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History

These coins have long been attributed as having come directly from the initial James Smithson's bequest but recent scholarship refutes the claim.

How James Smithson’s Money Built the Smithsonian

In 1838, 104,960 sovereigns from the bequest of a learned Englishman were reminted in the U.S. to fund the “increase and diffusion of knowledge”

Park Ranger Leonard Landa with the bear that killed Michele Koons.

The Deadly Grizzly Bear Attacks That Changed the National Park Service Forever

Visitors to Glacier National Park had long conditioned the predators to seek food from humans, making the maulings somewhat inevitable

Jenks' mice, preserved at Harvard in alcohol in a 12-inch tall glass jar, are each tagged with critical information.

A Scholar Follows a Trail of Dead Mice and Discovers a Lesson in Why Museum Collections Matter

A former Smithsonian curator authors a new book, Inside the Lost Museum

Kim Novak and Sammy Davis Jr.'s relationship endangered both of their careers.

Hollywood Loved Sammy Davis Jr. Until He Dated a White Movie Star

A decade before the Supreme Court ruled in favor of interracial marriage, the Rat Packer risked losing his career—and his life

U.S. senators Ben Nighthorse Campbell, dressed in ceremonial Northern Cheyenne regalia, and Daniel K. Inouye, a member of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, stand with Native American Vietnam veterans during the opening of the National Museum of the American Indian in 2004.

A New Memorial Will Soon Honor the Heroism of Native American Veterans

For design ideas and funding, the National Museum of the American Indian turns to its community

Mahatma Gandhi, center, confers with leaders of the All-India Congress Party, Aug. 1942

The Speech That Brought India to the Brink of Independence

Although the 1942 ‘Quit India’ movement was hardly peaceful, Gandhi’s ‘Do or Die’ address inspired a nation to unify against its British colonizers

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Japan’s Surrender in WWII Ushered in a New World Order

On September 2, 1945, Japan delivered its unconditional surrender in WWII. Twelve million American troops went home as civilians

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A Brief History of Eclipse Chasers

They also go by umbraphiles, coronaphiles, eclipsoholics and ecliptomaniacs

Did a Nazi Submarine Attack a Chemical Plant in North Carolina?

Multiple eyewitnesses say that one night in 1943, their calm, quiet beach briefly became a war zone

While presidents have the power to pardon, their decision to use it isn't always popular. Just look at this anti-Ford button made in response to his pardoning of Richard Nixon.

History of Now

A Brief History of Presidential Pardons

The power bestowed upon the chief executive to excuse past misdeeds has involved a number of famous Americans

Michael Twitty, a culinary historian and living-history interpreter at the Stagville Plantation in Durham, North Carolina.

Food Historian Reckons With the Black Roots of Southern Food

In his new book, Michael Twitty shares the contributions that enslaved African-Americans and their descendants have made to southern cuisine

The annual swan upping ceremony of the queen's swans on the Thames.

Europe

The Fascinating, Regal History Behind Britain’s Swans

The aristocratic bird’s has a legacy as a luxury status symbol that dates back centuries

This summer, Smithsonian reporters took a behind-the-scenes tour of the Freer Gallery and shot exclusive photographs of the building in its preparatory state.

Take an Exclusive Sneak Peek Inside the Renovated Freer Gallery, Reopening in October

Charles Lang Freer gifted this meditative haven for art lovers to the nation and was James McNeill Whistler’s friend and patron

North Korean soldiers carry flags and a photo of late leader Kim Il-sung during a military parade on Saturday, April 15, 2017, in Pyongyang, North Korea.

History of Now

Why North Korea Needs an Enemy Like America to Survive

The nation’s complicated history hinges on three words that explain the totalitarian regime’s behavior

Highly social, narwhals travel in pods, often broken off by sex, and communicate via complex vocalizations that seem to be specific to their herds.

Does the Narwhal’s Majestic Tusk Have a Point?

A Connecticut dentist, turned curator of a new exhibition, has long worked to solve the secrets of the whale’s characteristic horn

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