Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

History

None

Photos of the Titanic Tragedy From 101 Years Ago

The Titanic struck a North Atlantic iceberg on April 14, 1912; 705 passengers survived.

Singer in pillbox hat, 1958

‘I Remember’: An Artist’s Chronicle of What We Wore

In the 1970s, Joe Brainard wrote a book-length poem that paid heed to fashion

None

Q+A with Chadwick Boseman, Star of New Jackie Robinson Biopic, ’42′

The actor talks about getting vetted by the baseball legend’s grandchildren, meeting with his wife and why baseball was actually his worst sport

The “fairy coffins” discovered on Arthur’s Seat, a hill above Edinburgh, in 1836. Were they magical symbols, sailors’ memorials—or somehow linked to the city’s infamous mass murderers, Burke and Hare?

Edinburgh’s Mysterious Miniature Coffins

In 1836, three Scottish boys discovered a strange cache of miniature coffins concealed on a hillside above Edinburgh. Who put them there—and why?

A ginger sow and her piglets at the Ginger Pig’s Yorkshire farm.

How One Family Helped Change the Way We Eat Ham

The Harris family struck gold when they introduced the ice house to England in 1856, but what were the costs of their innovation?

Industrialist Andrew Carnegie (front row, center) financially supported the Tuskegee Institute and its faculty members, pictured here. Carnegie lauded the efforts of Booker T. Washington, who opened the school in 1881, shown here with his wife Margaret next to the businessman.

Educating Americans for the 21st Century

The Business of American Business Is Education

From corporate donations to workplace restrictions, what’s taught in the classroom has always been influenced by American industry

None

Educating Americans for the 21st Century

Document Deep Dive: What Was on the First SAT?

Explore the exam that has been stressing out college-bound high school students since 1926

None

One World Government and the War of Tomorrow

In 1950, journalist Vincent Sheean argued that renouncing national sovereignty was the only way to prevent nuclear war

Grantland Rice, Gene Sarazen and Craig Wood at the 1935 Augusta National Invitational Tournament.

Agony and Ecstasy at the Masters Tournament

It would take a miracle to beat Craig Wood in 1935. Gene Sarazen provided one

None

Document Deep Dive

Document Deep Dive: The Heartfelt Friendship Between Jackie Robinson and Branch Rickey

Baseball brought the two men together, but even when Rickey left the Brooklyn Dodgers, their relationship off the field would last for years

None

The Story Behind Smithsonian Castle’s Red Sandstone

Author Garrett Peck talks about uncovering the stone’s history for his new book, The Smithsonian Castle and the Seneca Quarry

Lilly Pulitzer fits a model with one of her creations.

Lilly Pulitzer: Remembering the ‘Queen of Prep’

Her tropical slashes of color enlivened the old-money crowd

At the height of the cold war, KGB agents spied on visitors to the Estonia Hotel in Viru. Today, the room in which they listened in on hotel guests has become a museum.

Pay No Attention to the Spies on the 23rd Floor

For years, the KGB secretly spied on visitors to the Hotel Viru in Estonia. A new museum reveals the fascinating time capsule and all the secrets within

Doughy goodness is impossible to resist.

Kolaches: The Next Big Thing in Pastries and The Tex-Czech Community Behind Them

Rural Czech communities in Texas have been enjoying the buttery pastry for more than a century, now homesick Texans bring kolaches to the rest of us

Portion of a magazine ad for Friedman-Shelby shoes showing an American family watching TV (1954)

TV Will Tear Us Apart: The Future of Political Polarization in American Media

In 1969, Internet pioneer Paul Baran predicted that specialized new media would undermine national cohesion

“Where there’s smoke there’s fire” by Russell Patterson, 1920s

The History of the Flapper, Part 5: Who Was Behind the Fashions?

Sears styles sprung from the ideas of European artists and couturiers

Holographic home computer game of the future from the 1981 book Tomorrow’s Home by Neil Ardley

Disney Kills LucasArts, My Childhood

When LucasArts was first starting out in the 1980s, the future of video games included holograms, virtual reality headsets and worldwide networking

None

When New York City Tamed the Feared Gunslinger Bat Masterson

The lawman had a reputation to protect—but that reputation shifted after he moved East

An artist's depiction of the tarring and feathering of loyalist John Malcom in Boston.

The Worst Parade to Ever Hit the Streets of Boston

On the eve of the Revolutionary War, loyalist John Malcom was tarred, feathered and dragged through the streets, just for arguing with a young boy

None

Has Gettysburg Kicked Its Kitsch Factor?

Historian Tony Horwitz travels to the Civil War battlefield and finds that even where time is frozen, it’s undergone welcome changes

Page 224 of 300