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History / U.S. History

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

Engineer Martin Cooper made the world's first cellphone call on April 3, 1973, using a Motorola DynaTAC.

From ‘the Brick’ to the iPhone, the Cellphone Celebrates 50 Years

As the technology turns 50, science fiction might hint at the cellphone’s next chapter

A vintage promotional photograph commissioned and approved by Redfeather around 1915 is now held in the collections of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.

The Stars Are Aligned at the National Museum of American History

The Forgotten History of Tsianina Redfeather, the Beloved American Indian Opera Singer

A portrait of the performer debuts in the exhibition “Entertainment Nation”

An elaborate dance sequence from the 1943 production, choreographed by Agnes de Mille

LGBTQ+ Pride

Behind ‘Oklahoma!’ Lies the Remarkable Story of a Gay Cherokee Playwright

Lynn Riggs wrote the play that served as the basis of the hit 1943 musical

The octagonal building with its tongue-in-groove peaked roof is "really a beautiful piece of architecture,” says the museum's conservator Dawn Wallace. “You can tell it was heavily used, but it’s beautiful construction.”

Crowds Roared, a Century Ago, on Opening Day for the Mighty House That Ruth Built

An original Yankee Stadium ticket booth recalls the story of that first game, which featured a thundering three-run homer from the Great Bambino

Archaeologists collect samples from a prehistoric caribou hunting site on Alpena-Amberley Ridge in Lake Huron.

America's Waterways: The Past, Present and Future

Clues to the Lives of North America’s First Inhabitants Are Hidden Underwater

Submerged prehistory holds insights on the first humans to live in North America

Wong Kim Ark's departure statement

Untold Stories of American History

How the Fight for Birthright Citizenship Shaped the History of Asian American Families

Even after Wong Kim Ark successfully took his case to the Supreme Court 125 years ago, Asian Americans struggled to receive recognition as U.S. citizens

Frederick Douglass once said, “Samuel R. Ward has left no successor among the colored men amongst us, and it was a sad day for our cause when he was laid low in the soil of a foreign country.”

Untold Stories of American History

Frederick Douglass Thought This Abolitionist Was a ‘Vastly Superior’ Orator and Thinker

A new book offers the first full-length biography of newspaper editor, labor leader and minister Samuel Ringgold Ward

The rocky beach in Wrangell, Alaska, is decorated with more than 40 petroglyphs.

Discover Alaska

The Mystery of This Petroglyph-Covered Alaskan Beach

The 8,000-year-old rock carvings were likely created by the Tlingit

Carrie Coon (left) as Jean Cole and Keira Knightley (right) as Loretta McLaughlin in the Boston Strangler movie

Women Who Shaped History

The Tenacious Women Reporters Who Helped Expose the Boston Strangler

A new film explores Loretta McLaughlin and Jean Cole’s efforts to unmask a serial killer believed to have murdered 13 women between 1962 and 1964

The sun sets over the Susquehanna River in northern Pennsylvania.

America's Waterways: The Past, Present and Future

America’s Waterways: The Past, Present and Future

In a series of articles, Smithsonian magazine highlights all that draws our eyes to our nation’s fresh and coastal waters

Movements, Motions, Moments offers a visual journey from the early 1870s to the present, depicting the story of how African Americans take action in sacred worship, ministry or ceremony according to their beliefs.

These Photographs of Spirituality in America Will Speak to Your Soul

A new volume from the National Museum of the African American History and Culture explores religion in the Black community

Bradbury's encounter with Mr. Electrico “really started him on his quest to become a writer, which was essentially a quest to become immortal,” says Jason Aukerman.

The Sideshow Magician Who Inspired Ray Bradbury—Then Vanished

Experts have been unable to verify the existence of Mr. Electrico, whose 1932 electric chair act supposedly affirmed the young author’s interest in writing

Alaska Railroad's main line stretches 470 miles between Seward and Fairbanks.

Discover Alaska

For 100 Years, the Alaska Railroad Has Been a Critical Artery Pumping Passengers and Freight Through the State

Along with celebrations, the centennial offers a chance to consider the effects the rail system has had on the state and its people

During World War II, Executive Order 9066 authorized the incarceration of 120,000 Japanese Americans (above: In Los Angeles in April 1942, dozens of families wait for a train to Manzanar War Relocation Center in Owens Valley, California).

Japanese American Artists Recall the Trauma of Wartime Incarceration

Smithsonian podcasts explore the legacy of Executive Order 9066 and the camera that almost didn’t make it to the Juno spacecraft launch

Woodrow Wilson and his second wife, Edith, in 1916

Women Who Shaped History

How Edith Wilson Kept Herself—and Her Husband—in the White House

A new book about the first lady reveals how she and the ailing President Woodrow Wilson silenced their critics

A 1903 photograph of Paul Laurence Dunbar

The Brief but Shining Life of Paul Laurence Dunbar, a Poet Who Gave Dignity to the Black Experience

A prolific writer, he inspired such luminaries as Maya Angelou and Langston Hughes

Mina’s goal was to keep the home—and women—central in modern society. Building on the home economists who came before her, she sought to define women’s work as work rather than a vague, idealized calling.

Women Who Shaped History

Mina Miller Edison Was Much More Than the Wife of the ‘Wizard of Menlo Park’

The second wife of Thomas Edison, she viewed domestic labor as a science, calling herself a “home executive”

A brown-green vessel bearing the inscription, "A noble Jar for pork or beef / then carry it a round to the indian chief" made by the enslaved craftsman David "Dave" Drake, is now on view at the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

For the Enslaved Potter David Drake, His Literary Practice Was His Resistance

This 19th-century vessel, made to store meat, carries a powerful backstory of Drake’s defiance of the laws of enslavement

The Nenana Ice Classic tripod is on display alongside the Tanana River and the Alaska Railroad tracks, next to the community "watchtower" building. The tripod will be raised on the ice of the Tanana River on March 5, 2023.

Discover Alaska

The River That’s Kept Alaska Guessing for More Than a Century

The Nenana Ice Classic, started in 1917, is a high-stakes guessing game over the date, hour and minute of the ice breakup on the Tanana River

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