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History / World History

Halloween party in Bristol.

Halloween

How Halloween Has Taken Over England

The British have long celebrated Guy Fawkes Day on November 5, but now the October 31 holiday is a lot more appealing.

The image of a witch brewing her cauldron reigns in Halloween celebrations today. But, what actually went into witches cauldrons?

Halloween

How Witches’ Brews Helped Bring Modern Drugs to Market

Got nausea, headaches or heart trouble? You can thank medieval witches’ potions for helping to cure what ails you

Turn of the century thespians play their roles wearing Roman togas.

Halloween

No Costume? Grab A Sheet And Rock a Toga

Costume designer Mariah Hale explains how to wrap the perfect last-minute toga

A shrine marking London's Cross Bones Graveyard.

Halloween

The London Graveyard That’s Become a Memorial for the City’s Seedier Past

Thousands of bodies from London’s first red light district are buried beneath a lot in the South Bank, an area under massive redevelopment

Some argue that the recent civil war in Syria was caused, at least in part, by droughts in the area, which led to greater social instability.

Anthropocene

Five Conflicts and Collapses That May Have Been Spurred by Climate Change

Earth’s changing climate has been a spectre in centuries of civil conflict and, at times, the collapse of whole civilizations

America's answer to Lawrence of Arabia, Wendell Phillips explored the east and uncovered ancient treasures. An exhibition at the Sackler Gallery looks at his life and work.

Unearthing America’s Lawrence of Arabia, Wendell Phillips

Phillips uncovered millennia-old treasures beneath Arabian sand, got rich from oil and died relatively unknown

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

"Today we can use light to create an artificial sun on Earth, if only for a split-second," writes Steven Johnson. Here, Vaughn Draggoo examines a test site for light-induced nuclear fusion at the National Ignition Facility in Livermore, California.

The World Is What It Is Today Because of These Six Innovations

In a new book, Steven Johnson describes the many technologies that glass, refrigeration and other fundamental inventions have made possible

I don't mind being nursed along, ca. 1915: In addition to being associated with loose morals and lower class status, private duty nurses at the turn of the century were also often portrayed as romantic love interests for their patients.

The Evolution of the Nurse Stereotype via Postcards: From Drunk to Saint to Sexpot to Modern Medical Professional

A postcard exhibit at the National Library of Medicine shows how the cultural perception of nurses has changed over the decades

"I instinctively distrusted the food," Hess wrote. An American psychiatrist would later marvel at the "colossal naiveté of this Nazi mind."

Rudolf Hess’ Tale of Poison, Paranoia and Tragedy

Why are packets of food that belong to the Nazi war criminal sitting in a Maryland basement?

Anthropocene

A Remote Cold War Radar System Has New Use in a Warming World

The stations designed to ring an alarm against nuclear attack may have new responsibilities due to climate change

"Map with Ship" has the informality of a "napkin sketch on vellum," says map expert John Hessler, suggesting its maker was not a trained cartographer.

Did Marco Polo “Discover” America?

Maps attributed to the 13th-century traveler sketch what looks like the coast of Alaska

Smithsonian Folkways is re-releasing its classic catalog of songs about the Spanish Civil War.

Revisiting the Timeless Tracks of the Spanish Civil War

Smithsonian Folkways is re-releasing its catalog of Spanish Civil War songs

Nigerian photographer Solomon Osagie Alonge is the subject of a new exhibition at the African Art Museum. He took this self-portrait in 1942.

The Man Who Reclaimed Photography from Colonialism’s Grasp

A new exhibition at the African Art Museum honors Chief S.O. Alonge, the first Nigerian court photographer during colonial times

A standard 10-hole Hohner harmonica.

Industrial Espionage and Cutthroat Competition Fueled the Rise of the Humble Harmonica

How a shrewd salesman revolutionized the instrument industry

A Persian calligraphy that developed in 14th-century Iran, nasta'liq, is the focus of a new exhibition at the Sackler Gallery. The script in this work dates to the early 1600s.

Long Before Emojis, the Picassos of Persian Calligraphy Brought Emotion to Writing

The world’s first exhibition devoted to nasta’liq, a Persian calligraphy, is now on view at the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery

Khufu Pyramid at Giza.

Google Street View Brings Egypt’s Pyramids To A Computer Near You

From ancient citadels to the Great Sphinx, you can now explore Egypt’s wonders in the digital world

No Man's Land could be the most terrifying of places. "Men drowning in shell-holes already filled with decaying flesh," wrote one scholar.

World War I: 100 Years Later

The Legend of What Actually Lived in the “No Man’s Land” Between World War I’s Trenches

Born of the horrors of trench warfare, a ghoulish tale of scavengers and scofflaws took hold 100 years ago

Standing Stones, also known as "the First Stonehenge," in the Ring O Brodgar in Orkney

What the Scottish Independence Referendum Could Mean for Orkney

Sovereignty over Orkney, home to the First Stonehenge, has been debated for more than 5,000 years

Roman Vishniac, [Dancers Emily Frankel and Mark Ryder, Vishniac Portrait Studio, New York], early 1950s.

See Jewish Life Before the Holocaust Through a Newly Released Digital Archive

Roman Vishniac’s extensive work, now open to the public, is ready for some crowd-sourced historical detective work

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