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History / World History

An undated wash drawing depicts the burning of Washington, DC, in August of 1814.

Your Guide to the Three Weeks of 1814 That We Today Call the War of 1812

From the burning of Washington to the siege of Baltimore, what happened in those late summer days?

A page out of the diary of William H. Dall, one of the many documents being transcribed by the Smithsonian Transcription Center's small army of volunteers. At the ripe age of 21, Dall set off in 1865 to explore the Arctic on a Western Union Telegraph Expedition.

The Smithsonian Wants You! (To Help Transcribe Its Collections)

A massive digitization and transcription project calls for volunteers at the Smithsonian

William James Aylward depicted a soldier looking down at the grave of his bunk mate in His Bunkie..

This Riveting Art From the Front Lines of World War I Has Gone Largely Unseen for Decades

During WWI, the War Department sent American artists to Europe. The Smithsonian recently digitized the captivating artwork

The art installation "Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red" marking the anniversary of the World War One is seen at the Tower of London July 28, 2014.

World War I: 100 Years Later

For WWI Anniversary, the Tower of London Has Become Surrounded by a Sea of Poppies

888,246 red ceramic flowers encircle the landmark structure in remembrance of fallen soldiers

A Royal Naval Air Service Bristol Scout D during a reconnaissance mission over the Western Front, February 1916. One of the first British single-seat fighter aircraft, the Bristol D was developed primarily for scouting. It was fast and maneuverable. The aircraft above was based on the HMS Vindex, a Royal Navy seaplane carrier operating in the North Sea.

World War I: 100 Years Later

World War I Special Report

Remembering the Great War and how we’re still living through its legacy today

Teamwork Builds Ships, ca. 1918, William Dodge Stevens

World War I: 100 Years Later

The Posters That Sold World War I to the American Public

A vehemently isolationist nation needed enticement to join the European war effort. These advertisements were part of the campaign to do just that

Parisian taxis assemble before being dispatched to the front.

World War I: 100 Years Later

A Fleet of Taxis Did Not Really Save Paris From the Germans During World War I

The myth of the Battle of the Marne has persisted, but what exactly happened in the first major conflict of the war?

The initiation ceremony for a 19th century secret society, as imagined by an artist.

The Cannibal Club: Racism and Rabble-Rousing in Victorian England

These 19th-century gentlemen of good standing let their inner boors loose in secret London backrooms

The train after the initial police investigation in Cheddington, Buckinghamshire.

The Big Mystery Behind the Great Train Robbery May Finally Have Been Solved

Chris Long’s A Tale of Two Thieves examines the largest cash theft of its time

The famous "Big Hole" in Kimberley, South Africa

Peering Into Some of the World’s Largest Mines

This interactive map will show you the sources of the planet’s precious metals

14 Fun Facts About Fireworks

Number three: Fireworks are just chemical reactions

A pre-war daguerrotype of James R. McClintock. Inventor, likely crook, possible spy.

The Amazing (If True) Story of the Submarine Mechanic Who Blew Himself Up Then Surfaced as a Secret Agent for Queen Victoria

The leading mechanic of the famed H.L. Hunley led quite the life, if we can believe any of it

The Middle East’s austere terrain lured Lawrence: “The abstraction of the desert landscape,” he wrote in Seven Pillars of Wisdom, “cleansed me.”

World War I: 100 Years Later

The True Story of Lawrence of Arabia

His daring raids in World War I made him a legend. But in the Middle East today, the desert warrior’s legacy is written in sand

Constructed between 510 and 500 B.C., the base of a funerary kouros in Athens is decorated with the image of wrestlers fighting.

Document Deep Dive

Wrestling Was Fixed, Even in Ancient Rome

New analysis of an ancient document reveals classical roots of fake wrestling

Maunsell Sea & Air Forts in the U.K.

17 Amazing Photographs of Abandoned Places

Top places you should see before they die… or at least disappear

Various examples of garderobe design

From Turrets to Toilets: A Partial History of the Throne Room

For centuries the humble bathroom has been shaping the space we live and work

British soldiers enter Baghdad in 1919.

World War I: 100 Years Later

The Disintegration of the Iraqi State Has Its Roots in World War I

Created by European powers, the nation of Iraq may be buckling under the pressure of trying to unite three distinct ethnic groups

A hourd in Carcassonne

The Medieval Origin Story of the Balcony

Architect/historian Eugène Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc suggested that the balcony was forged in the heat of battle.

Les Braves war memorial sculpture on Omaha Beach.

Why a Walk Along the Beaches of Normandy Is the Ideal Way to Remember D-Day

Follow in the footsteps of legendary reporter Ernie Pyle to get a real feel for the events that took place 70 years ago

Syrian refugee children in the Bekka Valley. In Lebanon there are currently over a half million school aged Syrian refugees. Many of them are unable to access education. Syrian children confront obstacles of being refugees in unfamiliar countries, but also face schools taught in English and French, rather than Arabic.

These Photos of Syria’s Children Put a Face on the Humanitarian Crisis in the Middle East

‘The Children of Syria,’ a documentary photography exhibition on display in Washington, presents a stark case of the challenges refugees confront

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