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American History

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Thank Dan Robbins for the Paint-by-Number Craze

Robbins, who died this month at 93, came up with the kits that let millions of people try their hand at painting

Redoshi seen in “The Negro Farmer: Extension Work for Better Farming and Better Living"

Cool Finds

Researcher Identifies the Last Living Survivor of the Transatlantic Slave Trade

Redoshi was 12 when she was kidnapped and sold to the crew of the Clotilda

A man smokes a cigarette as he talks to an armored guard at a protest in People’s Park circa May, 1969, in Berkeley, California.

Scenes From 50 Years Ago This Spring, When Americans Turned Out to Protest the Vietnam War

In Los Angeles, Boston and New York, students and veterans alike challenged the government’s ongoing support for the lengthy war

An illustration of Crawford Long removing a tumor from the neck of James Venable.

How Ether Went From a Recreational ‘Frolic’ Drug to the First Surgery Anesthetic

Before ether was used as an anesthetic in surgery, doctors relied on less effective techniques for pain relief, such as hypnosis

Ingenious Women

Meet the Female Inventor Behind Mass-Market Paper Bags

A self-taught engineer, Margaret Knight bagged a valuable patent, at a time when few women held intellectual property

A portrait (detail, above) of Mary Church Terrell, a prominent D.C. activist and suffragist. The image is just one of dozens of turn-of-the-century photographs featured in "Pictures with Purpose"

For Turn-of-the-Century African-Americans, the Camera Was a Tool for Empowerment

A new installment in the Smithsonian’s “Double Exposure” photo book series depicts black Americans championing their lives through photography

Tamara Lanier takes questions this week during a press conference announcing a lawsuit against Harvard University.

Trending Today

Why These Early Images of American Slavery Have Led to a Lawsuit Against Harvard

Tamara Lanier claims the university has profited off the images of her ancestors

Middletown, Pennsylvania in 1979 in the wake of the Three Mile Island nuclear accident

Witness

For Those Living Nearby, the Memory of the Three Mile Island Accident Has a Long Half-Life

Robert Reid, then the mayor of nearby Middletown, recalls the partial meltdown of the nuclear reactor more than 40 years ago

The free, online software uses crowdsourcing and facial recognition to help users identify unknown subjects in Civil War era photographs.

The Computer Scientist Who Wants to Put a Name to Every Face in Civil War Photographs

As Virginia Tech’s Kurt Luther perfects his facial recognition software Civil War Photo Sleuth, the discoveries keep coming

Winnie-the-Pooh dolls owned by A.A. Milne's son Christopher Robin

Get Excited: The New York Public Library Is Launching Its First Permanent Exhibition

Come 2020, new gallery will feature a rotating trove of artifacts drawn from NYPL’s 46 million-strong collection of treasures

Onlookers watch as police remove the bodies of the victims of an execution-style murder from the scene at 2122 North Clark Street in Chicago.

Six of the Most Famous Mob Murders of All Time

The death of Gambino crime family head Frank Cali brings to mind these mafia killings from years past

The cactus spines, bound together with yucca leaves, are still stained with black ink

Cool Finds

These 2,000-Year-Old Needles, Still Sharp, Are the Oldest Tattooing Instruments Found in the Southwestern U.S.

Originally excavated in 1972, the pronged cactus-spine tool languished in storage for more than 40 years before its true purpose was recognized

The volume of poetry is set to be sold alongside a trove of photographs passed down by the Barrow family.

Notebook of Poetry Penned by Bonnie and Clyde Set to Go on Auction

The volume features poems written by the outlaw duo during their Depression-era crime spree

Grand Canyon National Park

The Decades-Long Political Fight to Save the Grand Canyon

Americans had long known about the wonders of the southwestern landmark, but it wouldn’t be until 1919 that it would gain full federal protection

The late publisher and editor Betty Ballantine at the Nebula Awards on April 28, 2002 in Kansas City, Missouri.

Sci-Fi Lovers Owe a Debt of Gratitude to Betty Ballantine

“Introverted and quiet” Betty, who ran the editorial side of the Ballantine publishing companies, deserves her due for changing the industry

The Dallas City Council voted on Wednesday to remove the Confederate Memorial in Pioneer Park Cemetery next to the downtown convention center.

Dallas City Council Votes to Remove Massive Confederate War Memorial

In a 11-4 vote, the City Council decided to remove the 65-foot-tall monument from its location in the heart of the city

Frank Robinson taking a swing during a circa late 1960s Major League Baseball game at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland.

Trending Today

Smithsonian Curator Weighs in on Legacy of Frank Robinson, Barrier-Breaking Baseball Great

Robinson was one of the great all-time home run hitters and made history when he became the manager of the Cleveland Indians

An image of the true U.S. pizza king Filippo Milone in the May 9, 1903 issue of the Italian-language newspaper Il Telegrafo.

Cool Finds

The Father of American Pizza Is Not Who We Thought He Was

New research suggests pizza came to the U.S. earlier than 1905, spread by pizza evangelist Filippo Milone

George Washington, (Porthole type) by Rembrandt Peale, c. 1853

George Washington and I Go Way Back—Or So Goes the Tale of My Family’s Cane

An heirloom is charged with both sentiment and purely speculative history

How First Lady Sarah Polk Set a Model for Conservative Female Power

The popular and pious wife to President James Polk had little use for the nascent suffrage movement

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