Meilan Solly

Meilan Solly

 

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

Tian Tian playing in the snow. Tian Tian, Mei Xiang and their son Xiao Qi Ji will return to China by December 7.

Why the National Zoo Is Saying Goodbye to Its Giant Pandas

Staff remain hopeful that members of the threatened species will be back in Washington in the near future

Stanley Tretick's photos of the March on Washington went unpublished for 50 years.

These Photos of the March on Washington Capture the Urgency and Joy of the Iconic Day

Stanley Tretick documented the demonstration in 1963, but his snapshots were hidden in a trunk, unseen by the public for decades

The remains likely belong to a Qinling panda rather than a Sichuan panda. Pictured: Qi Zai, a Qinling panda born in captivity

Fully Intact Giant Panda Skeleton Discovered in Chinese Emperor's 2,000-Year-Old Tomb

Archaeologists previously found a panda skull in a nearby Han burial, but its torso was missing

The 700-plus gold coins, found in a cornfield in Kentucky, date to between 1840 and 1863.

Trove of 700 Civil War-Era Gold Coins Discovered in Kentucky

An unidentified man found the cache, which may have been buried ahead of a Confederate invasion, in a cornfield earlier this year

A lightsheet used to reveal hidden text in a manuscript of William Camden's Annals. New research suggests the author reworked his biography of Elizabeth I to win the favor of her successor, James VI of Scotland and I of England.

Hidden for 400 Years, Censored Pages Reveal New Insights Into Elizabeth I's Reign

Scholars used advanced imaging to read crossed-out, pasted-over passages in the first official account of the Tudor queen's time on the English throne

The titular "Dial of Destiny" in the new Indiana Jones film is based on the Antikythera mechanism, an ancient device used to chart the cosmos.

The Real History Behind the Archimedes Dial in 'Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny'

A device called the Antikythera mechanism is the true-life basis for the object at the center of the franchise’s latest installment

Thomas Cromwell, Anne Boleyn and Catherine of Aragon all owned a copy of the same Book of Hours.

Prayer Book Owned by Thomas Cromwell, Adviser to Henry VIII, Was Hidden in Plain Sight for Centuries

The Book of Hours appears in a famous painting of the Tudor statesman

Starring Bel Powley as Miep Gies; Joe Cole (of “Peaky Blinders” fame) as her husband, Jan; and Liev Schreiber as Otto, “A Small Light” draws heavily on Gies’ memoir and the showrunners’ original research.

'A Small Light' Tells the Story of Miep Gies, Who Hid Anne Frank From the Nazis

The new series dramatizes the risks Gies and other helpers took to protect the Jewish residents of the Secret Annex

Titled “Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story,” the six-episode limited series stars India Amarteifio as the young queen and Corey Mylchreest as her husband.

The Real History Behind 'Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story'

The new spinoff follows the royal matriarch as she falls in love with George III and navigates his worsening mental illness

Elizabeth II's 1953 coronation portrait

A Not-So-Brief History of British Coronations

Ahead of Charles III’s ceremony, here's what you need to know about the origins and evolution of the centuries-old tradition

Ulysses S. Grant’s 1872 brush with the law marked the first and so far only time a United States president has been arrested while in office. Pictured: Grant with his racehorse Cincinnati

When President Ulysses S. Grant Was Arrested for Speeding in a Horse-Drawn Carriage

The sitting commander in chief insisted the Black police officer who cited him not face punishment for doing his duty

Richard’s life has long sparked debate, with two competing views of the last Yorkist king emerging in the centuries after his reign ended in 1485.

'The Lost King' Dramatizes the Search for Richard III's Remains. The Monarch's Life Was Even More Sensational

A new film offers a sympathetic portrait of the 15th-century ruler, who seized the crown from his nephew before dying on the battlefield

“Marie Antoinette,” a new series premiering in the United States on March 19, is the first major English-language television show to tell the French queen’s story.

Why Marie Antoinette's Reputation Changes With Each Generation

A new television series portrays the French queen as a feminist, drawing criticism from historians

Traute Lafrenz in 2019

Traute Lafrenz, Last Surviving Member of Anti-Nazi Resistance Group the White Rose, Dies at 103

During World War II, the rest of the movement's core members were executed for distributing leaflets critical of the Nazi regime

Edward Brooke-Hitching's The Madman Gallery spotlights such artworks as John Singer Sargent's Portrait of Madame X, a statue of Glycon and Franz Xaver Messerschmidt's Character Heads.

The Most Enigmatic Works in Art History

A new book highlights 100 artistic curiosities, from the nude "Mona Lisa" to portraits of a dog-headed saint

All but seven of the letters were previously thought to be lost.

Code Breakers Discover—and Decipher—Long-Lost Letters by Mary, Queen of Scots

The deposed monarch wrote the 57 encrypted messages during her captivity in England

The gold pendant likely dates to around 1521.

Metal Detectorist Discovers Rare Gold Pendant Celebrating Henry VIII's First Marriage

The heart-shaped accessory features the entwined initials of the Tudor king and Catherine of Aragon

A portrait of Anne d’Alégre, a 17th-century French noblewoman who masked her poor dentition with gold wire and an elephant ivory false tooth

What Secrets Lie Beneath This 17th-Century French Aristocrat's Smile?

New research suggests noblewoman Anne d’Alégre used gold wire to keep her decaying teeth in place

Jill Biden addresses a crowd at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History on January 25. Inaugural ensembles by Gabriella Hearst (left) and Alexandra O'Neill (right) stand next to her.

Jill Biden's Inaugural Attire Is on View at the Smithsonian

The day and evening ensembles are now the centerpiece of the American History Museum's popular "First Ladies" exhibition

The animals were preserved in a different manner than most mummified crocodiles.

Archaeologists in Egypt Unearth 2,500-Year-Old Mummified Crocodiles

The remains include five reptile heads and five nearly intact specimens

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