Espionage | smithsonianmag.comhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/tag/espionage/RSS feed for EspionageenThu, 19 Mar 2026 11:15:00 +0000A Quaker Woman Eavesdropped on British Soldiers Plotting a Surprise Attack—and Surreptitiously Warned George Washingtonhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/a-quaker-woman-eavesdropped-on-british-soldiers-plotting-a-surprise-attack-and-surreptitiously-warned-george-washington-180988348/Lydia Darragh defied her commitment to pacifism by spying during the American RevolutionThu, 19 Mar 2026 11:15:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/a-quaker-woman-eavesdropped-on-british-soldiers-plotting-a-surprise-attack-and-surreptitiously-warned-george-washington-180988348/Tudor Courtiers Exchanged Portrait Miniatures as Love Tokens. Centuries Later, New Research Is Unlocking the Secrets of These Intimate Artworkshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/tudor-courtiers-exchanged-portrait-miniatures-as-love-tokens-centuries-later-new-research-is-unlocking-the-secrets-of-these-intimate-artworks-180988300/Over the past few years, art historians have identified several previously unknown paintings by Elizabeth I's favorite artist, Nicholas HilliardMon, 09 Mar 2026 11:30:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/tudor-courtiers-exchanged-portrait-miniatures-as-love-tokens-centuries-later-new-research-is-unlocking-the-secrets-of-these-intimate-artworks-180988300/Read Love Letters From Royals and Romantics Across 500 Years of British Historyhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/read-love-letters-from-royals-and-romantics-across-500-years-of-british-history-180988119/A new exhibition at Britain's National Archives features a letter to Elizabeth I, Jane Austen's will and a plea to free Oscar Wilde from prisonMon, 02 Feb 2026 21:38:13 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/read-love-letters-from-royals-and-romantics-across-500-years-of-british-history-180988119/What Are the Best TV Shows About the American Revolution? A Historian Outlines Five of His Favoriteshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/what-are-the-best-tv-shows-about-the-american-revolution-a-historian-outlines-five-of-his-favorites-180987995/The scholar's picks include "Turn: Washington’s Spies," "John Adams" and "Franklin"Mon, 02 Feb 2026 13:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/what-are-the-best-tv-shows-about-the-american-revolution-a-historian-outlines-five-of-his-favorites-180987995/Nathan Hale, the Doomed Patriot Spy, Probably Never Said 'I Only Regret That I Have but One Life to Lose for My Country' Before His Executionhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/nathan-hale-doomed-patriot-spy-probably-never-said-i-only-regret-that-i-have-but-one-life-to-lose-for-my-country-before-his-execution-180987353/The young Connecticut schoolmaster's intelligence-gathering mission was ill-fated from the start. But after he was hanged by the British in September 1776, his story became the stuff of legendMon, 22 Sep 2025 11:15:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/nathan-hale-doomed-patriot-spy-probably-never-said-i-only-regret-that-i-have-but-one-life-to-lose-for-my-country-before-his-execution-180987353/Did an Enslaved Chocolatier Help Hercules Mulligan Foil a Plot to Assassinate George Washington?https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/did-an-enslaved-chocolatier-help-hercules-mulligan-foil-a-plot-to-assassinate-george-washington-180987327/New research sheds light on the possible identity of Cato, the Black man who conveyed the tailor's lifesaving intelligence to the Americans during the Revolutionary WarTue, 16 Sep 2025 11:15:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/did-an-enslaved-chocolatier-help-hercules-mulligan-foil-a-plot-to-assassinate-george-washington-180987327/A Century Ago, a Mob Brutally Attacked an American Diplomat in Persia. His Death Shaped U.S.-Iran Relations for Decadeshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/a-century-ago-a-mob-brutally-attacked-an-american-diplomat-in-persia-his-death-shaped-us-iran-relations-for-decades-180985016/The July 1924 killing of Robert Imbrie fueled the rise of the Pahlavi dynasty and set the stage for both a CIA-backed 1953 coup and the 1979 Iran hostage crisisThu, 05 Sep 2024 10:15:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/a-century-ago-a-mob-brutally-attacked-an-american-diplomat-in-persia-his-death-shaped-us-iran-relations-for-decades-180985016/Newly Declassified Documents Reveal the Untold Stories of the Red Scare, a Hunt for Communists in Postwar Americahttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/newly-declassified-documents-reveal-the-untold-stories-of-the-red-scare-a-hunt-for-communists-in-postwar-america-180986344/In his latest book, journalist and historian Clay Risen explores how the House Un-American Activities Committee and Senator Joseph McCarthy upended the nationTue, 01 Apr 2025 15:28:46 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/newly-declassified-documents-reveal-the-untold-stories-of-the-red-scare-a-hunt-for-communists-in-postwar-america-180986344/Learn the Secret Histories of These Fascinating CIA Artifacts, From Pigeon Cameras to Cufflink Compasseshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/learn-the-secret-histories-of-these-fascinating-cia-artifacts-from-pigeon-cameras-to-cufflink-compasses-180986155/With the launch of its new website, the CIA Museum is bringing its sprawling collection of spy artifacts out of the shadows and into the public eyeThu, 20 Mar 2025 13:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/learn-the-secret-histories-of-these-fascinating-cia-artifacts-from-pigeon-cameras-to-cufflink-compasses-180986155/The Enduring Mystery of the Somerton Man, One of Australia's Most Puzzling Cold Caseshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-enduring-mystery-somerton-man-one-of-australias-most-puzzling-cold-cases-50795611/The discovery of a body on Somerton Beach in 1948 sparked theories that the dead man, now believed to be Carl Webb, was a Soviet spy, a ballet dancer or a jilted loverFri, 12 Aug 2011 18:13:05 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-enduring-mystery-somerton-man-one-of-australias-most-puzzling-cold-cases-50795611/