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History

Despite the Russian invasion, traditional Ukrainian folk singers performed as part of the celebrations for Kyiv Day  on May 28, 2022.

Can Cultural Treasures in Occupied Ukraine Be Saved?

The podcast ‘Sidedoor’ goes behind-the-scenes with the Smithsonian Culture Rescue Initiative and its heroic efforts to safeguard the nation’s heritage

A meeting of the Soviet Republics’ Esperanto Union, held in Moscow in 1931

Why Hitler and Stalin Hated Esperanto, the 135-Year-Old Language of Peace

Jewish doctor L.L. Zamenhof created Esperanto as a way for diverse groups to easily communicate

In 1964, when a journalist asked Howard crew coach Stuart Law about the team’s last-place finishes, he just smiled and said, “We’re getting better all the time.”

Untold Stories of American History

The Barrier-Breaking Rowers of America’s First All-Black Crew Team

At the height of the civil rights movement, Howard University’s oarsmen held their own against rivals from established, largely white programs

The trident, also known as the tryzub, is ubiquitous in modern Ukraine, but its origins lie in the medieval period.

How Medieval Money Shaped Ukraine’s Modern Identity

The country’s distinct history is revealed in banknotes, coins and other monetary objects, says the Smithsonian’s curator of numismatics

By March 1862, Judith Henry's Virginia home had been reduced to rubble.

Untold Stories of American History

The Civil War’s First Civilian Casualty Was an Elderly Widow From Virginia

Union gunfire killed 85-year-old Judith Carter Henry on July 21, 1861—the day of the First Battle of Bull Run

Drawing of a woman being dragged to a ducking stool at a river in Ipswich, Suffolk, around 1600

When Authorities Dunked Outspoken Women in Water

In early modern England, women accused of being “common scolds” were immersed in rivers and lakes while strapped to contraptions known as ducking stools

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine's flag hangs on the door of a hijacked TWA Boeing 707 at Dawson's Field in Libya in September 1970.

A Brief History of Airplane Hijackings, From the Cold War to D.B. Cooper

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, hijackings occurred, on average, once every five days globally

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Untold Stories of American History

Untold Stories of American History

Explore the lives of little-known changemakers who left their mark on the country

The author and a friend paddled the 200-year-old Forth and Clyde Canal into the Union Canal. The two canals form a historic, 54-mile route that bisects Scotland.

Northern Europe and the British Isles

How Scotland Is Reinventing Its Centuries-Old Canals for Paddlers

In the past 20 years, the country has transformed its decrepit coal-transport infrastructure into a thriving recreational wonderland

After the first group of students arrived at Bunce Court came hundreds more, traumatized by the ever-escalating catastrophe in Europe.

The Schoolteacher Who Saved Her Students From the Nazis

A new book explores the life of Anna Essinger, who led an entire school’s daring escape from Germany in 1933

Donald Duck title card art, circa 1942

How Disney Propaganda Shaped Life on the Home Front During WWII

A traveling exhibition traces how the animation studio mobilized to support the Allied war effort

The trunk, ears and tail of this baby woolly mammoth, named Nun cho ga, are almost perfectly preserved.

Cool Finds

Well-Preserved, 30,000-Year-Old Baby Woolly Mammoth Emerges From Yukon Permafrost

The mummified creature is helping to heal the rift between the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in people and the miners and scientists who came to their lands

After an attack by Russian forces in late March, smoke rises from an oil depot not far from Rynok Square in Lviv in western Ukraine

The Race to Save Ukraine’s Sacred Art

The Bohorodchany Iconostasis has withstood religious persecution, revolutions and world wars. Can it survive Russia’s brutal assault?

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Women Who Shaped History

Mary Sears’ Pioneering Ocean Research Saved Countless Lives in WWII

Allied victory in the Pacific depended on strategy, bravery and military might. It also depended on a brilliant marine scientist from Massachusetts

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How One Historian Located Liberia’s Elusive Founding Document

The piece of paper went missing for nearly 200 years, leaving some scholars to question whether it even existed

A rider hangs tough during a rodeo at Madison Square Garden in New York, 1957. 

A Brief History of the Rodeo

The humble origins and complex future of cowboy competition

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When Coal First Arrived, Americans Said ‘No Thanks’

Back in the 19th century, coal was the nation’s newfangled fuel source—and it faced the same resistance as wind and solar today

One reader wonders: Since purple dye was scarce, why didn’t people just combine blue and red?

Why Was Purple the Color of Royalty? And More Questions From Our Readers

You’ve got questions. We’ve got experts.

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Untold Stories of American History

The Southbound Underground Railroad Brought Thousands of Enslaved Americans to Mexico

Rather than head north, many of those in bondage made a different treacherous journey in a bold quest for freedom that historians are now unearthing

The men of the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops created elaborate illusions featuring inflatable tanks, jeeps and artillery.

Untold Stories of American History

How the Ghost Army of WWII Used Art to Deceive the Nazis

Unsung for decades, the U.S. Army’s 23rd Headquarters Special Troops drew on visual, sonic and radio deception to misdirect the Germans

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