American History
Weekend Events Sept 9-11: Remembering 9/11, Oral Traditions, and Jazz Competition
Friday, September 9 Remembering 9/11 View the documentary, 9/11: Stories in Fragments, featuring interviews with victims, witnesses and ordinary people from New York, the Pentagon, and Shanksville, Pennsylvania. The Smithsonian Channel production also focuses on the Smithsonian Institution’s collection of September 11th objects and the stories each artifact reflects, as told by museum curators and [...]
September 08, 2011 |
By Joseph Stromberg
Remembering 9/11 at the American History Museum
Visitors from across the country have made a pilgrimage to the Smithsonian to see an exhibit about the fateful day 10 years ago
September 08, 2011 |
By Joseph Stromberg
Events August 29-September 1: Zoo Cuisine, “For All the World To See,” Let’s Eat!, Apache 8
This week, see feeding time for exotic animals, get a guided tour of the Civil Rights movement and more..
August 29, 2011 |
By Joseph Stromberg
Events August 22-25: Addy’s World, Draw & Discover, Child of the Civil Rights Movement and More
Take a unique tour through American history, create your own art, listen to an author speak about civil rights, and enjoy a nighttime tour of an exhibition soon to close
August 22, 2011 |
By Joseph Stromberg
B.F. Skinner’s Pigeon-Guided Rocket
On this date 21 years ago, noted psychologist and inventor B.F. Skinner died; the American History Museum is home to one of his more unusual inventions
August 18, 2011 |
By Joseph Stromberg
How Babe Ruth Changed Baseball
During his storied career, he set dozens of records, altered the fortunes of a number of teams and developed a new style of play that would lead baseball into a golden era
August 16, 2011 |
By Joseph Stromberg
One Funny Lady, or, How I Was Killed by Phyllis Diller
Phyllis Diller's "Gag File"—a file cabinet full of her jokes—goes on display at the National Museum of American History today
August 12, 2011 |
By Smithsonian Staff
Burr, Ogden and Dayton: The Original Jersey Boys
Known as much for their troubles as their successes, these childhood friends left their mark on early American history
August 12, 2011 |
By David O. Stewart
Where Nixon’s Troubles Began
On this day in 1974, President Nixon resigned from his office. Find out how it all started with a file cabinet
August 08, 2011 |
By Joseph Stromberg
Events August 8-11: Student Sit-ins, When Volcanoes Erupt and John Wayne in the Philippines
This week: experience the Greensboro lunch counter sit-ins, get a lesson on volcano scholarship and attend an evening "Mingle at the Museum" event on the topic of race
August 08, 2011 |
By Joseph Stromberg
The “Spirit of Tuskegee” Stearman Lands in DC
After a month-long trip from California to Washington, D.C., a biplane once used to train Tuskegee Airmen arrives at the Smithsonian
August 05, 2011 |
By Megan Gambino
Remembering Marilyn Monroe
Forty-nine years ago today, America's biggest movie star was found dead at the age of 36. Why did she take her own life?
August 05, 2011 |
By Joseph Stromberg
Weekend Events August 5-7: Chinese Comedy, Story Time, and the Star-Spangled Banner
A Chinese film screening, fold the Star-Spangled Banner and other upcoming events for the weekend
August 04, 2011 |
By Joseph Stromberg
The Spirited History of the American Bar
A new book details how the neighborhood pub, tavern, bar or saloon plays a pivotal role in United States history
August 03, 2011 |
By Rebecca Dalzell
On the Flight Path of the Tuskegee Stearman Winging its Way to the Smithsonian
Captain Matt Quy, in his Spirit of Tuskegee Stearman biplane, is on a journey across the United States to deliver his historic aircraft to the National Museum of African American History and Culture
July 27, 2011 |
By Smithsonian Staff
Touring the Tools of Civil War Medicine
The discovery of anesthesia dates to right around 1842, says Judy Chelnick, a curator who works with the medical history collections at the National Museum of American History. But at the start of the Civil War in 1861, effective techniques of administering drugs such as ether had not yet been perfected. Many patients may have [...]
July 25, 2011 |
By Julie Mianecki
“Rescue Me” Stars Visit the Smithsonian
The National Museum of American History gained a little star power yesterday when actors Denis Leary and Lenny Clarke stopped by to donate a few objects from their hit television show, Rescue Me. Rescue Me, which airs on FX, follows a community of post-9/11 New York City firefighters in and out of burning buildings, high-drama [...]
July 15, 2011 |
By Julie Mianecki
Weekend Events July 15-17: The Inca Road, Pheon and More
This weekend take part in a satellite discussion about the Inca Road, Pheon and a look into a new American History exhibition.
July 14, 2011 |
By Brittany Dant
The List: Tour de Smithsonian—Historic Bicycles Worthy of Display
As the pro cyclists in the famed Tour de France approach the Pyrenees Mountains, we suggest a break from your TV viewing of the excitement to see where you can get your bicycle fix at the Smithsonian
July 13, 2011 |
By Jeanne Maglaty
“For All the World to See” Taking Another Look at the Civil Rights Movement
"For All The World To See: Visual Culture and the Struggle for Civil Rights," encourages visitors to take another look at the civil rights movement
July 11, 2011 |
By Arcynta Ali Childs
