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History / U.S. History

The Donora Smog of 1948 began on October 27 and lasted until October 31, when rain cleared the combined smoke, fog and pollution that had become trapped over the town.

The Deadly Donora Smog of 1948 Spurred Environmental Protection—But Have We Forgotten the Lesson?

Steel and zinc industries provided Donora residents with work, but also robbed them of their health, and for some, their lives

An 1887 illustration by British artist Hablot Knight Browne of “resurrectionists” stealing dead bodies from a graveyard.

In Need of Cadavers, 19th-Century Medical Students Raided Baltimore’s Graves

With a half-dozen medical schools and a shortage of bodies, grave robbing thrived—and with no consequences for the culprits

Carbon-dating techniques have now identified this ancient maize cob at about 950 to 1,000 years old.

What Ancient Maize Can Tell Us About Thousands of Years of Civilization in America

It took millennia, but America’s founding farmers developed the grain that would fuel civilizations—and still does

As we gathered at the graveyard, facing the sea and a memorial to the deceased, rain clouds parted, and the crowd was moved by the appearance of a rainbow.

World War I Handmade American Flag to Stay in Scotland

The Smithsonian Institution extends its loan of the historic artifact to Islay—a small island with a big heart

The Pittsburgh Crawfords, 1935 Negro National League Champions, are considered by many to be the greatest African American league team ever fielded. The team included five future Hall of Famers, from left: Oscar Charleston, first; Judy Johnson, fifth; Cool Papa Bell, 12th; Josh Gibson, 15th; and Satchel Paige, 17th.

History of Now

Preserving Negro League History Has Never Been Easier, or Harder, Depending on Who You Ask

While digitization of old newspapers has led to a statistical renaissance in baseball archives, the stories of those who played the game are being lost

Buffaloes at Rest recalls a time when bison were plentiful. When the print was created in 1911, only about 1,350 remained.

The Bison Returns to the Great American Plains

After years of fierce debate, the West’s greatest symbol will again roam the countryside

When Churchill Dissed America

Our exclusive first look at the diaries of King George VI reveals the Prime Minister’s secret hostility to the United States

Buffalo Bill poster, 1900, by the Courier Lithography Company

The Shrewd Press Agent Who Transformed William Cody Into Larger-Than-Life Buffalo Bill

“Arizona John” Burke perfected the art of hype that converted a bison hunter into a symbol of national character

A Mega Millions billboard in Omaha, Nebraska, adjacent to a Sears store, shows $999 million, the maximum number it can show,

The Puerto Rican Roots of the Mega Millions Jackpot

The first modern lottery in the United States raised funds to fight tuberculosis

The Woman Who Made a Device to Help Disabled Veterans Feed Themselves—and Gave It Away for Free

World War II nurse Bessie Blount went on to become an inventor and forensic handwriting expert

Now held in the collections of the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum are a 35 mm camera (left) and a digital camera. Each was used by John Glenn on his two journeys into outer space.

How John Glenn’s Encore Space Flight Lifted U.S. Spirits

Two cameras tell the tale of the first American to orbit Earth and his return to space 36 years later

Raising a block of buildings on Lake Street, Chicago, in 1857

How Chicago Transformed From a Midwestern Outpost Town to a Towering City

The Windy City spurred its miraculous growth by building canals, laying sewers and jacking up buildings

The bow of the ship, believed to be of the snake carving on the Lake Serpent.

Underwater Archaeologists May Have Discovered the Oldest Shipwreck in Lake Erie

After an ill-fated journey hauling boulders sank it, the Lake Serpent is at last ready to tell its story

Angelina Eberley fires off the cannon at the agents attempting to move the archives from her hometown of Austin.

The Fascinating Story of the Texas Archives War of 1842

Far from consequential, the battle over where the papers of the Republic of Texas should reside reminds us of the politics of historical memory

In the late 1800s, milk and dairy products could be teeming with dangerous bacteria, contaminated by worms, hair and even manure.

The 19th-Century Fight Against Bacteria-Ridden Milk Preserved With Embalming Fluid

In an unpublished excerpt from her new book The Poison Squad, Deborah Blum chronicles the public health campaign against tainted dairy products

The decision to remove the statue came September 12, 2018, when San Francisco’s Board of Appeals voted for it to be carted off to a storage facility.

San Francisco’s ‘Early Days’ Statue Is Gone. Now Comes the Work of Activating Real History

The racist sculpture’s end comes at a “tipping point for the politics of Native American memory,” says the director of the American Indian Museum

William Dudley Pelley, Silver Shirt leader, pictured as he appeared before Congress.

History of Now

The Screenwriting Mystic Who Wanted to Be the American Führer

William Dudley Pelley and his Silver Shirts were just one of many Nazi-sympathizers operating in the United States in the 1930s

General George Washington observes the evacuation of Boston, Massachusetts, by the British forces under Sir General William Howe. Engraving by Frederick T. Stuart, c1867.

Bermuda

The Raid on Bermuda That Saved the American Revolution

How colonial allies in the Caribbean pulled off a heist to equip George Washington’s Continental Army with gunpowder

Deep, lush colors in the Turkey Red Cabinet set of 1911 (above, Safe at Third) led many to tack these on their walls as works of art.

Would Baseball have Become America’s National Pastime Without Baseball Cards?

Tobacco companies spurred the mania, but artistry won the hearts of collectors

A cartoon from a U.S. newspaper from 1880 reads: 'Terrorism in the South. Citizens beaten and shot at."

The Deadliest Massacre in Reconstruction-Era Louisiana Happened 150 Years Ago

In September 1868, Southern white Democrats hunted down around 200 African-Americans in an effort to suppress voter turnout

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