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History

Aaron Elster's hologram answers questions from the audience.

An Exhibit in Illinois Allows Visitors to Talk with Holograms of 13 Holocaust Survivors

The Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center in Skokie, Illinois, opened the new Survivor Stories Experience this fall

The accused "Angel Makers of Nagyrév" walk in the Szolnok prison yard in Hungary.

Is There Humanity to Be Found Within Serial Killers?

A new book tells the complex stories behind murderous women, the so-called “femmes fatales.”

Women shipfitters working on board the USS Nereus at the U.S. Navy Yard in Mare Island, circa 1943.

Women Who Shaped History

During World War II, Thousands of Women Chased Their Own California Dream

For some who moved west for work, this dream was temporary. For others, it lasted a lifetime

Ava DuVernay

American Ingenuity Awards

Ava DuVernay’s Visionary Filmmaking Is Reshaping Hollywood

Her eye for American history puts her in the vanguard. Her passion for justice makes her a hero

Mark Bradford's installation Pickett’s Charge at the Hirshhorn spans almost 400 feet and consists of eight canvases measuring 12 feet tall and more than 45 feet long.

Mark Bradford’s Paintings Scratch at the Surface of a Conflicted America

The Hirshhorn Museum hosts the artist’s first solo show in Washington

The Orient Express circa 1883

What Was the Inspiration for “The Murder on the Orient Express”?

Agatha Christie wrote her famous detective novel based on an even more famous kidnapping

Cabins like these in Laurel Valley are similar to those in the area at the time of the Thibodaux Massacre.

The Thibodaux Massacre Left 60 African-Americans Dead and Spelled the End of Unionized Farm Labor in the South for Decades

In 1887, African-American cane workers in Louisiana attempted to organize—and many paid with their lives

Gary Oldman plays Winston Churchill in the new release The Darkest Hour.

Winston Churchill’s Historic “Fight Them on the Beaches” Speech Wasn’t Heard by the Public Until After WWII

The recordings we hear today didn’t air over the BBC at the time, but that hasn’t stopped many Britons from remembering otherwise

Arlo Guthrie

A Brief History of “Alice’s Restaurant”

The Arlo Guthrie classic starts off retelling the true story of what happened more than 50 years ago

Thirteen Books That Informed and Delighted Smithsonian Scholars This Year

With a mission to increase and diffuse knowledge, Smithsonian thought leaders are voracious readers

Gaius Gracchus attempted to enact social reform in Ancient Rome but died at the hands of the Roman Senate in 121 B.C.

History of Now

Before the Fall of the Roman Republic, Income Inequality and Xenophobia Threatened Its Foundations

In a new book, history podcaster Mike Duncan describes what preceded Caesar’s rise to Emperor

Woman Cleaning Shower in Beverly Hills (after David Hockney's Man Taking Shower in Beverly Hills, 1964) by Ramiro Gomez, 2013

The Invisible Face of the American Worker Is Made Stunningly Visible in This New Show

The National Portrait Gallery kicks off its 50th anniversary with the exhibition “The Sweat of Their Face”

The museum has more than 600 Bibles in different languages and dialects in its collection.

Can the Museum of the Bible Deliver on Its Promise?

The highly anticipated museum hopes to offer something for visitors of all faiths, but on a topic as fraught as religion, that may not be possible

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