U.S. History

Facebook staff would only later learn of the unintended consequences of the "Like" button

Understanding the Mind of the Coder and How It Shapes the World Around Us

Clive Thompson’s new book takes readers deep into the history and culture of computer programming

The 404th AFS Band pictured in Fort Des Moines

Seventy-Five Years Ago, the Military’s Only All-Black Female Band Battled the War Department and Won

The women of the 404th Armed Service Forces band raised morale and funds for the military, but they had to fight discrimination to do so

Ingenious Women

Meet the Female Inventor Behind Mass-Market Paper Bags

A self-taught engineer, Margaret Knight bagged a valuable patent, at a time when few women held intellectual property

The Emily Howland photo album containing the portrait of Tubman, (above: detail, ca. 1868) was unveiled this week at the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture.

A Previously Unknown Portrait of a Young Harriet Tubman Goes on View

"I was stunned," says director Lonnie Bunch; historic Emily Howland photo album contains dozens of other abolitionists and leaders who took an active role

Queen Liliʻuokalani (above in Honolulu in 1917) “was one of the most successful composers . . . so much so that her repertoire remains at the forefront of those performed by Hawaiian musicians today,” says the Smithsonian's John Troutman

Hitting the High Notes: A Smithsonian Year of Music

How the Music of Hawaiʻi’s Last Ruler Guided the Island’s People Through Crisis

A prolific composer, Queen Liliʻuokalani created some of the most popular Hawaiian tunes and compositions of all time

Middletown, Pennsylvania in 1979 in the wake of the Three Mile Island nuclear accident

Witness

For Those Living Nearby, the Memory of the Three Mile Island Accident Has a Long Half-Life

Robert Reid, then the mayor of nearby Middletown, recalls the partial meltdown of the nuclear reactor more than 40 years ago

The humor magazine Puck—a pre-TV version of “The Daily Show”—published this illustration in 1915, five years before the ratification of the 19th Amendment.

Women Who Shaped History

The Long Battle for Women's Suffrage

With the centennial anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment approaching, a look back at the surprising history of giving women the vote

Sojourner Truth, Randall Studio, c. 1870

Women Who Shaped History

The Bold Accomplishments of Women of Color Need to Be a Bigger Part of Suffrage History

An upcoming Smithsonian exhibition, “Votes For Women,” delves into the complexities and biases of the nature of persistence

The free, online software uses crowdsourcing and facial recognition to help users identify unknown subjects in Civil War era photographs.

The Computer Scientist Who Wants to Put a Name to Every Face in Civil War Photographs

As Virginia Tech's Kurt Luther perfects his facial recognition software Civil War Photo Sleuth, the discoveries keep coming

Beginning in the late 1940s, the white picket fence became synonymous with the American Dream.

How Did the White Picket Fence Become a Symbol of the Suburbs?

And why the epitome of the perfect house became so creepy

In 2016, 5,712 American Indian and Alaska Native women and girls were reported missing, which is likely the tip of the iceberg,

Women Who Shaped History

These Haunting Red Dresses Memorialize Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women

Artist Jaime Black says the REDress Project is an expression of her grief for thousands of Native victims

The museum's new display takes a look at the implied expectation that women will always take care of the housework.

Women Who Shaped History

In the Home, a Woman’s Work Is Never Done, Never Honored and Never Paid For

Two historic firsts at the American History Museum; a woman steps into the director’s seat and a new show examines the drudgery of housework

Onlookers watch as police remove the bodies of the victims of an execution-style murder from the scene at 2122 North Clark Street in Chicago.

Six of the Most Famous Mob Murders of All Time

The death of Gambino crime family head Frank Cali brings to mind these mafia killings from years past

Last year, author Claire Evans visited the Smithsonian's Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden to join in conversation with Ellen Ullman, a former software engineer.

Why the Story of Woman Versus Machine Is Still Being Written

Author Claire Evans is on a mission to elevate women and the contributions they’ve made in the field of technology

'Hanging of the San Patricios following the Battle of Chapultepec' by Samuel E. Chamberlain depicts a multiple execution in the aftermath of one of the battles of the Mexican-American War.

During the Mexican-American War, Irish-Americans Fought for Mexico in the 'Saint Patrick's Battalion'

Anti-Catholic sentiment in the States gave men like John Riley little reason to continue to pay allegiance to the stars and stripes

Gladys Bentley’s powerful voice, fiery energy on the piano and bold lyrics made her a star of New York City nightclubs.

Women Who Shaped History

The Great Blues Singer Gladys Bentley Broke All the Rules

For the Smithsonian’s Sidedoor podcast, host Haleema Shah tells the story of an unapologetically gay African-American performer in 1920s and 30s

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Ingenious Women

Ingenious Women: A Podcast Series on Women Who Changed the World

In partnership with Wondery's American Innovations, we celebrate the many contributions of women inventors throughout U.S. history

Margaret Hamilton stands next to a stack of program listings from the Apollo Guidance Computer in a photograph taken in 1969.

Women Who Shaped History

Margaret Hamilton Led the NASA Software Team That Landed Astronauts on the Moon

Apollo’s successful computing software was optimized to deal with unknown problems and to interrupt one task to take on a more important one

Miners marched to Lattimer, Pennsylvania, on September 10, 1897, to protest harsh working conditions.

How a 1897 Massacre of Pennsylvania Coal Miners Morphed From a Galvanizing Crisis to Forgotten History

The death of 19 immigrants may have unified the labor movement, but powerful interests left their fates unrecognized until decades later

A young boy talks to U.S. Army military police as the exhibit visited Toledo, Ohio.

Americans Flocked to See This Controversial Exhibit of Berlin’s Art Treasures in the Wake of World War II

Discovered in a salt mine in Nazi Germany, these artworks toured the United States in a questionable move that raised serious ethical concerns

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