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History

Figure skating at the Olympic winter games in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, 1936

Winter Olympics

A Brief History of Women’s Figure Skating

You might be surprised to learn that this sport where women now shine was initially seen as solely the purview of male athletes

Dodge City in 1878

Gun Control Is as Old as the Old West

Contrary to the popular imagination, bearing arms on the frontier was a heavily regulated business

A replica of Foucault's famous experiment at the Museo Nazionale della Scienza e Tecnica in Milan, Italy

Ask Smithsonian

How Does Foucault’s Pendulum Prove the Earth Rotates?

This elegant scientific demonstration has been delighting everyday people for nearly 200 years

Reports of weird, wondrous, and worrying objects in the skies date to ancient times.

How UFO Reports Change With the Technology of the Times

Fears of Zeppelins, rockets and drones have replaced the “celestial wonders” of ancient times

Eighmey's colonial-style corn cakes (top), forcemeat balls (lower right) and pickled French beans (lower left).

The Ben Franklin-Inspired Super Bowl Recipes You Never Knew You Needed

We don’t know who Ben Franklin would root for, but we do know what he’d eat on Super Bowl Sunday

A photo of David Koresh rests beside a wooden cross as part of a monument erected in Waco, Texas, by supporters of the Branch Davidian leader and founder, Friday, April 30, 1993.

The True Story of ‘Waco’ Is Still One of Contention

A new mini-series hopes to humanize those in and outside the doomed compound

Thomas Jefferson's two-volume personal copy of George Sale's 1734 translation of the Qur'an is now in the collections of the Library of Congress.

Why Thomas Jefferson Owned a Qur’an

Islam in America dates to the founding fathers, says Smithsonian’s religion curator Peter Manseau

The view of Cape Town from Robben Island, the brutal prison where Nelson Mandela was held for 18 of his 27 years as a political prisoner. Mandela would have turned 100 this July.

Ten Major Anniversaries Worth Traveling For This Year

From Austria to the Appalachian Trail, there’s plenty to celebrate this year

Secretary Adams and his wife Ruth contemplate his official portrait, which to this day resides at the Smithsonian Institution "Castle" Building.

Smithsonian Leader Who Helped Launch the American Indian Museum Dies at 91

With a mission to create a diverse and dynamic Smithsonian, Robert McCormick Adams is remembered as an intense but humble leader

We've got you covered.

The Beijing Winter Olympics

Five Whimsical Words of the Winter Olympics, from ‘Skeleton’ to ‘Salchow’

The sports are hard. The words are harder. We’re here to help

Parade of volunteers for Waffen-SS Division “Galicia” in Buczacz, 1943

When Mass Murder Is an Intimate Affair

A new book reveals how neighbors turned on neighbors in an Eastern European border town

The executioner Franz Schmidt executing Hans Fröschel on May 18, 1591. This drawing in the margins of a court record is the only surviving fully reliable portrait of Franz Schmidt.

The Executioners Who Inherited Their Jobs

For centuries, carrying out executions in France was a family affair

Close-up view of the of jawbone, showing details of the crown topography and dental features.

New Research

Earliest Human Remains Outside Africa Were Just Discovered in Israel

If accepted as Homo sapien, the jaw-dropping jawbone would push back the human exodus out of Africa by nearly 100,000 years

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