American History

The Young Orphan, c. 1884

Meet William Merritt Chase, the American Master Coming Back into Fashion

At the turn of the century, Chase was one of the most well-known painters and teachers in the United States. A new exhibit revisits his revolutionary skill

W.E.B. Du Bois at the 1900 Paris Exposition.

The Revolutionary Infographics of W.E.B. Du Bois And Booker T. Washington

Data visualizations shed light on the living conditions of black people decades after the end of slavery

Artist sketches of D.B. Cooper, who vanished in 1971 with $200,000 in stolen cash.

After 45 Years, the FBI Has Officially Stopped Looking for D.B. Cooper

The mysterious skyjacker got away clean

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on His Love of History, Youth Sports and Which Books Everyone Should Read

The basketball legend has always had a writer's touch

Family Discovers Rare Letters by Thomas Jefferson

In the two letters selling for over $300,000 each, Jefferson opines on the War of 1812 and his dislike for Alexander Hamilton's economics

Cupid Fountain

The Heiress to a Gun Empire Built a Mansion Forever Haunted by the Blood Money That Built It

Sarah Winchester inherited a fortune and used it to construct a mysterious mansion in northern California

Who will be the next Hamilton?

Which Great American Should Be Immortalized With the Next Big Broadway Musical?

<em>Hamilton</em> has caught the nation's attention. A panel of Smithsonian writers and curators suggest who's next.

The cover of Captain America Comics #1, by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby.

Captain America Is Getting a Real-Life Statue, But Some Say It’s in the Wrong Place

Did Steve Rogers grow up in Brooklyn or the Lower East Side?

Tankard made in Westerwald, German , found along with lots of tanning debris in a privy associated with a small house on an alley that probably be longed to tanner.

Tens of Thousands of Artifacts Have Been Found in Colonial Philadelphia Toilets

Archaeologists excavating the site of the Museum of the American Revolution found a dozen privy pits full of pottery, printing supplies and animal bones

Four Explosive Advancements for Future Fireworks

From color to sound, the next-gen fireworks are sure to wow

Transgender People Can Now Serve Openly in the U.S. Military

One of the last restrictions on who can serve in the military has been removed

A side scan sonar image of the Royal Albert at the bottom of Lake Ontario.

19th-Century Sunken Schooner Uncovered in Lake Ontario

It’s the only two-masted ship known to have sunk in the area

A section of the Historic Route 66 in Seligman, Arizona.

A New Project Tells the Stories of the Women of Route 66

An oral history project with the National Park Service follows women on the iconic highway

The Masonic Lodge in Monrovia, Liberia. Before the civil war, the descents of American slaves who mainly controlled the government often made official decisions at the lodge, which did not allow native members.

These Abandoned Buildings Are the Last Remnants of Liberia's Founding History

The world created by former slaves in Liberia was a cruel paradox for more than 150 years

American Exiles: Leaving Home

A series of three photo essays explores how America has treated its own people in times of crisis

Some Native children were sent thousands of miles away. Others, like Oreos Eriacho, were housed closer to home, in now-decaying dorms like this one, in Ramah, N.M.

For More Than 100 Years, the U.S. Forced Navajo Students Into Western Schools. The Damage Is Still Felt Today

Photographer Daniella Zalcman explores how native populations had a new nation foisted upon them

"Water Windfall" Discovered Under California's Drought-Stricken Central Valley

Though the aquifer could help with the current and future droughts, researchers caution getting too greedy with the resource

Screwworm Fly larva

Researchers Studying "Teen Sex" and Flesh-Eating Maggots Win 2016 Golden Goose Awards

Both quirky and important, these studies went against the grain

Two canal workers pose in the cut

Commemorate the Panama Canal's Expansion With These Photos From Its Construction

The Panama Canal is opening a third lane to accommodate new mega cargo ships, a feat almost—but not quite—as impressive as building the original

By Augustus Koch (1840–?) - Amon Carter Museum Texas Bird's-Eye Views [1], Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9140425

Solving a Neighborhood Mystery Reveals Forgotten African-American History

An abandoned lot in San Antonio turned out to be an important part of the city's story

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