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History

President John F. Kennedy, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy and Texas Governor John Connally ride through the streets of Dallas, Texas on November 22, 1963, the day of Kennedy’s assassination.

The President’s Been Shot

Forty years ago, the assassination of JFK stunned Americans, who vividly recall the day even as they grapple with his complex legacy

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This Month in History

November anniversaries—, momentous or merely memorable

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Flashbacks

Reconsidering JFK and Sylvia Plath

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The Man Who Wrote the Pledge of Allegiance

The schoolroom staple didn’t originally include “under God,” even though it was created by an ordained minister

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Tribal Talk

Immersion schools try to revive and preserve Native American languages

The fabled road (a c. 1955 postcard) stretched 2,448 miles.

Antique Road Show

Before the Interstates passed the highway by, America got its kicks on Route 66

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Tumult and Transition in “Little America”

A quarter century of civil war over festering ethnic animosities has renewed questions about the U.S. role in the African nation

The compass has a symbolic importance transcending its utility.

Useful Gadget

The legendary explorers carried destiny on their expedition. But they could not have fulfilled is without this unprepossessing device

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Stanley Meets Livingstone

The American journalist’s harrowing 1871 quest to find England’s most celebrated explorer is also a story of newfound fascination with Africa

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Tony Blair Goes to War

In a new book, a British journalist documents the day-by-day march into conflict in Iraq

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James Smithson’s Legacy

The Stranger and the Statesman: James Smithson, John Quincy Adams, and the Making of America’s Greatest Museum

"In these fields and lanes," says author Michael Parfit of the Coast to Coast walk, "the past seemed close enough to touch, as if seen in a pool of clear water. And in a way we did touch it, because we shared its means of travel." The countryside outside Keld (above), in Yorkshire Dales National Park, is one of the most evocative lengths of the two-week trek.

A Walk Across England

In the 1970s, British accountant Alfred Wainwright linked back roads, rights-of-way and ancient footpaths to blaze a trail across the sceptered isle

Carter hoped Camp David (the president's quarters, Aspen Lodge, 1973) would relax the Egyptians and Israelis. But one delegate called it gloomy. Sadat likened the isolation to prison.

Two Weeks at Camp David

There was no love lost between Egypt’s Anwar Sadat and Israel’s Menachem Begin. But at the very brink of failure, they found a way to reach agreement

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Rainbow Coalition

An 1888 lithograph of the 1883 eruption of Krakatoa

August Anniversaries

Momentous or merely memorable

Six accounts by Corps members (a woodcut, from Gass' journal, 1810 edition) have provided grist for generations of historians.

Why Lewis and Clark Matter

Amid all the hoopla, it’s easy to lose sight of the expedition’s true significance

[ 1942 Harley-Davidson ] National Museum of American History

Wild Thing

For 100 years, Harleys have fueled our road-warrior fantasies

In the summer of 1776, Franklin (left, seated with Adams in a c. 1921 painting) advised Jefferson on the drafting of the nation's founding document.

Benjamin Franklin Joins the Revolution

Returning to Philadelphia from England in 1775, the “wisest American” kept his political leanings to himself. But not for long

At the 2002 U.S. Chess Championship, the first in which men and women competed together, Shahade (left, losing to Alexander Stripunsky) took the women's title.

Chess Queen

At 22, Jennifer Shahade is the strongest American-born woman chess player ever

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Heroes of the Underground Railroad

A groundbreaking chronicle sheds new light on one of the most dramatic chapters in American history

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