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History / World History

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May Anniversaries

Momentous or Merely Memorable

The "loyalty dance" was a fixture of China's Cultural Revolution, and Kang Wenjie's performance at a giant Maoist teach-in was boffo.

Dancing for Mao

A photograph of a 5-year-old girl made her famous in China—and haunted the man who took it

In the 1940s, the Soviet Union launched an all-out espionage effort to uncover military and defense secrets from the US and Britain (Klaus Fuchs, left, and David Greenglass, right).

Spies Who Spilled Atomic Bomb Secrets

As part of the Soviet Union’s spy ring, these Americans and Britons leveraged their access to military secrets to help Russia become a nuclear power

The North Atlantic Treaty was signed by President Harry S. Truman in Washington, D.C., on 4 April 1949 and was ratified by the United States in August 1949.

April Anniversaries

Momentous or Merely Memorable

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Poles Apart

The 13th century Tripitaka Koreana features 81,258 wooden blocks thought to be the world's most complete collection of Buddhist texts.

Preserving the World’s Most Important Artifacts

The Memory of World Register lists over 800 historic manuscripts, maps, films and more to help raise funds for preservation

In just ten months, Bingham (in Marseille) provided aid, including travel documents, to some 2,500 Jewish refugees-thereby effectively ending his career.

Saving the Jews of Nazi France

As Jews in France tried to flee the Nazi occupation, Harry Bingham, an American diplomat, sped them to safety

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March Anniversaries

Momentous or Merely Memorable

Charles Carl Lutz issued protective letters to 8,000 Hungarian Jews for emigration to Palestine.

Five Rescuers of Those Threatened by the Holocaust

Righteous good Samaritans came from across the world to save Jews and others from concentration camps

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February Anniversaries

Momentous or Merely Memorable

Scaffolding covers the reconstructed golden dome. With help from the U.N. and the Iraqi prime minister's office, workers are rebuilding the sacred Shiite site.

Samarra Rises

In Iraq, the restoration of the shattered Mosque of the Golden Dome brings together Sunnis and Shiites in an unlikely alliance

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January Anniversaries

Momentous or Merely Memorable

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December Anniversaries

The Great White Hope, Beethoven, and more…

The National Archives at Kew

Rewriting History in Great Britain

Recently uncovered documents in the British archives reveal dark secrets from World War II. One problem: they are forgeries

Smithsonian magazine staff writer and author of "One Man's Korean War."

Abigail Tucker on “One Man’s Korean War”

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November Anniversaries

At age 107, Frank Buckles proudly wears the French Legion of Honor medal, one of many honors to have come his way lately.

World War I: 100 Years Later

The Last Doughboy of World War I

Frank Buckles lied about his age to serve in World War I

Carved sarsens-enormous blocks of hard sandstone-were used to build the towering trilithons that dominate the landscape of Salisbury Plain in southern England. But archaeologists Timothy Darvill and Geoffrey Wainwright believe the smaller so-called bluestones hold the key to unraveling Stonehenge's mystery.

New Light on Stonehenge

The first dig in 44 years inside the stone circle changed our view of why—and even when—the monument was built

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October Anniversaries

Momentous or Merely Memorable

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Puzzlers

Stonehenge’s purpose and a noble fish’s demise

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