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History

Fears materialized when a series of deadly botulism cases struck unassuming consumers throughout the country.

The Botulism Outbreak That Gave Rise to America’s Food Safety System

In late 1919 and early 1920, scientists and canners worked with the government to protect the public from the deadly toxin

Elaine Defendants, Helena, Phillips County, Ark., ca. 1910,

The Massacre of Black Sharecroppers That Led the Supreme Court to Curb the Racial Disparities of the Justice System

White Arkansans, fearful of what would happen if African-Americans organized, took violent action, but it was the victims who ended up standing trial

At a time when factional tensions on Earth were running rampant, Earthrise served to remind us of our cosmic insignificance.

These Images From 1968 Capture an America in Violent Flux

A one-room show at the National Portrait Gallery is a hauntingly relevant 50-year-old time capsule

The Royal Library where the bill was found

The Prince Who Preordered Jane Austen’s First Novel

The future George IV was a big fan of the author, a feeling she half-heartedly reciprocated with a dedication years later

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When Air Traffic Control Realized a 9/11 Flight Was Gone

As news starts pouring in of an attack on the World Trade Center, concerned air traffic controllers begin to suspect the worst

Republican presidential candidate Richard Nixon smiles for the cameras during a 1968 news conference.

Fifty Years Ago, a Conservative Activist Launched an Effort to Record All Network News Broadcasts

Convinced of rampant bias on the evening news, Paul Simpson founded the Vanderbilt Television News Archive, a repository that continues to grow today

Luisa Moreno, born to a wealthy Guatemalan family, struck out on her own at a young age, eager to alter the world around her for the better.

Guatemalan Immigrant Luisa Moreno Was Expelled From the U.S. for Her Groundbreaking Labor Activism

The little-known story of an early champion of workers’ rights receives new recognition

Scientists don full-body suits to minimize contamination and disturbance of the precious artifacts uncovered in the 1617 church in Jamestown, Virginia, where a new skeleton awaits identification.

A Jamestown Skeleton is Unearthed, but Only Time—and Science—Will Reveal His True Identity

Jamestown Rediscovery archeologists use new technology to uncover the bones of one of the first English colonists

Heinz is why ketchup seemed to become distinctly American.

A Brief (But Global) History of Ketchup

Canada recently slapped a tariff on U.S. exports of ketchup, and the EU plans to do the same. But is the condiment all that American?

Fire fighters attempt to douse a smoldering building on Superior following the shootout in the Glenville neighborhood of Cleveland on July 23, 1968.

What Happened When Violence Broke Out on Cleveland’s East Side 50 Years Ago?

In the summer of 1968, the neighborhood of Glenville erupted in “urban warfare,” leaving seven dead and heightening police-community tensions

The image on the left is a wood engraving that was likely commissioned by a popular magazine hostile to abolitionism and happy to render Angelina strangely distorted. This is the first time that it has been published next to the photo on the right, on which it was based and which was likely taken in the 1840s.

The South Carolina Aristocrat Who Became a Feminist Abolitionist

After moving to Philadelphia and joining the Quakers, Angelina Grimké rededicated her life to fighting for racial equality

The Naturalization Act of 1906 federalized the naturalization process, allowing millions of immigrants a smoother process for becoming U.S. citizens.

History of Now

Stripping Naturalized Immigrants of Their Citizenship Isn’t New

The United States has a history of denaturalization spanning more than a century

The Gilbert Stuart painting “Portrait of George Washington’s Cook” may depict Hercules, the first president’s famous chef.

How Enslaved Chefs Helped Shape American Cuisine

Black cooks created the feasts that gave the South its reputation for hospitality

Pictured at center, Yekaterina Budanova was one of the only women fighter pilots of World War II, and remains one of the most successful in history.

A Soviet Ace Shot Down Nazi Pilots With Great Skill, But Her Feats Are Mostly Forgotten Today

Yekaterina Budanova, who died in combat 75 years ago today, reveals a larger story about the complicated history of women soldiers in the Red Army

A sign marks the spot on Nauset Beach

How a Tiny Cape Cod Town Survived World War I’s Only Attack on American Soil

A century ago, a German U-boat fired at five vessels and a Massachusetts beach before slinking back out to sea

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