Was This Little-Known Standoff Between British Soldiers and Colonists the Real Start of the American Revolution?
On February 26, 1775, residents of Salem, Massachusetts, banded together to force the British to withdraw from their town during an oft-overlooked encounter known as Leslie’s Retreat
The QWERTY Keyboard Will Never Die. Where Did the 150-Year-Old Design Come From?
The invention’s true origin story has long been the subject of debate. Some argue it was created to prevent typewriter jams, while others insist it’s linked to the telegraph
The Real Story Behind ‘Nickel Boys’ and the Brutal Florida Reform School That Inspired the Film
Based on a Colson Whitehead novel, the Oscar-nominated movie dramatizes the story of the Florida School for Boys, which traumatized children as young as 5 for more than a century
The Trailblazing Black Librarian Who Rewrote the Rules of Power, Gender and Racial Passing
Belle da Costa Greene, the first director of the Morgan Library, was a Black woman who passed as white in the early 20th century
The Enduring Mystery of the Somerton Man, One of Australia’s Most Puzzling Cold Cases
The discovery of a body on Somerton Beach in 1948 sparked theories that the dead man, now believed to be Carl Webb, was a Soviet spy, a ballet dancer or a jilted lover
How Britain’s Secret Decoy Ships Outfoxed German U-Boats During World War I
Divers recently discovered the wreck of a German submarine and the Royal Navy Q-ship that sank it in February 1917
Discover the Aromas of Ancient Egyptian Mummies, From Orange Peels to Pine to Incense
A new, first-of-its-kind analysis of the scents of nine mummies detected woody, spicy, herbal and rancid notes, among other odors
The Talented and Valiant Female Surgeon Who Joined Allied Forces in WWII and Broke Barriers Along the Way
Prohibited from serving with the U.S. Army as a medical officer, Barbara Stimson was commissioned by the British—and helped open the American military to female doctors
How Alice Hamilton Waged a One-Woman Campaign to Get the Lead Out of Everything
At first a crusader for workplace safety, the trained physician railed against the use of the toxic and ubiquitous material
For Centuries, Indigenous People Lived in These Desert Canyons. Now, New Technology Reveals Extraordinary Details About This Sacred Site
In the Arizona desert, researchers are learning so much more about the peoples who have inhabited this land since antiquity
A Blockbuster Exhibition on Samurai Reveals How the Warriors Dressed the Part
The display of exquisite samurai armor in Oklahoma highlights the importance of aesthetics to Japan’s famed fighters
Untold Stories of American History
Born Enslaved, This Black Millionaire Attempted to Colonize Mexico and Aspired to Be the Emperor of Ethiopia
William Henry Ellis masqueraded as a Mexican businessman, but he never shied away from his Black roots
Rifling Through the Archives With Legendary Historian Robert Caro
Reams of papers, revealing how the scholar came to write his iconic biographies of Robert Moses and Lyndon B. Johnson, are preserved forever in New York. But his work is far from over
Are Humans the Only Species to Drive Others to Extinction? And More Questions From Our Readers
You’ve got questions. We’ve got experts
The Mystery of the World’s Oldest Writing System Remained Unsolved Until Four Competitive Scholars Raced to Decipher It
In the 1850s, cuneiform was just a series of baffling scratches on clay, waiting to spill the secrets of the ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia
Untold Stories of American History
After Confederate Forces Captured Their Children, These Black Mothers Fought to Reunite Their Families
During the Civil War, Confederates targeted free Black people in the North, kidnapping them to sell into slavery. After the conflict ended, two women sought help from high places to track down their lost loved ones
Untold Stories of American History
The Spy Who Exposed the Secrets of the Black Chamber, One of America’s First Code-Breaking Organizations
In 1931, Herbert O. Yardley published a tell-all book about his experiences leading a covert government agency called the Cipher Bureau
Hundreds Died When This Steamship Sank in the Pacific Northwest in 1875 With Gold Worth Millions On Board
A century and a half later, the sinking of the S.S. Pacific remains one of the deadliest maritime disasters in the region’s history
This Heroic Dog Raced Across the Frozen Alaskan Wilderness to Deliver Life-Saving Medicine—but His Contributions Were Long Overlooked
Togo, not Balto, was the driving force behind the 1925 Serum Run to Nome, which found teams of mushers and sled dogs delivering antitoxin to children suffering from diphtheria
The Enduring Mystery of a Plane That Vanished in the Icy Canadian Wilderness With 44 People On Board
Seventy-five years ago, a Douglas C-54D Skymaster disappeared en route from Alaska to Montana. No trace of its crew and passengers, including a pregnant mother and her young son, has ever been found
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