American History

For Coal Miners, Back to Black Lungs

None

Smithsonian Gets Google Mapped

Smithsonian and Google Maps launched an easy to use application Tuesday providing step by step directions inside 17 museums and the National Zoo

An American flag waving in Andover, Maine. This was the first video ever transmitted by commercial satellite.

Fifty Years Ago, Lyndon Johnson Answered the First Satellite Phone Call

Telstar 1, which launched 50 years ago today, was the world's first commercial satellite, and a testament to government-industry cooperation

None

Why Store-Bought Popsicles Drip Less

Just in time for another scorching July day, the history of the modern popsicle - and why the store-bought ones are less drippy than the DIY kind

None

This One Beautiful Video Sums Up All of Space Shuttle History

The “Six Degrees of Peggy Bacon” exhibit maps out a web of relatedness between Bacon and well-known artists, celebrities and historical figures.

It’s a Small World After All: “Six Degrees of Peggy Bacon”

“Six Degrees of Peggy Bacon” shows how one relatively unknown but well-connected artist was linked to many of art and society’s most influential people

About 90 miles north of San Francisco lies Fort Ross, a site chosen to be the Russian empire's only colony in what would later become the contiguous United States. Pictured is a Russian Orthodox chapel at Fort Ross.

When Russia Colonized California: Celebrating 200 Years of Fort Ross

A piece of history on the Pacific Coast was almost lost to budget cuts, until a Russian billionaire stepped in to save the endangered state park

None

North Carolina Rep Pushes Wrong Button and Approves Fracking in the State

Fracking can go ahead in North Carolina, all because one tired legislator pushed the wrong button

Goodness gracious, a great ball of fire

17 Minutes of Fireworks Go Off in 15 Seconds

Yesterday, in the San Diego Bay, a fireworks show meant to last 17 minutes went off in 15 seconds

Why We Set Off Fireworks on the Fourth of July

Because we always have

Laura Ingalls Wilder

‘Little House on the Prairie’ Author’s Autobiography Published for First Time Ever

None

Vintage Summer Tips From the U.S. Government: “Overeating Is Overheating”

In the early 1940s, in the years after the country had entered World War II, American government had a particular interest in keeping workers on the job

None

One of the First Maps to Include “America” Found in Old Geometry Book

None

Chimps Celebrate the End of a Research Era

Rock out on the Fourth with Max Impact, the premier band of the United States Air Force.

Events July 3-5: Flag Folding, Celebrate the Fourth, Explore the Heirloom Garden

Kick off the Fourth of July celebration this week with flag folding, a concert and a tour of the Heirloom Garden

Jim Thorpe's epic performance in the 15 events that made up the pentathlon and decathlon at the 1912 Summer Games remains the most solid reflection we have of him.

Why Are Jim Thorpe’s Olympic Records Still Not Recognized?

In 1912, Jim Thorpe became the greatest American Olympian of all time, but not if you ask the IOC

The Mother Ship Model, “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” is on display in the Rockets and Missiles exhibition station at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, VA.

Insider Tips for the Tourists in Town

Think you know all of the cool sights on the Mall? We bet you'll find these insider tips from the Institution helpful this tourist season

None

What If the Founding Fathers Had Known About Voltron?

Olly Moss, a UK-based graphic designer, riffs on Benjamin Franklin's 1754 political cartoon, "Join, or Die."

None

At the Portrait Gallery: “One Life: Amelia Earhart” Opens 75 Years After Her Disappearance

None

Presidents vs. Monsters and Legends

Page 152 of 179