When 170 Wild Monkeys Escaped From a ‘Jungle Camp’ and Terrorized New York
In 1935, dozens of rhesus macaques absconded from Frank Buck’s Long Island menagerie. Nearly a century later, 43 members of the same species broke out of a South Carolina research facility
The Ten Best History Books of 2024
Our favorite titles of the year resurrect forgotten histories and examine how the United States ended up where it is today
What Food Was Served at the First Thanksgiving in 1621?
Turkey may have been part of the holiday meal, along with venison, shellfish and corn, but pies and potatoes were decidedly not on the menu
Can Insects See Color? And More Questions From Our Readers
You’ve got questions. We’ve got experts
During World War II, This Farmer Risked Everything to Help His Japanese American Neighbors
When the U.S. government sent the Tsukamoto family to an incarceration camp in 1942, one neighbor stepped up to save the farms they left behind, giving them something to come home to
From Jealous Spouses to Paranoid Bosses, Pedometers Quantified Suspicion in the 19th Century
The devices were used to track movement and measure productivity—an insightful foreshadowing of our current preoccupation with personal data
How an Interracial Marriage Sparked One of the Most Scandalous Trials of the Roaring Twenties
Under pressure from his wealthy family, real estate heir Leonard “Kip” Rhinelander claimed that his new wife, Alice Beatrice Jones, had tricked him into believing she was white
These Historic Sites in the U.S. Were Once Endangered. Now They’re Thriving
Since 1988, the National Trust for Historic Preservation has been naming America’s most endangered historic places, attracting much-needed awareness and funding
The Feminist Who Inspired the Witches of Oz
The untold story of suffragist Matilda Gage, the woman behind the curtain whose life story captivated her son-in-law L. Frank Baum as he wrote his classic novel
Visions of Nuclear-Powered Cars Captivated Cold War America, but the Technology Never Really Worked
From the Ford Nucleon to the Studebaker-Packard Astral, these vehicles failed to progress past the prototype stage in the 1950s and 1960s
When White Supremacists Staged the Only Successful Coup in U.S. History
The 1898 Wilmington massacre left dozens of Black North Carolinians dead. Conspirators also forced the city’s multiracial government to resign at gunpoint
One of America’s First Spectator Sports Was Professional Walking
Before fitness influencers made getting your steps in a trend, pedestrianism had the nation on their feet
These Black Americans Were Killed for Exercising Their Political Right to Vote
In the Jim Crow South, activists became martyrs at the hands of white racists, all for the just cause of using the vote to fight for equality and freedom
Cities Are Projecting Their History Onto Streets and Buildings After Dark
Pedestrians in Montreal, Grand Rapids and other locations can time-travel thanks to installations that map historical scenes directly onto the cityscapes
This New York City Park Was Built on Top of a Cemetery
In the late 19th century, city officials turned the final resting place for 10,000 souls into what’s now Greenwich Village’s James J. Walker Park
The Enterprising Woman Who Built—and Lost, and Rebuilt—a Booming Empire During the Klondike Gold Rush
With flinty perseverance and a golden touch, Belinda Mulrooney earned an unlikely fortune in the frozen north and reshaped the Canadian frontier
How the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade Went From Its Modest Start to an American Tradition Rivaling Stuffing and Pumpkin Pie
A century on, the country’s most beloved Thursday spectacle reaches new heights
How Recovering the History of a Little-Known Lakota Massacre Could Heal Generational Pain
When the U.S. Army massacred a Lakota village at Blue Water, dozens of plundered artifacts ended up in the Smithsonian. The unraveling of this long-buried atrocity is forging a path toward reconciliation
This Savvy Librarian Was the True Force Behind New York’s Iconic Morgan Library
It fell to Belle da Costa Greene, a Black woman whose racial identity was kept secret for decades, to catalog J.P. Morgan’s immense collection of books and art
When Republicans Became ‘Red’ and Democrats Became ‘Blue’
The 2000 presidential election cemented the color-coded nature of political parties. Prior to that race, the colors were often reversed on electoral maps
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