American History

An undated photo of video-game pioneer Roberta Williams during the early days of Sierra On-Line, the company she and her husband founded.

The Pioneer of Graphic Adventure Games Was a Woman

Mystery House was the first home computer game ever to include graphics as well as text

A former McDonald's, now a museum in Illinois. Richard "Dick" McDonald, one of the two McDonald brothers who started the chain (and who is played by Nick Offerman in a new movie) invented both the Golden Arches and the "over 1 million sold" sign.

Nick Offerman’s Character in “The Founder” Is Based on This Real Historical Figure

Richard “Dick” McDonald’s story in the film is true — to a degree

The phone that made the first 9-1-1 call in the U.S. is still in Haleyville, Alabama, now on display in the town's City Hall.

'9-1-1' Has Meant 'Help, Please' Since 1968

The first 911 call ever placed came from the small town of Haleyville, Alabama

Interior of Historic RCA Studio B today.

Play Paul Simon's Piano or Croon Into Elvis' Mic at These Seven Historic Recording Studios

Take a tour through Americana music history

Clifford the Big Red Dog has been delighting children for years. This collection was released by Scholastic in honor of the pooch's 50th birthday in 2013.

The Aww-Inspiring Origins of Clifford the Big Red Dog

Norman Bridwell, Clifford’s creator, was also a lot like his creation

One of the first teddy bears has been in the Smithsonian's collection for over a half-century.

Some of the Most Important (and Cutest) Teddy Bear Moments of the Past 114 Years

The American toy was introduced in 1903, and almost immediately made its mark

The "Little Laundress" was manufactured by a sister company to the one that invented the Erector Set.

This Sexist 1920s Toy is Part of the Reason for the Women in STEM Gap

Boys got Erector Sets. Girls got this stellar consolation prize

At the National Women's Conference in Houston, Texas, 20,000 women convened to debate the issues that affected them. Here, Congresswoman Bella Abzug (D-N.Y.), wearing her trademark hat, and Betty Friedan (left, in red coat).

The 1977 Conference on Women's Rights That Split America in Two

Feminism and the conservative movement clashed over issues such as abortion and LGBTQ rights

A segregated bus stop in North Carolina.

The Complicated Racial Politics of Going “Undercover” to Report on the Jim Crow South

How one journalist became black to investigate segregation and what that means today

Esther Howland popularized and mass-produced Valentine's Day cards like this one, using lace and colorful paper.

How to Make an Authentic Civil War Valentine

Handmade Valentine cards were popularized (and commercialized) in the U.S. during the Civil War years

From left to right: Bernard Baruch, Norman H. Davis, Vance McCormick, Herbert Hoover

The Century-Long History of Tapping Wall Street to Run the Government

Looking to the one-percent to lead the country goes back to the era of World War I

These grainy images, thought to have been originally published in a magazine dedicated to the paranormal, are all that remain of the "Coso artifact." The object itself hasn't been seen in decades. Clockwise from top: The "geode" in which the artifact was found, an x-ray of the interior, and a side view after the "geode" had been cut in half.

When Some 1920s Garbage Was Mistaken for an Ancient Artifact

The "Coso Artifact" was fuel for those who want to believe that the truth is out there

After the defeat of Cleopatra's forces by Octavian (later Augustus, emperor of Rome), the Egyptian queen and her lover Marc Antony fled to Egypt. In Shakespeare's imagining, one of Cleopatra's greatest fears was the the horrid breath of the Romans. Shown here: "The Death of Cleopatra" by Reginald Arthur, 1892.

The History and Science Behind Your Terrible Breath

Persistent mouth-stink has been dousing the flames of passion for millennia. Why haven’t we come up with a cure?

Previously unrecorded portrait of Harriet Tubman

Newly Discovered Photo May Depict a Younger Harriet Tubman

The late 1860s carte-de-visite comes from fellow abolitionist Emily Howland's album

Spring in the gardens.

The Southern Romance of the Nation's Oldest Public Garden

Three centuries of beauty and history are on display at the Magnolia Plantation and Gardens

It was a pivotal moment in computing history when a computer beat a human at chess for the first time, but that doesn't mean chess is "solved."

Computers Are Great at Chess, But That Doesn't Mean the Game Is 'Solved'

On this day in 1996, the computer Deep Blue made history when it beat Garry Kasparov

When Charles Sumner spoke out against slavery in 1856, he incurred the violent wrath of congressman Preston Brooks.

In the Congressional Fight Over Slavery, Decorum Went Out the Door

Amid today's dissent over proper Senate behavior, take a look back at when an assault in the Senate divided the nation

An unidentified player takes a putt at the original "Tom Thumb Golf" built by Garnet Carter.

The Brief 1930s Craze for 'Tom Thumb Golf'

Miniature golf courses had been around before, but Garnet Carter gave it a roadside attraction spin

The “Scandalous” Quarter Protest That Wasn’t

Were Americans really so outraged by a semi-topless Lady Liberty that the U.S. Mint had to censor this coin?

This is the 517th Xerox model 917 ever made, donated to the Smithsonian in 1985.

Watch the Original 1959 Ad for the First Office-Ready Xerox Machine

When the Xerox 914 entered offices, the working world changed forever

Page 100 of 179