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History

Left, local actor Keith Scales portrays Norman Baker in a one-man show at the Crescent Hotel and is an encyclopedia of information about Baker’s time in Eureka. Right, detail of a couch and drapes in the Governor’s Suite, formerly Baker’s office, at the hotel.

The Charlatan of the Ozarks Still Looms Over the Haunted Crescent Hotel

A notorious quack peddled cures at an Arkansas resort in the 1930s. Nowadays the con game is all for show

A 5,700-year-old piece of birch tar, chewed as gum, contains the genome, mouth microbes, and even dietary information about its former chewer.

Human Genome Recovered From 5,700-Year-Old Chewing Gum

The piece of Birch tar, found in Denmark, also contained the mouth microbes of its ancient chewer, as well as remnants of food to reveal what she ate

Flying Santa plane flies past Boston Light in 1947.

After 90 Years, the ‘Flying Santa’ Is Still Dropping Gifts From a Plane

In New England, a long-standing tradition continues with pilots delivering gifts to lighthouses and lifesaving stations

With the help of the Seeger family, Libba Cotten recorded an album, toured around the world, and eventually at the age of 90, won a GRAMMY.

Hitting the High Notes: A Smithsonian Year of Music

The Magnificent Musical Life of the Upside-Down Guitar Player Libba Cotten

Musician and author Laura Veirs brings this musical icon back to the stage in her recent children’s book

The cubs are a male named Paitoon and a female named Jilian. They were born April 29 and March 24, respectively, at the Nashville Zoo.

The Smithsonian’s Ten Splashiest New Acquisitions of 2019

This year marks the arrival of a brilliant diamond, a hybrid space rocket, exciting paintings and two darling clouded leopard cubs

“Within a timespan of about 150 years, Americans transitioned from being mass consumers of ivory goods to enacting legal measures aimed at supporting elephant conservation," says the Smithsonian's Carlene Stephens.

What Elephants Teach Us About Consumption and Extinction

A new exhibition places the human-elephant relationship in the context of American history

At an archaeological site in Ethiopia, researchers are uncovering the oldest Christian basilica in sub-Saharan Africa.

Church Unearthed in Ethiopia Rewrites the History of Christianity in Africa

Archaeologists now can more closely date when the religion spread to the Aksumite Empire

Falling stars as seen on a balloon journey in pioneering aeronaut James Glaisher's book Travels in the Air. A record-setting balloon flight manned by Glaisher is the subject of the new movie The Aeronauts.

Based on a True Story

The True History of the Aeronauts Who Transformed Our View of the World Above

For early balloonists like James Glaisher, the sky was uncharted—and dangerous—territory

Stadshuskällaren is a restaurant located in Stockholm Sweden that serves historic menus from almost a century of Nobel Banquets.

This Restaurant in Sweden Offers Every Meal Served at the Nobel Banquet Since 1922

At Stadshuskällaren, in the basement of Stockholm’s City Hall, diners eat like Nobel Prize winners

The 1979 "Christmas Rappin'" was "so witty" says rapper Kurtis Blow (above in 2016 at the Art of Rap festival in Los Angeles). "I welcomed the opportunity to do it.”

Hitting the High Notes: A Smithsonian Year of Music

Every Year Just ‘Bout This Time, Kurtis Blow Celebrates With a Rhyme

In a salute to “Christmas Rappin,’” hip-hop chronicler Bill Adler tells the tale of how the famous rap recording came to life

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Gift Guides

The Best Books of 2019

In our efforts to increase and diffuse knowledge, we highly recommend these 65 titles released this year

Students and teachers can download 3-D print-ready files of the Tyrannosaurus rex and Triceratops skulls.

Holiday Gift Guide

Ten Smithsonian Artifacts You Can 3-D Print

The list includes Neil Armstrong’s spacesuit, an Abraham Lincoln life mask and a coral skeleton

Chief Ousamequin shares a peace pipe with Plymouth Governor John Carver.

The Myths of the Thanksgiving Story and the Lasting Damage They Imbue

In truth, massacres, disease and American Indian tribal politics are what shaped the Pilgrim-Indian alliance at the root of the holiday

The Crock Pot’s legacy is that it encourages cooks of all experience levels to get into the kitchen.

A Brief History of the Crock Pot

More than eighty years after it was patented, the Crock Pot remains a comforting presence in American kitchens

The New Croton Dam at Croton Gorge Park, about 40 miles north of New York City.

How New York City Found Clean Water

For nearly 200 years after the founding of New York, the city struggled to establish a clean source of fresh water

Bass player Verdine White of Earth, Wind & Fire performed the group's iconic song "September."

Here’s What NPG Gala Honorees Have to Say About Their Portraits

Likenesses of six American icons including Jeff Bezos, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Frances Arnold join the collections

The Ten Best History Books of 2019

Our favorite titles of the year resurrect forgotten histories and help explain how we got to where we are today

As leader of the powerful Teamsters Union, Hoffa was rumored to have connections with organized crime and served four years in prison for various offenses.

Based on a True Story

The True History Behind Martin Scorsese’s ‘The Irishman’

Many have suggested Frank Sheeran’s claims about the murder of Jimmy Hoffa are mere fantasy; the historical context of Scorsese’s epic is more nuanced

A device circa 1970, when it was still strange for people to talk to machines.

How the Spread of the Answering Machine Got Put on Hold

A telephone monopoly and a fear of wiretapping kept the invention out of homes for decades

Chief Kekuakalani was defeated at the Battle of Kuamo'o on December 18, 1819, and his feather cloak was taken as a battle prize for his opponent and cousin, King Liholiho–King Kamehameha II.

A Feathered Cape Worn by a Hawaiian Chief Tells a Story of Conflict and Tragedy

Dating back 200 years, the cloak represents the violence brought to the islands by colonial powers

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