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American History

Valentina Tereshkova, first woman in space, and Yuri Gagarin

Soviet Russia Had a Better Record of Training Women in STEM Than America Does Today

Perhaps it’s time for the United States to take a page from the Soviet book just this one time

The first ransom notes come from an 1874 kidnapping.

The Story Behind the First Ransom Note in American History

Last year, a school librarian was looking through family artifacts when she stumbled upon the first ransom note in American history

This is the First Selfie. Ever.

Not new at all, the world’s first selfie was snapped in 1839

This part of the planet would have looked a whole lot different.

America Was Almost Two Separate Continents

The east and the west were nearly different continents

Seattle Seahawks Fans Caused an Earthquake This Week

Seattle fans take pride their stadium and ability to be loud. But to anyone’s knowledge, the 12th Man causing an earthquake is a first

Disney’s childhood home in Chicago (on the corner), as depicted by Google Street View.

Walt Disney’s Childhood Home May Soon Be a Museum

The new owners may return the house to the same conditions it was in when young Disney ran through its halls

Different visuals paint different pictures of the AIDS epidemic in America.

The Confusing and At-Times Counterproductive 1980s Response to the AIDS Epidemic

A new exhibit looks at the posters sent out by non-profits and the government in response to the spread of AIDS

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Dear Sir, Ben Franklin Would Like to Add You to His Network

Historian Caroline Winterer’s analysis of Franklin’s letters applies big data to big history

This menorah made by Manfred Anson (1922-2012), an immigrant to the United States celebrates American and Jewish traditions.

This One-of-a-Kind Menorah Represents the True Spirit of Thanksgivukkah

A Hanukkah tradition melds with an icon of Americana

The Mauna Loa Observatory where Keeling’s observations are made.

Budget Cuts Could Shut Down the Carbon Dioxide Monitors That First Warned of Global Warming

The monitoring program that gave us Keeling’s Curve is facing the axe as budgets are cut

Conrad Heyer, a Revolutionary War Veteran, Was the Earliest-Born American To Ever Be Photographed

Conrad Heyer fought with Washington in the Revolutionary War

A microscope used in the development of Humulin, the first commercial product created via genetic modification. It was recently donated to the American History Museum.

A History of Biotechnology in Seven Objects

Newly donated items at the American History Museum tell the story of the birth of genetic engineering

Trending Today

Almost Half the Runners in the NYC Marathon Were Supposed to Race Last Year

New York’s marathon is the country’s largest, and last year, it was cancelled

101 Objects that Made America: America in the World

Pulled from the Smithsonian collections, these items range millennia, from pre-historic dinosaurs to the very first supercomputer

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How Cesar Chavez Changed the World

The farmworker’s initiative improved lives in America’s fields, and beyond

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A Close, Intimate Look at Walt Whitman

A haunting image captures America’s quintessential poet, writes author Mark Strand

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The Brief History of the ENIAC Computer

A look back at the room-size government computer that began the digital era

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Abraham Lincoln’s Top Hat: The Inside Story

Does the hat that links us to his final hours define the president? Or does the president define the hat?

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The Earliest Bike Design Is Getting a Modern, Electric Reboot

What would early bike designers think of this Tron-like reboot of their classic wheels?

NPR’s Andy Carvin has donated the iPhone he used during the Arab Spring to the American History Museum.

The Phone That Helped Andy Carvin Report the Arab Spring is Now in the Smithsonian

The NPR reporter talks about how he was able to factcheck tweets amid the rush of information in 2011

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