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History / U.S. History

Brown bears in Alaska’s Katmai

Why Robert Redford Loves America’s National Parks

The famed actor and director celebrates the great outdoors of the United States in a new documentary

Flying Fortresses of the 303rd bomber group (Hell’s Angels) drop a heavy load on industrial targets in Germany.

There Are Still Thousands of Tons of Unexploded Bombs in Germany, Left Over From World War II

More than 70 years after being dropped in Europe, the ordnance is still inflicting harm and mayhem

“I just wrote my best song,” Paul Simon told Art Garfunkel.

How “The Sound of Silence” Became a Surprise Hit

The Simon and Garfunkel song catapulted the duo to stardom

Illustration of the slave revolt in Haiti, and what slaveholders in the United States feared.

History of Now

The History of the United States’ First Refugee Crisis

Fleeing the Haitian revolution, whites and free blacks were viewed with suspicion by American slaveholders, including Thomas Jefferson

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Everybody Loves Lists

The Best History Books of 2015

Beyond the boldface names are these chronicles from the past year that are well worth your time

In a photograph by Devin Allen, a young girl holds a sign at a protest in Baltimore.

Breaking Ground

How the African American History Museum Is Curating “Black Lives Matter”

Photographs, posters and other artifacts documenting the protests find a home at the new Smithsonian museum

The Apollo 11 Command Module Columbia undergoes a scanning process for the creation of a 3-D model.

In Another Giant Leap, Apollo 11 Command Module Is 3-D Digitized for Humankind

Five decades after Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins journeyed to the moon, their spaceship finds a new digital life

David Rubenstein of The Carlyle Group and Warren Buffett of Berkshire Hathaway preview the “Giving in America" display at the National Museum of American History.

The Day a Bunch of Billionaires Stopped by the Smithsonian

A new effort to study the history of philanthropy is announced and a number of significant charitable contributions are recognized

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The ‘Charlie Brown Christmas’ Special Was the Flop That Wasn’t

In 1965, CBS gambled big on an animated spectacular that’s now become a holiday tradition

A Brief History of Sending a Letter to Santa

Dating back more than 150 years, the practice of writing to St. Nick tells a broader history of America itself

The manuscript found in the attic

An Intern Saved a Museum by Finding This Revolutionary War Treasure in the Attic

The obvious lesson: never throw anything away

A holiday postcard from 1908.

Your Thanksgiving Turkey Is a Quintessentially American Bird: An Immigrant

The turkeys common on U.S. tables descended from a Mexican species and were originally bred for Maya rituals

Document Deep Dive

How NASA’s Flight Plan Described the Apollo 11 Moon Landing

A second-by-second guide to the historic mission

Get Reintroduced to Rosa Parks as a New Archive Reveals the Woman Behind the Boycott

The Rosa Parks collection adds depth to the story of the civil rights heroine

In 1856, a Nantucket sailor sketched the killing of his crew’s “100-barrel” prize.

How Nantucket Came to Be the Whaling Capital of the World

Ron Howard’s new film “In the Heart of the Sea” captures the greed and blood lust of the Massachusetts island

American Ingenuity Awards

Meet Lin-Manuel Miranda, the Genius Behind “Hamilton,” Broadway’s Newest Hit

Composer, lyricist and performer, Miranda wows audiences and upends U.S. history with his dazzlingly fresh hip-hop musical

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