Paul Revere Wasn’t the Only Midnight Rider Who Dashed Through the Darkness to Warn the Patriots That the British Were Coming
Revere, who was later immortalized in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s famous poem, was one of many riders who rode through the countryside, spreading the alarm on April 18, 1775
See 26 Captivating Images From the World Press Photo Contest
In stark black-and-white and stunning color, this year’s winning photographs capture global events on a human scale
A Young Sailor’s Remains Return Home 84 Years After He Was Killed at Pearl Harbor
Neil Frye was 20 when Japan launched its surprise attack on December 7, 1941. He has been laid to rest with full military honors in his home state of North Carolina
Super-Sniffing Rat Sets a New World Record for Discovering Deadly Land Mines—and He’s Just Getting Started
Ronin, a 5-year-old African giant pouched rat, has found 109 land mines and 15 other unexploded ordnances in Cambodia
Long-Lost ‘Merci Train’ Given to New Jersey After World War II Has Been Found
To thank America for its support during the war, France sent a boxcar stuffed with gifts to each state. But in the late 1950s, New Jersey’s disappeared without a trace
How Bergen-Belsen, Where Anne Frank Died, Was Different From Every Other Nazi Concentration Camp
A new exhibition at the Wiener Holocaust Library in London chronicles the German camp complex’s history, from its origins housing prisoners of war to its afterlife holding displaced persons
Mass Grave From Roman-Era Battle Discovered Beneath a Soccer Field in Vienna
Archaeologists think that as many as 150 individuals may have been hastily buried at the site, likely after a “catastrophic” military event
How an American Merchant, a French Official and a Pioneering Chemist Smuggled Much-Needed Gunpowder to the Continental Army
The trio’s scheming became a crucial element of the fledgling nation’s success in the Revolutionary War
Carrots Can’t Help You See in the Dark. Here’s How a World War II Propaganda Campaign Popularized the Myth
The British government claimed that eating carrots helped its fighter pilots shoot down German planes at night. In truth, the Royal Air Force relied on top-secret radar
What Spurred the South to Join the American Revolution?
How a disagreement with a Scottish lord over westward expansion, a cache of gunpowder, and the future of enslaved labor helped kick-start the southern colonies’ embrace of the radical cause
A Gladiator’s Marble-Etched Epitaph Is Found in an Ancient Roman Necropolis
The graveyard of Liternum, near Naples, was in use between the first century B.C.E. and the third century C.E.
Remains of American Soldier Captured by the Japanese During World War II Identified Nearly 80 Years Later
After his plane was shot down, Glenn H. Hodak was sent to a military prison in Tokyo, where he was killed by U.S. firebombing in May 1945
America’s 250th Anniversary
To mark the 250th anniversary of America’s founding on July 4, 1776, Smithsonian magazine is highlighting the people, places and events that shaped the United States’ fight for independence from Great Britain
Former and Active DMZs Allow Visitors to Learn the Haunting History of These Landscapes
Demilitarized zones—from Vietnam to Korea, Cyprus and Antarctica—require tourists to look beyond what exists and to find the real stories in what doesn’t
Newly Rediscovered, a Missing Fragment of the Bayeux Tapestry Is Returning to France
Likely removed by Nazi researchers, the scrap of fabric is a small but crucial part of the tattered tapestry’s nearly 1,000-year history
Discover the Short Life and Long Legacy of Casimir Pulaski, a Polish Cavalry Officer Who Became an American Revolutionary Hero
On the first Monday in March, Pulaski Day festivities at Chicago’s Polish Museum of America honored the “Father of American Cavalry,” 280 years after his birth
Remains of Bomber Pilot Identified 80 Years After His Plane Went Down During World War II
Herbert G. Tennyson was a U.S. Army pilot on a B-24 nicknamed “Heaven Can Wait,” which crashed into the ocean in early 1944
Was This Little-Known Standoff Between British Soldiers and Colonists the Real Start of the American Revolution?
On February 26, 1775, residents of Salem, Massachusetts, banded together to force the British to withdraw from their town during an oft-overlooked encounter known as Leslie’s Retreat
You Can Buy a Rare Letter by George Washington Written at a Crucial Turning Point in the Revolutionary War
In the optimistic missive, Washington extols the revolutionary spirit of the American people—even in defeat—and makes a rare reference to the experimental smallpox inoculation that helped prevent outbreaks
How Britain’s Secret Decoy Ships Outfoxed German U-Boats During World War I
Divers recently discovered the wreck of a German submarine and the Royal Navy Q-ship that sank it in February 1917
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