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History

Joint press conference

In the Darkest Days of World War II, Winston Churchill’s Visit to the White House Brought Hope to Washington

Never has overstaying one’s welcome been so important

Bernardo de Galvez Statue, Central Business District, New Orleans, Louisiana

The Little-Remembered Ally Who Helped America Win the Revolution

Bernardo de Galvez’s involvement may not have been altruistic, but his contributions made a difference nonetheless

Fragment from a flag that read "'Kaiser' Wilson Banner East Gate White House Monday, August 13, 1917." The original banner read "Kaiser Wilson Have You Forgotten Your Sympathy With the Poor Germans Because They Were Not Self-Governed? 20,000,000 American Women Are Not Self-Governed. Take the Beam Out of Your Own Eye"

Commentary

‘Mr. President, How Long Must Women Wait For Liberty?’

In January 1917, women took turns picketing the White House with a voice empowered by American democracy

George Washington's handwritten inaugural speech, currently on display at the National Archives.

Inauguration History

The Speech and Bible From George Washington’s First Inauguration Made History Many Times Over

The first president created the tradition of giving an inaugural address and swearing the oath of office on a Bible

Ned Buntline, Bufalo Bill Cody, Giuseppina Morlacchi, Texas Jack Omohundro (1846-1880)

Murder, Marriage and the Pony Express: Ten Things You Didn’t Know About Buffalo Bill

His adventures were sensationalized in print and the Wild West show, but reality was more complicated—and compelling

British double-agent Guy Burgess was one member of the Cambridge Five ring of spies.

The Student and the Spy: How One Man’s Life Was Changed by the Cambridge Five

An unlikely friendship with Guy Burgess, the infamous British double-agent, brought unexpected joy to Stanley Weiss

The impacts from the Nimbus satellites (Nimbus-1 pictured here) made a lasting mark on meteorology and climate science that can still be felt today.

The Day the Nimbus Weather Satellite Exploded

The writer’s grandfather recalls a seminal moment in the Space Race

Harry Houdini by unknown artist, 1920

The Innovative Spirit fy17

Escape Artist Harry Houdini Was an Ingenious Inventor, He Just Didn’t Want Anybody to Know

More than just a magician, Houdini was also an actor, aviator, amateur historian and businessman

"No one on earth can be totally secure, because nothing can completely protect you from life’s tragedies and the relentless passage of time.”

Michael Jackson, Donald Trump and Other Famous Americans Who Escaped Brushes With Death

The roads not taken for these 13 lucky souls saved their lives

Kiya Anderson has a father in prison and a mother who is unable to care for her. She has lived in numerous foster homes.

American Incarceration

The Everyday Struggle of a Child Whose Parents Are Incarcerated

With more American men and women in prison than ever before in our history, millions of children are struggling with the effects of a fractured family life

From left to right: Ricky Jackson is finally a free man; Japanese Americans head into internment in 1942; a Maryland boy (in red) has an inmate mom.

American Incarceration

The Far-Reaching Effects of American Incarceration

Three photo essays explore the history and modern-day consequences of the world’s highest incarceration rate

“Time is weird in prison,” says Ricky Jackson, in Cleveland near the scene of the murder he was wrongly convicted of in 1975, “because you don’t see a lot of change.”

American Incarceration

After 39 Years of Wrongful Imprisonment, Ricky Jackson Is Finally Free

Locked up for a murder he didn’t commit, he served the longest sentence of any U.S. inmate found to be innocent

Kiyoshi Katsumoto at his home in El Cerrito, California, 2015

American Incarceration

The Injustice of Japanese-American Internment Camps Resonates Strongly to This Day

During WWII, 120,000 Japanese-Americans were forced into camps, a government action that still haunts victims and their descendants

Mount McKinley

Visit These Ten Sites Celebrating Major Anniversaries in 2017

From Jane Austen’s 200th anniversary to the founding of Denali National Park, there are plenty of events to fill your calendar

Lin Huiyin and Liang Sicheng on honeymoon in Europe

The Couple Who Saved China’s Ancient Architectural Treasures Before They Were Lost Forever

As the nation teetered on the brink of war in the 1930s, two Western-educated thinkers struck out for the hinterlands to save their country’s riches

The warrior was buried in an olive grove outside the acropolis of Pylos. Though archaeologist Carl Blegen explored the olive grove in the 1960s, he did not find anything.

This 3,500-Year-Old Greek Tomb Upended What We Thought We Knew About the Roots of Western Civilization

The recent discovery of the grave of an ancient soldier is challenging accepted wisdom among archaeologists

A Sonic Boom drum major dashes across the field.

March to the Joyous, Raucous Beat of the Sonic Boom of the South

College football seasons come and go, but the joyous thunder of Jackson State’s iconic marching band rolls on

The Louisiana wetlands are at an even greater risk today than they were when Isle Derniere was destroyed

A Hurricane Destroyed This Louisiana Resort Town, Never to Be Inhabited Again

The destruction of Isle Derniere resonates as history’s warning for our era of rising seas

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