Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

History

None

March Anniversaries

Momentous or merely memorable

None

Secrets of the Range Creek Ranch

Archaeologists cheered when Waldo Wilcox’s spread was deeded to the state of Utah, believing that it holds keys to a tribe that flourished - then vanished

The Smithsonian Castle

Field Trip!

Education experts help children, their teachers, parents and grandparents get the most out of a museum visit - real or virtual

Sayyid Qutb

A Lesson In Hate

How an Egyptian student came to study 1950s America and left determined to wage holy war

Chris Hondros, photographer for Getty Images News Services, captured this image of Joseph Duo and became a defining image of Liberia's protracted strife.

A Soldier’s Story

Photojournalist Chris Hondros, recently killed in Libya, discussed his work in war-torn Liberia with Smithsonian in 2006

Villagers on the island of Tanna dance in John Frum's honor each February 15. Clan leaders first saw their Yankee Messiah in the late 1930s. He later appeared to them during WWII, dressed in white like the unidentified navy seaman.

In John They Trust

South Pacific villagers worship a mysterious American they call John Frum - believing he’ll one day shower their remote island with riches

"Last Days of Pompeii" depicts an artist's rendering of the catastrophic final hours of Pompeii as the citizens were buried alive in ash.

Resurrecting Pompeii

A new exhibition brings the doomed residents of Pompeii and Herculaneum vividly to life

Clarke was an "admirer of beauty," said the folklorist Henry Shoemaker, and he "singled out many lovely mountain girls with his lens." This haunting idyllic interpretation of two girls, presumable sisters, is marred only by some damage to the glass plate negative.

Forgotten Forest

Photographic plates discovered in a dusty shed offer an astonishing look at life in the American woods more than a century ago

None

January Anniversaries

Momentous or merely memorable

None

January Letters

Readers respond to the November issue

Ben Franklin's "ditto" suit helped convey American values to the French

Dressed-Down Democracy

Franklin’s 300th birthday this month reminds us of common ideals and artifacts that reflect them—from a simple suit to an iconic lunch counter

A photo of the first Miss America winner, Margaret Gorman. This was the official photo of her as the winner.

American Idol

Once upon a time, Miss America reigned supreme

First reading of the Emancipation Proclamation of President Lincoln.

“My Whole Soul Is In It”

As his army faltered and his cabinet bickered, Lincoln determined that “we must free the slaves or be ourselves subdued.” In 1862, he got his chance

None

This Month in History

December anniversaries—momentous or merely memorable

None

Me and Meriwether

The secret diary of William Clark

None

The Grand Union Flag, Free At Last, and Lighting Up Broadway…

December anniversaries— momentous or merely memorable

When the smoke cleared and Saddam withdrew from northern Iraq, Iraqi Kurds returned home by the truckload and began to erase reminders of his rule.

Iraq’s Resilient Minority

Shaped by persecution, tribal strife and an unforgiving landscape, Iraq’s Kurds have put their dream of independence on hold-for now

The Astoria Column serves as a memorial for the explorers Lewis and Clark with President Jefferson.

Lewis and Clark: The Journey Ends

The triumphant return of the Lewis and Clark expedition

None

Helen Gurley Brown, the World Trade Center and Nobel Prizes…

A look back at the world in Smithsonian Magazine’s first year

For Christmas in 1965, astronauts Walter M. "Wally" Schirra Jr and Thomas P. Stafford played "Jingle Bells" aboard Gemini 6.

The Day Two Astronauts Said They Saw a U.F.O. Wearing a Red Suit

When orbiting pranksters Wally Schirra and Tom Stafford launched into “Jingle Bells,” Mission Control almost lost control

Page 273 of 300