Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

History

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

None

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

None

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

None

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

On February 15, 1958, Elizabeth Taylor and her husband, producer Mike Todd, board his private plane named "The Liz," which crashed a month later killing Todd and two others.

10 Lucky Celebrities Who Escaped Disaster

Most of the time it’s the disasters that are famous—but sometimes, famous people escape disasters instead

Main waiting room, Pennsylvania Station, New York, NY, circa 1910

How Nostalgia Plays Into Our Love of Buildings Old and New

Never-before-seen photos reveal that Penn Station wasn’t as pristine as we remember when it was torn down

Comrades now, veterans in gray and blue shake hands at the 1913 Gettysburg reunion, much of the old animosity healed after a half century of peace.

The Last Civil War Veterans Who Lived to Be Over 100… Or Did They?

As America prepared to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Civil War, two centenarians told their tales — only one was telling the truth

A portrait of Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin Clicquot and her granddaughter

The Widow Who Created the Champagne Industry

Love champagne? Thank a French widow

Biochar

Energy Innovation

Carbon-Negative Energy Is Here! This Device Makes Clean Energy and Fertilizer

A Berkeley startup’s new spin on an old fuel-producing technology is a win-win for the environment

Page 218 of 302