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A 2007 photo of Marty Reisman, who loosely inspired Timothée Chalamet's character in Marty Supreme

Based on a True Story

How Marty Reisman, the Real-Life Inspiration Behind ‘Marty Supreme,’ Revolutionized the Sport of Table Tennis

A new film starring Timothée Chalamet as a fictionalized version of Reisman dramatizes the career of a larger-than-life champion

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Dig In to the Traditions Behind Two Holiday Dishes That Make the Season Even More Delicious

Two culinary traditions from two island nations reveal what glues communities and families together across time

Graffiti scribbled on a wall in the ancient Roman city of Pompeii

Pompeii’s Graffiti Captures Every Joke, Boast and Argument of an Ancient Roman City Frozen in Time

The roughly 11,000 inscriptions preserved by Mount Vesuvius’ eruption in 79 C.E. offer a glimpse into everyday life in the Roman Empire

A letter from Jane Austen to her sister, Cassandra, discussing the publication of Pride and Prejudice in 1813

Jane Austen’s Letters Are the Closest We Can Get to Her. What Do They Reveal About the ‘Pride and Prejudice’ Author?

This year marks the English novelist’s 250th birthday. Her hundreds of surviving letters—both real and fictional—offer valuable insights into her imaginative wit and enduring appeal

The Poseidon Adventure debuted in theaters 53 years ago. This stupendously implausible work of fiction grew from the fertile soil of fact, drawing inspiration from the RMS Queen Mary's tendency to tilt dangerously.

Based on a True Story

How a Near-Shipwreck on a Luxury Ocean Liner Inspired ‘The Poseidon Adventure’ and a Decade of Disaster Movies

Paul Gallico was on board the RMS “Queen Mary” when it almost capsized in 1937. The haunting experience shaped his best-selling 1969 novel and its 1972 film adaptation

Jane Austen's second novel, Pride and Prejudice, was published on January 28, 1813.

Jane Austen’s ‘Pride and Prejudice’ Was Initially Rejected by a Publisher. It Later Became One of the World’s Most Beloved Novels

The British author wrote six novels, but it’s her second published book that has resonated the most in the 250 years since her birth in 1775

The shadows of early morning visitors are cast on the base of the Abraham Lincoln statue at his memorial on the National Mall. 

Smithsonian Photo Contest Galleries

These 15 Photographs Capture What It’s Like to Walk Through Wonderful, Historic Washington, D.C.

Enjoy this selection of images of the nation’s capital from the Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest

Walter Reed Parpart Jr. (right), the radioman on one of the missing planes, poses in front of a Fort Lauderdale sign in 1945.

How the Disappearance of Flight 19, a Navy Squadron Lost in 1945, Fueled the Legend of the Bermuda Triangle

Eighty years ago, five planes vanished during a training run off the Florida coast. A patrol plane sent to search for the men went missing, too, giving rise to a host of conspiracy theories

A bust of Plato in the Long Room at Trinity College Dublin

Coastal Cities of Europe

Go Behind the Scenes at an Iconic Irish Library as Staff Move 700,000 Historical Treasures Into Storage

Trinity College Dublin’s Old Library will close for restoration and construction in 2027. What does that mean for the medieval manuscripts and books housed there?

Smithsonian magazine's picks for the best history books of 2025 include We the People, The Stolen Crown and Medicine River.

The Best Books of 2025

The Ten Best History Books of 2025

Our favorite titles of the year resurrect overlooked histories and examine how the United States ended up where it is today

Jessie Buckley stars as Agnes in director Chloé Zhao’s Hamnet, a Focus Features release that arrives in theaters on November 26.

Based on a True Story

The Real History Behind ‘Hamnet’ and the Tragically Short Life of William Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway’s Only Son

A film adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s 2020 novel, starring Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley as the Bard and his wife, imagines the lives of the Shakespeare family in fantastical and heartbreaking fashion

Demonstrators at an anti-Vietnam War protest held at Bronx Science High School in New York in April 1968

Untold Stories of American History

Newly Declassified Records Suggest Parents Collaborated With the FBI to Spy on Their Rebellious Teens During the 1960s

As high school students across the U.S. embraced political activism, adults turned to the authorities to shield their sons and daughters from radical influences

The day after the wreck, the New York Times devoted much of its front page to coverage of the tragedy and its victims. But grief quickly turned to anger as the public looked for answers.  

New York’s Grand Central Terminal Helped Provide the Blueprint for American Cities. It Happened by Accident

A train wreck that caused the death of more than a dozen commuters near the turn of the 20th century was the impetus behind a monumental project that changed the urban landscape

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Why Are There So Many Shipwrecks in the Great Lakes?

Meet a maritime archaeologist who explores the historic ships and dugout canoes that lurk beneath the surface of her watery backyard

Why is the Midwest covered with prairies instead of forests? 

Why Aren’t There Forests in the Midwest? And More Questions From Our Readers

You’ve Got Questions. We’ve Got Experts

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An Industrious Grocer in the 1930s Wanted to Make It Easier for His Customers to Buy More. They Just Needed a Push

There was a time when shoppers could buy only as much as they could carry. And as ubiquitous as shopping carts are today, it initially took some convincing to use them

The Tugunbulak settlement was inhabited between the 6th and 11th centuries. 

Archaeologists May Have Found the Lost Iron City of the Silk Road in the Remote Highlands of Uzbekistan

Researchers are uncovering what they think is the metropolis of Marsmanda, an iron-making city that could rewrite the history of the famed trade route

The Green Dragon Tavern, a coffeehouse in Boston that served as a meeting place for the Sons of Liberty

America's 250th Anniversary

In Colonial America, Patriots Flocked to Coffeehouses to Debate Politics and Sow the Seeds of Revolution

These storied establishments served up more than just hot drinks. They acted as intellectual hubs and meeting places for dissenters

Legendary actor Toshiro Mifune, defiant, in a 1954 French poster for Seven Samurai.

Even If You’ve Never Seen ‘Seven Samurai,’ You’ve Certainly Seen Movies Influenced by It

Director Akira Kurosawa broke all the rules—and budgets—of Japanese filmmaking with his 1954 classic. But the final product influenced a generation of directors

A Currier & Ives print, published in the mid- to late 19th century, depicts Crow’s Nest, a mountain along the Hudson’s west bank.

The History of America Flows Through the Hudson River, and the Country’s Aquatic Superhighway Is on the Rebound

The bucolic river is famous for reversing its current a few times each day. Now, an ongoing cleanup effort is reversing decades of industrial contamination

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