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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
Burr, Ogden and Dayton: The Original Jersey Boys
Known as much for their troubles as their successes, these childhood friends left their mark on early American history
August 12, 2011 |
By David O. Stewart
If There’s a Man Among Ye: The Tale of Pirate Queens Anne Bonny and Mary Read
Renowned for their ruthlessness, these two female pirates challenged the sailors’ adage that a woman’s presence on shipboard invites bad luck
August 09, 2011 |
By Karen Abbott
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
How to Trademark a Fruit
To protect the fruits of their labor and thwart "plant thieves," early American growers enlisted artists
August 2011 |
By Daniel J. Kevles
David O’Keefe: The King of Hard Currency
The Irish American immigrant made a fortune by supplying the giant stone coins prized by Yap islanders
July 28, 2011 |
By Mike Dash
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
America’s First Great Global Warming Debate
Thomas Jefferson and Noah Webster argue over conventional wisdom that lasted thousands of years
July 15, 2011 |
By Joshua Kendall
Ask an Expert: What Did Abraham Lincoln’s Voice Sound Like?
Civil War scholar Harold Holzer helps to decode what spectators heard when the 16th president spoke
June 07, 2011 |
By Megan Gambino
How Charles Dickens Saw London
Sketches by Boz, the volume of newspaper columns that became Dickens’ first book, invokes a colorful view of 19th-century England
June 06, 2011 |
By Rebecca Dalzell
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
Documenting the Death of an Assassin
In 1865, a single photograph was taken during the autopsy of John Wilkes
Booth. Where is it now?
May 06, 2011 |
By Ashley Luthern
Food From the Age of Shakespeare
By using cookbooks from the 17th century, one intrepid writer attempts to recreate dishes the Bard himself would have eaten
April 22, 2011 |
By Amy Arden
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
Velázquez: Embodiment of a Golden Age
The magic of Velázquez has influenced artists from his contemporaries to Manet and Picasso
April 2011 |
By Jamie Katz
Gauguin's Bid for Glory
Of all the images created by the artist Paul Gauguin, none was more striking than the one he crafted for himself
March 2011 |
By Ann Morrison
The Waterway That Brought the Pilgrims to Plymouth
Town Brook gave sustenance to the Plymouth’s early settlers, but years of dam building have endangered the struggling stream
November 22, 2010 |
By Abigail Tucker
