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History

Michael Collins' NASA astronaut portrait.

Smithsonian Voices

Remembering Michael Collins

As the third director of the National Air and Space Museum, the former astronaut campaigned for a museum on the Mall in time for the nation’s bicentennial

Back in the Day, These Vintage Supplies Kept Libraries Running.

Smithsonian Voices

Back in the Day, These Vintage Supplies Kept Libraries Running

Modern technology replace these tools and supplies, but these drawings bring back many happy memories of checking out a book

In this late 17th-century comb, created by a craftsperson from either the Seneca or Susquehannock peoples, two animated figures wearing frock coats—likely a Native American and a Euro-American—face one another.

A 1722 Murder Spurred Native Americans’ Pleas for Justice in Early America

In a new book, historian Nicole Eustace reveals Indigenous calls for meaningful restitution and reconciliation rather than retribution.

A children's seesaw stands among former apartment buildings in Pripyat, Ukraine. Pripyat, built in the 1970s to house the workers and families of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, now stands abandoned inside the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone.

Thirty-Five Years Later, a First Responder at the Chernobyl Disaster Looks Back

In her new book, Alla Shapiro shares her experience of one of the worst nuclear disasters in history

America’s public, partisan and passionate campaigns fired up uniformed young men who participated in torchlit marches, a style pioneered by the Republican Wide Awakes stumping for Abraham Lincoln in 1860 (above: a procession stomped through Lower Manhattan’s Printing House Square).

The Little-Known Story of 19th-Century America’s Partisan Warfare

In a new book, Smithsonian curator Jon Grinspan examines the history of America’s furious and fractious politics

President Donald J. Trump by Pari Dukovic for Time magazine, 2019

Photograph of Former President Donald J. Trump Is Newly Acquired by the National Portrait Gallery

When the museum reopens May 14, the portrait of the 45th president will be on view in the “America’s Presidents” exhibition

Yeondeunghoe is the Korean celebration of the Buddha’s birthday.

Ten Cultural Experiences to Put on Your Post-Pandemic Bucket List

From a lantern festival in Korea to camel racing in Oman, these traditions have us dreaming of future travel

British schoolchildren dig into a lunch of fish sticks in 1974. Since its debut in 1953, the frozen food has proved to be a hit among kids and adults, owing to its palatability, low cost, and convenience.

The Surprising Success Story of Fish Sticks

The 1950s convenience food has enjoyed a winning streak—no less so than during the Covid-19 pandemic

Beginning next month, visitors will be able to meet baby panda cub Xiao Qi Ji in person.When the Zoo opens on May 21, visitors will be able to meet baby panda cub Xiao Qi Ji in person. But fair warning—he might be napping.

Smithsonian Announces the Zoo and Seven Museums Open in May

You’ll finally be able to see the baby panda in person; here’s our comprehensive list of what’s on view and tips for visiting

As part of the nation's westward expansion motives, some Midwesterners wanted to move the capital to St. Louis

The Ill-Fated Idea to Move the Nation’s Capital to St. Louis

In the years after the Civil War, some wanted a new seat of government that would be closer to the geographic center of a growing nation

Geraldine Ferraro and Walter Mondale by Diane Walker, 1984

Walter Mondale Never Won the Presidency, but He Changed American Politics Forever

A trove of Smithsonian artifacts document the man who was first to put a woman on the presidential ticket and reshaped the vice presidency

If you hike to the Minam River Lodge, thinking about the amazing food, including smokehouse bacon and foraged morels, may keep you going.

What a Vintage Guidebook Taught Me About Oregon’s Past and Present

Our writer takes a quirky trip through Oregon, from a wilderness lodge to a Gilded Age saloon to a town hidden underground

Peter Mark Roget compiled his influential thesaurus late in life.

Before He Wrote a Thesaurus, Roget Had to Escape Napoleon’s Dragnet

At the dawn of the 19th century, the young Brit got caught in an international crisis while touring Europe

The 1940 press pass for an AP reporter named Joe Abreu.

How the Associated Press Got Its Start 175 Years Ago

A newsworthy birthday for a venerable source of trusted reporting

Chinese poetry carved on the wall of the Angel Island Immigration Station in the San Francisco Bay.

Smithsonian Voices

Read Poems Left by Chinese Immigrants Arriving at Angel Island, the ‘Ellis Island of the West’

The primary mission of San Francisco’s Angel Island Immigration Station was to better enforce the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and other anti-Asian laws

Cpl. Lawrence McVey poses at attention in a photographic postcard. The word "Hero" is inscribed at the top.

The Unmatched Bravery of the Harlem Hellfighters

A salute to the all-Black World War I fighting unit

Peace Corps volunteer Marya Cota-Wilson gives a gardening lesson in Costa Rica in the 1980s.

Why the Peace Corps’ Mission Is Needed Now More Than Ever

On its 60th anniversary, a moment of reckoning arrives for the nation’s globe-trotting volunteers

Illustration of the enslaved laborers moving cotton in New Orleans

Before the Civil War, New Orleans Was the Center of the U.S. Slave Trade

Untroubled by their actions, human traffickers like Isaac Franklin built a lucrative business providing enslaved labor for Southern farmers

Photograph for a Coca-Cola ad featuring Selena, 1994, by Al Rendon.

Smithsonian Voices

How Do We Remember Selena?

On the anniversary of her 50th birthday, honoring the legacy of the first Tejana singer to top the U.S. Billboard charts with her Spanish-language album

While the island’s dramatic connection to the Bay of Pigs invasion is all but unknown to the outside world, it is part of local lore.

The Florida Resort That Played an Unlikely Role in the Bay of Pigs Fiasco

Sixty years ago, the CIA-backed invasion of Cuba failed disastrously. It all began, here, on Useppa Island

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