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Rothschild’s giraffes typically have five nubby horns, or ossicones, instead of the usual two.

Future of Conservation

To Save Giraffes, We May Need to Put Our Necks Out

With populations plummeting, researchers race to understand a beloved but enigmatic animal

Seward paid $200,000 extra to get the territory “free and clear.”

The Everlasting, Awe-Inspiring Power of Alaska

For 150 years, Alaska has been a part of the United States, and it’s never ceased to amaze

David Monteleone’s self-portrait as Lenin in Trelleborg, Sweden, where the Russian revolutionary arrived by ferry from Germany.

Russian Revolution

Vladimir Lenin’s Return Journey to Russia Changed the World Forever

On the 100th anniversary of the Russian Revolution, our writer set out from Zurich to relive this epic travel

A newly discovered katydid species uses drumming to communicate.

A New Age of Discovery Is Happening Right Now in the Remote Forests of Suriname

Today’s explorers and scientists are identifying new species at a rate that would’ve amazed Charles Darwin

Left: Matisse's Notre Dame, a Late Afternoon, 1902. Right: Diebenkorn's Ingleside, 1963.

The Lasting Influence Matisse Had on Richard Diebenkorn’s Artwork

The great American painter owed a luminous debt to the French Modernist

Andrew Jackson's sarcophagus

Andrew Jackson Was a Populist Even on His Deathbed

This lavishly decorated crypt was considered too ornate for the American president

A proposed museum in the former Jewish ghetto in Vilnius, Lithuania, features portraits of families who once lived there.

The Holocaust’s Great Escape

A remarkable discovery in Lithuania brings a legendary tale of survival back to life

Kiya Anderson has a father in prison and a mother who is unable to care for her. She has lived in numerous foster homes.

American Incarceration

The Everyday Struggle of a Child Whose Parents Are Incarcerated

With more American men and women in prison than ever before in our history, millions of children are struggling with the effects of a fractured family life

From left to right: Ricky Jackson is finally a free man; Japanese Americans head into internment in 1942; a Maryland boy (in red) has an inmate mom.

American Incarceration

The Far-Reaching Effects of American Incarceration

Three photo essays explore the history and modern-day consequences of the world’s highest incarceration rate

“Time is weird in prison,” says Ricky Jackson, in Cleveland near the scene of the murder he was wrongly convicted of in 1975, “because you don’t see a lot of change.”

American Incarceration

After 39 Years of Wrongful Imprisonment, Ricky Jackson Is Finally Free

Locked up for a murder he didn’t commit, he served the longest sentence of any U.S. inmate found to be innocent

Kiyoshi Katsumoto at his home in El Cerrito, California, 2015

American Incarceration

The Injustice of Japanese-American Internment Camps Resonates Strongly to This Day

During WWII, 120,000 Japanese-Americans were forced into camps, a government action that still haunts victims and their descendants

Ask Smithsonian

Why Were Electric Cars Once Advertised as ‘Ladies’ Cars’?

Your questions answered by our experts

Because Cystisoma live far from shore, scientists have just begun to study them in their natural habitat.

The Master of Disguise of the Ocean Reveals Its Secrets

A marine creature’s unusual defense is becoming perfectly clear

Discussion

Reader responses to our December issue

Oil portrait of Barack Obama by Kadir Nelson

A Portrait of Obama in the Final Days of His Presidency

Commissioned for Smithsonian magazine, this painting shows a leader at a crossroads

Lin Huiyin and Liang Sicheng on honeymoon in Europe

The Couple Who Saved China’s Ancient Architectural Treasures Before They Were Lost Forever

As the nation teetered on the brink of war in the 1930s, two Western-educated thinkers struck out for the hinterlands to save their country’s riches

Singer-songwriter St. Vincent performs with color guard team Field of View.

A New Documentary Conceived by David Byrne Explores the Wonder of the Color Guard

The dazzling offshoot of the marching band gets its moment in the spotlight

The warrior was buried in an olive grove outside the acropolis of Pylos. Though archaeologist Carl Blegen explored the olive grove in the 1960s, he did not find anything.

This 3,500-Year-Old Greek Tomb Upended What We Thought We Knew About the Roots of Western Civilization

The recent discovery of the grave of an ancient soldier is challenging accepted wisdom among archaeologists

A Sonic Boom drum major dashes across the field.

March to the Joyous, Raucous Beat of the Sonic Boom of the South

College football seasons come and go, but the joyous thunder of Jackson State’s iconic marching band rolls on

The song made its debut 215 years ago—in a boat.

Inauguration History

Why Do We Play ‘Hail to the Chief’ for the President?

A Scottish rebel features prominently in the anthem

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