Early 19th Century
Going Mad for Charles Dickens
Two centuries after his birth, the novelist is still wildly popular, as a theme park, a new movie and countless festivals attest
February 2012 |
By Joshua Hammer
A Mischievous St. Nick from the American Art Museum
The 19th-century artist Robert Walter Weir took inspiration from Washington Irving to create a prototype of Santa Claus
December 2011 |
By Owen Edwards
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
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
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
A Murder in Salem
In 1830, a brutal crime in Massachusetts riveted the nation—and inspired the writings of Edgar Allan Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne
November 2010 |
By E.J. Wagner
A Seminole Warrior Cloaked in Defiance
A pair of woven, beaded garters reflects the spirit of Seminole warrior Osceola
October 2010 |
By Owen Edwards
Ireland's Forgotten Sons Recovered Two Centuries Later
In Pennsylvania, amateur archaeologists unearth a mass grave of immigrant railroad workers who disappeared in 1832
April 2010 |
By Abigail Tucker
Meriwether Lewis' Mysterious Death
Two hundred years later, debate continues over whether the famous explorer committed suicide or was murdered
October 09, 2009 |
By Abigail Tucker
Star-Spangled Banner Back on Display
After a decade’s conservation, the flag that inspired the National Anthem returns to its place of honor on the National Mall
November 2008 |
By Robert M. Poole
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
Saving New Orleans
In a new book, "Patriot Fire," the author of "Forrest Gump" paints an uncommonly vivid picture of an overlooked chapter in American history -- and its unlikely hero.
August 2006 |
By Winston Groom
Capitol Discovery
Senate staffers come across a historic treasure in a dusty storage room
June 2003 |
By Philip Kopper
The Object at Hand
All but two of 104,960 sovereigns from a learned Englishman with no birthright were reminted here to fund the kind of institution he had in mind
May 1996 |
By Edwards Park
