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American History

An overhead view of the 1964 World's Fair, showing the unisphere and surrounding pavilions.

The Story Behind the Failed Minstrel Show at the 1964 World’s Fair

The integrated theatrical showcase had progressive ambitions but lasted only two performances

New to the collections: Actor Reeve Carney's red and blue spandex bodysuit, which he wore while starring in Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark

‘Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark’ Suit Receives a Lifetime Encore at the American History Museum

After a two-year run on Broadway, the web-slinging stage show’s iconic superhero costume is heading to the Smithsonian.

Sewer cover in Los Angeles

Cool Finds

L.A. Needs Water, And for a Century, the “Mother Ditch” Supplied It

Built in 1781, the “Mother Ditch” supplied water to the early city

Elvis back stage after a show at the New Frontier Hotel

Cool Finds

Elvis’ First Big Vegas Show Was a Total Flop

Playing to the middle-aged crowd at the New Frontier Hotel, Elvis’ first Vegas show didn’t go over so well

Wheelie

Cool Finds

The Wheelie Was Invented in 1890

A stunt bicyclist named Daniel Canary claims to be the first person to master the trick

Skeletal remains being dug up at La Isabela, the first European settlement in the New World, founded by Christopher Columbus is 1493.

New Research

Scurvy Plagued Columbus’ Crew, Even After the Sailors Left the Sea

Severe scurvy and malnutrition set the stage for the fall of La Isabela

Wooden letterpress type

Cool Finds

New York Once Had an Entire District for Typography

Downtown New York used to have an entire neighborhood of type foundries, before they all disappeared

Men riding on the back of a car, 1940.

Cool Finds

110 Years Ago, Times Square Got Its Name: Celebrate by Browsing Old Photos of NYC

Thanks to a new release of images from the New York City Municipal Archives, you can see what the city looked like before it was consumed by neon

St Louis

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Have Turned Up Teeny Tiny Pieces of St. Louis’ French Past

St. Louis was originally a French colonial city, but most remnants of that period have been lost to time, until now

A replica of Sputnik 1 at the National Air and Space Museum.

Trending Today

Even During the Cold War, Russian and U.S. Rocket Scientists Were Friends, But Now They’re No Longer Talking

U.S. and Soviet scientists worked together throughout the Cold War, but now, because of Crimea, those ties are being cut

Michael Peña portrays farmworker turned activist Cesar Chavez in a new biopic.

What the New Cesar Chavez Film Gets Wrong About the Labor Activist

Despite the good intentions, the biopic misleads and distorts his role in the farm workers movement

"An illustration showing various ways that a water well (center) may become infected by typhoid fever bacteria."

Cool Finds

Science Rewrites the Death of America’s Shortest-Serving President

William Henry Harrison may have died of typhoid fever

Charles Rowell: The celebrated pedestrian, c. 1879.

Cool Finds

America’s Favorite Sport Used to Be… Competitive Walking

Pedestrianism was popular in the late 19th century

Duke Ellington and band members playing baseball in front of their segregated motel ("Astor Motel") while touring in Florida.

Rare Footage of Duke Ellington Highlights When Jazz and Baseball Were in Perfect Harmony

The Smithsonian’s curator of American music explains how the history of two great American innovations—Jazz and baseball—are intertwined

Document Deep Dive

Document Deep Dive: Richard Nixon’s Application to Join the FBI

Fresh out of law school, the future president first hoped he could be one of J. Edgar Hoover’s agents

Cool Finds

George Washington Liked Ice Cream So Much He Bought Ice Cream-Making Equipment for the Capital

Washington used to serve ice cream to guests at the capital

None

Cool Finds

It Once Took Tens of Thousands of Men to Recover an Astronaut from Landing

Splashdown support teams were absolutely massive

New to the collections: John Coltrane's 1965 Mark VI tenor saxophone

A Sax Supreme: John Coltrane’s Legendary Instrument Joins the Collections of the American History Museum

Ravi Coltrane, son of jazz musicians John and Alice Coltrane, donates one of his father’s three saxophones

Redpath lectures lasted well into the 20th-century (above, 1913), but when James Redpath started them in the late 1860s, he sought out speakers who could electrify an audience.

Before SXSW and Ted, A Manic Visionary Revolutionized the American Lecture Circuit

Meet James Redpath, the man who coached national celebrities on how to bring a crowd to its feet

Chew-Een Lee was the first Chinese American Marine officer and served during the Korean and Vietnam Wars.

Korean War Hero Kurt Chew-Een Lee, the First Chinese-American Marine, Dies at 88 Years Old

Lee overcame racism and saved upward of 8,000 men during one climactic battle

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