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American History

Curators Larry Bird and Harry Rubenstein on the convention floor in Charlotte.

Follow the American History Curators at the Democratic National Convention

We catch up once again with the curatorial dynamic duo of Larry Bird and Harry Rubenstein

Even More Evidence That Football Causes Brain Injury

A new study found football players were nearly four times more likely to have died from Alzheimer’s disease or Lou Gehrig’s disease

Happy 100th Birthday to John Cage, Who Made a Lot of People Angry

Sixty years ago, John Cage put on a performance of a piece called 4‘33” or “four minutes, thirty-three seconds.” Today would have been his birthday

Cold War–Era Science Shows Beer Will Survive a Nuclear Apocalypse

In 1955, scientists dropped nukes on beer and soda to see how they held up

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Slept Through Physics? Maybe It Doesn’t Matter

Does sleeping through physics - or math class for that matter - really make a difference to your life?

A celebratory Silent Spring float

Crazy Lies Haters Threw at Rachel Carson

Silent Spring turns 50 this month, but Rachel Carson’s ecological game-changer was not always the beloved green bible it is today

Composer John Cage would have been 100 this year and his legacy lives on during a centennial celebration.

Events September 4-6: Quilting Guilds, John Cage at 100 and Stitch Sessions

This week, learn from a quilting guild, celebrate composer John Cage’s avant-garde legacy and stitch a little

Labor day parade, 1882

Labor Day’s Secret Society Connections

Add Labor Day to the vaulted hall of things concocted by secret societies, alongside Madonna’s Superbowl performance and Pancho Villa’s stolen skull

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Tracking Walmart’s Breakneck Expansion Across the U.S.

From humble beginnings in 1962, today the Walmart empire includes 8,500 stores in 15 countries, with 3,898 proudly hosted on U.S. soil

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Thomas Edison a.k.a. The Movie Mogul Who Started LOLcats

Lightbulbs are nice, but it was Edison’s kinetoscope 115 years ago today that brought us Hollywood and boxing cats

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The Long History of Americans Debating Empty Chairs

The history of debating empty chairs stretches back to at least 1924

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What Do American History Museum Curators Collect at the Republican National Convention?

Follow the Smithsonian experts as they gather memorabilia in Tampa

The X-ray on the left shows one of the girls’ hands at 2-and-a-half-years old. On the right, her same hand is shown at 12-years old.

50-Year Mystery Surrounding Death of Two Sisters Solved

Doctors discover the genetic cause of an extremely rare, almost always fatal condition called Winchester syndrome

Neil Armstrong giving a different speech as part of a Congressional Gold Medal Ceremony.

Neil Armstrong’s Previously Unheard Speech, Recorded One Year Ago

Recorded surreptitiously, the 43 minute-long speech captures Armstrong’s presentation one year prior to his passing

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Watch This Decades-Old WWII Bomb Go Boom

A World War II bomb was discovered by workers the on the site of an old bar that was being demolished, and then blown up the next day

Here’s How Hurricane Naming Works

Who gets to chose hurricane names, and how do they do it?

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Playing Video Games At Home Turns 40

The Magnavox Odyssey went on sale 40 years ago, sparking the home video game revolution

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PHOTOS: Paraphernalia from the Political Campaigns of Yore

The great American pastime of politics and posturing has deep roots, but have we become more or less civil?

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Relive the 1940s Through These Old Color Photographs

The Library of Congress has more than 1600 color photos of WWII-era America

Five Epic Patent Wars That Don’t Involve Apple

The recent Apple patent decision was a big one, but here are some historical patent wars you might not have heard of

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