American History
Iva d'Aquino Toguri Remains the Only U.S. Citizen Convicted of Treason Who Has Ever Been Pardoned
She was an American DJ who served six years in prison for her wartime radio broadcasts from Japan
What the First European to Visit Hawaii Thought About Surfers
The Europeans were fascinated by Pacific Islanders' comfort in the water
Where We Got the Term “Banana Republic”
Hint: it’s not a great moment in American history
Why America Has a “President” Instead of an “Exalted Highness”
The title just used to mean someone who presided over a meeting
This Hollywood Titan Foresaw the Horrors of Nazi Germany
Carl Laemmle, the founder of Universal Pictures, wrote hundreds of affidavits to help refugees escape Europe
Eleven Times When Americans Have Marched in Protest on Washington
Revisiting some of the country’s most memorable uses of the right to assemble
Benjamin Franklin Was a Middle-Aged Widow Named Silence Dogood (And a Few Other Women)
The founding father wrote letters in the voice of female pseudonyms throughout his life
In 1957, The U.S. Flew a Jet Around the World to Prove it Could Drop a Nuclear Bomb Anywhere
The B-52 bomber that made the flight was part of a new bomber class that was still proving its worth
Some States Celebrate MLK Day and Robert E. Lee’s Birthday on the Same Day
Martin Luther King, Jr. has been celebrated on the third Monday in January since the federal holiday was first observed in 1986
Since First Successfully Used More Than 75 Years Ago, Ejection Seats Have Saved Thousands
The faster an airplane is moving, the harder it is to get out of: that's why ejection seats are so important
The Little-Remembered Ally Who Helped America Win the Revolution
Bernardo de Galvez’s involvement may not have been altruistic, but his contributions made a difference nonetheless
Why Some Women Campaigned Against The Vote For Women
Although it seems counter-intuitive now, some women had reasons for not wanting the vote
People Have Tried to Make U.S. Cigarette Warning Labels More Graphic for Decades
On this day in 1964, the surgeon general officially said that smoking causes cancer. But warning labels in America still don't show its effects
The Speech and Bible From George Washington's First Inauguration Made History Many Times Over
The first president created the tradition of giving an inaugural address and swearing the oath of office on a Bible
State Department Apologizes for the 'Lavender Scare'
For decades, the agency purged gay and lesbian workers believing their sexual orientation made them security risks
The Parking Garage Where Deep Throat Spilled the Beans on Watergate Is Being Torn Down
Demolition is scheduled for early this year
Murder, Marriage and the Pony Express: Ten Things You Didn’t Know About Buffalo Bill
His adventures were sensationalized in print and the Wild West show, but reality was more complicated—and compelling
John D. Rockefeller Was the Richest Person To Ever Live. Period
Standard Oil, his company, is one of the biggest reasons we have anti-monopoly laws
The Student and the Spy: How One Man’s Life Was Changed by the Cambridge Five
An unlikely friendship with Guy Burgess, the infamous British double-agent, brought unexpected joy to Stanley Weiss
The Inventor of the Telegraph Was Also America’s First Photographer
The daguerreotype craze took over New York in the mid-nineteenth century
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