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History

Rudolf Hess and Adolf Hitler during the Reichstag session at which Hitler gave his last warning to the British Empire.

History of Now

The First Moments of Hitler’s Final Solution

When Hitler solidified his plan to exterminate Jews – and why it matters 75 years later

John Glenn (1921-2016) by Henry C. Casselli, Jr., 1998

A Smithsonian Curator Remembers Astronaut and U.S. Senator John Glenn

The American hero died at the age of 95

How Trump Tower Takes the Skyscraper Debate to New Heights

The future of urban development takes on a new twist when the president lives among the clouds

Capture and Burning of Washington by the British, in 1814, wood engraving, 1876

The Sole American Killed in the 1814 Burning of D.C. Was Related to George Washington

John Lewis was the grandnephew of the first President of the United States

New York City’s Holiday Vintage Subway Trains Are Back

Go back in time, underground

The electoral map in 2016, that is, assuming there are no faithless electors

The Electoral College Has Been Divisive Since Day One

It has always had the potential for chaos—one that hasn’t been tapped…yet

President Coolidge conducts the first official transatlantic phone call with the king of Spain in 1927

History of Now

From the Telegram to Twitter, How Presidents Make Contact With Foreign Leaders

Does faster communication cause more problems than it solves?

The Sikiorsky JRS-1 "was right in the middle of it,” Robinson says. “She went out along with other airplanes from the (Navy) Utility Squadron One searching for the Japanese fleet.”

At Pearl Harbor, This Aircraft Risked It All to Find the Japanese Fleet

The Sikorsky JRS-1 flew right through the middle of it on December 7, 1941

After the 2016 election, several hundred students at Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring, Maryland, walked out of the classrooms in protest.

Finding Lessons for Today’s Protests in the History of Political Activism

A whirlwind of action, both organized and organic, supported by legal defense teams brought historic change

Noble is interviewed by students participating in StoryQuest, an oral history project based at the C.V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experence at Washington College.

A New Oral History Project Seeks the Stories of World War II Before It’s Too Late

Every member of the greatest generation has a tale to tell, no matter what they did during the war

The proliferation of fake news sites this election year has led to many readers believing complete falsehoods.

The Remedy for the Spread of Fake News? History Teachers

Historical literacy, and the healthy skepticism that comes with it, provides the framework for being able to discern truth from fiction

Ahead of her time: Foote first identified the greenhouse effect, now a seminal concept in climate science.

This Suffrage-Supporting Scientist Defined the Greenhouse Effect But Didn’t Get the Credit, Because Sexism

Eunice Foote’s career highlights the subtle forms of discrimination that have kept women on the sidelines of science

A small boat rescues a seaman from the 31,800 ton USS West Virginia burning in the foreground. Smoke rolling out amidships shows where the most extensive damage occurred.

The Children of Pearl Harbor

Military personnel weren’t the only people attacked on December 7, 1941

Ex-President William Howard Taft (1857-1930) sworn in as chief justice of the United States in 1921

Chief Justice, Not President, Was William Howard Taft’s Dream Job

The 27th president arguably left a more lasting mark on the nation as leader of the Supreme Court

The Best Books About Food of 2016

Looking for the perfect gift for the food lover in your life? Any of these suggestions will hit the spot

Left to right: Newton Poolaw (Kiowa), Jerry Poolaw (Kiowa), Elmer Thomas Buddy Saunkeah (Kiowa). Mountain View, Oklahoma, ca. 1928

A Rare Insider’s View of Native American Life in Mid-20th-Century Oklahoma

Horace Poolaw’s photography is unearthed at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian

The Romanov family between 1913 and 1914. Alexei is seated in front.

Russian Revolution

What You Need to Know First to Understand the Russian Revolution

Read this first in a series of columns chronicling what led to that 1917 cataclysm

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