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History

Holiday spices have a long history, stretching back hundreds of years. (Alamy)

History of Now

How the Crusades Helped Create Your Gingerbread Latte

Spices have been shaping cuisine for thousands of years, especially around the Christmas season

Nazi Christmas ornaments

History of Now

The Nazis Fought the Original War on Christmas

As they rose to power, party leaders sought to redefine the holiday to suit their own political needs

Our Top Ten Stories of 2016

From slavery to tuberculosis, it’s been a tumultuous year of exploring our past and looking to the future

Harold Israel, left, and Homer Cummings, right, were linked for life.

The Suspect, the Prosecutor, and the Unlikely Bond They Forged

New evidence shows that Homer Cummings, who would later be FDR’s attorney general, rescued an innocent man accused of murder

Smithsonian Podcast

When the Standardization of Time Arrived in America

It used to be that each town kept its own time, and chaos reigned

Marshall Field's was as much a part of Chicago's soul as the Lakefront and the Cubs.

For Generations of Chicagoans, Marshall Field’s Meant Business, and Christmas

The midwestern mainstay transformed commerce into a communal holiday spectacle

Refugees stream across the River Ganges Delta at Kushtia, fleeing the violence in East Pakistan during the ongoing West Pakistani military campaign called Operation Searchlight. (AP Photo/Michel Laurent)

The Genocide the U.S. Can’t Remember, But Bangladesh Can’t Forget

Millions were killed in what was then known as East Pakistan, but Cold War geopolitics left defenseless Muslims vulnerable

The Tocsin of liberty: rung by the state house bell, (Independence Hall;) Philadelphia, July 4th, 1776

After Nearly 500 Years in Business, the Company that Cast the Liberty Bell Is Ceasing All Operations

London’s Whitechapel Bell Foundry will fall silent soon, but will forever be tied to an icon of American history

The Drobitsky Yar menorah commemorates the genocide that happened in Kharkov, and across Ukraine.

The WWII Massacres at Drobitsky Yar Were the Result of Years of Scapegoating Jews

Silence obscured the truth in Ukraine for decades, but 75 years later the details of the genocide have emerged

John Glenn stands in the NASA mailroom surrounded by thousands of letters sent to him.

John Glenn and the Sexism of the Early Space Program

Fan mail sent to the astronaut reveals the rigidity of gender roles in the 1960s

Lucian's space travelers witness a battle between the forces of the Sun and the Moon, which includes outlandish creatures like three-headed vultures and space spiders.

History of Now

The Intergalactic Battle of Ancient Rome

Hundreds of years before audiences fell in love with Star Wars, one writer dreamt of battles in space

Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler

History of Now

How Journalists Covered the Rise of Mussolini and Hitler

Reports on the rise of fascism in Europe were not the American media’s finest hour

The Oldest Structure on the National Mall Is on the Move

But don’t worry, it’s only going about 30 feet away

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

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