Leaders
Historical and modern luminaries in business, politics, the military and exploration
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 Prime Minister who Disappeared
In 1967, Harold Holt went for a swim off an Australian beach and never came back. By law, no official inquest could be held without a body. Soon the whispers of conspiracy began.
January 04, 2012 |
By Gilbert King
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
How Thomas Jefferson Created His Own Bible
Thanks to an extensive restoration process, the public can now see how Jefferson created his own version of the Scripture
January 2012 |
By Owen Edwards
Friends in the House, Hostility at Home
Coya Knutson won a seat in the U.S. House in 1954 but was undone by a secret she brought to Washington
December 29, 2011 |
By Gilbert King
The Great Dissenter and his Half-Brother
John Harlan championed racial justice on a hostile Supreme Court. Robert Harlan, a freed slave, achieved renown despite the court's decisions
December 20, 2011 |
By Gilbert King
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
The Man Who Busted the ‘Banksters’
Deceitful loans, self-dealing, unseemly tax avoidance—Ferdinand Pecora exposed it all after the financial collapse of 1929 and helped create a more transparent system
November 29, 2011 |
By Gilbert King
Thomas Jefferson: A Great American Thinker
The author of the Declaration of Independence remains one of the most debated presidents in United States history
November 10, 2011 |
By Smithsonian.com
The Essentials: Five Books on Thomas Jefferson
A Jefferson expert provides a list of indispensable reads about the founding father
November 08, 2011 |
By Megan Gambino
Sabotage in New York Harbor
The explosion on Black Tom Island packed the force of an earthquake. It took investigators years to determine that operatives working for Germany were to blame
November 01, 2011 |
By Gilbert King
November 1861: Flare Ups in the Chain of Command
As Union generals came and left, personalities clashed and Southern farmers set fire to their fields
November 2011 |
By David Zax
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 Power of Imagery in Advancing Civil Rights
"Whether it was TV or magazines, the world got changed one image at a time," says Maurice Berger, curator of a new exhibit at American History
October 2011 |
By Arcynta Ali Childs
Secretary Clough on Jefferson's Bible
The head of the Smithsonian Institution details the efforts American History Museum conservators took to repair the artifact
October 2011 |
By G. Wayne Clough
Long Live the King
A single gunshot rang out in the king of Siam's bedroom in June 1946, ending one reign and beginning another. Uncertainty over how it happened has persisted ever since
September 28, 2011 |
By Gilbert King
Score One for Roosevelt
"Football is on trial," President Theodore Roosevelt declared in 1905. So he launched the effort that saved the game
September 20, 2011 |
By Karen Abbott
Before Steve Jobs: 5 Corporate Innovators who Shaped Our World
The former head of Apple comes from a long line of American innovators who changed society
August 26, 2011 |
By Joseph Stromberg
