American History

This photograph may depict the iceberg that caused the Titanic to sink

This Historic Photograph May Depict the Iceberg That Sank the Titanic

The image, which sold for $22,000 at auction this week, was taken aboard a recovery vessel days after the famous ocean liner went down

Ada "Bricktop" Smith's clubs attracted high-profile visitors, including Cole Porter, the future Edward VIII and Elizabeth Taylor.

At Her Globe-Spanning Nightclubs, This Black Entertainer Hosted a 'Who’s Who' of the 20th Century

Ada "Bricktop" Smith, who operated venues in Rome, Paris and Mexico City, brushed shoulders with the likes of Langston Hughes, Salvador Dalí and Gertrude Stein

Japanese Americans were forced to leave behind their homes and belongings, then report to incarceration sites.

The Public Finally Has Access to an Accurate List of Japanese Americans Detained During World War II

Researchers who spent years fixing errors in shoddy government records have partnered with Ancestry to make a wide selection of historical documents related to the period available for free

The fire destroyed one of the historic "20-mule team" wagons from the late 19th century. A steam tractor named "Old Dinah" survived.

Historic Borax Wagon Destroyed in Blaze at Death Valley National Park

Beginning in 1883, 18 mules and two horses hauled wagons full of borax across eastern California

 Nikola Tesla in his laboratory in Colorado Springs around 1899

Nikola Tesla and the Tower That Became His 'Million Dollar Folly'

The eccentric inventor's dream of a wireless-transmission tower would prove to be his undoing

The two intact bottles were found in Mount Vernon's cellar.

Bottles of 250-Year-Old Cherries Discovered Beneath George Washington's Home

Researchers at Mount Vernon say that the stash still "bore the characteristic scent of cherry blossoms"

In 1866, Joseph A. Joel, a Jewish private in the 23rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment, wrote a detailed account of an 1862 Passover Seder.

How Jewish Soldiers Celebrated Passover in the Midst of the Civil War

A group of Union men from Ohio held a makeshift Seder in the western Virginia woods in 1862

The incident took place on the popular Redstone Trail in Nevada's Lake Mead National Recreation Area.

Two Vandals at Lake Mead Toppled Rock Formations Made From 140-Million-Year-Old Dunes

Authorities are seeking information about the men, whose crime was captured on video on April 7

Fans hold a photo of Selena during the ceremony honoring her with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2017.

How Museums Are Preserving and Celebrating Selena's Legacy

The singer’s presence can still be felt at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History

Suzan-Lori Parks' Sally & Tom makes its New York debut on April 16.

This Play Within a Play Confronts the Power Dynamic Between Sally Hemings and Thomas Jefferson

In "Sally & Tom," Pulitzer Prize winner Suzan-Lori Parks continues her investigation of American myths

Michael Douglas stars as Benjamin Franklin in the new Apple TV+ series "Franklin."

The Real Story Behind Apple TV+'s 'Franklin'

A new limited series starring Michael Douglas as Benjamin Franklin revisits the founding father's years as the American ambassador to France

Members of the Little Rock Nine study together after being blocked from Little Rock Central High in 1957.

Little Rock Nine and Paul McCartney React to Beyoncé's 'Blackbird' Cover

McCartney was inspired to write the song after hearing about the battle to integrate Little Rock Central High School in 1957

USS South Dakota (BB-57) anchored in Hvalfjordur

This 12-Year-Old Boy Fought on a World War II Battleship and Became the Nation's Youngest Decorated War Hero

In 1942, young Calvin Graham was decorated for valor in battle, before his worried mother learned of his whereabouts and revealed his secret to the Navy

The Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration has been open since 1990.

The Ellis Island Museum Is Revitalizing the Story of American Immigration

A $100 million renovation will help preserve the history of the millions of immigrants who passed through the island in the late 19th and early 20th centuries

The cargo ship Dali ran into the Key Bridge after losing power on March 26.

A Massive Crane Helping With the Baltimore Bridge Cleanup Was Built to Recover a Sunken Soviet Submarine

The Chesapeake 1000 was used to construct a ship for a top-secret CIA mission in the 1970s

The hideout boasted more than 1,000 bunk beds, a 400-seat cafeteria, individual auditoriums for both the Senate and the House of Representatives, vast water tanks, and a trash incinerator that could serve as a crematorium.

The Town That Kept Its Nuclear Bunker a Secret for Three Decades

The people of White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, helped keep the Greenbrier resort's bunker—designed to hold the entirety of Congress—hidden from 1958 to 1992

A poster for Oppenheimer in Tokyo

'Oppenheimer' Opens in Japan Eight Months After Worldwide Release

The acclaimed biopic of the Manhattan Project's leader has been met with mixed reviews by Japanese audiences

At New Orleans' National WWII Museum, visitors can chat with virtual versions of World War II veterans.

This Museum Lets Visitors Talk to A.I. Copies of World War II Veterans

Eighteen Americans who participated in the war effort each answered up to 1,000 questions on camera to create their interactive video likenesses

Furnished with permission from the British to cross into their waters, Samuel Williams set sail for Penobscot Bay in south-central Maine, which he thought was within a solar eclipse's path of totality.

The Eclipse Chaser Who Led an Expedition Behind Enemy Lines During the Revolutionary War

In 1780, astronomer Samuel Williams journeyed to British-controlled territory to view a total solar eclipse

The Library Company reading room on Juniper Street in Philadelphia c. 1935, one of the group’s main locations from 1880 to 1935.

How Ben Franklin Invented the Library as We Know It

Books were rare and expensive in colonial America, but the founding father had an idea

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