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American History

Kraft advertisement in the Ladies’ Home Journal, 1948

A Brief History of America’s Appetite for Macaroni and Cheese

Popularized by Thomas Jefferson, this versatile dish fulfills our nation’s quest for the ‘cheapest protein possible’

On May 17, 2018, in a gift to posterity, the organizer, publisher and political strategist Mark Segal donated 16 cubic feet of personal papers and artifacts, including the poster above.

Mark Segal, LGBTQ Iconoclast, Activist and Disruptor, Donates Lifetime of Papers and Artifacts

Following the 1969 Stonewall Raid, Segal built a life around protest and the quest for equal rights for minority groups

Silhouettes of Sylvia Drake and Charity Bryant of Weybridge, Vermont, (c. 1805-1815) is possibly the first depiction of a same sex couple.

Rarely Seen 19th-Century Silhouette of a Same-Sex Couple Living Together Goes On View

A new show, featuring the paper cutouts, reveals unheralded early Americans, as well as contemporary artists working with this old art form

The bloomer costume

Women Who Shaped History

Amelia Bloomer Didn’t Mean to Start a Fashion Revolution, But Her Name Became Synonymous With Trousers

In the 1850s, women’s rights activists briefly adopted a new style in an effort to liberate themselves from heavy dresses

How Come U.S. Currency Never Changes Its Face and More Questions From Our Readers

You asked, we answered

When Paper Clothing Was the Perfect Fit

A war-weary world needed a new wardrobe, and this cheap, washable attire seemed to rise to the occasion

David Korins' striking design—involving a double turntable, a second level catwalk, scaffolding and ropes, calls to mind the ships that brought the Founding Fathers to America.

Future of Art

Hamilton’s David Korins Explains What Makes the Smash Hit’s Design So Versatile

The renowned designer dishes about the new Hamilton exhibition, precision and metaphor on stage and how the turntables almost didn’t happen

New Research

Hitler’s Teeth Confirm He Died in 1945

The first examination of Hitler’s teeth permitted in 70 years shows the complicated dental work matches the Fuhrer’s medical records

At its peak in 1948, the women’s pro baseball league attracted more than 900,000 spectators.

Seventy-Five Years Ago, Women’s Baseball Players Took the Field

An Indiana slugger was one of the athletes who “hit the dirt in the skirt” and changed Americans’ view of women

Millicent Brown broke the racial barrier at a Charleston, South Carolina, high school. “This was the challenge of our day,” says Brown, a historian and activist.

The Defiant Ones

As young girls, they fought the fierce battle to integrate America’s schools half a century ago

The Factory That Oreos Built

A new owner for the New York City landmark offers a tasty opportunity to recap a crème-filled history

Reebok marketed their slim, pliable Freestyle shoes to aerobics lovers in the 1980s.

A Brief History of America’s Obsession With Sneakers

Invented for athletics, sneakers eventually became status symbols and an integral part of street style

Josiah Henson as a young man at left, and at right, at age 87, photographed in Boston on June 17, 1876

The Story of Josiah Henson, the Real Inspiration for ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin’

Before there was the novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe, a formerly enslaved African-American living in Canada wrote a memoir detailing his experience

Elinor Powell (right) with a fellow nurse at POW Camp Florence in Arizona, circa 1944-1945

Women Who Shaped History

The Army’s First Black Nurses Were Relegated to Caring for Nazi Prisoners of War

Prohibited from treating white GIs, the women felt betrayed by the country they sought to serve

The woman behind the gun

Keeping Feathers Off Hats–and On Birds

A new exhibit examines the fashion that led to the passage, 100 years ago, of the Migratory Bird Act Treaty

What could possibly have drawn the attention of the "Time Team"?

'Timeless' Recapped

How the Writers of “Timeless” Mined History for its Riveting Second Season

In an exclusive interview, show co-creator Shawn Ryan chats about moving beyond the stories of ‘powerful white men’ to tell new stories about the past

President George H.W. Bush at the White House on January 12, 1991, the day Congress voted to authorize the Persian Gulf War.

An Unlikely Hardliner, George H. W. Bush Was Ready to Push Presidential Powers

Though he ended up seeking congressional approval for the Gulf War, Bush was unconvinced he needed it – saying he would have gone regardless of the vote

Members of the 369th [African American] Infantry

World War I: 100 Years Later

One Hundred Years Ago, the Harlem Hellfighters Bravely Led the U.S. Into WWI

Their courage made headlines across the country, hailing the African-American regiment as heroes even as they faced discrimination at home

Lucy, Rufus, Flynn and Wyatt finish off the season in San Francisco

'Timeless' Recapped

Pilot, Thinker, Soldier, Spy: The Epic “Timeless” Season Finale Twofer

The heroes help Harriet Tubman raid the Confederacy before leaving their heart in San Francisco

A lithograph from printers Currier & Ives depicted swill milk as the root of many vices

The Surprisingly Intolerant History of Milk

A new book provides an udderly fascinating chronicle of the controversial drink

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