Time
The past, present and future divided into geologic and historic eras, significant historic and cultural events, and centuries and decadesDiscover Smithsonian articles as they relate to the past, present and future.
The “Latin Lover” and His Enemies
Rudolph Valentino fought a long battle against innuendo about his masculinity right up until he died. But now he seems to have won
June 13, 2012 |
By Gilbert King
Document Deep Dive: The Musical History of "The Star-Spangled Banner"
Was the national anthem really set to the melody of a drinking tune? Take a closer look at the original manuscript of Francis Scott Key's song
June 13, 2012 |
By Megan Gambino
The Ax Murderer Who Got Away
One hundred years ago this week, a family of six were murdered by ax in the little town of Villisca, Iowa. Might those killings be linked to as many as nine other multiple ax murders that occurred across the North-West and Midwest in 1911-12?
June 08, 2012 |
By Mike Dash
Fritz Haber’s Experiments in Life and Death
The German chemist helped feed the world. Then he developed the first chemical weapons used in battle
June 06, 2012 |
By Gilbert King
Run Out of Town on an Ass
According to legend, Queen Victoria, informed of an early president's angry insult to her ambassador, struck Bolivia off the map. But is it true?
June 04, 2012 |
By Mike Dash
The New Hot Item on the Housing Market: Bomb Shelters
The cold war may be over, but sales of a new breed of bomb shelter are on the rise. Prepare to survive Armageddon in style
June 2012 |
By Abigail Tucker
The War of 1812: 200 Years Later
What is there to remember about the battles long relegated to footnote status? More than you might think!
June 01, 2012 |
By Smithsonian magazine
The Fantastic Gliding Stegosaurus
Stegosaurus was as aerodynamic as a brick, but one writer thought the prickly dinosaur used its huge plates for gliding
May 30, 2012 |
By Brian Switek
NASA Looks to Protect Historic Sites on the Moon
Scientists worry that a contest to send robotic rovers to the moon will threaten lunar landmarks
May 2012 |
By Michael Milstein
“I Was Looking Forward to a Quiet Old Age”
Instead, Etta Shiber, a widow and former Manhattan housewife, helped smuggle stranded Allied soldiers out of Nazi-occupied in Paris
May 25, 2012 |
By Karen Abbott
Social Sauropods?
A bonebed in Argentina with three sauropods of different sizes adds new evidence that some of these dinosaurs were social creatures
May 25, 2012 |
By Brian Switek
A Restored Version of Let There Be Light Available Online
Here's your chance to see a haunting and long suppressed WWII documentary about PTSD
May 25, 2012 |
By Daniel Eagan
Pass it on: The Secret that Preceded the Indian Rebellion of 1857
British officials were alarmed at the rapid distribution of mysterious Indian breads across much of the Raj
May 24, 2012 |
By Mike Dash
New Dinosaur Signifies Dawn of Stubby-Armed Predators
A newly described abelisaurid pushes back the history of the blunt-skulled, stubby-armed predators
May 24, 2012 |
By Brian Switek
Team Hollywood’s Secret Weapons System
During World War II, Hedy Lamarr raised $7 million in one night by kissing war-bond buyers. But she and the Hollywood composer George Anthiel also designed a radical new torpedo-guidance system
May 23, 2012 |
By Gilbert King
The 10 Things You Didn’t Know About the War of 1812
Why did the country really go to war against the British? Which American icon came out of the forgotten war?
May 22, 2012 |
By Tony Horwitz and Brian Wolly
Utahceratops Debut
There was a full artistic reconstruction in the 2010 paper that described the dinosaur, but it's another thing altogether to see the dinosaur's reconstructed skeleton
May 21, 2012 |
By Brian Switek
Hitler’s Very Own Hot Jazz Band
American troops tuning in to wartime German radio broadcasts found themselves listening to one of Hitler's strangest experiments: the swinging sounds and virulently pro-Nazi lyrics of Charlie and His Orchestra
May 17, 2012 |
By Mike Dash
Sacrifice Amid the Ice: Facing Facts on the Scott Expedition
Captain Lawrence Oates wrote that if Robert Scott's team didn't win the race to the South Pole, "we shall come home with our tails between our legs." Actually, worse was in store
May 16, 2012 |
By Gilbert King
A Death at Home Plate
"Nobody ever remembers anything about me except one thing," Yankees pitcher Carl Mays would say. The circumstances surrounding his beaning of Ray Chapman made sure of that
May 09, 2012 |
By Gilbert King
