At Home with the Darwins
Recipes offer an intimate glimpse into the life of Charles Darwin and his family
January 23, 2009 |
By Kathleen M. Burke
A Capitol Vision From a Self-Taught Architect
In 1792, William Thornton designed America's defining monument, where a new visitor center opens in December
December 2008 |
By Fergus M. Bordewich
Mark Catesby's New World
The artist sketched American wildlife for Europe's high society, educating them on the creatures living among the unexplored lands
December 01, 2008 |
By Megan Gambino
Montpelier and the Legacy of James Madison
The recently restored Virginia estate of James Madison was home to a founding father and the ideals that shaped a nation
October 20, 2008 |
By Kenneth R. Fletcher
The First “Teflon” Hero
What July 4th, 1754 reveals about George Washington’s survival skills
June 2008 |
By Kenneth C. Davis
A Brief History of Pierre L’Enfant and Washington, D.C.
How one Frenchman’s vision became our capital city
May 01, 2008 |
By Kenneth R. Fletcher
The Gentleman Pirate
How Stede Bonnet went from wealthy landowner to villain on the sea
August 01, 2007 |
By Amy Crawford
A Brief History of the Amber Room
Dubbed the "Eighth Wonder of the World," the room that once symbolized peace was stolen by Nazis then disappeared for good
August 01, 2007 |
By Jess Blumberg
100 Days That Shook the World
The all-but-forgotten story of the unlikely hero who ensured victory in the American Revolution
July 2007 |
By John Ferling
Organization Man
Carl Linnaeus, born 300 years ago, brought order to nature's blooming, buzzing confusion
May 2007 |
By Kennedy Warne
Digitizing the Hanging Court
Cutpurses! Blackguards! Fallen women! The Proceedings of the Old Bailey is an epic chronicle of crime and vice in early London. Now anyone with a computer can search all 52 million words
April 2007 |
By Guy Gugliotta
Second Time Around
Invented by Ben Franklin but lost to history, the glass harmonica has been resurrected by modern musicians
February 01, 2007 |
By Catherine Clarke Fox
Doctor Feelgood
Stricken by "vile melancholy," the 18th-century critic and raconteur Samuel Johnson pioneered a modern therapy
January 2007 |
By John Geirland
Marie Antoinette
The teenage queen, now the subject of a new movie, was embraced by France in 1770. Twenty-three years later, she lost her head to the guillotine. (But she never said, "Let them eat cake")
November 2006 |
By Richard Covington
Encore! Encore!
Lorenzo Da Ponte was a hit in Europe: a courtier, a cad, the librettist for Mozart's finest operas. But the New World truly tested his creative powers.
September 2006 |
By Christopher Porterfield
Home Is the Sailor
One hundred years ago this month, John Paul Jones was welcomed home with great fanfare at the U.S. Naval Academy. But was the body really his?
April 2006 |
By Adam Goodheart
Fatal Triangle
How a dark tale of love, madness and murder in 18th-century London became a story for the ages
May 2005 |
By John Brewer
Off to the Races
Before the American Revolution, no Thoroughbred did more for racing's growing popularity than a plucky mare named Selima
August 2004 |
By John Eisenberg
Salem Sets Sail
After the Revolutionary War, ships from a little Massachusetts seaport brought the new nation wares from China and the mysterious East
June 2004 |
By Doug Stewart
A Mystery in Miniature
An enigmatic button once decorated the uniform of Haitian liberator Toussaint Louverture
January 2000 |
By Anne Geracimos
