Nora McGreevy

Nora McGreevy

 

Nora McGreevy is a former daily correspondent for Smithsonian. She is also a freelance journalist based in Chicago whose work has appeared in Wired, Washingtonian, the Boston Globe, South Bend Tribune, the New York Times and more.

An aerial view of the Mauseoleum of Augustus, which was recently renovated and will open to the public in Rome in 2021.

Take a Virtual Tour of the World's Largest Circular Tomb, Augustus' Mausoleum

The Roman landmark will reopen in 2021 after a 13-year restoration

The African Burial Ground National Monument in Manhattan commemorates the earliest and largest known black burial site discovered in the United States. More than 15,000 free and enslaved Africans who lived and worked in colonial New York were buried here between the mid-1630s and 1795.

New Legislation Seeks to Protect the U.S.' Historic Black Cemeteries

Now headed to the House, a bill passed by the Senate paves the way for the creation of the African American Burial Grounds Network

The Colosseum is one of Italy's biggest tourist attractions, welcoming millions of visitors every year.

Italy Will Rebuild the Colosseum's Floor, Restoring Arena to Its Gladiator-Era Glory

Officials plan to host concerts and theater productions on the new, retractable platform

Encounters with the giant oarfish—the world's largest bony fish—may have inspired sailors to tell tales about fantastical sea serpents.

Meet the Real Animals Behind Mermaids, Dragons and Other Mythical Creatures

You can now take a virtual tour of a "Harry Potter"–inspired exhibition exploring the origins of fantastical beings

The Library of Congress recently completed a major digitization effort, making collections of 23 U.S. presidents' papers available online for study. From left: Calvin Coolidge, Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, Benjamin Harrison and Thomas Jefferson; behind: Jefferson's June 1776 draft of the Declaration of Independence

Library of Congress' Presidential Papers, From Washington's Geometry Notes to Wilson's Love Letters, Are Now Online

Four newly added collections mark the conclusion of a two-decade digitization project

An abandoned building near the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant

Ukraine Seeks to Designate Chernobyl as a Unesco World Heritage Site

"People should leave with an awareness of the historic significance of the place," says the country's culture minister

A portrait of Ludwig van Beethoven by August Klober, circa 1818

How Young America Came to Love Beethoven

On the 250th anniversary of the famous composer’s birth, the story of how his music first took hold across the Atlantic

This rare Anglo Saxon cross spent more than 1,000 years buried in a Scottish field. Left: the cross pre-conservation, and right: the cross mid-cleaning

Freed of 1,000 Years of Grime, Anglo-Saxon Cross Emerges in Stunning Detail

Conservation revealed the artifact, discovered with Scotland's Galloway Hoard, as an example of intricate Viking-era metalwork

Johns Hopkins, founder of the Baltimore university that bears his name, enslaved at least four unnamed men in 1850. Pictured behind Hopkins is the 1850 "slave schedule" with his name (#33, circled in blue) and the enslaved individuals' ages.

Long Heralded as an Abolitionist, Johns Hopkins Enslaved People, Records Show

The Baltimore university that bears his name announced new research that "shattered" perceptions of the Quaker entrepreneur

Submissions will be included in an online exhibition, “Reclamation: Recipes, Remedies, and Ritual,” set to open in January 2021.

Your Cherished Family Recipes Could Be Featured in a Museum Exhibition

The National Museum of Women in the Arts is asking the public to share recipes that document unique family histories

U.S. Air Force Captain Charles E. "Chuck" Yeager became the first person to fly faster than the speed of sound in this airplane, the Bell X-1, on October 14, 1947. The aircraft is currently housed at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum.

Remember Chuck Yeager by Exploring the Plane He Flew to Break the Sound Barrier

In 1947, the pilot—who died Monday at age 97—made history by flying the Bell X-1 faster than the speed of sound

A team of divers found this rusted—but still recognizable—Enigma cipher machine at the bottom of the Baltic Sea. The Nazis used the device to encode secret military messages during WWII.

Divers Discover Nazi Enigma Machine Thrown Into the Baltic Sea During WWII

German forces used the device—likely cast into the water to avoid falling into Allied hands—to encode military messages

The Vale of York Hoard, a major trove of Viking artifacts discovered in 2007 in North Yorkshire. The hoard—likely buried around 920 A.D.—included 617 silver coins, a Frankish silver cup and Viking jewelry.

To Protect Its Rare Artifacts, the U.K. Proposes Revised Definition of 'Treasure'

New standards will ensure significant archaeological finds remain publicly accessible for study and enjoyment, the government says

Installation view of Tate Britain's Lynette Yiadom-Boakye retrospective

Stunning Paintings of Fictitious Black Figures Subvert Traditional Portraiture

Riffing on the genre's long history, Lynette Yiadom-Boakye's innovative works raise questions about black identity and representation

Russian physicist and engineer Lev Sergeyevich Termen—who later came to be widely known as Léon Theremin—invented his namesake instrument around 1920. Here, he's pictured in 1928.

The Soviet Spy Who Invented the First Major Electronic Instrument

Created by a Russian engineer, the theremin has delighted and confounded audiences since 1920

A map of Doggerland, which once connected Britain to mainland Europe

Study Rewrites History of Ancient Land Bridge Between Britain and Europe

New research suggests that climate change, not a tsunami, doomed the now-submerged territory of Doggerland

Researchers analyze the microbiome of Leonardo's Portrait of a Man in Red Chalk (circa 1490). Housed at the Royal Library of Turin, the detailed sketch is considered by some scholars to be a self-portrait.

Hidden Microbes and Fungi Found on the Surface of Leonardo da Vinci Drawings

Researchers used new DNA sequencing technology to examine the "bio-archives" of seven of the Renaissance master's sketches

A helicopter crew discovered this odd monolith in the middle of the Utah desert on November 18.

A Mysterious Monolith in the Utah Desert Vanished Overnight

Theories regarding the 12-foot-tall metal structure's origins—and ultimate fate—abound

Charles Darwin in 1857, photograph by Maull and Fox

Two Darwin Notebooks Quietly Went Missing 20 Years Ago. Were They Stolen?

Staff at Cambridge University Libraries previously assumed that the papers had simply been misplaced in the vast collections

Student researchers analyzed this leaf from a Book of Hours (left), a devotional Christian manuscript that dates to the 15th century. The students found traces of French cursive writing beneath the visible text (right). The cursive was likely scraped away to make the parchment reusable for the illuminated Gothic script.

College Sophomores Discover Hidden Text in Medieval Manuscript

Students at Rochester Institute of Technology used a self-developed UV imaging system to assess a 15th-century religious document

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