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Editors' Picks

Where Was the Birthplace of the American Vacation?

First in rustic tents and later in elaborate resorts, city dwellers took to the Adirondacks to explore the joys of the wilderness

The True-Life Horror that Inspired Moby-Dick

The whaler Essex was indeed sunk by a whale—and that's only the beginning

The Shocking Savagery of America’s Early History

Bernard Bailyn, one of our greatest historians, shines his light on the nation’s Dark Ages

History Beats

The Best of Design, Cooper-Hewitt Announces 2013 Award Winners

From a Las Vegas Denny's with a wedding chapel to rock 'n' roll posters, this year's design award winners have a good time with great design
May 09, 2013 | By Leah Binkovitz

Page 1 of 12
Lusitania

8 Famous People Who Missed the Lusitania

For one reason or another, these lucky souls never boarded the doomed ship whose sinking launched America's involvement in WWI
May 02, 2013 | By Greg Daugherty

Jamestown remains

Starving Settlers in Jamestown Colony Resorted to Cannibalism

New archaeological evidence and forensic analysis reveals that a 14-year-old girl was cannibalized in desperation
May 01, 2013 | By Joseph Stromberg

How the Ford Motor Company Won a Battle and Lost Ground

Corporate violence against union organizers might have gone unrecorded—if it not for an enterprising news photographer
April 30, 2013 | By Gilbert King

Bell

We Had No Idea What Alexander Graham Bell Sounded Like. Until Now

Smithsonian researchers used optical technology to play back the unplayable records
May 2013 | By Charlotte Gray

The Death of General Warren at the Battle of Bunker

The True Story of the Battle of Bunker Hill

Nathaniel Philbrick takes on one of the Revolutionary War’s most famous and least understood battles
May 2013 | By Tony Horwitz

Revolution

The History of the Short-Lived Independent Republic of Florida

For a brief period in 1810, Florida was truly a country of its own
May 2013 | By William C. Davis

Sequestration to Cause Closures, Secretary Clough Testifies

Gallery closings, fewer exhibitions and reduced educational offerings are some of the impacts he listed before the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
April 17, 2013 | By Leah Binkovitz

Tuskegee Institute

The Business of American Business Is Education

From corporate donations to workplace restrictions, what’s taught in the classroom has always been influenced by American industry
April 15, 2013 | By Dana Goldstein

Document Deep Dive: What Was on the First SAT?

Explore the exam that has been stressing out college-bound high school students since 1926
April 12, 2013 | By Megan Gambino

Document Deep Dive: The Heartfelt Friendship Between Jackie Robinson and Branch Rickey

Baseball brought the two men together, but even when Rickey left the Brooklyn Dodgers, their relationship off the field would last for years
April 11, 2013 | By John Hanc

Agony and Ecstasy at the Masters Tournament

It would take a miracle to beat Craig Wood in 1935. Gene Sarazen provided one
April 11, 2013 | By Gilbert King

When New York City Tamed the Feared Gunslinger Bat Masterson

The lawman had a reputation to protect—but that reputation shifted after he moved East
April 03, 2013 | By Gilbert King

An artist

The Worst Parade to Ever Hit the Streets of Boston

On the eve of the Revolutionary War, loyalist John Malcom was tarred, feathered and dragged through the streets, just for arguing with a young boy
April 01, 2013 | By Nathaniel Philbrick

Gettysburg, PA

Has Gettysburg Kicked Its Kitsch Factor?

Historian Tony Horwitz travels to the Civil War battlefield and finds that even where time is frozen, it’s undergone welcome changes
April 2013 | By Tony Horwitz

Statue of Liberty

America’s Got a Case of Souvenir Mania

A new book from a Smithsonian curator looks at the culture and business of memorabilia
April 2013 | By Paul Bisceglio

Great Camp Sagamore

Where Was the Birthplace of the American Vacation?

First in rustic tents and later in elaborate resorts, city dwellers took to the Adirondacks to explore the joys of the wilderness
April 2013 | By Tony Perrottet

DC-3

How the DC-3 Revolutionized Air Travel

Before the legendary aircraft took flight, it took 25 hours to fly from New York to Los Angeles
April 2013 | By Kathleen Burke

Who Really Invented the Smiley Face?

It's supposedly the 50th anniversary of the original design of the iconic image, but its history since then is surprisingly complex with millions of dollars at stake
March 13, 2013 | By Jimmy Stamp

The Most Audacious Australian Prison Break of 1876

An American whaling ship brought together an oddball crew with a dangerous mission: freeing six Irishmen from a jail in western Australia
March 12, 2013 | By Gilbert King

The True-Life Horror that Inspired Moby-Dick

The whaler Essex was indeed sunk by a whale—and that's only the beginning
March 01, 2013 | By Gilbert King

Photo Interactive: The Civil War, Now in Living Color

How one author adds actual blues and grays to historic photographs
February 22, 2013 | By Ryan R. Reed

Eleanor Roosevelt and the Soviet Sniper

Lyudmila Pavlichenko was a Soviet sniper credited with 309 kills—and an advocate for women's rights. On a U.S. tour in 1942, she found a friend in the first lady.
February 21, 2013 | By Gilbert King

The Shocking Savagery of America’s Early History

Bernard Bailyn, one of our greatest historians, shines his light on the nation’s Dark Ages
March 2013 | By Ron Rosenbaum

The Rise and Fall of Nikola Tesla and his Tower

The inventor's vision of a global wireless-transmission tower proved to be his undoing
February 04, 2013 | By Gilbert King

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next »

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