Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

History

A John Trumbull painting of the death of General Hugh Mercer at the Battle of Princeton in 1777

America's 250th Anniversary

Ken Burns Says His New Documentary Forced Him to Revisit Everything He Thought He Knew About the American Revolution

Ahead of the PBS production’s premiere, the legendary filmmaker and co-director Sarah Botstein share insights on their research process and the surprising, long-overlooked stories featured in the six-part series

The Edmund Fitzgerald measured 729 feet long and had a gross tonnage of 13,632.

Nobody Knows What Sank the ‘Edmund Fitzgerald.’ But Its Doomed Final Voyage Will Always Be America’s Defining Shipwreck

Fifty years after the freighter disappeared into the depths of Lake Superior, the mystery of its demise—and the mournful ballad it inspired—still haunt the popular imagination

Russell Crowe as Hermann Göring in Nuremberg, a new film written and directed by James Vanderbilt

Based on a True Story

The True Story Behind ‘Nuremberg,’ a WWII Drama About Hermann Göring’s Cat-and-Mouse Game With an American Psychiatrist

Starring Russell Crowe as the high-ranking Nazi and Rami Malek as Army officer Douglas M. Kelley, the film dramatizes the intense dynamic between its central characters during the Nuremberg trials

None

There's More to That

The ‘Edmund Fitzgerald’ Sank Half a Century Ago. We’re Still Fascinated

A massive freighter carrying thousands of tons of iron ore disappeared in Lake Superior, setting shipping on a new course

Michael Shannon as President James A. Garfield in Netflix's "Death by Lightning"

Based on a True Story

The Real Story Behind Netflix’s ‘Death by Lightning’ and the Shocking Assassination of President James A. Garfield

The new limited series dramatizes the brief tenure of the 20th commander in chief, who was fatally shot by Charles J. Guiteau, a lawyer who believed he’d secured Garfield’s election

Sydney Sweeney as Christy Martin in Christy, a new biopic that dramatizes the boxer's major fights alongside the struggles she faced in her personal life

Based on a True Story

The Real Story of Christy Martin, the Trailblazing Boxer Who ‘Created a Sport That Did Not Exist’

A new biopic starring Sydney Sweeney as the legendary athlete chronicles Martin’s fights in and outside of the ring

Many believe Augusta Charlotte Beysser Bartholdi, the mother of sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, was the inspiration for the Statue of Liberty’s iconic face.  

These 15 Snapshots Capture the Inspirational Aura of the Lovely Lady Liberty

See iconic images of the Statue of Liberty from the Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest

The Walnut of Benevento (Sabbath of Witches), 1822-1826, by Giuseppe Pietro Bagetti

How This Italian Town Came to Be Known as the ‘City of Witches’

Centuries ago, it was said that Benevento was a gathering place for the occult. Today, superstitions still run deep

Charles Oldrieve dreamed of one day walking across the English Channel—and perhaps even the Atlantic Ocean.

Untold Stories of American History

In 1907, This Daring Performer Walked on Water From Cincinnati to New Orleans, Covering Nearly 1,600 Miles in 40 Days

Charles Oldrieve used custom-made wooden shoes to float on the water’s surface and propel himself forward

Hell, unknown artist, circa 1510 to 1520

This Disturbing 16th-Century Painting of Hell Linked Satan and His Demons With the New World Beyond Europe

The panel features monsters with African, Indigenous Caribbean and intersex features, encouraging viewers to connect the sins and punishments depicted to those considered “other”

While he racked up more medals than any other soldier in World War II, Audie Murphy wore this olive drab wool Eisenhower jacket, size 36.

Audie Murphy Was an Idol of the Silver Screen. That Came After He Was the Most-Decorated American Hero of World War II

He single-handedly held off 250 German troops and six tanks, saving an entire company. And that was just the start of what he accomplished in his too-short life

Defendants in the dock at Nuremberg. Hermann Göring, his head propped on his fist, sits at far left. 

At Nuremberg, World War II’s Battle Turned to the Courtroom, and an Eloquent Lawyer Helped Lead the Allies to Victory

Robert H. Jackson, an American Supreme Court justice who thought of himself as “anything but a warrior,” was drafted by FDR to prosecute leading Nazis

Divers excavating the 12th-century Huaguangjiao One wreck uncover stacked Song dynasty bowls.

Treasure Trove of Shipwrecks Along China’s Coast Reveals How East Met West on the Maritime Silk Road

Sunken finds in the South China Sea testify to rich trade networks used over hundreds of years. The sea routes brought porcelain, tea and other goods from Asia to Africa, the Middle East and Europe

Père Lachaise Cemetery sprawls across 110 acres. “You don’t feel anymore that you are in Paris,” Benoît Gallot, the conservator, says. “All of your references fall away.”

Why Paris Designed Its Peculiarly Popular Grand Graveyards to Evoke a Celebration of Life Amid All the Death

Cemeteries that inspired parks serve as unlikely tourist attractions in the City of Light and prove that the end of the line is just the start of a new story

For his roaring comeback, Knievel jumps 14 Greyhound buses at the Kings Island amusement park in Mason, Ohio, in October 1975.

After Motorcycle Daredevil Evel Knievel Failed to Clear 13 Buses on a Jump Attempt, There Was Only One Thing to Do: Try 14

A wreck in London broke his bones but not his spirit. So he got back on his two-wheeled horse and sailed through the Ohio sky, with half the country watching

An applejack sour combines lemon juice, orange juice, maple syrup and Angostura bitters, plus a little nutmeg. 

Cold Weather and Apples Were Two Things the American Colonies Had. Industrious Scottish Immigrants Turned Them Into a Favorite Spirit

Applejack is not quite whiskey, but it’s stronger than cider, and it was treasured by some of the Founding Fathers. It’s still around and makes an appealing cocktail

Boris Karloff as Frankenstein's monster from the classic 1931 horror film Frankenstein

In Mary Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein,’ the Titular Scientist Laments His Nightmarish Creation. But the Real World Can’t Get Enough of His Monster

In the two centuries since the Gothic novel’s publication, the English writer’s tale of a science experiment gone wrong has captivated audiences around the world and taken on a life of its own

What made the U.S. Post Office Department decide to start its airmail service so early, before air travel was even common?

Why Did the U.S. Post Office Start Airmail So Early? And More Questions From Our Readers

You’ve got questions. We’ve got experts

A 1976 postcard features an illustration of the burning of Norfolk. 

In January 1776, Virginia’s Port City of Norfolk Was Set Ablaze, Galvanizing the Revolution. But Who Really Lit the Match?

Blaming the British for the destruction helped persuade some wavering colonists to back the fight for independence. But the source of the inferno was not what it seemed

A still from the 2005 film adaptation of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, featuring (left to right) Anna Popplewell, William Moseley and Georgie Henley as Susan, Peter and Lucy Pevensie

How World War II Influenced ‘The Chronicles of Narnia,’ C.S. Lewis’ Beloved Fantasy Novels

Published 75 years ago, “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” tells the story of four children who are evacuated from London during the Blitz

Page 6 of 300