American History

Shiva Ayyadurai's 1979 diagram of his email program

A Piece of Email History Comes to the American History Museum

A groundbreaking early email program, written by a high school student in 1979, helps tell the story of this crucial technology's history

President William Howard Taft and his sons, Robert, right, and Charles Phelps.

When the Country's Founding Father Is Your Founding Father

The descendants of American presidents are the athletic trainers, lawyers, salesmen and executives of everyday life

Clint Eastwood at the opening of the Warner Bros. Theater

Curator Amy Henderson: How The Stars Just Dazzle Us

The National Portrait Gallery expert on celebrity culture admits that she is often captivated by the glamour and glitz that defines the Hollywood superstar

Dylan performs at the Newport Folk Festival

Bob Dylan’s Jacket Comes to the American History Museum

The legendary performer's leather jacket from the night he went electric will be part of a new exhibition

How much is the Hope Diamond worth? Ask Smithsonian.

How Much the Hope Diamond is Worth and Other Questions From Our Readers

From American art, history and culture, air and space technology, Asian art and any of the sciences from astronomy to zoology, we'll find an answer

None

Clint Eastwood Honored at the American History Museum

The legendary actor and director presided over the opening of the museum's new state-of-the-art Warner Bros. Theater

Take a guided tour of the universe in the Air and Space Museum's portable planetarium.

Weekend Events Feb 3-5: Under the Stars, Black History Month Family Day, and The Big Sleep

The Black List features portraits of fifty African Americans who are influential in their fields, such as Chris Rock.

Celebrate Black History Month with the Smithsonian

From Kenyan storytelling performances to Black Power film screenings, February on the Mall is buzzing with Black History Month events

The Art of Video Games exhibit opens at the American Art Museum on March 16.

The Top Five Most Anticipated Exhibits of 2012

Take a look at the five upcoming exhibits we're most excited about

A 1920 poster by Howard Chandler Christy.

Here & Now

Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's plantation, was run by hundreds of enslaved African Americans in his lifetime.

“Paradox of Liberty” Tells the Other Side of Jefferson’s Monticello

Presented by the National Museum of African American History and Culture, this exhibit looks at the iconic founding father through the eyes of his slaves

None

Curators, Scientific Adventurers and Book Worms to Watch in 2012

Our top ten picks from the Smithsonian Twitterati and blogrolls

None

Q & A with Governor and Children's Book Author Frank Keating

The newly commissioned Alice Waters portrait

Historian Amy Henderson: Food, Glorious Food

At the Portrait Gallery, Historian Amy Henderson Awaits the Presentation of a New Portrait of Chef Alice Waters

According to NOAA marine archaeologist Joe Hoyt, shown here, 50 to 60 Allied, Axis and merchant vessel wrecks rest off the North Carolina coast.

Diving for the Secrets of the Battle of the Atlantic

Off the coast of North Carolina lie dozens of shipwrecks, remainders of a forgotten theater of World War II

Honor Martin Luther King, Jr. this weekend

Weekend Events January 13-15: Martin Luther King Jr’s Birthday, To the Mountaintop and Native Dance

None

How Newspapers Reported the Civil War

A collection of historic front pages shows how civilians experienced and read about the war

Morse's 1837 telegraph receiver prototype, built with a canvas-stretcher

How Samuel Morse Got His Big Idea

On this day in 1838, Samuel Morse publicly demonstrated his telegraph for the first time. But how did he get the idea in the first place?

Come make your own stamp collection at a drop-in workshop at the Postal Museum.

Weekend Events Jan 6-8: “This is Not a Film,” Stamps, Masterworks of Three Centuries

This weekend, watch an Iranian film, attend a stamp collecting workshop or listen to eclectic Baroque chamber music

Graceland, Elvis Presley’s home in Memphis, has been kept largely as it was when he lived there, from 1957 until his death in 1977. Dining room mirrors reflect a stairway to the private quarters.

Annie Leibovitz's American Pilgrimage

In a new book and exhibition, the esteemed photographer pursues a passion for history and lets us see familiar icons in a fresh light

Page 155 of 179