Earliest known photograph of the White House. The image was taken in 1846 by John Plumbe during the administration of James K. Polk.

Trending Today

The White House Was, in Fact, Built by Enslaved Labor

Along with the Capitol and other iconic buildings in Washington, D.C.

The cave is supported by six pillars hewn from the same rock.

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Are Trying to Digitally Preserve an Ancient Cave Before It’s Demolished

The 5th-century cave is in the way of an airport expansion

The leaves stained with Albert I's blood

New Research

Bloody Leaves Help Solve 82-Year-Old Royal Mystery

King Albert’s untimely death sparked a range of conspiracy theories about the cause

"Memory Wound" is within view of Utøya, where Norway's July 22 massacre occurred.

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An Artist Will Slice Up a Peninsula to Remember Norway’s 2011 Massacre

“Memory Wound” will evoke the brutal losses of the July 22 tragedy

Australian press photographer Gary Ramage photographs British troops in Afghanistan in 2010.

Trending Today

War Correspondents Are No Longer Spies in the Eyes of the Pentagon

Updated Law of War manual removes references that equate journalism to participation in hostilities

Leonardo da Vinci—friction pioneer

New Research

Researcher Discovers First Written Evidence of Laws of Friction in Leonardo Da Vinci’s Notebooks

A scientific breakthrough was dismissed as a useless doodle—until now

An artist's rendition of the Rio Olympics facilities for the 2016 Summer Games. Some of the media accommodations were apparently built on top of remnants of Brazil's slave history.

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The Media Village at the Rio Olympics Is Built on a Mass Grave of Slaves

As Brazil looks forward to an Olympic future, it buries its past

Cool Finds

Museum Unveils Henry VIII’s Flagship

The Mary Rose sank almost 500 years ago, but following more than 30 years of restoration, the remains of the warship are open to the public

A researcher examines inscriptions by 16th century Europeans in a cave on Mona Island

Cool Finds

Cave Graffiti Shows Natives and Europeans Had Early Dialogue in the Caribbean

Cave art from both Taíno people and Spanish explorers in a cave on Mona Island shows the two had some early cultural understanding

A cartoon from the magazine The Judge, where "Democracy" is portrayed as the devil overlooking Washington, D.C., and looks very much like Grover Cleveland.

Trending Today

Lucifer Has Long Had His Hands in Politics

Since the earliest days of Christianity, people have accused their political rivals of being in league with the Devil

Right: Photograph during excavation exhibiting excellent dry preservation of plant remains Left: A well-preserved, desiccated barley grain found at Yoram Cave.

New Research

After 6,000 Years of Farming, Barley Is Still (More or Less) the Same

Talk about an ancient grain

Cool Finds

These Anti-Suffrage Postcards Warned Against Giving Women the Vote

There are always those who resist societal change

Image captured from the 1948 Republican National Convention.

Cool Finds

Watch Historic Footage of Seven Consequential (and Cringeworthy) Convention Moments

These tidbits of political theater past must be seen to be believed

This musical score, in Jane Austen's handwriting, is one of nearly 600 Austen family musical treasures available in an online archive.

Cool Finds

Jane Austen’s Music Collection Is Now Online

Play piano like a Darcy with nearly 600 Austen-approved tunes

Eleven Persian qanats are being preserved by Unesco.

Trending Today

Unesco Names New World Heritage Sites

Rock art, irrigation and education add to the organization’s growing list of sites worthy of protection

Was this 1660 self-portrait painted with the help of high-tech optics?

New Research

Did Rembrandt Have Help With His Most Famous Paintings?

A new study suggests the old master also knew his optics

W.E.B. Du Bois at the 1900 Paris Exposition.

Cool Finds

The Revolutionary Infographics of W.E.B. Du Bois And Booker T. Washington

Data visualizations shed light on the living conditions of black people decades after the end of slavery

Artist sketches of D.B. Cooper, who vanished in 1971 with $200,000 in stolen cash.

Trending Today

After 45 Years, the FBI Has Officially Stopped Looking for D.B. Cooper

The mysterious skyjacker got away clean

Cultural treasure—or stolen goods?

Trending Today

Britain’s Most Famous Plundered Art Could Finally Go Home

There’s a new attempt to return the Parthenon marbles to Greece

A courtyard in front of a mosque adjacent to the al-Qarawiyyin Library, pre-restoration.

Cool Finds

The World’s Oldest Working Library Will Soon Open Its Doors to the Public

After renovations wrap up in September, the library at Morocco’s al-Qarawiyyin University will debut an exhibition section for non-scholars

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