Meilan Solly

Meilan Solly

 

Meilan Solly is Smithsonian magazine's associate digital editor, history.

This week's selections include Hidden Valley Road, The Last Voyage of the Andrea Doria and Coffeeland.

Coffee's Dark History, the Sinking of the World's Most Glamorous Ship and Other New Books to Read

The third installment in our weekly series spotlights titles that may have been lost in the news amid the COVID-19 crisis

This week's offerings include How the South Won the Civil War, The Imposteress Rabbit Breeder, and Heaven and Hell.

The Woman Who Gave Birth to Rabbits, a History of Hell and Other New Books to Read

The second installment in our weekly series spotlights titles that may have been lost in the news amid the COVID-19 pandemic

The list includes The Other Madisons: The Lost History of a President's Black Family and The War Queens: Extraordinary Women Who Ruled the Battlefield.

Five New Nonfiction Books to Read While You're Stuck at Home

We're highlighting newly released titles may have been lost in the news as the nation endures the coronavirus pandemic

Cartoonist Albert Uderzo poses with Asterix (R) and Obelix (L) prior to a press conference at the Monnaie de Paris on March 25, 2015.

Albert Uderzo, Co-Creator of 'Asterix and Obelix' Comics, Dies at 92

The pint-sized, mustachioed Gaul immortalized in the French cartoon has spawned films, a theme park and many other spin-offs

A stained glass window designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany is one of many artworks available for your perusal.

68 Cultural, Historical and Scientific Collections You Can Explore Online

Tour world-class museums, read historic cookbooks, browse interactive maps and more

Follow the antics of the National Zoo's giant pandas (above: Tian Tian munching on bamboo) on the Panda Cams.

How to Virtually Explore the Smithsonian From Your Living Room

Tour a gallery of presidential portraits, print a 3-D model of a fossil or volunteer to transcribe historical documents

Follow along with the #SmithsonianEdu hashtag.

Eight Digital Education Resources From Around the Smithsonian

The newly launched #SmithsonianEdu campaign highlights 1.7 million online tools geared specifically toward students and teachers

Charles Lindbergh, Walter Winchell and Franklin D. Roosevelt (L to R) are among the public figures fictionalized in Philip Roth's The Plot Against America.

The True History Behind 'The Plot Against America'

Philip Roth's classic novel, newly adapted by HBO, envisions a world in which Charles Lindbergh wins the 1940 presidential election

A view of the deserted courtyard outside the closed Louvre

How COVID-19 Is Affecting the Cultural World

Museum closures and event cancellations abound as officials rush to contain the new coronavirus' spread

That Mary consigned some 280 Protestants to the flames is both indisputable and indefensible. But as historians have increasingly argued, this number is just one element of a much larger story that warrants contextualization.

The Myth of 'Bloody Mary'

History remembers the English queen as a murderous monster, but the real story of Mary I is far more nuanced

Mapping the Gay Guides’ main function is preserving and publicizing an overlooked, under-studied chapter in LGBTQ history.

This Interactive Map Visualizes the Queer Geography of 20th-Century America

Mapping the Gay Guides visualizes local queer spaces' evolution between 1965 and 1980

The list includes Artemisia Gentileschi, Wilma Mankiller, Frances Glessner Lee and other Oscar-worthy women.

Nine Women Whose Remarkable Lives Deserve the Biopic Treatment

From Renaissance artists to aviation pioneers, suffragists and scientists, these women led lives destined for the silver screen

A Ludus Latrunculorum board found in Roman Britain

The Best Board Games of the Ancient World

Thousands of years before Monopoly, people were playing games like Senet, Patolli and Chaturanga

The tangled history of Scottish independence features such figures as William Wallace, Bonnie Prince Charlie, and Mary, Queen of Scots.

A Not-So-Brief History of Scottish Independence

This primer covers Scottish sovereignty from the Roman era to the Jacobite revolts, the 2014 referendum and Brexit

Following the news of the death of basketball legend Kobe Bryant, this 2007 portrait by Rick Chapman is now on view at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery.

Smithsonian Historians Reflect on Kobe Bryant's Legacy as His Portrait Goes on View

A 2007 photograph of the N.B.A. All-Star offers visitors a chance to pay their respects

Nesyamun was a priest and scribe whose duties included ritualistic chanting and singing.

Listen to the Recreated Voice of a 3,000-Year-Old Egyptian Mummy

Media outlets have likened the sound to a "brief groan," a "long, exasperated 'meh' without the 'm,'" and "rather like 'eeuuughhh'"

Featuring Richard III, Elizabeth I, Queen Victoria, George III and more

Ten Things We've Learned About Britain's Monarchs in the Past Ten Years

From Richard III to Mary, Queen of Scots, and George III, these were the royal revelations detailed during the 2010s

Researchers analyzed 75,688 convict tattoos cataloged in the Digital Panopticon database.

The Victorian Tattooing Craze Started With Convicts and Spread to the Royal Family

A new series of data visualizations offers insights on the practice's historical significance

The Pompeiian sorceress' kit contained about 100 different objects.

Twelve Fascinating Finds Revealed in 2019

The list includes a sorceress' kit, a forgotten settlement, a Renaissance masterpiece and a 1,700-year-old egg

Presenting Smithsonian magazine's top ten stories of 2019

Our Top Ten Stories of 2019

From a 16-million-year-old tree to Confederate soldiers’ diaries, voracious snakes and England’s warrior king, these were the most-read stories of 2019

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