American History
This Is When Washington, D.C.'s Cherry Trees Are Predicted to Bloom This Year
"Peak bloom," which typically falls in late March or early April, refers to the day when at least 70 percent of the trees have blossomed
Why Did Colonists Trash This Piece of Armor After Settling in Maryland 300 Years Ago?
The metal plate was unearthed in the cellar of a storehouse dating to the mid-1600s
How a Century of Black Westerns Shaped Movie History
Mario Van Peebles' "Outlaw Posse" is the latest attempt to correct the erasure of people of color from the classic cinema genre
How the Memory of a Song Reunited Two Women Separated by the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade
In 1990, scholars found a Sierra Leonean woman who remembered a nearly identical version of a tune passed down by a Georgia woman’s enslaved ancestors
Star Wars Fans Can Soon Bid on C-3PO's Head
Actor Anthony Daniels wore the golden helmet while playing the iconic droid in 'Return of the Jedi'
These Were the Most—and Least—Popular National Parks in 2023
The National Park Service recorded 325,498,646 recreation visits across 400 sites, which is close to pre-pandemic levels
What Is the Dominant Emotion in 400 Years of Women's Diaries?
A new anthology identifies frustration as a recurring theme in journals written between 1599 and 2015
A Japanese American Incarceration Camp in Colorado Is America’s Newest National Park
More than 10,000 Japanese Americans were imprisoned at the Granada Relocation Center, also known as Amache, during World War II
Abraham Lincoln Pardoned Joe Biden's Great-Great-Grandfather, 160-Year-Old Records Reveal
Historian David J. Gerleman discovered the link between the two presidents while reviewing historic documents at the National Archives
More Giant Pandas Are Coming to the U.S. in a New Loan From China
China plans to send a male and a female panda to the San Diego Zoo as early as this summer, and negotiations are underway for pandas' possible return to the National Zoo in Washington, D.C.
Divers Recover Bell From Wreck of American Destroyer Sunk in World War I
Sixty-four American sailors died when a German torpedo hit the USS "Jacob Jones" on December 6, 1917
The Founder of This Trailblazing Opera Company Put Black Singers at Center Stage
Mary Cardwell Dawson created unprecedented opportunities for aspiring Black musicians
The Smithsonian’s Human Remains Task Force Calls for New Repatriation Policies
The report provides recommendations regarding the return of human remains in the Institution’s collections
Near the Site of the Gettysburg Address, These Black Civil War Veterans Remain Segregated, Even in Death
Denied burial alongside Union soldiers killed during the Battle of Gettysburg, the 30 or so men were instead buried in the all-Black Lincoln Cemetery
The True Story of Pocahontas Is More Complicated Than You Might Think
Historian Camilla Townsend separates fact from fiction in the life of the Powhatan "princess"
Eight Decades Ago, a Ship Vanished Into the Depths of Lake Superior. Why Did the Captain Remain Aboard?
The wreck of the S.S. Arlington has finally been found—but it provides no answers about Captain Frederick Burke's final moments
How a 1924 Immigration Act Laid the Groundwork for Japanese American Incarceration
A Smithsonian curator and a historian discuss the links between the Johnson-Reed Act and Executive Order 9066, which rounded up 120,000 Japanese Americans in camps across the Western U.S.
To Make Tiffany & Co. a Household Name, the Luxury Brand's Founder Cashed in on the Trans-Atlantic Telegraph Craze
Charles Lewis Tiffany purchased the surplus cable from the 1858 venture, turning it into souvenirs that forever linked his name to the short-lived telecommunications milestone
What a Teacher's Letters Reveal About Robert Smalls, Who Stole a Confederate Ship to Secure His Freedom From Slavery
Harriet M. Buss' missives home detail the future congressman's candid views on race and the complicity of Confederate women
Inert Cold War-Era Missile Discovered in a Washington Man's Garage
A resident of Bellevue, Washington, attempted to donate the historic artifact to a museum, which alerted authorities
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