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History

Piles of marigold garlands at the 170-year-old Mullick Ghat flower market in Kolkata. The flowers are ubiquitous at Hindu religious rituals and festivals.

From Flower Markets and Colonial Forts to Shrines and Battlefields, Take a Journey Into the Heart of India

Traveling down a river in West Bengal reveals the enduring imprint of empire—and the soul of a region shaped by centuries of change

Gouverneur Morris condensed and revised a draft of the United States Constitution, but he came to doubt his own words by the end of his life.

America's 250th Anniversary

The Founding Father Who Lost a Leg, Romanced Married and Single Women Alike, and Escaped the Bloodshed of the French Revolution

Gouverneur Morris wrote the preamble to the Constitution and shaped the future of the nascent United States. Later in life, he rejected the foundational document as a failure

Water surrounds homes in New Orleans, Louisiana, after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina

Twenty Years After Hurricane Katrina, Many of Us Are Still Missing All That We Lost—and Grappling With One of the Country’s Worst Disasters

In Louisiana, heat and hurricanes can feel like a generational curse. After two decades, an editor who grew up in the state remembers and reflects on Katrina

The Blue Water valley viewed from Ash Hollow State Historical Park, not far from the massacre site. The park’s visitor center will store the belongings while the Lakota decide on their final disposition. Smithsonian opted not to include photographs of the items out of respect for descendants of the victims. 

The Return of Plundered Belongings Offers a Chance for Healing to a Grieving Lakota Community 170 Years After a Long-Forgotten Massacre

In the conclusion of a long-awaited turn of events, the Great Plains tribe has now reclaimed cherished items stolen from their ancestors by the U.S. Army

Strongheart “was kind of a Jean-Claude Van Damme, Arnold Schwarzenegger [type] action hero,” says film studies scholar Kathryn Fuller-Seeley. 

Strongheart the German Shepherd Catapulted to Fame for His Heroics in Silent Films. Later, Spiritualist Writings Immortalized Him in Death

The beloved dog starred in six movies during the Roaring Twenties. After Strongheart died in 1929, author J. Allen Boone chronicled their enduring connection in a pair of nonfiction books

Visitors to the Grand Egyptian Museum can view the pyramids.

A Sweeping Transformation Is Underway as the Grand Egyptian Museum Prepares to Officially Open and the Giza Plateau Braces for a Record-Breaking Influx of Visitors

The Egyptian government is making changes to enhance the visitor experience around the pyramids, but are these modifications threatening the livelihoods of local communities rooted in generations-old tourism practices?

“We cannot be indifferent on any occasion that appears nearly to affect the peace and happiness of our country,” wrote the resolution’s 51 signees. Their words were republished in newspapers across the Thirteen Colonies and beyond.

America's 250th Anniversary

To Protest British Taxes, Men Dumped Tea Into Boston Harbor. With the Edenton Tea Party, Colonial Women Took a Different Approach

In 1774, 51 North Carolinian women led by Penelope Barker signed a resolution supporting the boycott of British goods

Fess Parker (left) played Davy Crockett (right) in a popular 1950s Disney TV show.

How Davy Crockett, the Rugged Frontiersman Killed at the Alamo, Became an Unlikely American Hero

During his lifetime, Crockett—who went by David, not Davy—shaped his own myth. In the 20th century, his legacy got a boost from none other than Walt Disney

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Before Meditation Apps, Listeners Were Hooked on Whale Songs, Rain Sounds and the ‘Scream of the Southern Leopard Frog’

We’ve been listening to the great outdoors from the comfort of our homes since the invention of the portable tape recorder. Can nature sounds drown out the cacophony of modern life?

A home rule protest held in front of the White House in April 1965

History of Now

How the 1973 D.C. Home Rule Act Enabled the Nation’s Capital to Govern Itself—With Congressional Oversight

Far from being a new debate brought on by current events, the discussion over extending home rule to Washingtonians has been around as long as the District of Columbia itself

Edward P. McCabe argued that Black people could not only belong in the new American territorities, but actually be in charge.

Untold Stories of American History

This Visionary African American Politician Dreamed of Creating an All-Black State in Oklahoma Territory

Edward P. McCabe petitioned Benjamin Harrison for an opportunity to show him that Black people “are men and women capable of self‑government.” When the president was unmoved, McCabe and his followers went west anyway

The Mayan Languages Preservation and Digitization Project (MLPP) was launched in 2023 to preserve around 20 Mayan languages, including Qʼeqchiʼ, Kʼicheʼ and Kaqchikel.

Millions of Maya Still Call Mesoamerica Home. This Groundbreaking Initiative Ushers the Rich Tapestry of Mayan Languages Into the Digital Age

The Mayan Languages Preservation and Digitization Project promotes tools designed by and for Indigenous communities, like online glossaries and special phone keyboards

An illustration of Thomas Stukeley kneeling in front of Pope Gregory XIII and Philip II of Spain, who urged him to raise a rebellion against Elizabeth I of England

The Swashbuckling Tudor Mercenary Who Was Killed in a Battle That Claimed the Lives of Three 16th-Century Kings

Englishman Thomas Stukeley offered his services to various Catholic powers. He died while fighting for the Portuguese at the Battle of Alcácer Quibir on August 4, 1578

The pok-ta-pok revival began in Mexico in the mid-1900s, but it only picked up steam over the past decade, with Belize playing a leading role on the global stage.

In Belize, Maya Descendants Are Reviving an Ancient, Sacred Ballgame

A movement is underway to make pok-ta-pok, the world’s oldest team ballgame, the national sport

Jewish refugees lined up outside of the Japanese Consulate in Kaunas, Lithuania, waiting to receive transit visas from Chiune Sugihara in July 1940

This Heroic Japanese Diplomat Defied His Government to Save Thousands of Jewish Refugees From the Holocaust

Stationed in Lithuania, Chiune Sugihara granted transit visas that allowed holders to escape Europe and travel through Japan as they sought safety abroad

Johnny Cash chats with inmates and guests during his visit to Cummins Prison in Arkansas on April 10, 1969.

Seventy Years Ago, Johnny Cash Recorded ‘Folsom Prison Blues’ and Became a Folk Hero for the Ignored and Downtrodden

A man of the people, the artist put his money where his mouth was by visiting prisons around the country and performing the song

The Stolen Kiss, Jean-Honoré Fragonard, 1787

These Salacious Artworks Chronicle the History of Adultery, From Biblical Punishments to Royal Mistresses

Artists such as Rembrandt, the Pre-Raphaelites and Georgian caricaturists used their craft to examine the morality and ramifications of adulterous affairs

A February 1936 snapshot of a migrant who declined to be photographed due to the Los Angeles Police Department's "Bum Blockade"

Los Angeles’ 1936 ‘Bum Blockade’ Targeted American Migrants Fleeing Poverty and Drought During the Great Depression

The two-month patrol stopped supposedly “suspicious” individuals from crossing into California from other states. But its execution was uneven, and the initiative proved controversial

Entrepreneurs are remaking these 16th to 18th century farmhouses into intimate retreats and luxury hotels.

The Centuries-Old Abandoned Farmhouses of Puglia Are Having a Renaissance Moment

Supporting sustainability and local economies, these out-of-the-way structures known as masserie are offering a new type of rustic luxury

In 1893, a Spanish princess paid $2,500 (roughly $90,000 today) for a replica of this spun-glass gown.

How Do You Wear a Gown Made of Glass? Marvel at the Eye-Catching History of This Unlikely Fashion Trend

In the 20th century, actresses and royals alike donned delicate dresses woven with spun-glass threads. More recently, celebrities have sported impractically fragile handbags on the red carpet

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