History

The 2012 doomsday prophecy isn't the first to predict the end of civilization. Such warnings have been around for millenia.

Ten Notable Apocalypses That (Obviously) Didn’t Happen

Apocalyptic predictions are nothing new—they have been around for millennia

James "Pat" Daugherty, 85, served in the Army's storied 92nd Infantry Division, which was made up almost entirely of African-Americans.

Memoirs of a World War II Buffalo Soldier

In a recently published memoir written over 60 years ago, veteran James Daugherty details his experiences as an African-American in combat

Nan Madol is located near the southern side of the Federated States of Micronesia. It is the only ancient city ever built atop a coral reef.

Nan Madol: The City Built on Coral Reefs

One of the oldest archaeological sites not on a heritage list, this Pacific state, like Easter Island, is an engineering marvel

Phineas Staunton paid homage to his subject, Henry Clay, in an 11-by7-foot canvas.

The Rescue of Henry Clay

A long-lost painting of the Senate's Great Compromiser finds a fitting new home in the halls of the U.S. Capitol

Starting in 1864, Arlington National Cemetery was transformed into a military cemetery.

How Arlington National Cemetery Came to Be

The fight over Robert E. Lee's beloved home—seized by the U.S. government during the Civil War—went on for decades

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November Anniversaries

Momentous or Merely Memorable

Hugh Van Es spent much of the day on Saigon's streets but saw the line of evacuees from his office window.

A Photo-Journalist's Remembrance of Vietnam

The death of Hugh Van Es, whose photograph captured the Vietnam War's end, launched a "reunion" of those who covered the conflict

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Misperceptions

Closing in on 40 years

Flying With America's Most Famous Female Aviators

Dozens of talented women preceded Amelia Earhart, and thousands have followed, and each has her own groundbreaking story to tell

Robert M. Poole has written for National Geographic, Preservation, The New York Times, The Washington Post and Smithsonian.

Robert M. Poole on “The Battle of Arlington”

Controversy over Meriwether Lewis' death has descendants and scholars campaigning to exhume his body at his grave site in Tennessee.

Meriwether Lewis' Mysterious Death

Two hundred years later, debate continues over whether the famous explorer committed suicide or was murdered

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October Anniversaries

Momentous or Merely Memorable

John Brown and many of his followers holed up in the fire engine house awaiting reinforcements by a swarm of "bees"—slaves from the surrounding area. But only a handful showed up.

John Brown's Day of Reckoning

The abolitionist's bloody raid on a federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry 150 years ago set the stage for the Civil War

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Fevers

Temperatures at the Boiling Point

Some 80 million "lost" pages include records of people and police assassination orders.

A Human Rights Breakthrough in Guatemala

A chance discovery of police archives may reveal the fate of tens of thousands of people who disappeared in Guatemala's civil war

The New Acropolis Museum opened on June 20, 2009, replacing its predecessor with a monumental space ten times the size.

Ancient Greece Springs to Life

Athens’ New Acropolis Museum comes to America in an exhibition highlighting treasures of antiquity

From childhood on, abolitionist John Brown (in a c.1847 daguerreotype taken by Augustus Washington) had sworn "eternal war with slavery."

John Brown's Famous Photograph

An 1840s image captures an extremist's fervor

The Big Burn by Timothy Egan tells the story of a wildfire that ripped through forests in Washington, Idaho and Montana.

Timothy Egan on “The Big Burn”

The forest fire of 1910 ripped through the town of Wallace, Idaho leaving it in complete shambles.

The Legacy of America’s Largest Forest Fire

A 1910 wildfire that raged across three Western states helped advance the nation’s conservation efforts

From 1942 through 1945, more than 400,000 Axis prisoners were shipped to the United States and detained in camps in rural areas across the country.

German POWs on the American Homefront

Thousands of World War II prisoners ended up in mills, farm fields and even dining rooms across the United States

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