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 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
Media Blows Hot Air About Dinosaur Flatulence
A new study claims dinosaur farts contributed to prehistoric climate change, but don't believe reports that they gassed themselves to death
May 09, 2012 |
By Brian Switek
Ankylosaur Reef
Even though dinosaurs never lived in the sea, a few unfortunate specimens created temporary reefs in ancient oceans
May 07, 2012 |
By Brian Switek
Khrushchev in Water Wings: On Mao, Humiliation and the Sino-Soviet Split
Angered by the way the Soviet Union treated him, Mao Zedong planned revenge on Nikita Khrushchev during the Soviet premier's 1958 visit to Beijing. Mao's weapon: a pool party.
May 04, 2012 |
By Mike Dash
Fossil Testifies to Pachycephalosaur Pain
A damaged skull throws support to the idea that some dome-headed dinosaurs butted heads
May 03, 2012 |
By Brian Switek
Document Deep Dive: A Firsthand Account of the Hindenburg Disaster
Frank Ward was a 17-year-old crewman when he saw the infamous disaster, but his memories of that day are still strong, 75 years later
May 02, 2012 |
By Megan Gambino
New Wrinkle to the Story of the Last Dinosaurs
Were the last dinosaurs thriving or declining just before Tyrannosaurus and kin disappeared?
May 01, 2012 |
By Brian Switek
Document Deep Dive: How the Homestead Act Transformed America
Compare documents filed by the first and last homesteaders in the United States
May 2012 |
By T.A. Frail and Megan Gambino
Gripping Photos of Fallen Soldiers’ Bedrooms
A photographer's images of domestic tranquility pay tribute to U.S. service members
May 2012 |
By T.A. Frail
Should LBJ Be Ranked Alongside Lincoln?
Robert Caro, the esteemed biographer of Lyndon Baines Johnson, talks on the Shakespearean life of the 36th president
May 2012 |
By Ron Rosenbaum
Found: Letters from the Hindenburg
A new addition to the Smithsonian collections tells a new story about the legendary disaster
May 2012 |
By Abigail Tucker
Robben Island: A Monument to Courage
To visit the brutal prison that held Mandela is haunting, yet inspiring
May 2012 |
By Scott Johnson
Los Tres Reyes Remember The Age of the Tríos
The Latin American artists discuss how their career began over 50 years ago
May 2012 |
By Aviva Shen
The Case of the Sleepwalking Killer
The evidence against Albert Tirrell was lurid and damning—until Rufus Choate, a protegé of the great Daniel Webster, agreed to come to the defense
April 30, 2012 |
By Karen Abbott
The Mysterious Teeth of Ostafrikasaurus
A pair of enigmatic teeth might hint that croc-snouted spinosaurs had a deeper history than we presently understand
April 30, 2012 |
By Brian Switek
Pachysuchus Actually a Hidden Dinosaur
A strange jaw fragment, once thought to belong to a crocodile-like predator, turned out to be a dinosaur
April 26, 2012 |
By Brian Switek
