Leaders
Historical and modern luminaries in business, politics, the military and exploration
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
The Legacy of America’s Largest Forest Fire
A 1910 wildfire that raged across three Western states helped advance the nation’s conservation efforts
September 17, 2009 |
By Timothy Egan
Dancing Around Abraham Lincoln
Bill T. Jones, one of America’s foremost living choreographers, tackles Lincoln’s complicated legacy in his newest work
September 11, 2009 |
By Rebecca Milzoff
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
On the Hunt for Jefferson's Lost Books
A Library of Congress curator is on a worldwide mission to find exact copies of the books that belonged to Thomas Jefferson
August 11, 2009 |
By Ashley Luthern
Ben Franklin: Patriot, Foodie
American patriot Benjamin Franklin was a fan of food and helped France change their opinion on potatoes
July 02, 2009 |
By Smithsonian.com
Revisiting the First Ladies’ Homes
The oft-overlooked lives of America's first ladies are on display in house museums across the country
June 30, 2009 |
By Robin T. Reid
For General Patton's Family, Recovered Ground
Famed World War II Gen. George S. Patton's grandson finds his calling in the ashes of his fathers journals
June 2009 |
By Benjamin W. Patton
What’s the Deal about New Deal Art?
As the first of the New Deal acts that funded public art projects with federal money, the PWAP produced more than 15,000 works of art in just six months
May 19, 2009 |
By David A. Taylor
Eunice Kennedy Shriver Portrait Unveiled
At the National Portrait Gallery, artist David Lenz pays tribute to a champion for the intellectually disabled
May 11, 2009 |
By Barbara Sanford
Ka’iulani: Hawaii’s Island Rose
In a brief life filled with loss, Princess Ka’iulani established her legacy
May 08, 2009 |
By Janet Hulstrand
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
Genghis Khan’s Treasures
Beneath the ruins of Genghis Khan’s capital city in Central Asia, archaeologists discovered artifacts from cultures near and far
March 25, 2009 |
By Abigail Tucker
Lincoln's Pocket Watch Reveals Long-Hidden Message
The Smithsonian opens one of its prized artifacts and a story unfolds
March 11, 2009 |
By Beth Py-Lieberman
Saving the Jews of Nazi France
As Jews in France tried to flee the Nazi occupation, Harry Bingham, an American diplomat, sped them to safety
March 2009 |
By Peter Eisner
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
Five Rescuers of Those Threatened by the Holocaust
Righteous good Samaritans came from across the world to save Jews and others from concentration camps
February 24, 2009 |
By Marian Holmes
Lincoln's Contested Legacy
Great Emancipator or unreconstructed racist? Each generation evokes a different Lincoln. But who was our sixteenth president?
February 2009 |
By Philip B. Kunhardt III
The Freedom Riders, Then and Now
Fighting racial segregation in the South, these activists were beaten and arrested. Where are they now, nearly fifty years later?
February 2009 |
By Marian Smith Holmes
