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History

When it comes to historical markers, the hidden truth is this: In any given state, as many as a dozen entities could be putting up signs at the same time.

History of Now

Why Historical Markers Matter

Few realize that the approval process for these outdoor signs varies widely by state and organization, enabling unsanctioned displays to slip through

Researchers study wreckage from Moody's P-39 aircraft, which lies in pieces on the floor of Lake Huron.

Divers Pull Wreckage of Tuskegee Airman’s Plane From the Depths of Lake Huron

During World War II, a young pilot named Frank Moody died while training in Michigan

West Point officials opened the time capsule in a much-hyped livestreamed ceremony.

Cool Finds

A Time Capsule Opened Live on Stage Was Empty. Later, Treasures Emerged From the Silt

Found at West Point, the 200-year-old box concealed six silver coins and a medal

The Titanic struck an iceberg on the evening of April 14, 1912, and sank several hours later in the early morning hours of April 15.

The U.S. Government Is Trying to Stop an Upcoming Titanic Expedition

A company is planning a mission to recover artifacts, including the famed Marconi wireless telegraph, in 2024

The silver denarius weighs 0.08 ounces (2.4 grams) and is one of the only coins of its kind found in Bremen.

Cool Finds

Boy Playing in Sandbox Finds 1,800-Year-Old Roman Coin

The rare silver denarius was minted during the rule of Marcus Aurelius (161-180 C.E.)

So far, volunteers have counted roughly 75 newly revealed footprints.

Drought Reveals 113-Million-Year-Old Dinosaur Tracks in Texas

The footprints are normally submerged under the water and silt of the Paluxy River, part of which has dried up this summer

The building complex measures more than 5,000 square feet.

Cool Finds

Ruins of 2,000-Year-Old Roman Walls Unearthed in Swiss Alps

Archaeologists found the stone structures—along with a rich collection of artifacts—in a gravel quarry

A view of Stonehenge from the road

New Legal Challenge Reignites Battle Over Tunnel Near Stonehenge

The plan could threaten the landmark’s status as a UNESCO World Heritage Site

Researchers recently dated these two charcoal-drawn figures on the walls of Gua Sireh.

These Malaysian Cave Drawings Reflect Colonial-Era Conflicts

A new study reveals that some of the charcoal drawings date to between 1670 and 1830

Archibald J. Motley Jr.'s Black Belt (1934)

The Harlem Renaissance Is Coming to the Met

A new exhibition will be the first survey of the cultural movement in New York City since 1987

Bill Milner was jet skiing along the Neches River when he ran into something that turned out to be a World War I shipwreck.

Cool Finds

Drought in Texas Reveals World War I Shipwreck

A local man happened upon the wreckage while jet skiing earlier this month

Archaeologists unearthed the bedroom in a Roman villa near Pompeii.

Enslaved Individuals Slept in This Bedroom, Untouched Since Mount Vesuvius’ Eruption 2,000 Years Ago

The small room with two beds—but only one mattress—sheds new light on slavery in a Roman villa near Pompeii

Early mug shots of 19th-century criminal suspects in a book by Alphonse Bertillon, chief of criminal identification for the Paris police

History of Now

A Brief History of the Mug Shot

Police have been using the snapshots in criminal investigations since the advent of commercial photography

One of the more than 200 bouquiniste stalls along the Seine in Paris

The Paris Olympics

Parisian Booksellers Have Lined the Seine for Centuries. Now, They’re Fighting to Stay

Ahead of the 2024 Olympics, city officials are trying to relocate the bouquinistes for security reasons

Researchers found the remains of stilts and tens of thousands of wooden spikes.

Cool Finds

This 8,000-Year-Old Village on Stilts May Be the Oldest of Its Kind in Europe

Archaeologists unearthed the settlement—which had tens of thousands of defensive spikes—beneath a lake in Albania

Hugh Gray's famous 1933 photo of a creature he believed to be Nessie

Loch Ness Monster Lovers Come Together for Biggest Hunt in 50 Years

Volunteers will convene in the Scottish Highlands armed with drones, hydrophones and other technologies

Excavations near the Powder Magazine in Williamsburg, Virginia, where the four bodies were found

Four Bodies Found in Colonial Williamsburg Belonged to Confederate Soldiers

Researchers are trying to identify the men who died after the Battle of Williamsburg in 1862

Researchers have recreated what the exiled royal Charles Edward Stuart—better known as Bonnie Prince Charlie—might have looked like at age 24.

See the Face of 24-Year-Old Bonnie Prince Charlie, Recreated Using Death Masks

The new recreation shows what the prince might have looked like during the 1745 Jacobite rising

Tank convoy through the Ardennes, Belgium, during the Battle of the Bulge in January 1945

New Research

Drone Scans Reveal New Details About the Battle of the Bulge

Researchers used lidar to uncover nearly 1,000 previously unknown features of the famous battlefield

Bélizaire and the Frey Children features an enslaved 15-year-old alongside three white children who were likely in his care.

Who Was the Enslaved Child Painted Out of This 1837 Portrait?

The painting of Bélizaire, 15, shown behind the children of his enslavers, has been acquired by the Met

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