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History

#FreeBritney activists protest at Los Angeles Grand Park during a conservatorship hearing for Britney Spears on June 23, 2021 in Los Angeles.

Britney Spears and the Age-Old History of Men Policing Women’s Trauma

The singer’s conservatorship, on trial this month, recalls the history of hysterectomies, insane asylums, forced contraception, among others

In a Smithsonian Associates Streaming program on July 28, a panel of experts share the best advice and resources for staying safe, healthy and well-informed so you can relax on your long-overdue trip.

Smithsonian Voices

How to Start Traveling Again and 25 Other Smithsonian Programs Streaming in July

Announcing Smithsonian Associates’ July offerings—multi-part courses, studio arts classes and virtual study tours

Detail from a manuscript made for King Lebna Dengel, circa 1520, Tädbabä Maryam Monastery, Ethiopia.

A New History Changes the Balance of Power Between Ethiopia and Medieval Europe

For centuries, a Eurocentric worldview disregarded the knowledge and strength of the African empire

Gay Dads Kissing by J. Ross Baughman

Smithsonian Voices

The Story Behind the Iconic Photo of Gay Dads Kissing

For the Pulitzer-prize winning photojournalist J. Ross Baughman, it was the moment he was positioned for and waiting to capture

Title page to Garrard Conley's workbook from the gay-conversion camp Love in Action

Smithsonian Voices

The History of ‘Getting the Gay Out’

Conversion therapy made being different dangerous

James Smithson was the Smithsonian’s founding donor, bequeathing approximately one ton of gold British sovereigns.

Smithsonian 175

Why Did James Smithson Leave His Fortune to the U.S. and More Questions From Our Readers

You’ve got questions. We’ve got experts

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Smithsonian 175

Institutional Memories: 175 Years of the Smithsonian

Get to know the history of the cherished museum and research complex

Visionary executive William Barstow Strong led the second transcontinental line, the Santa Fe, in the 1880s, paving the way for thousands of miles of track.

How the Santa Fe Railroad Changed America Forever

The golden spike made the newspapers. But another railroad made an even bigger difference to the nation

An eight-foot-wide model of the intact monument was placed in an acoustics-testing chamber. Researchers found that sounds emanating from near the center reverberated within the structure.

What Did Stonehenge Sound Like?

Researchers have developed a new understanding of what it meant to be a member of the inner circle

This pre-Inca chest ornament dates to between roughly 800 B.C. and 1 A.D. In 1986, the City of Cusco selected the disc's design as its official symbol and coat of arms.

A Golden Symbol of National Identity Returns to Peru

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian has sent an ancient, pre-Inca breastplate back home

Matt Shepard in high school, taken in Lugano, Switzerland

Smithsonian Voices

The Story of Matthew Shepard’s Life Is Told in Artifacts Held at the National Museum of American History

Being LGBTQ can dangerous and a personal burden, but theses objects show that it can also be joyful and fabulous

Custard apple trees—a freshwater version of mangroves once ringed Lake Okeechobee’s southern shore in a three-mile-wide belt. Today, barely 100 acres remain.

The Strange Beauty at the Edge of the Everglades

Chronicling the historic struggles of the Florida farming community known as Belle Glade

His exposés of New York City slums would “send a chill to any heart,” wrote Jacob Riis, who also covered crime.

A Sensational Murder Case That Ended in a Wrongful Conviction

The role of famed social reformer Jacob Riis in overturning the verdict prefigured today’s calls for restorative justice

André Michaux, a French botanist, was an ambitious explorer whose legacy has largely been forgotten.

The Forgotten French Scientist Who Courted Thomas Jefferson—and Got Pulled Into Scandal

A decade before Lewis and Clark, André Michaux wanted to explore the American continent. Spying for France gave him that chance

Lacey Baker's personalized skateboards

Smithsonian Voices

How LGBTQ Skateboarders Have Carved Out a Place at the Park

The Smithsonian has collected from members of the diverse and fiercely dedicated LGBTQ skate community

Beneath the ruins of the Bubasteion temple, archaeologists discovered “megatombs” crammed with burials. The coffins pictured date to more than 2,000 years ago.

Inside the Tombs of Saqqara

Dramatic new discoveries in the ancient Egytptian burial ground. A special report produced with Smithsonian Channel

An engineer demonstrates a car phone five months before the historic first call on a competing company’s commercial mobile telephone service in 1946.

The First Mobile Phone Call Was Made 75 Years Ago

The evolution of the cell phone illustrates what it takes for technologies to go from breakthrough to big time

Photograph of ten people and a dog at a picnic table, 1919–1925

Commemorate Juneteenth With Free Virtual Programs From the Smithsonian

On June 19, NMAAHC will honor the end of slavery in the U.S. with events featuring Annette Gordon-Reed, Adrian Miller and more

Among the ways that the American History Museum has engaged visitors was the 2010 interactive play “Join the Student Sit-Ins,” starring actor Xavier Carnegie (above) at one of the iconic objects in the Smithsonian's collection, the Greensboro Lunch Counter, where on February 1,1960, four Black college students at North Carolina A & T University began a legendary sit-in for racial justice.

Innovation for Good

Why History Museums Are Convening a ‘Civic Season’

History is complex, says the Smithsonian’s Chris Wilson; here’s how to empower citizens with the lessons it offers

Transgender flag designed by Monica Helms (right), and friends. The flag's stripes represent the traditional pink and blue associated with girls and boys and white for intersex, transitioning, or of undefined gender. Helms served in the United States Navy and became an activist for transgender rights in the late 1990s in Arizona where she grew up. She designed the flag in 1999.

Smithsonian Voices

Can an Object Be Gay?

Curator Katherine Ott reflects on collecting and interpreting LBGTQ material culture

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