Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

History

Canadian Memorial at Vimy, France

Explore These World War I Trenches and Tunnels in France and Belgium

These four sites give visitors a glimpse into the trench warfare tactics soldiers experienced during the Great War

Women compare A.J. Freiman shoes.

‘Vis-O-Matic’ Was the 1950s Version of Online Shopping

A Canadian department store tried to revolutionize buying when it opened a shop with booths and screens for ordering merchandise

Participants likely used wooden bowls known as braziers to burn cannabis and release its mind-altering vapors

Cool Finds

The First Evidence of Smoking Pot Was Found in a 2,500-Year-Old Pot

A new study suggests ancient humans used cannabis to commune with nature, spirits or even the dead

A new study looks at the role “pro-social” religions play in fostering large-scale societies

New Research

Which Came First, Vengeful Gods or Complex Civilizations?

A new study pushes back against the hypothesis that moralizing gods were necessary to keep large societies civil

A portrait (detail, above) of Mary Church Terrell, a prominent D.C. activist and suffragist. The image is just one of dozens of turn-of-the-century photographs featured in "Pictures with Purpose"

For Turn-of-the-Century African-Americans, the Camera Was a Tool for Empowerment

A new installment in the Smithsonian’s “Double Exposure” photo book series depicts black Americans championing their lives through photography

Onlookers watch as police remove the bodies of the victims of an execution-style murder from the scene at 2122 North Clark Street in Chicago.

Six of the Most Famous Mob Murders of All Time

The death of Gambino crime family head Frank Cali brings to mind these mafia killings from years past

Paella, a national favorite in Spain, is a hearty dish prominently featuring two of Linford's Seven Wonders—rice and tomato. It may be seasoned with salt and chili flakes as well.

The Mouthwatering History of Seven Fundamental Foodstuffs

A new Smithsonian book whisks readers on a culinary odyssey, tracing the history of salt, pork, honey, chili, tomato, rice and chocolate

The view in Matera, Italy.

Get to Know 2019’s ‘European Capitals of Culture’

Plovdiv, Bulgaria, and Matera, Italy, have histories that stretch back thousands of years

A map of the moon with labeled features, from Selenographia by Johannes Hevelius.

The 17th-Century Astronomer Who Made the First Atlas of the Moon

Johannes Hevelius drew some of the first maps of the moon, praised for their detail, from his homemade rooftop observatory in the Kingdom of Poland

What is happening to the history major?

Trending Today

Why Are Fewer People Majoring in History?

Since the Great Recession, the number of history majors at colleges and universities has dropped by more than 30 percent

The Notre Dame de Lorette military cemetery near Arras in northern France is the burial place of 40,000 French soldiers. Each grave is marked with a simple white cross bearing the soldier's name.

35 Places to Commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the End of World War I

These cemeteries, memorials and museums around the world remember the millions who died in the Great War

The Valley of the Fallen

Trending Today

Spain’s Push to Remove Franco’s Remains From the Valley of the Fallen

Congress approved the government decree to move the fascist dictator from his spot in the civil war mausoleum, but obstacles remain

Cool Finds

Historian Identifies Subject of Van Gogh’s “Gardener”

The portrait is likely of a day laborer that worked on the grounds of the asylum where the troubled artist stayed near the end of his life

This critter soaks in the heat of a 112 degrees Fahrenheit day in Death Valley.

Death Valley Scorches Its Own Record for the Hottest Month in History

Temperatures averaged a blistering 108.1 degrees Fahrenheit for the month of July

An example of a moai wearing a red scoria pukao.

New Research

The Clever Way the Easter Island Statues Got Hats

A new analysis of the 13-ton red stone pukao show the carvings were likely rolled up ramps to the leaning statues

A denarius of Commodus

New Research

Greenland’s Ice Provides a Year-By-Year Account of the Roman Empire’s Economy

A new study finds that lead levels from Roman silver production rise and fall in relation to the Empire’s political and economic changes

Panga ya Saidi

New Research

People Lived in This Cave for 78,000 Years

Excavations in Panga ya Saidi suggest technological and cultural change came slowly over time and show early humans weren’t reliant on coastal resources

Dorothy Parker and Alan Campbell

Dorothy Parker’s FBI File Is Available to Public for First Time in a Decade

Parker was blacklisted by Hollywood just as she was reaching her peak as a screenwriter

The South Georgia pipit has been one of the hardest-hit species by the island's rodent population. The government announced Monday that the island is now rodent free.

South Georgia Island Is Officially Free of Its Bird-Killing Rodents

After 250 years plagued with rats and mice, the island’s birds will hopefully now have the chance to bounce back

Mid 15th-century diners sit down to an elaborate meal in this illustration from an anonymous artist.

New Research

DNA From Ancient Latrines Reveal What People Ate Centuries Ago

By digging in ancient toilets, researchers uncovered genetic material that tells of past diets and diseases

Page 72 of 128