Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Crime

The late-19th-century Limoges city hall burned extensively over the weekend.

The Burning of This French City Hall Was a ‘Catastrophe for Heritage,’ Tragically Reminiscent of the Notre-Dame Fire

French authorities say that the Limoges city hall, built in the late 19th century and celebrated as an architectural gem, was the victim of an arson attack amid mass protests in France over the weekend

Physician Joseph Bell (left) inspired Sherlock Holmes (center, as portrayed by actor Basil Rathbone), the detective created by writer Arthur Conan Doyle (right).

Arthur Conan Doyle Based Sherlock Holmes on a Real-Life Scottish Surgeon Who Used Deduction to Diagnose Patients and Investigate Crimes

A new book chronicles the exploits of Joseph Bell, an Edinburgh lecturer whose lessons sparked the creation of the world’s most famous detective

Customs officers discovered two blue grosbeaks when they searched Alberto Hernandez Castillo.

Birds in Their Pants: Two Men Accused of Smuggling 21 Avians After Miami Airport Bust

Customs officers say they found the creatures hidden in the men’s clothes after they touched down on separate flights from Cuba, and it’s unclear whether the two incidents are related. Wildlife trafficking is the world’s fourth-largest form of organized crime

Investigators say they have recovered Young Woman at the Well (left) and Portrait of Madame Colonna Romano (right), two paintings by Pierre-Auguste Renoir that were stolen last month.

Two Recently Stolen Renoir Paintings Were Found Hidden Behind a Cinderblock Wall. French Police Used DNA Evidence and Vehicle Tracking to Crack the Case

The bungled heist took place at the Renoir Museum on the French Riviera in September. French authorities made six arrests and believe they prevented another “imminent” theft, possibly at a nearby modern art museum

Navanethem Pillay learned she won the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize in the Nuremberg Palace of Justice.

Raised in Apartheid South Africa, 2026 Nobel Peace Prize Winner Navi Pillay Is One of the World’s Leading Human Rights Jurists

When Pillay learned she had won the award, she was in the same courtroom where the Nuremberg Trials held Nazi war criminals to account. Her legal career has been dedicated to fighting against human rights abuses and mass atrocities

In this 1956 photo, Salvador Dalí works on the book's cover, which is made of bronze and bejeweled with gems, pearls, forks and shells. 

Thieves Pulled Off Another Shocking Art Heist in France. This Time, They Took a 330-Pound Bronze Book Cover Designed by Salvador Dalí

The volume, “Livre de l’Apocalypse,” was a “masterpiece” collaboration of 14 artists and writers. It is one of the heaviest and most expensive books ever made

The life-size statue depicted Benjamin Harrison, the nation’s 23rd president.

An Arson Investigation Is Underway After a Suspected ‘Senseless Act of Vandalism’ Destroys a Newly Installed Benjamin Harrison Statue

The 3D-printed piece was created by students and faculty at Indiana University Indianapolis and had been installed on September 16

The tree was discovered in two pieces on the morning of September 28, 2023.

England’s Beloved Sycamore Gap Tree Is Showing Signs of Life, Three Years After Vandals Chopped It Down

Numerous leafy shoots are now sprouting around the base of the tree’s stump, which is located near Hadrian’s Wall in northern England

Hitler and his half-niece Geli Raubald photographed in 1930

Hitler Had an Intense, Mysterious Relationship With His Half-Niece. New Research Suggests His Alibi for Her Murder Might Not Hold Up

Recently uncovered documents about the timing of Geli Raubal’s death cast new doubt on the Nazi leader’s alibi, which had been considered reasonably sound for nearly a century

The woman was buried facedown, a position suggestive of punishment or discrimination.

