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History

A John Trumbull painting of the death of American General Richard Montgomery at the Battle of Quebec on December 31, 1775

America's 250th Anniversary

How the Thirteen Colonies Tried—and Failed—to Convince Canada to Side With Them During the American Revolution

After peaceful attempts at alliance-building stalled, the Continental Army launched an ill-fated invasion of Quebec in June 1775

An illustration of Witold Pilecki in military uniform in 1939 (left) and as an inmate at Auschwitz in 1940 (right)

The Daring Polish Resistance Fighter Who Volunteered to Be Sent to Auschwitz So He Could Sabotage the Nazi Death Camp From the Inside

Witold Pilecki smuggled reports about Germany’s war crimes to the Allies, urging them to stop the atrocities at Auschwitz by bombing the camp. But his warnings went unheeded

A close-up view of Leonardo da Vinci's Ginevra de' Benci, which depicts a famed Florentine poet

Meet the Mysterious Renaissance Muse Immortalized in the Only Leonardo da Vinci Painting in the Americas

Ginevra de’ Benci was a poet famed for her beauty and intellect. But art historians know little about her beyond the writings and artworks left behind by the men who admired her

This June, North Carolina's Jockey's Ridge is celebrating 50 years as a state park.

How an Indomitable Environmental Activist Saved the Outer Banks From Impending Development

Fifty years ago, Carolista Baum passionately fought to create Jockey’s Ridge State Park, an unusually biodiverse ecosystem of dunes, thickets and marshes

Grave adoption programs—some part of structured, longstanding projects, others more individually driven—offer a touching layer of history that takes many visitors and even seasoned war experts by surprise.

History of Now

Meet the Dedicated Volunteers Who Honor World War II’s Fallen American Service Members by Adopting Their Graves

Europe will commemorate the 80th anniversary of Nazi Germany’s surrender on May 8. But thousands of locals remain committed to preserving year-round the memories of those killed while fighting to liberate the continent

Sophie Mousseau is identified simply as “Arapaho” on one version of the photo and “Dakota” on another.

When a Historian Saw This Haunting Photograph of a Nameless Native Girl, She Decided She Had to Identify Her

In 1868, Sophie Mousseau was photographed at Fort Laramie alongside six white Army officers. But her identity—and her life story—remained unknown for more than a century

Elisabeth was adept at crafting a persona that may not have promoted her standing in the Viennese court but certainly helped shape the public’s perspective of her to this day.

Based on a True Story

The Many Myths of Empress Elisabeth of Austria, the 19th-Century Royal Whose Beauty and Tragic Death Transformed Her Into a Legend

The reluctant empress known as “Sisi” painstakingly crafted her image through portraits and photographs, ensuring she would be remembered in a specific way

A 1960s studio portrait of a baby girl wearing a pink dress

Unraveling the Colorful History of Why Girls Wear Pink and Boys Wear Blue

Children used to wear the same white dresses, regardless of gender. But clothing styles and color preferences shifted in the mid-20th century

An ancient vase depicting the death of Talos, the bronze automaton created by the god Hephaestus to guard the island of Crete

History of Now

Was Talos, the Bronze Automaton Who Guarded the Island of Crete in Greek Myth, an Early Example of Artificial Intelligence?

The mythical sentry was depicted as thinking like a human and showing some human-like tendencies

Get your costumes on. It's slush cup season.

Why Skiers Are Ending the Season With a Splash—and Keeping the Raucous Tradition of Pond Skimming Alive

For nearly 100 years, die-hards have been saying goodbye to winter by speeding down the slopes and water skiing over massive puddles

In Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's 1861 poem "Paul Revere's Ride," the 40-year-old silversmith was a lone hero who "spread the alarm / through every Middlesex village and farm."

America's 250th Anniversary

Paul Revere Wasn’t the Only Midnight Rider Who Dashed Through the Darkness to Warn the Patriots That the British Were Coming

Revere, who was later immortalized in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s famous poem, was one of many riders who rode through the countryside, spreading the alarm on April 18, 1775

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There's More to That

Dive Into the Deeper Story of the American Revolution on How New England and Virginia United Against the British

Inside the steeple of Old North Church and among the Southern Colonies, less familiar stories of the events from 250 years ago emerge

The updated hotel will offer 375 hotel rooms and 372 residences ranging from studios to four-bedrooms.

Eight Historic Moments That Took Place at the Waldorf Astoria New York

The famous hotel reopens this spring after an extensive renovation that began in 2017

Miami's skyline in November 1925, at the height of the Florida land boom

How Dreams of Buried Pirate Treasure Enticed Americans to Flock to Florida During the Roaring Twenties

1925 marked the peak of the Florida land boom. But false advertising and natural disasters thwarted many settlers’ visions of striking it rich in the land of sunshine

The crew of the Mackay-Bennett discovers a Titanic lifeboat adrift while searching for the bodies of those who died in the disaster.

The Long, Strange Trip of the Titanic Victims Whose Remains Surfaced Hundreds of Miles Away, Weeks After the Ship Sank

Rescuers only recovered the bodies of 337 of the 1,500-plus passengers and crew who died in the disaster. Around one-third of these corpses were buried at sea

A batteau is a flat-bottomed vessel, a wooden relic of the 18th century that once carried tobacco, iron and flour through Virginia.

Two Centuries Ago, Batteaumen on Virginia’s James River Ended Long Work Days With a Taste of Freedom

The James River Batteau Company, an outdoor recreation-meets-historical tour business, has designed a dinner cruise that honors the resilience and culinary ingenuity of enslaved boatmen

Prisoners sit by a wire fence following the liberation of Bergen-Belsen in April 1945.

How Bergen-Belsen, Where Anne Frank Died, Was Different From Every Other Nazi Concentration Camp

A new exhibition at the Wiener Holocaust Library in London chronicles the German camp complex’s history, from its origins housing prisoners of war to its afterlife holding displaced persons

Tomatoes from arranged shopping trolleys seen outside a store in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, on March 29, 2025

How the Misrepresentation of Tomatoes as Stinking ‘Poison Apples’ That Provoked Vomiting Made People Afraid of Them for More Than 200 Years

The long and fraught history of the plant shows that it got an unfair reputation from the beginning

Robert Caro, seen here in 1990, worked on a novel based on his time as a newspaperman.

We Rediscovered Robert Caro’s Abandoned Novel About an Intrepid Journalist Buried in His Archives

A deep dive into the legendary biographer’s papers leads to the surprising revelation of a work he has all but forgotten

Jason Sandy mudlarking along the River Thames in London

Cool Finds

History-Hunting Mudlarks Scour London’s Shores to Uncover the City’s Rich Archaeological Treasures

A new exhibition at the London Museum Docklands spotlights hundreds of mudlarking finds, from Bronze Age tools to Viking daggers to medieval spectacles

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