Smithsonian Photo Contest Galleries
Get Into the Revolutionary Spirit With These Beautiful Photographs of Boston
Massachusetts’ capital city offers American history lessons at every turn
Paul Revere Wasn’t the Only Midnight Rider Who Dashed Through the Darkness to Warn the Patriots That the British Were Coming
Revere, who was later immortalized in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s famous poem, was one of many riders who rode through the countryside, spreading the alarm on April 18, 1775
Dive Into the Deeper Story of the American Revolution on How New England and Virginia United Against the British
Inside the steeple of Old North Church and among the Southern Colonies, less familiar stories of the events from 250 years ago emerge
The Nation’s First Black Female Doctor Blazed a Path for Women in Medicine. But She Was Left Out of the Story for Decades
After earning a medical degree in 1864, Rebecca Lee Crumpler died in obscurity and was buried without a headstone
Why Did Vincent van Gogh Paint 26 Portraits of a Postman and His Family While Staying in the South of France?
The artist met Joseph Roulin, a 47-year-old postal worker, in the late 1880s. The series of artworks will be reunited at upcoming exhibitions in Boston and Amsterdam
Was This Little-Known Standoff Between British Soldiers and Colonists the Real Start of the American Revolution?
On February 26, 1775, residents of Salem, Massachusetts, banded together to force the British to withdraw from their town during an oft-overlooked encounter known as Leslie’s Retreat
When This Brilliant Author Died, She Left Behind a Legacy of Grief, Haunting Poetry and Surprising Resilience
Modern accounts of Sylvia Plath’s renowned work and legacy seek to highlight the author’s resilience through a decade-long journey of depression
These Massive Inflatable Pink Men Are Waving From Rooftops and Peering Into Windows in Boston
Created by French artist Phillippe Katerine, the figures are part of an artistic movement known as Mignonisme, which promotes the aesthetics of cuteness
Why Faneuil Hall Is the Perfect Metaphor for the American Revolution’s Complicated Definition of Liberty
How a lively market on Boston Harbor became part of many defining moments of the Colonial and Revolutionary eras
The Remarkable Life of One of Boston’s Most Fervent and Daring Abolitionists
Harriet Bell Hayden is believed to have helped hundreds of people fleeing slavery from her Beacon Hill residence
Conservators Are Uncovering Elaborate Angel Murals Hidden Behind Seven Layers of White Paint at a Colonial-Era Church
The colorful wall paintings adorn Boston’s Old North Church, which played a crucial role during Paul Revere’s famed 1775 midnight ride
Boston Museum Returns Looted 2,700-Year-Old Necklace to Turkey
The gold and carnelian artifact is nearly identical to other jewelry found at an archaeological site in western Turkey
Musket Balls Fired in Early Revolutionary War Battle Unearthed in Concord
Colonial militiamen fired the lead balls on April 19, 1775—and likely missed their mark
World War II ‘Rumor Clinics’ Helped America Battle Wild Gossip
Newspapers and magazines across the United States published weekly columns debunking lurid claims that were detrimental to the war effort
The Many Myths of the Boston Tea Party
Contrary to popular belief, the 1773 protest opposed a tax break, not a tax hike. And it didn’t immediately unify the colonies against the British
‘Wounded Indian’ Sculpture Will Return to Boston—Decades After It Was Supposedly Destroyed
The piece was rediscovered in 1999 at a Virginia museum, which has finally agreed to hand it over
You Can Buy the Bar Where Everybody Knows Your Name
Fans of the hit sitcom “Cheers” now have a chance to purchase the beloved set piece
The Noble Fury of Samuel Adams
How America’s “first politician” galvanized a colony—and helped set a revolution in motion
A Tantalizing Clue Emerges in the Unsolved Gardner Museum Art Heist
Boston police officers tell local media that the 1991 murder of Jimmy Marks might be linked to modern history’s biggest art heist
Freedom House, an Iconic Civil Rights Hub in Boston, Is Set for Demolition
Nicknamed the “Black Pentagon,” the building served as a meeting place for local racial justice activists
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