“Mrs. Sherlock Holmes” Takes on the NYPD
When an 18-year-old girl went missing, the police seemed content to let the case grow cold. But Grace Humiston, a soft-spoken private investigator, wouldn't let it lie
August 23, 2011 |
By Karen Abbott
One Man Against Tyranny
A lone German carpenter displays astounding determination, skill and ingenuity—and comes within 8 minutes of assassinating Adolf Hitler at the outset of World War II. So why is Georg Elser's name so nearly forgotten?
August 18, 2011 |
By Mike Dash
Charles Proteus Steinmetz, the Wizard of Schenectady
His contributions to mathematics and electrical engineering made him one of the most beloved and instantly recognizable men of his time.
August 16, 2011 |
By Gilbert King
The Body on Somerton Beach
Name: unknown. Cause of death: unknown. Occupation: unknown. Possessions: a scrap of paper with two words in Persian, torn from a rare first edition book. Welcome to the world's most perplexing cold case.
August 12, 2011 |
By Mike Dash
The Last of the Cornish Packmen
An encounter on a lonely road in the furthest reaches of the English West Country sheds light on the dying days of a once-ubiquitous profession
August 04, 2011 |
By Mike Dash
Minter’s Ring: The Story of One World War II POW
When excavators in Inchon, Korea discovered a U.S. naval officer's ring, they had no knowledge of the pain and suffering associated with its former owner, Minter Dial
August 02, 2011 |
By Gilbert King
The Mystery of Murray Hall
Hall realized his death would set off a national political scandal, inspiring the genuine wonder that he had never been what he seemed
July 21, 2011 |
By Karen Abbott
When Three British Boys Traveled to Medieval England (Or Did They?)
A 1957 "time traveler" recalls "a feeling of unfriendliness and unseen watchers which sent shivers up one’s back"
July 21, 2011 |
By Mike Dash
One Hundred Years of the Indy 500
A century ago, the first Indianapolis 500 race started in high excitement and ended in a muddle
June 2011 |
By Charles Leerhsen
The Early, Deadly Days of Motorcycle Racing
Photographer A.F. Van Order captured the thrills and spills of board-track motorcycle racing in the 1910s
April 2011 |
By David Schonauer
Patience Worth: Author From the Great Beyond
Pearl Curran, a St. Louis housewife, channeled a 17th-century spirit to the heights of 20th-century literary stardom
September 2010 |
By Gioia Diliberto
Tom Swift Turns 100
Tom Swift is turning 100—and he still doesn’t look a day over 18
July 01, 2010 |
By Danny Heitman
Allen Ginsberg's Beat Family Album
The famous beat poet's photographs reveal an American counterculture at work and play
June 2010 |
By Mark Feeney
Filoli: Garden of a Golden Age
Filoli—a lavish early 20th century estate that is the last of its kind—harks back to when San Francisco’s richest families built to dazzle
May 2010 |
By Andrew Purvis
The Top Ten Important Moments in Snowboarding History
Since its mid-1960s inception, snowboarding has seen such a boom in popularity that it is now an event at the Winter Olympics
February 05, 2010 |
By Paul J. MacArthur
The Scurlock Studio: Picture of Prosperity
For more than half a century the Scurlock Studio chronicled the rise of Washington's black middle class
February 2010 |
By David Zax
Radio Activity: The 100th Anniversary of Public Broadcasting
Since its inception, public radio has had a crucial role in broadcasting history - from FDR's "Fireside Chats" to the Internet Age
January 26, 2010 |
By Marina Koestler Ruben
A Forgotten Tennessee Williams Work Now a Motion Picture
Written in the 1950s, The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond was forgotten until it was recently adapted into a major motion picture
January 04, 2010 |
By Chloë Schama
A Spectacular Collection of Native American Quilts
Tribes from the Great Plains used quilts as both a practical replacement of buffalo robes and a storytelling device
January 2010 |
By Owen Edwards
