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History

The Temple of the Plumed Serpent is adorned with carved snake heads and slithering bodies.

A Secret Tunnel Found in Mexico May Finally Solve the Mysteries of Teotihuacán

The chance discovery beneath a nearly 2,000-year-old pyramid leads to the heart of a lost civilization

Watkins photographed vistas like the valley’s Half Dome.

How an Obscure Photographer Saved Yosemite

The beauty of the national park became clear long before Ansel Adams

In the tranquility of old Vienna, Stefan Zweig writes, one could never “dream how dangerous man can be.” This 1901 photograph shows a city market.

Austria

The Unhurried World of Pre-War Vienna

Author Stefan Zweig, who inspired Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel, recalls Austria at the dawn of the 20th century

The Biodiversity Heritage Library has the digitized version of the University of Toronto’s Fisher Library’s copy of Evelyn’s work

Celebrate National Salad Month with Rare and Historic Books that Include Your Favorite Leafy Greens

A Smithsonian librarian journeys through history and time on a quest to explore salads throughout antiquity

The scope of Dyar's tunnel networks, first discovered in 1917 against the chaotic backdrop of World War I, didn't truly sink in until 1924, when the weight of a truck in Dupont Circle caused one to collapse.

The Bizarre Tale of the Tunnels, Trysts and Taxa of a Smithsonian Entomologist

A new book details the sensational exploits of Harrison G. Dyar, Jr., a scientist who had two wives and liked to dig tunnels

Voskehat, “the queen of Armenian grapes”

Armenia

History in a Glass: (Re)discovering Armenian Wine

With more than six thousand-year-old history of viniculture, Armenian wines are gaining popularity

The Keukenhof Floral Park in Lisse, The Netherlands.

Where to See Thousands and Thousands of Tulips

From the Netherlands to Kashmir, get lost in tulip mania

Archaeologists look for pieces of metal in their search for the remains of a massacre of Native Americans in 1863 in Idaho.

The Search Is On for the Site of the Worst Indian Massacre in U.S. History

At least 250 Shoshone were killed by the Army in the 1863 incident, but their remains have yet to be found

Smithsonian Journeys Travel Quarterly: The Danube

The Hollywood Bombshell Who Invented an Indispensable War Technology

In 1942, Hedy Lamarr received a patent for frequency hopping, but was told to devote her efforts elsewhere

Among century-old oaks and poplars are the ruins of a Dominican convent where Margaret took the vows of a nun. She refused to marry a neighboring king, instead devoting herself to God.

The Appalling and Beguiling History of Budapest’s Margaret Island

A Hungarian-born writer recalls a princess’ defiance of her father, Nazi atrocities, and the island’s role as sanctuary

Rudolf Hess, at right, was a Nazi leader when he flew to Scotland in May of 1941.

Will We Ever Know Why Nazi Leader Rudolf Hess Flew to Scotland in the Middle of World War II?

The remarkable tale of insanity, espionage, and conspiracies remains unanswered after 75 years

Is Europe Returning to Pre Cold War Divisions?

Author Robert D. Kaplan notes the beginnings of a complex map, caused by Russian revisionism, the refugee crisis and a structural economic crisis in the EU

March on Washington, August 28, 1963, at the Lincoln Memorial

How the Redesign of U.S. Money Shows the Power of Protest

A Smithsonian curator notes how a heavy dose of social activism prompted the U.S. Treasury to honor historic social and political movements

Bottles of the two triumphant vintages 1973 Chateau Montelena chardonnay and 1973 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars cabernet sauvignon are now held in the Smithsonian collections.

That Revolutionary May Day in 1976 When California Wines Bested France’s Finest

Forty years ago, a Copernican moment took place in viniculture when the world realized the sun didn’t always revolve around French wines

Sponsor: National Portrait Gallery

Which of These Summertime Athletes Should Be Displayed on the Walls of the National Portrait Gallery?

Vote now for your pick!

The history behind America's five-cent coin

A Brief History of the Nickel

In honor of the coin’s 150th anniversary, read up on how the nickel came to be minted

The grand hall of the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History in New Haven, Connecticut—the wellspring of some the most distinguished scholarship of our times.

The Scientific Daredevils Who Made Yale’s Peabody Museum a National Treasure

When an award-winning science writer dug into the backstory of this New Haven institute, he found a world of scientific derring-do

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