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The Icebergs, Frederic Edwin Church, oil on canvas, 1861

‘The Icebergs’ Is One of Frederic Edwin Church’s Most Spectacular Paintings. For Decades, No One Knew Where It Was

In the 1970s, the administrator of a boys’ home in England wound up finding the missing 19th-century piece and bringing it back into the spotlight

A display case featuring "Dolls as Designers," including Yves Saint Laurent (second from left) and Anna Sui (second from right)

Centuries Ago, Royals Dressed Up Their Dolls to Share the Latest Fashions. See How Barbies, Baby Dolls and Other Tiny Trendsetters Have Inspired Designers Ever Since

A new exhibition at the Museum at FIT in New York City showcases more than 170 objects that trace the often-unexpected relationship between dolls and fashion

A bronze helmet with hammered decoration from Heraklion, Crete

Cool Finds

See a Stunning Collection of Stolen Greek Artifacts, Spanning 5,000 Years, That Were Just Returned to Greece

The antiquities were seized at the Metropolitan Museum of Art by investigators from the office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg Jr.

An illustration of Lancaster in the early 1800s. The Pennsylvania city served as the nation's capital on September 27, 1777.

America's 250th Anniversary

During the American Revolution, the City of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Served as the United States’ Capital for Just One Day

The nascent nation’s leaders fled to the inland city as the British advanced on Philadelphia in September 1777. They held one meeting at the local courthouse before moving on to York

Members of the public are invited to vote for their favorite name for the otter: Nessie, Ruthie or Morgan. The selections are a nod to community changemakers who have made a positive impact on the river and the Bronx more broadly.

An Otter Just Returned to New York City’s Bronx River for the First Time in a Century. Now, You Can Help Name It

A trail camera photographed the animal earlier this summer, offering a hopeful sign that the once-polluted urban waterway is recovering after decades of restoration work

Each bison is controlled by three puppeteers, who spent days learning choreographed movements and commands. 

A Herd of 40 Life-Size Bison Puppets Will Stampede Through New York This Weekend to Honor Indigenous History and Resilience

The massive bovines, each maneuvered by three puppeteers, will roam through Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn

The New York Times building, with its newspaper logo sign above the entrance, seen in New York City on August 6, 2026

The Founders of the ‘New York Times’ Pledged to Cover ‘Every Subject of Public Importance.’ 175 Years Later, the Paper Continues to Publish ‘All the News That’s Fit to Print’

Much has changed since the publication debuted on September 18, 1851. What hasn’t changed, staff members say, is the paper’s mission

A man in New York City reads a copy of the September 19, 2001, issue of the Daily News, featuring Milton Glaser's updated "I ♥ NY More Than Ever" logo.

In the Aftermath of 9/11, Milton Glaser, Creator of the ‘I Love NY’ Logo, Declared That He Loved New York City ‘More Than Ever’

The graphic designer revamped his world-famous emblem in response to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The updated design underscored the city’s resilience in the face of tragedy

In the bitter chill of a six-degrees Fahrenheit morning in Olathe, Kansas, firefighters respond to a duplex fire. Working quickly despite the cold, they stopped the fire’s advance and saved the adjoining unit from damage.

These 15 Riveting Photos of Firefighters in Action Showcase the Strength and Courage They Need to Risk Their Lives to Save Others

On the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, take in this collection of images pulled from the archives of the Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest

A diagram of David Bushnell's Turtle submersible

America's 250th Anniversary

To Defeat the Royal Navy During the American Revolution, a Rebel Inventor Designed a Secret Weapon: a Bomb-Carrying Submarine

David Bushnell developed the “Turtle” submersible as a student at Yale University. The vessel’s attack on a British flagship failed, but the trailblazing boat’s legacy endures 250 years later

Flight attendant Lorraine Bay carefully recorded every flight she worked in this log book, found near the wreckage of Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

September 11

Thirty-Seven Smithsonian Artifacts That Tell the Story of 9/11, From a Flight 93 Logbook to a Squeegee Handle Used While Escaping From the World Trade Center

The National Museum of American History houses hundreds of objects linked to the attacks. Ahead of the 25th anniversary of the tragedy, learn the stories behind some of the most poignant items in the collections

Tennis courts where the author played at Outbound Sedona in the Arizona heat

Tennis Matches Are Heating Up, Literally. Here’s How the Court Became a Living Laboratory for Managing Extreme Temperatures

The sport’s hard-court surfaces can reach some 30 degrees hotter than the surrounding air. With elite players suffering heat illness on the world stage, athletes are following personalized cooling plans

An early papyrus fragment from Homer's Odyssey, dated to roughly 285 to 250 B.C.E., is now on display in New York City.

You Can Now See One of the Oldest Surviving Copies of ‘The Odyssey’ at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

The papyrus fragment contains three lines that don’t appear in standard modern-day translations of Homer’s epic poem

Nathan Hale was captured and executed by the British within days of his arrival on Long Island. David Maltbie evaded detection for a much longer time, although he, too, was eventually caught by the enemy.

America's 250th Anniversary

This Connecticut Teenager Spied on the British During the American Revolution, Succeeding Where Nathan Hale Failed

Newly uncovered documents reveal the story of David Maltbie, who relayed intelligence to the patriots in 1776, narrowly avoiding execution as a spy

A John Trumbull painting of George Washington's capture of Hessian soldiers in Trenton, New Jersey, in December 1776

America's 250th Anniversary

The Hessians Were Supposed to Quickly End the American Revolution. Instead, They Endured Years of Battles and Suffered Thousands of Casualties

Some 30,000 German soldiers fought for the British during the war. Contrary to popular belief, they weren’t mercenaries, and not all were actually Hessians

A blacktip shark, above, looks and behaves like a spinner shark. Scientists are tracking spinner sharks to get a clearer idea of the species' whereabouts.

These Shark Look-Alikes Have Long Confounded Fishers and Scientists on the East Coast. Tracking Where They Migrate Could Help Clear the Confusion

Researchers are tagging and tracking spinner sharks to map out their geographic distribution, because they’ve seen that the range of the very similar blacktip shark has shifted

The RMS Titanic, photographed on April 10, 1912, the day that Henry Hodges dated his letter. 

This Letter Penned on the ‘Titanic’ Days Before It Sank Shares the Perspective of the Ship’s Second-Class Passengers

The letter, now up for auction, describes good weather and bustling activity as the “Titanic” prepared to set off across the Atlantic Ocean

Public health experts recommend vigorously washing all produce, among other measures.

Cases of a Parasitic Infection That Can Cause Diarrhea for Weeks Are Rapidly Rising in the U.S. Here’s What to Know

The illness is caused by the microscopic parasite Cyclospora cayetanensis, which spreads via food or water contaminated with feces, usually on farms. Health officials are still investigating the source of the multistate outbreak

Autumn colors frame a calm lake in Central Park as two people row beneath looming skyscrapers.

Verdant Beauty, Wide-Open Spaces, Elegant Architecture: Have a Look at 15 Photos That Show Why Central Park Is the Lifeblood of Manhattan

At the center of the concrete jungle, the green expanse provides New York with a real retreat to nature

Dolly Parton, photographed here in 2010 at the Grand Ole Opry, will debut her autobiographical musical on Broadway this winter.  

Country Music Legend Dolly Parton’s Autobiographical Musical Exploring Her Journey From East Tennessee Will Hit Broadway This Winter

“Dolly: A True Original Musical” premiered last year in Nashville in Parton’s home state

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