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History

The Last Days of Blackbeard

An exclusive account of the final raid and political maneuvers of history’s most notorious pirate

The Heartbreaking History of Divorce

Historian Amanda Foreman explores the other side of love and marriage

Winter Olympics

Whatever Happened to Eddie the Eagle, Britain’s Most Lovable Ski Jumper?

Twenty-six years after he (sort of) took to the air at the Olympics, Michael Edwards soars

Alchemy May Not Have Been the Pseudoscience We All Thought It Was

Although scientists never could quite turn lead into gold, they did attempt some noteworthy experiments

The JFK Christmas Card That Was Never Sent

A rare White House card from 1963 evokes one of the nation’s darkest holiday seasons

Troops encountered ruin across Europe (in Palermo, the bombed-out church of Sant’Ignazio). In that city, recalled war correspondent Richard Tregaskis, “buildings were smashed into the street as far as one could see.”

How the Monuments Men Saved Italy’s Treasures

As Allied Forces fought the Nazis for control of Europe, an unlikely unit of American and British art experts waged a shadow campaign

Patience Wright, c. 1782. Artist unknown.

The Madame Tussaud of the American Colonies Was a Founding Fathers Stalker

Patience Wright remained independence-minded in her correspondence with Ben Franklin and Thomas Jefferson

Col. Elmer Ellsworth became the first officer to die in the Civil War when he was gunned down by an innkeeper in Alexandria, Virginia.

The Civil War

The Civil War

The crossword turns 100 this week.

What’s a 9-Letter Word for a 100-Year-Old Puzzle?

The crossword puzzle turns 100 this week — here’s how it rose to popularity

Villagers construct a new bridge over the Apurimac River, in Huinchiri, Peru, in 2012.

The Earliest and Greatest Engineers Were the Incas

Smithsonian Secretary G. Wayne Clough treks to Peru to see how Machu Picchu was built

Manuscripts from when Timbuktu was a vibrant commercial and academic crossroads at the edge of the Sahara were in danger of being looted and potentially destroyed.

The Race to Save Mali’s Priceless Artifacts

When jihadists overran Timbuktu last year, residents mounted a secret operation to evacuate the town’s irreplaceable medieval manuscripts

The Best Gifts to Give to the History Buff in Your Life

Civil War-era toys and a National Book Award winning title make our list of gift ideas for your favorite historian

The first ransom notes come from an 1874 kidnapping.

The Story Behind the First Ransom Note in American History

Last year, a school librarian was looking through family artifacts when she stumbled upon the first ransom note in American history

Different visuals paint different pictures of the AIDS epidemic in America.

The Confusing and At-Times Counterproductive 1980s Response to the AIDS Epidemic

A new exhibit looks at the posters sent out by non-profits and the government in response to the spread of AIDS

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This Thanksgiving, Step Back in Time and into 17th-Century Plymouth Colony

Reenactors in this “living museum” bring the Pilgrim’s homestead back to life

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Dear Sir, Ben Franklin Would Like to Add You to His Network

Historian Caroline Winterer’s analysis of Franklin’s letters applies big data to big history

This Man Made the First Canned Cranberry Sauce

How Marcus Urann’s idea revolutionized the cranberry industry

Beautiful art on the menu for Thanksgiving Day, 1916, at the Greyhound Inn.

When Thanksgiving Meant a Fancy Meal Out on the Town

From the Gilded Age to the Great Depression, the menu had a lot more than turkey and stuffing

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The Top Ten Doctor Who Stories for History Buffs

Fifty years after he was introduced to the world, the Doctor’s influence is bigger on the inside

An editorial that critiqued Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address as “silly remarks.”

My Great-Great-Grandfather Hated the Gettysburg Address. Now He’s Famous For It

It’s hard to imagine anyone could pan Lincoln’s famous Gettysburg Address, but one cantankerous reporter did just that

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