Women's History
How Betty White Broke Barriers for Women in Television
A Smithsonian curator reflects on the legacy of the beloved “Golden Girls” actress
Five Things to Know About French Enlightenment Genius Émilie du Châtelet
She was brilliant and unconventional, but her life had a tragic end
Groundbreaking Feminist Scholar bell hooks Dies at 69
The prolific American writer shaped a generation of discourse around Black feminism and intersectionality
How the Swimsuit Showdown Shaped the Miss America Contest
A new behind-the-scenes book, “There She Was,” and a Smithsonian collecting initiative celebrate the pageant’s centennial
New York City's Unsung Monuments to Working Moms
Across the five boroughs, dozens of daycare centers stand as survivors of a massive effort in the 1970s to quickly grow a publicly funded childcare system
Smithsonian Scholars Pick Their Favorite Books of 2021
The writings of many fine authors support the research and ambitious undertakings of an Institution rising to the challenges ahead
The Ten Best Books About Travel of 2021
With many of our wings still clipped by Covid-19 this year, we needed to travel vicariously through these adventurous reads
Julia Kabance, Oldest Known Woman Veteran of World War II, Dies at 111
She was also the oldest living member of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation
See a Rare Watercolor of a Black Woman Living in Edinburgh in the Late 18th Century
Staff at the National Galleries of Scotland, which recently acquired the David Allan painting, hope to uncover more information about the sitter's identity
In 19th-Century New England, This Amateur Geologist Created Her Own Cabinet of Curiosities
A friend of Henry David Thoreau, Ellen Sewall Osgood's pursuit of her scientific passion illuminates the limits and possibilities placed on the era's women
Clara Barton Epitomized the Heroism of Nurses
Two hundred years after her birth, her pioneering commitment to public health has only become more salient
These Sisters' Innovative Portrait Miniatures Immortalized 19th-Century Connecticut's Elite
An exhibition at the Lyman Allyn Art Museum is the first to showcase Mary and Elizabeth Way's unique creations, which went unrecognized for decades
The Real Betty Crocker May Never Have Existed, but She Still Became a Symbol for American Women
Created as a customer service tool 100 years ago, the fictional character marks the evolution of domesticity in the United States
Why Museums Are Primed to Address Racism, Inequality in the U.S.
Smithsonian leaders discuss how the Institution can be a powerful place for investigating and addressing society’s most difficult issues
Reckoning With—and Reclaiming—the Salem Witch Trials
A new exhibition unites 17th-century artifacts with contemporary artists' responses to the mass hysteria event
See Newly Discovered Works by Trailblazing Painter Hilma af Klint
The Swedish Modernist created innovative, genre-defying abstract art inspired by science, mysticism and her own encounters with the spiritual world
The Trailblazing, Multifaceted Activism of Lawyer-Turned-Priest Pauli Murray
New documentary tells the story of a Black and LGBTQ thinker who helped lay the legal groundwork for fighting gender- and race-based discrimination
Statue of Pre-Hispanic Woman Will Replace Columbus Sculpture in Mexico City
The towering likeness is an oversized replica of a 15th- or 16th-century limestone artwork discovered earlier this year
No Nobel Prizes in Science Went to Women This Year, Widening the Awards' Gender Gap
Fewer than three percent of Nobel science winners are women, and only one woman of color has ever received the award
The Sex Education Pamphlet That Sparked a Landmark Censorship Case
Women's rights activist Mary Ware Dennett was arrested in 1929 for mailing a booklet deemed "obscene, lewd or lascivious"
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