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American History

Maritime archaeologists confirmed the wreck was the long-lost Frank D. Barker.

A Man Noticed a Strange Shape on Satellite Images. It Turned Out to Be a 138-Year-Old Shipwreck in Lake Michigan

While sailing through a heavy blanket of fog, the “Frank D. Barker” went off course and ran into a limestone outcropping in October 1887

Donald McPherson flew during the United States' Okinawa campaign in Japan.

Last Known Surviving American Ace Pilot From World War II Dies at 103

Donald McPherson shot down five planes in the Pacific theater in the final years of the war, earning him the title of “ace”

Strongheart “was kind of a Jean-Claude Van Damme, Arnold Schwarzenegger [type] action hero,” says film studies scholar Kathryn Fuller-Seeley. 

Strongheart the German Shepherd Catapulted to Fame for His Heroics in Silent Films. Later, Spiritualist Writings Immortalized Him in Death

The beloved dog starred in six movies during the Roaring Twenties. After Strongheart died in 1929, author J. Allen Boone chronicled their enduring connection in a pair of nonfiction books

The vessel's timbers are shrinking and its iron fittings are disintegrating.

America's 250th Anniversary

Watch as Experts Preserve a 249-Year-Old Gunboat That Sank During the American Revolution

Badly damaged during the Battle of Valcour Island, the “Philadelphia” is now the focus of a new exhibition at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History

“We cannot be indifferent on any occasion that appears nearly to affect the peace and happiness of our country,” wrote the resolution’s 51 signees. Their words were republished in newspapers across the Thirteen Colonies and beyond.

America's 250th Anniversary

To Protest British Taxes, Men Dumped Tea Into Boston Harbor. With the Edenton Tea Party, Colonial Women Took a Different Approach

In 1774, 51 North Carolinian women led by Penelope Barker signed a resolution supporting the boycott of British goods

The Iowa State Fair butter cow has been carved annually since 1911.

How Life-Size Cows Made of Butter Became an Iconic Symbol of the Midwest

The Iowa State Fair has featured a bovine butter sculpture for more than 100 years. Now, the tradition is part of the new “State Fairs” exhibition at the Renwick Gallery

These custom copper stools from Price Tower were sold in 2024 and later purchased by the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy.

Custom Furnishings From Frank Lloyd Wright’s Only Skyscraper Have Been Preserved for Posterity

The Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy hopes to return the 11 artifacts to the Price Tower in Bartlesville, Oklahoma

Fess Parker (left) played Davy Crockett (right) in a popular 1950s Disney TV show.

How Davy Crockett, the Rugged Frontiersman Killed at the Alamo, Became an Unlikely American Hero

During his lifetime, Crockett—who went by David, not Davy—shaped his own myth. In the 20th century, his legacy got a boost from none other than Walt Disney

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Oysters Tell a Surprising Story of New Jersey’s Past—and a Perfect Way to Experience its Present

These remarkable bivalves have long connected New Jersey’s people to its waters—today, they offer a delicious gateway into the state’s maritime past and sustainable future.

A home rule protest held in front of the White House in April 1965

History of Now

How the 1973 D.C. Home Rule Act Enabled the Nation’s Capital to Govern Itself—With Congressional Oversight

Far from being a new debate brought on by current events, the discussion over extending home rule to Washingtonians has been around as long as the District of Columbia itself

A collection of CDs advertising AOL's dial-up internet services

The Sounds of AOL Dial-Up Defined the Early Internet. Now, the Service Is Shutting Down for Good

Many of today’s internet users remember browsing the web for the first time via AOL dial-up. But as subscribers dwindle, the service will be sunsetting on September 30

The Hollywood Premiere Motel was designed by architect Joyce Miller.

This Mid-Century Motel Described in Reviews as ‘Eerie’ Just Became a Los Angeles Historic Monument

Built in 1960, the Hollywood Premiere is the first motel to be added to the list of more than 1,300 protected sites in the city

Edward P. McCabe argued that Black people could not only belong in the new American territorities, but actually be in charge.

Untold Stories of American History

This Visionary African American Politician Dreamed of Creating an All-Black State in Oklahoma Territory

Edward P. McCabe petitioned Benjamin Harrison for an opportunity to show him that Black people “are men and women capable of self‑government.” When the president was unmoved, McCabe and his followers went west anyway

A large section of the possible La Fortuna shipwreck sits on the beach in southern North Carolina

In the Muddy Banks of North Carolina, Student Archaeologists May Have Discovered the Remnants of a Centuries-Old Spanish Ship

While taking measurements of an abandoned wharf site, the students found timber from what experts believe may be part of La Fortuna, a Spanish ship destroyed nearly 300 years ago

Umpire Jen Pawol during a spring training game between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Miami Marlins on March 16, 2024

Women Who Shaped History

Jen Pawol Is About to Become the First Female Umpire in Major League Baseball History

When the Atlanta Braves face off against the Miami Marlins this weekend, Pawol will become the first woman to umpire in a regular season MLB game

The letter sold at auction in April and is now on display at the Molly Brown House Museum in Denver.

See Rare Letters From a Titanic Passenger, Who Called the Vessel a ‘Fine Ship’ Days Before It Sank

Archibald Gracie’s letter, which recently sold at auction, is part of a new exhibition at the Molly Brown House Museum in Denver

Bruce Springsteen on the Born to Run tour in 1975

How Bruce Springsteen Created the ‘Greatest Rock Album Ever’

Fifty years ago, the Boss was at a pivotal moment in his career. A new book details what it took to launch ‘Born to Run’

The Edmund Fitzgerald was transporting iron ore when it sank in November 1975, killing all 29 crew members.

These Swimmers Are Finishing the Final Voyage of the ‘Edmund Fitzgerald,’ Which Sank in Lake Superior 50 Years Ago

Starting at the wreck site, 68 athletes are completing a 411-mile relay to honor the 29 men who died in the Great Lakes tragedy on November 10, 1975

The petroglyphs were exposed by seasonal changes in the tides and waves.

Cool Finds

Centuries-Old Hawaiian Petroglyphs Emerge From the Sand for the First Time in Nine Years

Discovered in 2016, the sandstone carvings on the western shore of Oahu depict human-like figures and extend across more than 100 feet

Woody Guthrie wrote the song after reading an article in the New York Times.

The Only Recording of Woody Guthrie Singing the Protest Song ‘Deportee’ Has Been Released for the First Time

The singer-songwriter recorded the audio on a reel-to-reel tape machine in his apartment in the 1950s. Now, the previously unheard song has been restored using A.I. audio technology

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