American History

Researchers used remotely operated underwater vehicles to explore the wreckage.

Historic Century-Old Shipwreck Discovered 600 Feet Beneath the Surface of Lake Superior

The 300-foot "Western Reserve" sank in August 1892, killing 27 people after both lifeboats capsized. Harry W. Stewart, the ship's wheelsman, was the only survivor

After a trolley conductor accused Alice Stebbins Wells of using her husband's police badge to avoid paying for public transit, the Los Angeles Police Department allowed her to wear a more feminine uniform of her own design, along with a special “Policewoman’s Badge No. 1.”

Armed With Just a Badge, Los Angeles' First Policewoman Protected the City's Most Vulnerable in the Early 20th Century

Appointed in 1910, Alice Stebbins Wells patrolled dance halls, skating rinks, penny arcades and movie theaters, keeping these public spaces free of vice and immorality

A statue of Clementina Rind, a trailblazing publisher and printer who took over the Virginia Gazette after her husband's death, is featured in the Virginia Women's Monument.

Newly Discovered Letters Illuminate the Life of a Female Printer Who Published Revolutionary Texts and Pushed the Colonies Toward Independence

As Virginia's first female newspaper publisher, Clementina Rind emphasized women's viewpoints and collaborated with prominent politicians like Thomas Jefferson

Harper Lee on the porch of her parents' home in Monroeville, Alabama, in 1961

Eight Never-Before-Seen Short Stories by 'To Kill a Mockingbird' Author Harper Lee Will Be Published This Year

After Lee's death in 2016, typescripts of her early fiction were discovered in her New York apartment. The previously unseen drafts offer new insights into her creative development

The president of Poland, the senior United States senator from Illinois and much of the Chicago political machine gathered beneath this painting, Pulaski at Savannah, on the first Monday in March.

Discover the Short Life and Long Legacy of Casimir Pulaski, a Polish Cavalry Officer Who Became an American Revolutionary Hero

On the first Monday in March, Pulaski Day festivities at Chicago's Polish Museum of America honored the "Father of American Cavalry," 280 years after his birth

Historian Martha S. Jones (bottom left) turned to ledgers, deeds, census records and government documents to unravel her family's story.

How a Leading Black Historian Uncovered Her Own Family's Painful Past—and Why Her Ancestors' Stories Give Her Hope

Martha S. Jones' new memoir draws on genealogical research and memories shared by relatives

Herbert G. Tennyson was a 24-year-old first lieutenant in the U.S. Army when he was killed during World War II.

Remains of Bomber Pilot Identified 80 Years After His Plane Went Down During World War II

Herbert G. Tennyson was a U.S. Army pilot on a B-24 nicknamed "Heaven Can Wait," which crashed into the ocean in early 1944

The New Jersey Morning Call said Billy Possum had “a head that is likely to give a baby [a] nightmare.”

How a Stuffed Animal Named Billy Possum Tried—and Failed—to Replace the Teddy Bear as America's National Toy

In 1909, wealthy widow Susie W. Allgood marketed a plush marsupial inspired by President William Howard Taft. But children thought the toy looked "too much like a rat," and it sold poorly

Audiences of all ages are flocking to Old Town Music Hall in El Segundo, California, for weekend sing-alongs, film shorts and features accompanied by the theater organ.

Eight Places to Experience a Movie Like It's 1925

Theaters from Washington to Florida and Massachusetts to Arizona show silent films accompanied by live music played on elaborate theater organs

The photos were taken between 1966 and 1970.

Can You Identify the Mystery Photographer Who Captured Thousands of Captivating Images of 1960s San Francisco?

Discovered in an abandoned storage locker, the 2,042 processed color slides and 102 rolls of black-and-white film depict key moments in the city's history

“Here … we claim the first blow was struck in the war of independence,” wrote Salem historian Charles Moses Endicott in his account of Leslie's Retreat.

Was This Little-Known Standoff Between British Soldiers and Colonists the Real Start of the American Revolution?

On February 26, 1775, residents of Salem, Massachusetts, banded together to force the British to withdraw from their town during an oft-overlooked encounter known as Leslie's Retreat

An early Remington typewriter featuring the QWERTY keyboard

The QWERTY Keyboard Will Never Die. Where Did the 150-Year-Old Design Come From?

The invention's true origin story has long been the subject of debate. Some argue it was created to prevent typewriter jams, while others insist it's linked to the telegraph

A group of women sewing a quilt on the porch of a property in Georgia, May 1939

From the Antebellum South to the Civil Rights Movement, Black American Women Have Long Told Their Stories Through Quilts

In a new exhibition at the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s Renwick Gallery, over 30 works showcase the significance of this quilting tradition

A group photo taken at what might have been a memorial or funeral service at the Florida School for Boys in the 1950s

The Real Story Behind 'Nickel Boys' and the Brutal Florida Reform School That Inspired the Film

Based on a Colson Whitehead novel, the Oscar-nominated movie dramatizes the story of the Florida School for Boys, which traumatized children as young as 5 for more than a century

Although the Donner-Reed party’s time on the Oregon Trail was filled with suffering, their story did little to slow westward migration.

Donner Party Survivors Were Rescued on This Day in 1847 After Weeks of Frigid Conditions, Starvation and—Eventually—Cannibalism

Bad luck and poor decisions turned the already dangerous trek from Missouri to California into a fatal affair for roughly half of the Donner-Reed party

Written in 1777, the letter from George Washington is expected to sell for $150,000.

You Can Buy a Rare Letter by George Washington Written at a Crucial Turning Point in the Revolutionary War

In the optimistic missive, Washington extols the revolutionary spirit of the American people—even in defeat—and makes a rare reference to the experimental smallpox inoculation that helped prevent outbreaks

Central emergency numbers have been around since London adopted 999 in 1937. But the U.S. relied on a convoluted system with various regional protocols until 1968.

Dial Up the Story of the First 911 Call, Which Was Placed on This Day in 1968

Before the birth of the central emergency number, some rural Americans resorted to fireworks and loud noises to attract assistance

The ship has been docked in Philadelphia since 1996.

The Historic S.S. 'United States,' the Fastest Liner to Cross the Atlantic, Is Heading to a Watery Grave

Officials plan to purposefully sink the passenger ship off the coast of Florida, where it will become the world's largest artificial reef

In the film, Lincoln agonizes over signing an execution warrant for a deserter.

Intern Finds Only Known Surviving Copy of 'The Heart of Lincoln,' a Silent Film Thought to Be Lost to History

Released in 1915, the film was directed by Francis Ford, the brother of famed filmmaker John Ford. It had been listed in a record of 7,200 silent films classified as "lost"

Chicago officials re-enact the 1929 St. Valentine's Day Massacre.

When Al Capone's Henchmen Marked Valentine's Day With a Bloody Massacre

The infamous mob assassination, which took place on this day in 1929, resulted in the deaths of seven men linked to gangster George "Bugs" Moran

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