowled the rough-and-tumble streets of 1860s San Francisco with a hard-drinking, larger-than-life fireman

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The Silence that Preceded China’s Great Leap into Famine

Mao Zedong encouraged critics of his government—and then betrayed them just when their advice might have prevented a calamity

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Recapping “The Jetsons”: Episode 01 – Rosey the Robot

Meet George Jetson! The first installment of our 24-part series on the show that would forever change how we view the future

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Trains of Tomorrow, After the War

The wartime inconveniences of traveling by train prompted the promise for "the finest transportation the world has ever seen"

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The Copper King’s Precipitous Fall

Augustus Heinze dominated the copper fields of Montana, but his family's scheming on Wall Street set off the Panic of 1907

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Play the Great American History Puzzle

Jeopardy! Champion Ken Jennings takes you on a challenging adventure through the secrets of American history. Will you be our grand prize winner?

Lunch Atop a Skyscraper Photograph: The Story Behind the Famous Shot

For 80 years, the 11 ironworkers in the iconic photo have remained unknown, and now, thanks to new research, two of them have been identified

The Jetsons title slate from 1962

50 Years of the Jetsons: Why The Show Still Matters

Although it was on the air for only one season, The Jetsons remains our most popular point of reference when discussing the future.

At home and abroad, vampire scares usually began when a person died and others in the vicinity began dying, too, usually of the same sickness.

Halloween

Meet the Real-Life Vampires of New England and Abroad

The legend of the blood suckers, and the violence heaped upon their corpses, came out of ignorance of contagious disease

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The Blazing Career and Mysterious Death of “The Swedish Meteor”

Can modern science determine who shot this 18th century Swedish king?

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The Unknown Story of "The Black Cyclone," the Cycling Champion Who Broke the Color Barrier

Major Taylor had to brave more than the competition to become one of the most acclaimed cyclists of the world

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The Anti-Skyscraper Law That Shaped Sydney, Australia

What happens when public safety clashes with modern architecture?

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The Ugliest, Most Contentious Presidential Election Ever

Throughout the 1876 campaign, Tilden’s opposition had called him everything from a briber to a thief to a drunken syphilitic

A powerful wave destroys New York City in the disaster film Deep Impact (1998)

Big Apple Apocalypse: 200 Years of Destroying New York City

What is it about New York that compels us to see it obliterated in fiction over and over again?

Aung San Suu Kyi, photographed in June 2012

Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma's Revolutionary Leader

The Nobel Peace Prize winner talks about the secret weapon in her decades of struggle—the power of Buddhism

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No, Really, There is No Secret Code in the Pyramids

Encoded mysteries have existed through history—especially imaginary ones

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How a New Yorker Article Launched the First Shot in the War Against Poverty

When a powerful 1963 piece laid out the stark poverty in America, the White House took action

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From the Editor

From the Editor

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