Meilan Solly

Meilan Solly

 

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

Fascinating finds unveiled in 2022 ranged from a 2,000-year-old statue of a dog to colorful sarcophagi at Saqqara to a Qing dynasty vase.

Ninety-Six Fascinating Finds Revealed in 2022

The year's most exciting discoveries included hidden portraits by Cézanne and van Gogh, sarcophagi buried beneath Notre-Dame, and a medieval wedding ring

This year's picks include Half American, Saving Yellowstone and River of the Gods.

The Ten Best History Books of 2022

Our favorite titles of the year resurrect forgotten histories and illuminate how the nation ended up where it is today

Rhea L. Combs (left) and Ava DuVernay (right) share a laugh in front of DuVernay’s portrait during the National Portrait Gallery's 2022 Portrait of a Nation Gala on Saturday, November 12, 2022.

See Stunning Portraits of Ava DuVernay, José Andrés and the Williams Sisters

The National Portrait Gallery's 2022 Portrait of a Nation Award honors seven changemakers, from Anthony Fauci to Clive Davis

Prince Charles and Princess Diana in South Korea in November 1992, shortly before they officially separated

Why 1992 Was Such a 'Horrible Year' for Elizabeth II and the Royal Family

The fifth season of "The Crown" explores the dissolution of Charles and Diana's marriage, a catastrophic fire and other Windsor tragedies

From Henry VII’s usurpation of the throne in 1485 to the death of Elizabeth in 1603, Tudor monarchs relied on paintings, sculptures, tapestries and other art forms to legitimize their nascent dynasty.

Why Art Was Such a Powerful Tool for England's Tudor Monarchs

An exhibition at the Met features 100-plus paintings, sculptures, decorative works and objects that testify to the splendor of 16th-century English court

“The first people to look at the Rosetta Stone thought it would take two weeks to decipher,” says Edward Dolnick, author of The Writing of the Gods: The Race to Decode the Rosetta Stone. “It ended up taking 20 years.”

Two Hundred Years Ago, the Rosetta Stone Unlocked the Secrets of Ancient Egypt

French scholar Jean-François Champollion announced his decipherment of Egyptian hieroglyphs on September 27, 1822

The Woman King tells the story of the Agojie, an elite, all-woman army in the West African kingdom of Dahomey.

The Real Warriors Behind 'The Woman King'

A new film stars Viola Davis as the leader of the Agojie, the all-woman army of the African kingdom of Dahomey

Catherine de' Medici was the mother of three kings.

The Many Myths of Catherine de' Medici

A new Starz series, "The Serpent Queen," dramatizes the life of the much-maligned 16th-century ruler

Digital facial reconstructions of two of the individuals found in the well, based on skeletal remains and DNA

Bones Found in Medieval Well Likely Belong to Victims of Anti-Semitic Massacre

A new DNA analysis suggests the 17 individuals were Ashkenazi Jews murdered in Norwich, England, in 1190

Designer Samantha Black created three special-edition outfits for Claudie.

New American Girl Doll Celebrates Black Joy During the Harlem Renaissance

Nine-year-old Claudie Wells' story unfolds in 1920s New York

Abigail Barlow (bottom left) and Emily Bear (bottom right) won a Grammy for their Unofficial Bridgerton Musical.

What the 'Unofficial Bridgerton Musical' Lawsuit Means for Fan-Created Content

Netflix has accused the songwriting duo behind the viral production of stealing copyrighted material for their own financial gain

Experts were unable to pinpoint a cause of death, but three medical witnesses who testified during an inquest into the Somerton Man case agreed that his passing “was not natural.” 

Have Scholars Finally Identified the Mysterious Somerton Man?

New DNA analysis suggests a body found on a beach in Australia in 1948 belongs to Carl Webb, an electrical engineer from Melbourne

In May 1536, Henry had his second wife, Anne Boleyn, beheaded on trumped-up charges of adultery and incest. For centuries, historians blamed Anne's sister-in-law, Jane Boleyn, for testifying against the queen—but new research calls this claim into question.

The Myths of Lady Rochford, the Tudor Noblewoman Who Supposedly Betrayed George and Anne Boleyn

Historians are reevaluating Jane Boleyn's role in her husband and sister-in-law's downfall

A marine archaeologist examines one of the engraved Purbeck gravestones recovered from the 13th-century Mortar Wreck.

England's Oldest Surviving Shipwreck Is a 13th-Century Merchant Vessel

Carrying a cargo of locally sourced limestone, the so-called Mortar Wreck likely sank off the Dorset coast during the reign of Henry III

A pair of rock reliefs found at Rabana-Merquly may depict Natounissar, an ancient Adiabene king linked to the lost city of Natounia.

Why Archaeologists Think They've Found the Lost City of Natounia

New research draws on rock reliefs and ancient coins to link the Rabana-Merquly fortress in Iraq to a vassal state of the Parthian Empire

The memes place their subjects in situations ranging from historically significant to hilariously obscure, including the Battle of Lexington, the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire and more.

Why American Girl Dolls Are Starring in Viral History Memes

The popular posts call for characters who witnessed the Salem Witch Trials, JFK's assassination and other historical events

Literary scholar Vanessa Braganza suggests that Catherine commissioned the pendant design as "a sign of her conviction of her own enduring legitimacy."

The Secrets of a Long-Overlooked Cipher Linked to Catherine of Aragon

Henry VIII's first wife may have commissioned the design as an act of defiance during the Tudor king's attempt to divorce her

Bradford Freeman died on Sunday, July 3, at age 97.

Bradford Freeman, Last Surviving Member of WWII 'Band of Brothers,' Dies at 97

The Easy Company veteran parachuted into France on D-Day and fought in major European campaigns during the last year of the war

Reconstruction of marble finial in the form of a sphinx (detail), 2022, by Vinzenz Brinkmann and Ulrike Koch-Brinkmann

See the Vibrant, Long-Overlooked Colors of Classical Sculptures

A new exhibition at the Met features brightly hued reconstructions of ancient Greco-Roman artworks

Attorney Gloria Allred (left) and Norma McCorvey (right), the anonymous plaintiff in Roe v. Wade, during a pro-choice rally in Burbank, California, on July 4, 1989

Who Was Norma McCorvey, the Woman Behind Roe v. Wade?

Dubbed "Jane Roe," McCorvey sought an abortion after becoming pregnant in 1969 but was thwarted by Texas' restrictive reproductive laws

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