This Woman Who Lived in 14th-Century China May Have Had Her Nose Cut Off as Punishment for Theft or Adultery

Researchers found signs of healing on her 700-year-old skull, which suggests that she survived the painful sanction—and may even have gone on to wear a prosthesis

A 1939 photo of Georgia Tann, head of the Memphis branch of the Tennessee Children’s Home Society

This Social Worker Was Supposed to Help Orphans Find Homes. Instead, She Abducted Children Who Already Had Families and Sold Them for Profit

Between 1924 and 1950, Georgia Tann placed more than 5,000 children—many of them seized from their parents without permission—with wealthy families across the U.S

At least 800,000 bees were stolen from several properties in far north Queensland, Australia. The theft coincides with the recent spread of a bee-killing parasite throughout the region. 

More Than 800,000 Bees, Worth Tens of Thousands of Dollars, Have Been Stolen in ‘Sophisticated’ Heists Across Northern Australia

The recent spread of a bee-killing parasite has contributed to an uptick in brazen thefts, experts theorize

The "Murder Castle" built by H.H. Holmes, who is widely regarded as America's first serial killer, was open for business during the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago. 

World’s Largest Collection of Serial Killer ‘Murderabilia,’ From John Wayne Gacy to H.H. Holmes, Opens in Chicago

More than 2,000 items belonging or connected to some 150 serial killers from around the globe feature in a chilling new exhibition

The Renoir Museum occupies the Impressionist's final home.

Thieves Broke Into a French Museum and Made Off With Renoir Paintings Worth More Than $2.5 Million

Early today, burglars stole four artworks from the Renoir Museum, in the French Riviera, only to drop two of them as they escaped

Dice from the now-closed Southern Club, established in 1893.

Before Vegas Became Vegas, Hot Springs Was America’s Sin City. Now the Arkansas Spa Town Embraces Its Colorful and Seedy History

A life-size statue of Al Capone greets downtown visitors, and you can stay in his hotel suite. The town where gangsters once vacationed with movie stars and athletes is still open for a getaway

The treasure was discovered by archaeologist José María Soler in 1963.

Thieves Steal 3,000-Year-Old Treasure in a ‘Super-Professional’ Museum Heist That Took Only Four Minutes

Officials were shaken after dozens of ancient artifacts vanished from the local archaeological museum in Villena, Spain. The thieves left only a few pieces from the Bronze Age treasure behind

Pablo Picasso created Torero in 1949.

Cool Finds

A Landlord Found a Peculiar Print Hanging in a Vacant Apartment. It Turned Out to Be an Original Picasso That Had Been Missing for Eight Years

When “Torero” vanished from a Milwaukee art gallery in 2018, the owners didn’t know whether they’d ever see it again. The man who found the etching turned it over to the police earlier this month

Italian officials pose with the three recovered artworks: Paul Cézanne’s Still Life With Cherries, Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s Les Poissons and Henri Matisse’s Odalisque on the Terrace.

Stolen Masterpieces Worth $10 Million Discovered in a Cardboard Box, Months After Thieves Snuck Into a Museum and Whisked Them Away Into the Night

The artworks by Cézanne, Renoir and Matisse disappeared in a three-minute heist earlier this year. Now, police have arrested five suspects in connection with the burglary in northern Italy

Thieves stole three panels (one of which is pictured at left) from Antonello da Messina’s Polyptych of San Gregorio. They also took a small devotional painting (seen at right).

As Sicilians Flocked to a Religious Festival, Thieves Broke Into a Nearby Museum and Stole Four Renaissance Paintings

The missing works include three panels from a 15th-century altarpiece by Antonello da Messina, as well as a two-sided devotional painting by the artist

The "Jane!" exhibition is on view at the Cantor Arts Center through May 18, 2028.

Women Who Shaped History

Stanford University’s Founding Matriarch Was a Travel-Loving Philanthropist Who Met a Tragic End. A New Exhibition Explores Her Life, Grief and Death by Poison

Jane Stanford’s legacy is the focus of a new showcase at the California university. The display features artifacts that have never previously been exhibited

Page 1 of 41