Meilan Solly

Meilan Solly

 

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

Helen Viola Jackson, who wed U.S. Army veteran James Bolin in 1936, died on December 16 at age 101.

The Last Surviving Widow of a Civil War Veteran Dies at 101

Helen Viola Jackson married James Bolin in 1936, when she was 17 and he was 93

Fascinating finds revealed in 2020 ranged from a portrait of Mary Boleyn to a bust of the Greek god Hermes and one of the world's oldest swords.

Ninety Fascinating Finds Revealed in 2020

This year's most intriguing discoveries include an Aztec skull tower, fossilized footprints and Nazi shipwrecks

“We look forward to building two world-class museums to further amplify these stories and help our country learn more about the impact that women and Latinos have had on the fabric of our nation,” says a Smithsonian spokesperson.

Congress Approves Smithsonian Museums Honoring Women and Latino Americans

The legislative body's year-end spending bill authorized the creation of two much-anticipated museums

“He is setting a fine example for the youth of the country,” said a public health official after the King of Rock 'n' Roll received a vaccine on the set of “The Ed Sullivan Show” in October 1956.

How Elvis Helped America Eliminate Polio

The rock star's much-publicized vaccination inspired reluctant U.S. teens to get inoculated

A family in southern England found the trove of 64 coins while gardening.

Gardeners Unearth Coins Inscribed With Initials of Henry VIII's First Three Wives

The find is one of more than 47,000 recorded by the U.K.'s Portable Antiquities Scheme in 2020

The portal currently features 613,458 entries documenting the people, events and places involved in the transatlantic slave trade.

Who Were America's Enslaved? A New Database Humanizes the Names Behind the Numbers

The public website draws connections between existing datasets to piece together fragmentary narratives

This year's top titles include One Mighty and Irresistible Tide, You Never Forget Your First, and Caste.

The Ten Best History Books of 2020

Our favorite titles of the year resurrect forgotten histories and help explain how the country got to where it is today

The 74-day clash found Argentina and the United Kingdom battling for control of the Falkland Islands, an archipelago in the South Atlantic.

A Brief History of the Falklands War

The latest season of Netflix's "The Crown" dramatizes the 1982 clash between Argentina and the United Kingdom

An estimated 750 million people worldwide tuned in to the July 1981 ceremony.

14 Fun Facts About Princess Diana's Wedding

The royal nuptials—and the couple's tumultuous relationship—feature heavily in season four of Netflix's "The Crown"

“We have submitted the issue to the American people and their will is law,” wrote Democrat William Jennings Bryan (pictured here on the campaign trail) in an 1896 telegram to Republican William McKinley.

Why Defeated Presidential Candidates Deliver Concession Speeches

The tradition dates back to 1896, when William Jennings Bryan conceded the election to William McKinley via telegram

Maine and Nebraska allocate two electoral votes to the statewide winner but allow each congressional district to award one electoral vote to the popular vote winner in their specific locality.

Why Do Maine and Nebraska Split Their Electoral Votes?

Instead of a winner-take-all system, the states use the "congressional district method"

This month's book picks include A Demon-Haunted Land, South to Freedom and The Light Ages.

The Heiress Who Stole a Vermeer, Witchcraft in Post-WWII Germany and Other New Books to Read

These five November releases may have been lost in the news cycle

Anne Boleyn was the only Tudor figure beheaded with a sword instead of an ax.

Why Henry VIII Orchestrated Every Detail of Anne Boleyn's Execution

The Tudor king had his disgraced queen killed by beheading rather than burning

Vanessa Bell, Self Portrait, c. 1952

Spotlighting 500 Years of Women in British Art, From Tudor Portraitists to the Bloomsbury Group

A new show at London's Philip Mould & Company features works by Levina Teerlinc, Vanessa Bell and Clara Birnberg

Anti-war Democrats objected to mail-in voting, citing widespread fears of voter fraud, as well as intimidation on the part of the pro-Republican military.

The Debate Over Mail-In Voting Dates Back to the Civil War

In 1864, Democrats and Republicans clashed over legislation allowing soldiers to cast their ballots from the front

The second season of "The Spanish Princess" presents a highly dramatized version of the Battle of Flodden. In actuality, the queen (seen here in a c. 1520 portrait) never rode directly into battle.

When Catherine of Aragon Led England's Armies to Victory Over Scotland

In 1513, Henry VIII's first queen—acting as regent in her husband's absence—secured a major triumph at the Battle of Flodden

This month's picks include Mantel Pieces, The Dead Are Arising and A Series of Fortunate Events.

How the Alphabet Got Its Order, Malcolm X and Other New Books to Read

These five October releases may have been lost in the news cycle

Woodrow Wilson, seen here at the start of the Paris Peace Conference in January 1919, never publicly acknowledged the pandemic's toll on his country.

What Happened When Woodrow Wilson Came Down With the 1918 Flu?

The president contracted influenza while attending peace talks in Paris, but the nation was never told the full, true story

Novelist and essayist Marilynne Robinson is one of 24 authors featured in "Her Story: A Century of Women Writers."

The Women Writers Who Shaped 20th-Century American Literature

A new show at the National Portrait Gallery spotlights 24 authors, including Lorraine Hansberry, Sandra Cisneros and Maxine Hong Kingston

This month's selections include A Traitor to His Species, The Tsarina's Lost Treasure and The Daughters of Yalta.

Catherine the Great's Lost Treasure, the Rise of Animal Rights and Other New Books to Read

These five September releases may have been lost in the news cycle

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