Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

History

The United Nations in New York City.

The Surprisingly Colorful Spaces Where the World’s Biggest Decisions Get Made (PHOTOS)

Photographer Luca Zanier looks at the view from where the decision-makers sit

None

From the Editor

From the Editor

"It's possible my natural level is in the Senate," John F. Kennedy said—but then he won the 1960 election. As president, he and his wife hosted Ben and Tony Bradlee (left and third from left) at the White House.

Kennedy After Dark: A Dinner Party About Politics and Power

In this exclusive transcript from the JFK library, hear what he had to say just days after announcing his candidacy for the presidency

Low-altitude images, previously unpublished, reveal gaps in U.S. intelligence. Analysts failed to detect tactical nuclear warheads at a bunker near Managua.

The Photographs That Prevented World War III

While researching a book on the Cuban missile crisis, the writer unearthed new spy images that could have changed history

“I’d come back from an op and couldn’t wait for what happens next,” says Douglas Groat (shown in a reenactment with tools of the trade).

The CIA Burglar Who Went Rogue

Douglas Groat thought he understood the risks of his job—until he took on his own employer

Dr. Lewis Fielding’s File Cabinet.

The World’s Most Famous Filing Cabinet

After Daniel Ellsberg leaked the Pentagon Papers, the notorious Plumbers broke into his psychiatrist’s office, looking for a way to discredit him

At the gravesite of Mercy Lena Brown, right, sightseers leave offerings such as plastic vampire teeth and jewelry.

The Great New England Vampire Panic

Two hundred years after the Salem witch trials, farmers became convinced that their relatives were returning from the grave to feed on the living

The Dark Side of Thomas Jefferson

A new portrait of the founding father challenges the long-held perception of Thomas Jefferson as a benevolent slaveholder

The fireman Tom Sawyer was lionized by local reporters for battling the “flames which destroyed the . . . landmarks of a boom town.”

The Adventures of the Real Tom Sawyer

Mark Twain prowled the rough-and-tumble streets of 1860s San Francisco with a hard-drinking, larger-than-life fireman

None

The Silence that Preceded China’s Great Leap into Famine

Mao Zedong encouraged critics of his government—and then betrayed them just when their advice might have prevented a calamity

None

Recapping “The Jetsons”: Episode 01 – Rosey the Robot

Meet George Jetson! The first installment of our 24-part series on the show that would forever change how we view the future

None

Trains of Tomorrow, After the War

The wartime inconveniences of traveling by train prompted the promise for “the finest transportation the world has ever seen”

None

The Copper King’s Precipitous Fall

Augustus Heinze dominated the copper fields of Montana, but his family’s scheming on Wall Street set off the Panic of 1907

None

Play the Great American History Puzzle

Jeopardy! Champion Ken Jennings takes you on a challenging adventure through the secrets of American history. Will you be our grand prize winner?

Lunch Atop a Skyscraper Photograph: The Story Behind the Famous Shot

For 80 years, the 11 ironworkers in the iconic photo have remained unknown, and now, thanks to new research, two of them have been identified

The Jetsons title slate from 1962

50 Years of the Jetsons: Why The Show Still Matters

Although it was on the air for only one season, The Jetsons remains our most popular point of reference when discussing the future.

At home and abroad, vampire scares usually began when a person died and others in the vicinity began dying, too, usually of the same sickness.

Halloween

Meet the Real-Life Vampires of New England and Abroad

The legend of the blood suckers, and the violence heaped upon their corpses, came out of ignorance of contagious disease

None

The Blazing Career and Mysterious Death of the ‘Swedish Meteor’

Can modern science determine who shot this 18th-century Swedish king?

None

The Unknown Story of “The Black Cyclone,” the Cycling Champion Who Broke the Color Barrier

Major Taylor had to brave more than the competition to become one of the most acclaimed cyclists of the world

None

The Anti-Skyscraper Law That Shaped Sydney, Australia

What happens when public safety clashes with modern architecture?

Page 234 of 302