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History

Various examples of garderobe design

From Turrets to Toilets: A Partial History of the Throne Room

For centuries the humble bathroom has been shaping the space we live and work

British soldiers enter Baghdad in 1919.

World War I: 100 Years Later

The Disintegration of the Iraqi State Has Its Roots in World War I

Created by European powers, the nation of Iraq may be buckling under the pressure of trying to unite three distinct ethnic groups

A hourd in Carcassonne

The Medieval Origin Story of the Balcony

Architect/historian Eugène Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc suggested that the balcony was forged in the heat of battle.

The Gory New York City Riot that Shaped American Medicine

Back before medical school was a respected place to be, New Yorkers raised up in protest over the doctors’ preference for cadavers for study

Human towers for democracy at the anniversary of Castellers in Barcelona.

What Does a 36-Foot-Tall Human Tower Have to Do With Catalan Independence?

An eye-catching protest across Europe is steeped in cultural heritage says Smithsonian curator Michael Atwood Mason

Inside the semi-subterranean 19th-century burial vault, conditions had deteriorated. The wooden shelves that held the caskets of nearly two dozen individuals had disintegrated. Bones were exposed.

To Discover What Life Was Like in 19th Century D.C., a Smithsonian Scientist Investigates a Tomb

Forensic anthropologist Douglas Owsley digs into an 1835 vault and reveals the startling history of a famous Washington family

This month's Atlantic cover story by Ta-Nehisi Coates is generating some serious discussion about "The Case for Reparations."

Breaking Ground

America’s Moral Debt to African Americans

The director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture joins the discussion around “The Case for Reparations”

Sacajawea guiding the expedition from Mandan through the Rocky Mountains. Painting by Alfred Russell.

Lewis and Clark Only Became Popular 50 Years Ago

For 150 years, the famous explorers were relatively unknown characters

Noon mass at Saint Vincent de Paul's Church on D-Day.

Photos From the Hours After Americans Heard About the D-Day Invasion

Black and white photos from the Library of Congress show New Yorkers rallying, praying, on June 6, 1944

Les Braves war memorial sculpture on Omaha Beach.

Why a Walk Along the Beaches of Normandy Is the Ideal Way to Remember D-Day

Follow in the footsteps of legendary reporter Ernie Pyle to get a real feel for the events that took place 70 years ago

A Swiss map at the printing office of the Federal Office of Topography in Wabern, Canton of Bern, Switzerland.

The Unlikely History of the Origins of Modern Maps

GIS technology has opened up new channels of understanding how the world works. But where did it begin?

Police officers stand proudly with jars and crates of moonshine, brewed illegally duirng the prohibition. Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Grab a Drink, on the Sly, at One of D.C.’s Former Speakeasies

Prohibition might have lasted longer in D.C. than anywhere else, but that didn’t stop the District from throwing a few back

Lodgers in a crowded Bayard Street tenement, 1889.

Pioneering Social Reformer Jacob Riis Revealed “How The Other Half Lives” in America

How innovations in photography helped this 19th century journalist improve life for many of his fellow immigrants

When Collectors Cut Off Pieces of the Star-Spangled Banner As Keepsakes

For years patriots clamored for swatches of the enormous flag that raised spirits at “dawn’s early light”

The Pocket Watch Was the World’s First Wearable Tech Game Changer

Google Glass is just the latest in a long line of body-borne technologies designed to enhance our lives

World War I: 100 Years Later

Europe’s Landscape Is Still Scarred by World War I

Photographs of the abandoned battlefields reveal the trenches’ scars still run deep

The northernmost statue of Lenin.

A Soviet Ghost Town in the Arctic Circle, Pyramiden Stands Alone

This outpost in the high north looks much as it did when it was abandoned in 1998, providing visitors with a glimpse into Soviet-era life and culture

In March 2012, shipwrights at the Mystic Seaport Museum replace planks in the hull of the Charles W. Morgan. The restoration of the ship required more than 50,000 board feet of live oak and other woods for framing, planking and other structural elements.

For the First Time in 93 Years, a 19th-Century Whaling Ship Sets Sail

Built in 1841, the Charles W. Morgan is plying the waters off New England this summer

The U.S. Coast Survey map calculated the number of slaves in each county in the United States in 1860.

These Maps Reveal How Slavery Expanded Across the United States

As the hunger for more farmland stretched west, so too did the demand for enslaved labor

Man posing with construction workers at the top of the Washington Monument. The first restoration of the Monument began in 1934 as a Depression-era public works project.

Washington, D.C.

Historic Photos of Washington’s Great Monuments, Memorials and Buildings Under Construction

Take a step back in time to see the building of some of D.C.’s most famous icons

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