The Most Terrible Polar Exploration Ever: Douglas Mawson’s Antarctic Journey
A century ago, Douglas Mawson saw his two companions die and found himself stranded in the midst of Antarctic blizzards. His epic three-week march to safety is one of the greatest survival stories in the history of polar exploration
January 27, 2012 |
By Mike Dash
The Doomed South Pole Voyage's Remaining Photographs
A 1912 photograph proves explorer Captain Robert Scott reached the South Pole—but wasn't the first
January 2012 |
By Victoria Olsen
Henry Morton Stanley's Unbreakable Will
The explorer of Dr. Livingstone-fame provides a classic character study of how willpower works
December 2011 |
By Roy F. Baumeister and John Tierney
Naval Gazing: The Enigma of Étienne Bottineau
In 1782, an unknown French engineer offered an invention better than radar: the ability to detect ships hundreds of miles away
October 13, 2011 |
By Mike Dash
Alfred W. Crosby on the Columbian Exchange
The historian discusses the ecological impact of Columbus’ landing in 1492 on both the Old World and the New World
October 05, 2011 |
By Megan Gambino
What Became of the Taíno?
The Indians who greeted Columbus were long believed to have died out. But a journalist's search for their descendants turned up surprising results
October 2011 |
By Robert M. Poole
The Waldseemüller Map: Charting the New World
Two obscure 16th-century German scholars named the American continent and changed the way people thought about the world
December 2009 |
By Toby Lester
Meriwether Lewis' Mysterious Death
Two hundred years later, debate continues over whether the famous explorer committed suicide or was murdered
October 09, 2009 |
By Abigail Tucker
Columbus' Confusion About the New World
The European discovery of America opened possibilities for those with eyes to see. But Columbus was not one of them
October 2009 |
By Edmund S. Morgan
Q and A: Astronaut Buzz Aldrin on the Moon
Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the moon, reflects on the Apollo 11 mission
August 2009 |
By Joseph Caputo
Finding Feisty Fungi in Antarctica
In a place where no one believed they existed–-treeless Antartica–wood fungi are feasting on polar exploration relics
May 2009 |
By Emily Stone
Who Discovered the North Pole?
A century ago, explorer Robert Peary earned fame for discovering the North Pole, but did Frederick Cook get there first?
April 2009 |
By Bruce Henderson
Who Discovered Machu Picchu?
Controversy swirls as to whether an archaeologist's claim to fame as the discoverer of Machu Picchu has any merit
March 2009 |
By Peter Eisner
A Yankee in China
William Lindesay follows the trail of forgotten traveler, William Edgar Geil, the first man to traverse the Great Wall of China.
August 01, 2008 |
By Megan Gambino
Wonders and Whoppers
Following in Marco Polo's footsteps through Asia leads our intrepid author to some surprising conclusions
July 2008 |
By Mike Edwards
The Lost Fort of Columbus
On his voyage to the Americas in 1492, the explorer built a small fort somewhere in the Caribbean
January 2008 |
By Frances Maclean
The Man Who Sailed the World
Ferdinand Magellan's global journey gave him fame, but took his life
June 01, 2007 |
By Haley Crum
Lewis and Clark: The Journey Ends
The triumphant return of the Lewis and Clark expedition
December 2005 |
By Smithsonian magazine
Push to the Pacific
Guided by the Nez Percé, the men and women of the corps reach the Columbia amid threats for their lives
October 2005 |
By Smithsonian magazine
Cold and Hungry
When snow blankets the mountains, the expedition is once again imperiled
September 2005 |
By Smithsonian magazine
