Articles tagged as Archives | Smithsonian Magazine

“Although it is a somewhat formidable trip, it is by no means impossible to get out to the Great Skellig, which is by far the most interesting island off the Irish coast.”

The True History of Luke Skywalker’s Monastic Retreat

A Smithsonian Librarian delves into centuries of maps and manuscripts to discover ancient stories of this sacred place and sanctuary

January 11, 2018

No public domain etchings by Jessie Traill available for this American teen.

Why Americans Missed Out on Public Domain Day (Again)

Aleister Crowley, Dorothy Parker, and René Magritte joined the public domain in 2018, but not in the United States

January 4, 2018

Emerald Bay and Mount Tallac, Lake Tahoe, 1935.

Cool Finds

Cache of Newly Digitized Travel Photographs Will Transport You to 1900s California

Travelers William and Grace McCarthy really got around, and in nearly 3,000 photos, they captured a unique view of San Francisco, Tahoe and Yosemite

December 29, 2017

Because tweets have become too long and too numerous, the Library will only archive tweets of ‘historic value”

December 27, 2017

Art Meets Science

Millions of Historic Images Pay Tribute to the Diversity of Life on Earth

Bask in the infinitely strange wonder of our planet with these gorgeous biodiversity galleries

December 20, 2017

"García Márquez is a towering figure of 20th-century Latin America and beyond, profoundly influential as a novelist and a key figure in journalism, politics, film and cultural production," said Charles Hale, director of LLILAS Benson Latin American Studies and Collections,in a statement about the new archive at the Ransom Center.

The Magical Mind of Gabriel García Márquez Shines Through His Newly Digitized Archive

The University of Texas has digitized some 27,000 documents from the collection of the acclaimed author

December 13, 2017

History of Now

Eight Historical Archives That Will Spill New Secrets

Declassified records and journals to be released in coming decades will shed new light on pivotal 20th-century figures and events

Updated: October 27, 2017
Originally Published: August 2010

President John F. Kennedy in the presidential limousine before his assassination, on November 22, 1963, with his wife Jacqueline next to him.

Good History Takes Time, So Be Patient With the New JFK Documents

There are unlikely to be any bombshells, and it’ll be months or years before historians can draw conclusions from the new files

Updated: October 27, 2017 | Originally Published: October 26, 2017

In this Oct. 30, 1965, Associated Press file photo, members of the Youth Wing of the Indonesian Communist Party (Pemuda Rakjat) are watched by soldiers as they are taken to prison in Jakarta.

Declassified Records Show U.S. Knew About, Supported 1965 Massacre in Indonesia

One cable referred to the brutal transition of power as a “fantastic switch”

October 19, 2017

Investigators Are Turning to Big Data to Find Who Betrayed Anne Frank

Many experts believe that someone alerted Nazi authorities to the hiding place of Frank and her family, but the culprit has never been determined

October 4, 2017

Taxonomic vandalism can have disastrous consequences for wildlife conservation—but it could also impact human health.
Shown here, an African spitting cobra poised to strike.

A Few Bad Scientists Are Threatening to Topple Taxonomy

Naming species forms the foundation of biology—but these rogue researchers are exposing the flaws in the system

September 7, 2017

George R. R. Martin at the 2013 San Diego Comic Con International.

Texas University Invites Fans to Scour George R.R. Martin’s Archives for Plot Clues

The author’s vast collection is stored in Texas A&M’s Cushing Library

August 25, 2017

This familiar landscape is always in flux.

Cool Finds

Surf Through Newly Digitized Images to See Rome’s Ever-Changing History

The Eternal City is always evolving. Now, a new web resource shows how

July 7, 2017

The ledger will now be stored in the Albany County Hall of Records, shown here.

Cool Finds

Rare Colonial Court Documents Found on eBay

Thanks to a historian’s spidey sense, they’re now housed in a New York archive

June 29, 2017

This diary was kept by a French man who escaped Paris with his family during the Holocaust.

Eyewitness accounts bring the brutal chapter in history to life

June 13, 2017

Edith Wharton circa 1900. Her play "The Shadow of a Doubt" didn't make it to the stage in 1901—but has finally been rediscovered by scholars.

Cool Finds

Scholars Rediscover Forgotten Edith Wharton Play

“The Shadow of a Doubt” had been overshadowed by over 100 years of history

May 31, 2017

Fanny Cornforth posted for "Lady Lilith" and other influential Pre-Raphaelite paintings.

Cool Finds

Newly Digitized Archives Reveal the Inner Lives of Artists

The Delaware Art Museum just put 500 rare documents online

May 15, 2017

This law set the forced removal of Native Americans in the American Southeast into motion.

The Indian Removal Act is on display at the National Archives through June 14

May 12, 2017

Archivist have recently digitized a clip from a 1937 public speaking course, believed to be the oldest recording of the president

May 11, 2017

These parchment rolls at the Parliamentary Archives contain the Acts of the British parliament.

But the debate between traditionalists and modernists isn’t over

May 8, 2017