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History / World History

Battle of Waterloo on 18 June 1815, by Artaria

The American at the Battle of Waterloo

The British remember William Howe De Lancey, an American friend to the Duke of Wellington, as a hero for the role he played in the 1815 clash

The Stars and Stripes are enjoying an extraordinary status in American public culture.

Americans Are Not the Only Ones Obsessed With Their Flag

From the mild-mannered Danes to crazed soccer fans, people all over the world go nuts for their national colors

The Very Reverend June Osborne, Dean of Salisbury, takes a selfie with a laminated copy of the 1215 Magna Carta that is on display at Salisbury Cathedral.

How Magna Carta Went Viral

In a world before the printing press, how did news of the famous document make the rounds?

Chasseur, Chasseurs à Cheval de la Garde Impériale, France

Relive the Battle of Waterloo With These Astonishing Portraits of War Reenactors

Photographer Sam Faulkner shoots a portrait series that gives a face to the more than 200,000 soldiers who fought in the historic conflict

The 1856 British Guiana One-Cent Magenta, with its three-masted sailing ship, carries the postal clerk Edmond D. Wight's initials to deter counterfeiters.

Urban Explorations

The Remarkable Story of the World’s Rarest Stamp

The rarely seen, one-of-a-kind 1856 British Guiana One-Cent Magenta, which recently sold for a whopping $9.5 million, gets its public debut

“Table Bay Cape Town,” Table Bay in the 1790’s by Thomas Luny (1759-1837)

Breaking Ground

Smithsonian to Receive Artifacts From Sunken 18th-Century Slave Ship

In 1794, the Portuguese slave ship São José wrecked with 400 slaves aboard; iron ballast and a wooden pulley from that ship will come to Washington, D.C.

Aquascutum, stemming from Latin for "water" and "shield," was a leading trenchcoat manufacturer.

World War I: 100 Years Later

The Classy Rise of the Trench Coat

World War I brought with it a broad array of societal changes, including men’s fashion

Did This Map Guide Columbus?

Researchers decipher a mystifying 15th-century document

Nude dancer Micheline Bernardini models the first bikini in Paris, France.

How the Summer of Atomic Bomb Testing Turned the Bikini Into a Phenomenon

The scanty suit’s explosive start is intimately tied to the Cold War and the nuclear arms race

Why We’d Be Better Off if Napoleon Never Lost at Waterloo

On the bicentennial of the most famous battle in world history, a distinguished historian looks at what could have been

Inside the Daily Lives of Iraq’s Kurds

America’s most important ally in the battle against ISIS is closer than ever to fulfilling their hope of founding a new nation

The Lusitania leaves New York on its final voyage in 1915.

This Map Shows the Full Extent of the Devastation Wrought by U-Boats in World War I

On the anniversary of the sinking of the Lusitania, a look at how “unrestricted submarine warfare” changed the rules of war

An image of Alexanderplatz in May 1945, set in Alexanderplatz today. Behind it, poking just above the image, is the Park Inn Hotel.

Dramatic Images of Berlin in May 1945, Set Against the City’s Prosperous Present

“Spring in Berlin” compares Germany’s capital city at the end of World War II and today

Crowe’s character has a mystical ability to locate hidden water.

Russell Crowe Takes a New Look at an Old Battle

The Australian actor/director’s controversial film views the legendary Gallipoli from the Turkish side

John Paul Jones, an American naval hero during the Revolutionary War, was later known for wooing the women of France.

John Paul Jones and His Romantic Romp Through Paris

After the naval hero gained acclaim in the American Revolution, he met many adorers in the French city

The flight deck of the U.S. aircraft carrier Hornet, some 800 miles off Tokyo Japan, where it shows some of 16 Billy Mitchell (B-25) Bombers, under the command of Major Jimmy Doolittle, just before they were guided off flight deck for historic raid on Tokyo, April of 1942.

The Untold Story of the Vengeful Japanese Attack After the Doolittle Raid

When the U.S. responded to Pearl Harbor with a surprise bombing of Tokyo, the Imperial Army took out its fury on the Chinese people

Librarian Aboubakar Yaro examines an Islamic manuscript from the 17th century at the Djenne Library of Manuscipts, in Djenne, Mali, September 2012. Djenne is thought to have at least 10,000 manuscripts held in private collections, dating from the 14th to 20th centuries.

Why We Have a Civic Responsibility to Protect Cultural Treasures During Wartime

With the recent deliberate destruction of cultural treasures in the Middle East, we remember the measures taken in the past to preserve our heritage

The Hermione, 17 years in the making, replicates the original wartime frigate that ferried the Marquis de Lafayette to America in 1780.

The Marquis de Lafayette Sails Again

Now that the ship that the Frenchman took on his 1780 trip to America has been rebuilt, its time to revisit his role in history

Should the color of St. Patrick's Day be blue or green?

Should We Be Wearing Blue on St. Patrick’s Day?

Before green came on the scene, blue was the color associated with the Saint and the Emerald Isle

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