Historical Documents

In his journal, Earl Shaffer, who walked in 16-mile stages, documented his 124-day odyssey.

The Army Veteran Who Became the First to Hike the Entire Appalachian Trail

His journal and hiking boots are in the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History

Draft of The Balfour Declaration with handwritten notes, 1917

How a Single Paragraph Paved the Way for a Jewish State

The Balfour Declaration changed the course of history with just one sentence

The practical advice in the handbook was intended to help married couples from having too many children.

This Infamous 19th-Century Birth Control Pamphlet Got Its Writer Imprisoned

Charles Knowlton did three months hard labor and was fined $50

A slave fortress in Cape Coast, Ghana

A Digital Archive of Slave Voyages Details the Largest Forced Migration in History

An online database explores the nearly 36,000 slave voyages that occurred between 1514 and 1866

The second parchment Declaration of Independence

Found: A Second Parchment Copy of the Declaration of Independence

Likely commissioned in the 1780s by James Wilson, the handwritten copy's signatory order appears to emphasize national unity

Men liberated from concentration camp, 1945

Sealed Files of the United Nations War Crimes Commission Will Finally See Light of Day

The massive archive has already revealed that war crimes charges against Hitler were drawn up as early as 1944

Sigmund Freud, G. Stanley Hall, C.G. Jung, A.A. Brill, Ernest Jones, and Sándor Ferenczi posed at Clark University, Worcester, Massachusetts in September, 1909.

When Freud Met Jung

The meeting of the minds happened 110 years ago

The Titanic leaving Belfast on April 2, 1912. The black streak can be seen just above the water line.

A Coal Fire May Have Helped Sink the 'Titanic'

A new documentary claims the <i>Titanic</i>’s hull was weakened before it struck an iceberg

Uniformed Letter Carrier with Child in Mailbag

A Brief History of Children Sent Through the Mail

In the early days of the parcel post, some parents took advantage of the mail in unexpected ways

The proliferation of fake news sites this election year has led to many readers believing complete falsehoods.

The Remedy for the Spread of Fake News? History Teachers

Historical literacy, and the healthy skepticism that comes with it, provides the framework for being able to discern truth from fiction

The Typos on This Dead Sea Scroll Don't Mean It's Fake

When the Dead Sea copper scroll was unveiled, doubts were quickly raised about its authenticity. For one thing, it was riddled with spelling errors

What Is the Glass Palace Chronicle and Why Is It Important?

One of the most important sources of Burmese history is a document known as the Glass Palace Chronicle

Rudolf Hess, at right, was a Nazi leader when he flew to Scotland in May of 1941.

Will We Ever Know Why Nazi Leader Rudolf Hess Flew to Scotland in the Middle of World War II?

The remarkable tale of insanity, espionage, and conspiracies remains unanswered after 75 years

The Very Reverend June Osborne, Dean of Salisbury, takes a selfie with a laminated copy of the 1215 Magna Carta that is on display at Salisbury Cathedral.

How Magna Carta Went Viral

In a world before the printing press, how did news of the famous document make the rounds?

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This Chart From 1790 Lays Out the Many Dangers of Alcoholism

Founding father Benjamin Rush was greatly concerned with the amount of booze imbibed in post-Revolution America

Olympian and airman Louis Zamperini crouches in his starting position on a B-18 bomber.

"Unbroken"'s Louis Zamperini Crashed Into the Pacific on May 27, 1943. Here is the Missing Air Crew Report

The National Archives holds a record with details of the downing of the former Olympian's B-24 bomber that left him lost at sea for 47 days

The Library for Magicians Is Taking Appointments

The Conjuring Arts Research Center in New York City houses some of the world's rarest books on the art of deception

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John Smith Coined the Term New England on This 1616 Map

After Jamestown, Smith pushed the English to settle the northeast, identifying Plymouth as a suitable harbor four years before the Pilgrims landed there

A "Sea Devil" as depicted by Conrad Gessner in Historia Animalium, 2nd ed, 1604.

Five “Real” Sea Monsters Brought to Life by Early Naturalists

From kraken to mermaids, some monsters are real—if you know how to look for them

The trope of the beautiful witch was popular between 1905 and 1915.

Women of the Early 1900s Rallied Behind Beautiful, Wartless Witches

Women looking to work, vote and marry whomever they wanted turned the Halloween icon into a powerful symbol

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