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History / U.S. History

The installation, "A Room of Her Own: An Altar for My Mother," is on view through January 2015.

Halloween

An Awe-Inspiring Altar Remembers One Latino Artist’s Guiding Spirit

At the American History Museum, an installation reimagines the life story of a Latina artist and writer

A yellow fever epidemic may have planted the seeds of inspiration for Washington Irving's iconic tale of the a headless horseman.

Halloween

What “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” Tells Us About Contagion, Fear and Epidemics

Washington Irving fled New York because of a yellow fever epidemic. Twenty-two years later, his classic story spoke to the chaos of his youth

Dr. Linda Hazzard’s Washington State Penitentiary mug shots.

The Doctor Who Starved Her Patients to Death

Linda Hazzard killed as many as a dozen people in the early 20th century, and they paid willingly for it

The trope of the beautiful witch was popular between 1905 and 1915.

Halloween

Women of the Early 1900s Rallied Behind Beautiful, Wartless Witches

Women looking to work, vote and marry whomever they wanted turned the Halloween icon into a powerful symbol

One of the greatest inland waterways disasters in the history of the United States took place in the Chicago River, Chicago, Ill., July 24, 1915, when the steamship Eastland capsized with a loss of near 850 lives. The photo shows the ill-fated ship after it had turned "turtle."

The Eastland Disaster Killed More Passengers Than the Titanic and the Lusitania. Why Has It Been Forgotten?

Chicago’s working poor were expecting a day in luxury. They instead faced a horrific calamity on Lake Michigan

2014 Ingenuity Awards

Coming to Terms With One of America’s Greatest Natural Disasters

Documentary filmmaker Bill Morrison plunges us into the Great Flood of 1927

The History of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, 50 Years After Its Construction

Built in 1964, the span still stands as Americas’ largest suspension bridge

Igorrotes on show at Coney Island, in the summer of 1905.

The Igorrote Tribe Traveled the World for Show And Made These Two Men Rich

Truman Hunt and Richard Schneidewind were locked in a fierce competition, but by the end, the tribespeople were left poor, hungry and yearning for home

Like his life's work, Edgar Allan Poe's death remains shrouded in mystery.

Halloween

The (Still) Mysterious Death of Edgar Allan Poe

Was the famous author killed from a beating? From carbon monoxide poisoning? From alcohol withdrawal? Here are the top nine theories

A new Archives of American Art exhibition, "A Day in the Life," looks inside 35 diaries of American artists.

Peering into the Secret Diaries of American Artists

A new Archives of American Art exhibition looks at how artists documented their lives before social media

The Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh, P.A. is celebrating its city in a long-term exhibition, "Pittsburgh a Tradition of Innovation."

Celebrating Pittsburgh, the City Behind Pro Football, Big Macs and the Polio Vaccine

The Pennsylvanian city had more lives than a cat and thrives as a hub of innovation

Distinctive gold cuff links provided a recognition signal between Soviet mole Pyotr Popov and his CIA contacts.

A Private Tour of the CIA’s Incredible Museum

Inside the agency’s headquarters is a museum filled with relics from half a century of cloak-and-dagger exploits

Inside the Intense Rivalry Between Eliot Ness and J. Edgar Hoover

Newly released files shed fresh light on the difficult relationship shared by the “Untouchable” Prohibition Bureau agent and the powerful FBI director

In this portrait, Webster wore what looks like a Confederate uniform, but there is no evidence he fought for the South.

Why Was Robert Webster, a Slave, Wearing What Looks Like a Confederate Uniform?

This remarkable man risked his life to undermine the Confederacy yet remained close to his former owner after the Civil War

From the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, the nuclear "Football."

The Real Story of the “Football” That Follows the President Everywhere

Take a peek at the mysterious black briefcase that has accompanied every U.S. president since John F. Kennedy

The Debate Over Net Neutrality Has Its Roots in the Fight Over Radio Freedom

Today’s epic battle has been fought before, when radio took to the air a century ago

Abel Buell's map was the first in the country submitted for copyright, in March of 1784.

Even in 1784 America, It Was Impossible to Make a Map Without Infuriating Someone

Abel Buell’s map was the first in the country submitted for a copyright

Ridley's film focuses on Hendrix in the years before he became famous, 1966-1967.

The Oscar-Winning Writer John Ridley, Talks About His New Jimi Hendrix Movie

The writer and director of Jimi: All Is by My Side speaks about making living history from legend

The corner in downtown Hartford where the first pay phone was installed

The Pay Phone’s Journey From Patent to Urban Relic

The history of the device that is well on its way to becoming, well, history

Eleanor Roosevelt leans forward from the back seat of the Roosevelt car to catch a comment from her husband, Franklin, as they campaign for his fourth term as president.

Ken Burns’ New Series, Based on Newly Discovered Letters, Reveals a New Side of FDR

In “The Roosevelts”, Burns examines the towering but flawed figures who really understood how character defined leadership

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