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History

Map of Cedar Key, Florida, 1884

Florida Man Terrorizes Town, Forcing Federal Government to Step In

As mayor of Cedar Key, Billy Cottrell reigned as a tyrant until U.S. forces chased him away

The company's publications (including Black World, EbonyJet) reached a wide audience with photo-driven narratives and interviews.

Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch Weighs In on Legendary Photo Archive of African-American Life

In historic moment, foundations and museums came together to rescue black history. “This is an optimistic tale,” says Bunch

A government demonstration of the polygraph from the 1970s

Why Lie Detector Tests Can’t Be Trusted

Federal agencies embraced the polygraph in the 1950s to reassure the public that they could unmask spies

Cameramen film the scene as Charles Manson is brought into the Los Angeles city jail under suspicion of having masterminded the Tate-LaBianca murders of August 1969.

What You Need to Know About the Manson Family Murders

Behind the scenes of the brutal crimes lurking throughout Quentin Tarantino’s new film, ‘Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood’

On September 7, 1965, Larry Itliong convinced 2,000 Filipino farmworkers to walk away from the California vineyards and began the famous Delano Grape Strike.

Why It Is Important to Know the Story of Filipino-American Larry Itliong

Author Gayle Romasanta is on a crusade to recover the farm worker’s story, empowering young leaders to follow in his footsteps

The 2010 census showed that Scituate had the highest number of people claiming Irish ancestry than any other town in America, almost 50 percent of its roughly 18,000 residents, earning it the nickname the “Irish Riviera.”

The Most Irish Town in America Was Built on Seaweed

After discovering ‘Irish moss’ in coastal waters, Irish immigrants launched a booming mossing industry in Scituate, Massachusetts

Located in San Francisco Bay, Alcatraz Island is the site of a former prison.

Five of the Most Fascinating Prison Museums in America

From Alcatraz to Cell Block 7, these jails now hold tours instead of prisoners

Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev talking with President John F. Kennedy during Vienna Summit.

Imagining a World Where Soviets and Americans Joined Hands on the Moon

Before he was assassinated, JFK spoke of a cooperative effort in space

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Future of Space Exploration

Interactive Map Shows All 21 Successful Moon Landings

Humans have walked on the moon six times, and robotic probes have been touching down on the lunar surface for decades—but there is still much to explore

Belgian cyclist Firmin Lambot, the ultimate winner of the race, pictured in a wooly yellow jersey.

The Original Tour de France Yellow Jersey Was Made of Wool

100 years ago, in the middle of the race, a rider wore the famed jersey for the first time

Neil Armstrong (left) and Buzz Aldrin (right) document a sample during a field trip at Sierra Blanca in west Texas on February 24, 1969.

Future of Space Exploration

Before Going to the Moon, Apollo 11 Astronauts Trained at These Five Sites

From Arizona to Hawaii, these landscapes—similar in ways to the surface of the moon—were critical training grounds for the crew

Members of the 3rd Calvary arrive in D.C. to quash the racial unrest

One Hundred Years Ago, a Four-Day Race Riot Engulfed Washington, D.C.

Rumors ran wild as white mobs assaulted black residents who in turn fought back, refusing to be intimidated

Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin works at the deployed Passive Seismic Experiment Package on July 20, 1969. To the left of the United States flag in the background is the lunar surface television camera.

Apollo at 50: We Choose to Go to the Moon

The Best Books About the Apollo Program and Landing on the Moon

From astronaut autobiographies to definitive accounts from leading historians, these are the must reads about the landmark mission

Excavation of the Philistine cemetery at Ashkelon.

When Ancient DNA Gets Politicized

What responsibility do archaeologists have when their research about prehistoric finds is appropriated to make 21st-century arguments about ethnicity?

A Saturn V rocket being rolled out to the launch pad for Apollo 10.

Future of Space Exploration

Apollo Engineers Discuss What It Took to Land on the Moon

The people who bent metal and built spaceships recall the culture and leadership that made it possible to send humans to the lunar surface

Photography was so expensive when it was first introduced that people treated getting their photo taken like a once-in-a-lifetime portrait opportunity.

Why Don’t People Smile in Old Photographs? And More Questions From Our Readers

You asked, we answered

Reverend Ralph Abernathy, flanked by associates, stand on steps of a mockup of the lunar module displaying a protest sign while demonstrating at the Apollo 11 launch.

While NASA Was Landing on the Moon, Many African Americans Sought Economic Justice Instead

For those living in poverty, the billions spent on the Apollo program, no matter how inspiring the mission, laid bare the nation’s priorities

Vanilla beans begin as the seedpods of a tropical orchid (left); Chocolate is made from the seeds hidden inside the fruit of the cacao tree (right).

The Delicious, Ancient History of Chocolate and Vanilla

Archaeologists are discovering that two of the world’s most prized flavors have a much richer history than we thought

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