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Monique Bitu Bingi was taken from her family as a girl and placed with nuns at the Katende mission (she's pictured on the lower left in the photograph). The telegram announces the arrival of more children at the mission.

The Youngest Victims of Belgium’s African Rule Are Still Seeking Justice, Decades Later

Colonialism’s brutal legacy, including the European nation’s policy of forcing mixed-race children into orphanages, is still keenly felt today

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Readers Respond to the March 2023 Issue

Your feedback on World War II heroes, baby puffins and more

A monk seal in southern Greece. Females tended to give birth on beaches before human hostility drove them into hiding.

Planet Positive

The Mediterranean Monk Seal Is Making a Comeback

The endangered sea creature, known for its reclusive nature, has re-emerged out of the shadows

Two panels from Last on His Feet, depicting boxers Jack Johnson and Jim Jeffries

A New Graphic Novel Takes Readers Inside the Fight of the Century

The pages highlight the dramatic, racially charged match between Jack Johnson and Jim Jeffries

“It could take you a lifetime, or several lifetimes, to learn the history here,” says one member of the abbey staff. Left, the West Towers, completed in 1745.

Northern Europe and the British Isles

The Grand History of Westminster Abbey

The church’s many chambers and crypts hold the story of Britain’s past, present and future

A circa 1825 sampler made by Ann E. Kelly at Leah Maguire's school in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

A 19th-Century Textile Stitches a Tale of Women’s Liberation

Beloved by her pupils, schoolteacher Leah Maguire embraced her freedom through sewing this sampler

Clarice Beckett painted Luna Park (1919) across the street from a Melbourne amusement park. "Her eye alighted on fleeting moments," says gallery director Jason Smith.

The Great Australian Modernist the World Almost Never Knew

A new exhibition shines a light on the stunning work of Clarice Beckett

A team skis from the remote Taku D site to the Camp 10 sleeping quarters. Students often travel as much as 8 to 10 miles a day, carrying packs a third of their body weight.

Discover Alaska

These Students Are Part of a 75-Year Study to Map Alaska’s Glaciers

Traversing an icefield by foot and on skis, the young researchers experience one of the coolest classrooms in the nation

Theodore Roosevelt, right, and Cândido Rondon, second from right, led the fateful mission to map an uncharted waterway and document natural wonders.

Teddy Roosevelt’s Perilous Expedition on the Amazon

The dangerous—yet victorious—trip wouldn’t have been possible without Cândido Rondon, an icon of Brazilian history

Lucy Maud Montgomery, 14. During this period, as she put it in her diary, she had begun to harbor “dreams of future fame.”

The Author of ‘Anne of Green Gables’ Lived a Far Less Charmed Life Than Her Beloved Heroine

L.M. Montgomery created a classic of children’s literature, but what about her lesser-known works?

Photographed before her death in 1987, Septima Clark helped win African Americans the right to teach in Charleston, South Carolina. 

The Power of Portraits

An exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery showcases the photography of Brian Lanker—and the remarkable lives of his subjects

Saylor Flett, left, fans flames ignited by Jeff Greef. Air quality, weather and even bird migration affect when it’s safe to conduct a burn.

Planet Positive

Fighting Fire With Fire in California

How communities in the West are boldly setting property ablaze to reduce the impact of extreme wildfires

An anonymous watercolor portrait of Francis Johnson holding an early 19th-century horn

Long Before Jazz, Frank Johnson Was Playing the Hottest Music in America

The innovations of a forgotten genius who laid the groundwork for the nation’s signature music

Have any modern animals adapted to human activity through natural selection?   

Have Any Animals Evolved to Adapt to Human Activity?

You’ve got questions. We’ve got experts

Live oaks in Beaufort, South Carolina, photographed using an old-fashioned wet-plate process

The Live Oak Tree Has Withstood the Ravages of History

Majestic and sturdy, the icon of the American South has offered protection time and again

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Announcing the Winners of Smithsonian Magazine’s 20th Annual Photo Contest

From Norway to Nepal, this year’s winning images span the globe to capture the extraordinary

Dairy farms like this one run by the Barstow family in Hadley, Massachusetts, make smart use of a substance cows produce in abundance.

How Dairy Farmers Are Turning Manure Into Money

These New Englanders have found a way to help the planet and convert more than 9,000 tons of cow waste annually into electricity

A kindergartner frolics on a jungle gym during a festival in Louisville, Kentucky, in September 2017.

The Surprisingly Scientific Roots of Monkey Bars

A century ago, a Princeton mathematician created what would become a mainstay of the American playground

The Great Hall of the Castle (pictured in 1969) has housed exhibits, a library, special events and a visitor information center.

Why the Smithsonian Castle Is Getting a Major Overhaul

The iconic building on the National Mall will be closed for five years as its interior gets a highly anticipated makeover

Steps lead to one of the pools that Louise du Pont Crowninshield had built among the remains of the former powder mill.

An Abandoned, Industrial Ruin Bursts With New Life in Delaware

Thanks to a few horticulturalists with an eye for history, a garden lost to time peeks out from the creeping vines

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