History

About halfway between the Greek cities of Corinth and Lechaio, the area around Corinth’s ancient port is tectonically active. That makes the area even more scientifically precious. While many archaeological sites from millennia ago have sunk beneath rising seas, centuries of tectonic uplift have preserved this spot. Parts of the ancient port now sit above sea level, including the inner harbor, where boats likely once berthed in a protected channel.

Ancient Greece’s Biggest Port Is Older Than We Thought

Archaeological discoveries add 500 years to the history of Corinth's main harbor

Mabel Boll, nicknamed the "Queen of Diamonds" (left), failed to cross the Atlantic before Amelia Earhart (right).

Women Who Shaped History

When Amelia Earhart and the 'Queen of Diamonds' Raced to Become the First Woman to Fly Across the Atlantic

Mabel Boll, a wealthy New York socialite, dreamed of making aviation history. But Earhart beat her to the finish line, completing the trans-Atlantic journey as a passenger in June 1928

Lili Taylor as Mary Lincoln and Hamish Linklater as Abraham Lincoln in the AppleTV+ miniseries "Manhunt"

There's More to That

The Man Behind 'Manhunt,' the New Apple TV+ Show About the Lincoln Assassination

Meet James Swanson, the lifelong Abraham Lincoln obsessive who wrote the nonfiction thriller that inspired the acclaimed miniseries

An illustration of Molly Maguires on their way to the gallows in Pottsville, Pennsylvania

Untold Stories of American History

Eight Secret Societies You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Many of these selective clubs peaked in popularity in the 18th and 19th centuries

An illuminated manuscript illustration of Marie de France, a 12th-century poet

How Medieval Women Expressed Their 'Forbidden' Emotions

Upper-class women used letters and embroidery to reflect on their inner lives

Religious lore suggests that God showed Patrick the entrance to purgatory, where the Irish could witness the consequences of not embracing Christianity with their own eyes.

St. Patrick Opened a Portal to Purgatory on This Little-Known Irish Island

Medieval pilgrims flocked to the site for spiritual purification

Tobias Menzies (right) as Secretary of War Edwin Stanton in "Manhunt"

Based on a True Story

The Real History Behind Apple TV+'s 'Manhunt' and the Search for Abraham Lincoln's Killer

A new series dramatizes Edwin Stanton's hunt for John Wilkes Booth and his co-conspirators in the aftermath of the president’s 1865 assassination

Hazel Fellows sews pieces of an Apollo A7L spacesuit on the production line at International Latex Corporation (ILC) in 1968.

From the Inventor of Mass-Market Paper Bags to a Scientist Who Unraveled the Mysteries of Polio, Meet Five American Women Whose Remarkable Achievements Have Long Been Overlooked

The inaugural exhibition at the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum seeks to shine light on lesser-known historical figures

Princess Dashkova (center) exchanged letters with Benjamin Franklin and befriended Catherine the Great.

This Russian Noblewoman, Beloved by Catherine the Great and Benjamin Franklin, Embodied the Age of Enlightenment

Princess Dashkova led research institutes, wrote plays and music, and embarked on a Grand Tour of 18th-century Europe

Mohammed (seated at left) with Franklin D. Roosevelt (center) and Winston Churchill (right) at a 1943 war conference near Casablanca

The Moroccan Sultan Who Protected His Country's Jews During World War II

Mohammed V defied the collaborationist Vichy regime, saving Morocco's 250,000 Jews from deportation to Nazi death camps

“Happy Birthday” may be the Hill sisters' main claim to fame, but Patty (left) and Mildred's (right) impact on American history extends far beyond the beloved song.

Women Who Shaped History

The Forgotten Sisters Behind 'Happy Birthday to You'

Mildred and Patty Hill wrote the popular song's melody, but their contributions to American culture have long been overlooked

Not everyone was a fan of rumor clinics. Some critics faulted them for helping hearsay reach an even larger audience.

History of Now

World War II 'Rumor Clinics' Helped America Battle Wild Gossip

Newspapers and magazines across the United States published weekly columns debunking lurid claims that were detrimental to the war effort

The International Cryonics Museum’s mission is to educate people of all walks of life about the hard science of cryonic human preservation.

The World's First Cryonics Museum Finds a Perfect Home in Estes Park, Colorado

The town’s historic hotel magnifies its mastery of the macabre with a chilling new attraction

Rasputin with his acolytes in 1914

Russian Revolution

What Really Happened During the Murder of Rasputin, Russia's 'Mad Monk'?

Aristocrats plotted to kill the Siberian peasant, who wielded undue influence over Nicholas II and his wife, Alexandra. But the conspiracy backfired, hastening the coming Russian Revolution

Mario Van Peebles directs and stars in a new film titled Outlaw Posse.

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

A drawing of the aurora observed from Nagoya, Japan, on September 17, 1770. The written description also notes its intensity: “as bright as a night with a full moon.”

How Ancient Texts Can Shed Light on Auroras

Documenting episodes of the phenomenon thousands of years ago may help us predict damaging solar storms in the future

Two unidentified Gullah Geechee women photographed by Lorenzo Dow Turner in the early 1930s

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

Hiroyuki Sanada as Lord Yoshii Toranaga, a fictionalized version of the shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu, in FX's "Shogun"

Based on a True Story

The Real History Behind FX's 'Shogun'

A new adaptation offers a fresh take on James Clavell's 1975 novel, which fictionalizes the stories of English sailor William Adams, shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu and Japanese noblewoman Hosokawa Gracia

Some of the women diarists featured in the new anthology. Top row, left to right: Ada Blackjack, Anne Clifford, Florence Nightingale, Fanny Burney and Anna Dostoyevskaya. Bottom row, left to right: Elizabeth Fry, Cynthia Asquith, Beatrice Webb, Charlotte Forten Grimké and Virginia Woolf 

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

Elroy and Sophia Williams stand inside the Hopewell School, a site on the National Register of Historic Places. Once freed from slavery, Sophia’s grandparents, depicted in the artwork she holds, acquired and then donated land for the school, one of nearly 5,000 built for African American children across from 1912 to 1937.

Smithsonian Photo Contest Galleries

These 15 Moving Photos Celebrate Black History Month

To mark the February heritage month, these images from the Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest offer proof that African American history is timeless

Page 2 of 278