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History

PHOTOS: The History of Abraham Lincoln on Film

The 16th president has been a Hollywood star and box office attraction since the earliest days of Hollywood

The "Mary" in the controversial text, King says, may be Mary Magdalene, who was present at the Crucifixion.

UPDATE: The Reaction to Karen King’s Gospel Discovery

When a divinity scholar unveiled a papyrus fragment that she says refers to Jesus’ “wife,” our reporter was there in Rome amidst the firestorm of criticism

The first page of Theodore Roosevelt's speech that was damaged when a bullet tore through it.

The Speech That Saved Teddy Roosevelt’s Life

Campaigning for president, Roosevelt was spared almost certain death when 50 pieces of paper slowed an assailant’s bullet headed for his chest

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“Confederates Try to Burn New York”

A new poem by George Green

A still from Lincoln, directed by Steven Spielberg.

The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln

Mr. Lincoln Goes to Hollywood

Steven Spielberg, Doris Kearns Goodwin and Tony Kushner talk about what it takes to wrestle an epic presidency into a feature film

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Women Who Shaped History

The Fox Sisters and the Rap on Spiritualism

Their seances with the departed launched a mass religious movement—and then one of them confessed that “it was common delusion”

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Recapping ‘The Jetsons’: Episode 06 – The Good Little Scouts

A camping trip to the moon might seem fanciful, but 1960s advertisers were already promoting space tourism

Fox Sisters

“A Very Common Delusion”: Spiritualism and the Fox Sisters

Years before the infamous events of Salem, Easthampton, New York was riddled with allegations of witchcraft. Pictured is an old windmill next to a graveyard in the small town.

Before Salem, There Was the Not-So-Wicked Witch of the Hamptons

Why was Goody Garlick, accused of witchcraft in 1658, spared the fate that would befall the women of Massachusetts decades later

Screenshot of the robot WALL-E from the 2008 Disney/Pixar animated film

And the Winner Is: 2012 Inductees to the Robot Hall of Fame

Much to our chagrin, Rosey did not make it. But who did?

President Gerald Ford in April 1975 with Dick Cheney (left), who would become the youngest White House chief of staff in history, and Donald Rumsfeld, who would become defense secretary.

A Halloween Massacre at the White House

In the fall of 1975 President Gerald Ford survived two assassination attempts and a car accident. Then his life got really complicated

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A Brief History of the Teleprompter

How a makeshift show business memory aid became the centerpiece of modern political campaigning

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Recapping ‘The Jetsons’: Episode 05 – Jetson’s Nite Out

George and Mr. Spacely sneak off to watch the big game, but are caught in the act by Jane on the family’s super-sized television

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Sex and Space Travel: Predictions from the 1950s

The cure for lonely space missions? One astronomer proposed hiring astronaut concubines

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Sophie Blanchard – The High Flying Frenchwoman Who Revealed the Thrill and Danger of Ballooning

Blanchard was said to be afraid of riding in a carriage, but she became one of the great promoters of human flight

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Recapping ‘The Jetsons’: Episode 04 – The Coming of Astro

Man’s best friend has been fending off the the threat of a robot replacement for decades, not just on television

People in a space colony of the future

A New Great Depression and Ladies on the Moon: 1970s Middle School Kids Look to the Year 2000

The ideal future according to a ten-year-old: shorter school days, lower taxes, and lots and lots of robots

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The Traumatic Birth of the Modern (and Vicious) Political Campaign

When Upton Sinclair ran for governor of California in 1934, new media were marshaled to beat him

This photograph of a medium-range ballistic missile site in Cuba was captured by a U-2 spy plane on October 14, 1962.

Document Deep Dive

Document Deep Dive: What Did Analysts Find in the Recon Photographs From the Cuban Missile Crisis?

Dino Brugioni explains how he and other CIA photo analysts located Soviet missiles just 90 miles away from the United States

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Recapping ‘The Jetsons’: Episode 03 – The Space Car

The Jetsons didn’t invent the flying car, but it sure did a lot to cement the idea of the airborne automobile into the American imagination

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