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Death

Soviet soldiers lead liberated prisoners out of Auschwitz in the winter of 1945.

On This Day in History

The Liberation of Auschwitz—Where More Than One Million Jews Were Killed—Took Place on This Day in 1945

The Nazi concentration and extermination camp was the site of the largest mass murder in human history

Researchers from the the Polytechnic University of Milan are mapping the castle's subterranean structures.

Cool Finds

Secret Passageways Recorded in Leonardo da Vinci’s Sketches Discovered Beneath a Medieval Castle in Milan

Using ground-penetrating radar and laser scanners, researchers identified subterranean structures just a few feet below the ground. The pathways may connect Sforza Castle to a nearby basilica

The Douglas C-54D Skymaster vanished during a routine transit flight from Anchorage to Great Falls, Montana, on January 26, 1950.

The Enduring Mystery of a Plane That Vanished in the Icy Canadian Wilderness With 44 People On Board

Seventy-five years ago, a Douglas C-54D Skymaster disappeared en route from Alaska to Montana. No trace of its crew and passengers, including a pregnant mother and her young son, has ever been found

The Valencia wrecked in the northern reaches of the area referred to as the “Graveyard of the Pacific,” the stretch of treacherous coastline between Oregon’s Tillamook Bay and Canada’s Vancouver Island.

On This Day in History

More Than 100 Died When the S.S. Valencia Wrecked in the ‘Graveyard of the Pacific’—Learn Why This Stretch of Coastline Has Claimed Thousands of Ships

The ship’s demise on this day in 1906 demonstrated the terrifying dangers of the treacherous waters in the Pacific Northwest

The guillotine became France’s official method of capital punishment in spring 1792.

On This Day in History

On This Day in 1793, Revolutionaries Executed the King of France by Guillotine, a Deadly Machine They Saw as a Symbol of Equality

Supporters of the French Revolution killed Louis XVI and his wife, Marie Antoinette, with the same apparatus used to execute common criminals

A view of the Palisades fire on January 9. The strong Santa Ana winds that fueled much of the L.A. wildfires’ destruction are expected to relax for a few days.

L.A. Fire-Fueling Winds Slow Down, Offering a Short Reprieve. What Are the Santa Ana Winds, and Why Do They Fan the Flames?

The seasonal gusts have exacerbated the deadly fires, and they’re expected to pick back up next week

Researchers think there may be as many as 20 graves at the site in southwest Norway.

Metal Detectorists Discover 1,200-Year-Old Graves That May Have Belonged to High-Status Viking Women

Excavations in Norway revealed a rich variety of artifacts, including jewelry, textile tools and stones positioned in the shape of a ship

Researchers found the pieces covered in newspaper and tucked beneath a staircase in the crypt.

Cool Finds

Medieval Crowns and Scepters Discovered Hidden Inside the Walls of a Crypt Beneath a Lithuanian Cathedral

The royal treasures were stashed away at the beginning of World War II. Experts knew the trove existed, but previous attempts to find it had failed

The tomb's walls are painted and carved with images of objects the doctor might have used.

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Discover Intricately Decorated Tomb Belonging to a Doctor Who Treated Egyptian Pharaohs 4,100 Years Ago

The chamber holds a stone coffin engraved with the physician’s name and titles, which include “director of medicinal plants” and “chief dentist”

The U.S. has reported 66 human cases of H5N1 bird flu since March 2024, but a recent death of a Louisiana resident marks the country’s first fatality from the virus.

Officials Report the First Human Death From Bird Flu in the U.S. Here’s What to Know About the Virus

The death of a Louisiana resident who was over the age of 65 signals that future H5N1 infections are not guaranteed to be mild, health experts say

Though she faced many challenges—including the loss of her left eye—the gray wolf named 907F persevered and lived to be more than 11 years old.

The Iconic, One-Eyed ‘Queen of the Wolves’ Dies After Fight With Rival Pack in Yellowstone National Park

A beloved matriarch, 907F lived to be 11 years old, which is much longer than the average life span for gray wolves and a rare feat, even for those in the protected area of Yellowstone

Bruno Richard Hauptmann (center) consults with his laywers during pretrial court proceedings on September 20, 1934.

On This Day in History

The Trial of Bruno Richard Hauptmann—Accused Murderer of the Lindbergh Baby—Began in New Jersey on This Day in 1935

The German-born man was convicted of kidnapping and killing the son of pilot Charles Lindbergh

The terra-cotta warriors were constructed in the third century B.C.E.

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Discover Rare Clay Commander Among Thousands of Life-Size Terra-Cotta Soldiers in China

The 2,000-year-old military general figurine is the tenth of its kind to be excavated from the emperor Qin Shi Huang’s tomb, which may hold up to 8,000 clay statues

The Iroquois Theater in 1903

On This Day in History

A 1903 Fire at a Chicago Theater Killed 602 People, Prompting Enduring Safety Reforms

Officials thought the brand-new Iroquois Theater was fireproof and designed for maximum safety. The scope of the tragedy and the ensuing panic quickly proved them wrong

James Earl Carter, Jr. by Robert Clark Templeton, 1980

The Lasting Legacy of Jimmy Carter, Dead at 100

Smithsonian curators remember and honor the 39th president’s uncompromising idealism

Dating from 1940, this photograph depicts a sign at the site of the Wounded Knee Massacre, South Dakota, where 250 American Indians were killed in 1890.

On This Day in History

On This Day in 1890, the U.S. Army Killed Nearly 300 Lakota People in the Wounded Knee Massacre

The mass murder made sensational news at the time, but getting to the heart of the matter took a much deeper view of American history

Fascinating finds unveiled in 2024 ranged from a jade Maya funerary mask to a Roman dodecahedron.

Cool Finds

Seventy-Seven Fascinating Finds Revealed in 2024, From a Mysterious ‘Anomaly’ Near the Great Pyramid of Giza to a Missing Portrait of Henry VIII

The year’s most exciting discoveries included musket balls fired in the early days of the American Revolution, a lost composition by Mozart and a medieval chess piece

The Hermitage in Nashville is the former plantation of Andrew Jackson.

Archaeologists Discover Lost Burial Site of Enslaved People on President Andrew Jackson’s Tennessee Plantation

An estimated 28 probable graves were identified at the seventh American president’s former property, called the Hermitage

Artist Jean Charles Blais and his contractor discovered the engraving behind a layer of plaster on his studio wall.

Cool Finds

An Artist Noticed a Leak in His Studio. The Repairs Revealed a Mysterious Ancient Engraving Hidden Inside the Walls

Jean Charles Blais had no idea that his studio in southern France was hiding a Roman funerary inscription dating to the first or second century C.E.

The Union Carbide India Limited pesticide plant in Bhopal, India

On This Day in History

The World’s Deadliest Industrial Disaster Exposed 500,000 People to Toxic Gas and Claimed Thousands of Lives

A web of technical failures, human errors and corporate malpractice in Bhopal, India, culminated in an unthinkable tragedy on this day in 1984

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