Articles

Shortly before the "Night of Terror," suffragists (including Lucy Burns, second from left) protested the treatment of Alice Paul, who was kept in solitary confinement in a D.C. prison.

100 Years of Women at the Ballot Box

Radical Protests Propelled the Suffrage Movement. Here's How a New Museum Captures That History

Located on the site of a former prison, the Lucy Burns Museum shines a light on the horrific treatment endured by the jailed suffragists

A pelagornithid, likely the largest flying bird that ever lived, soared over the open ocean.

Scientists Reveal What May Be the Largest Flying Bird Ever

Researchers from California and China identified the 50-million-year-old bone of a giant bird that lived in Antarctica

Vampires came when folk tradition filled the void of scientific knowledge. In this illustration, men gather a gravesite to kill a purported vampire.

Decomposing Bodies in the 1720s Gave Birth to the First Vampire Panic

How superstition collided with public health concerns to create a modern monster

The meteoric rise of Fernando Valenzuela, a left-handed pitcher (above: a monument at Dodger Stadium) from the rural town of Etchohuaquila in Sonora, Mexico, won the hearts of Latina and Latino audiences

The Complicated Relationship Between Latinos and the Los Angeles Dodgers

A new Smithsonian book and an upcoming exhibition, '¡Pleibol!,' recounts the singular importance of baseball in Latino history and culture

Play the Smithsonian Magazine Crossword: November 2020 Issue

Test your mettle with this puzzle created exclusively for "Smithsonian" readers

The National Native American Veterans Memorial, designed by Cheyenne and Arapaho artist Harvey Pratt, features a steel circle balanced on a carved drum.

Secretary Lonnie Bunch on the New Memorial to Native American Veterans

Located in front of the National Museum of the American Indian, the sculpture reminds us of the true burden of freedom

Why does smaller size, like that of the anteater, benefit species in different environments, wondered one Smithsonian reader.

Why Are South American Animals Smaller Than Those on Other Continents?

You've got questions. We've got experts

An illustration of Legionella bacteria, the cause of Legionnaires' disease

Why Reports of Legionnaires' Disease Are on the Rise in the United States

Though less common than in the past, Legionella bacteria and other dangerous pathogens still lurk in drinking water

The classic Turkey red, sported by everyone from Rosie the Riveter to Tupac Shakur.

The Global History of the Bandana

How an Indian export became part of the fabric of American life

Labor leader Min Matheson was an inspiration to the garment workers she organized in Pennsylvania’s Wyoming Valley. Here, ILGWU members picket in Scranton in 1958.

The True Story of Min Matheson, the Labor Leader Who Fought the Mob at the Polls

The activist rallied garment workers and combated organized crime interests in northeast Pennsylvania in the mid-20th century

Agricultural mechanization resulted in the loss of hedges: In 1946, there were an estimated 500,000 miles of hedgerows in England; by 1993, there were 236,000 miles. A neatly trimmed border hedge in Craigleith, Edinburgh.

How Hedges Became the Unofficial Emblem of Great Britain

A shear celebration of the ubiquitous boxy bushes that have defined the British landscape since the Bronze Age

Student drawings (paint on paper) by Ralph Steadman, circa 1958. The artist attended art school while working as a newspaper cartoonist.

Ralph Steadman's Earlier Work Shows the Artist's Abstract Streak

As a student, the future caricaturist tried his hand at a different type of brushwork

An overview of the Olorgesailie basin landscape, where the archeological site exists that contains stone weapons and tools

To Adapt to a Changing Environment 400,000 Years Ago, Early Humans Developed New Tools and Behaviors

When the East African Rift Valley transformed dramatically, new weapons arose and trade expanded

100,000 people die from venomous snakebites each year, a problem the Instituto Clodomiro Picado seeks to address with its antivenoms.

The Lab Saving the World From Snake Bites

A deadly shortage of venom antidote has spurred a little-known group of scientists in Costa Rica to action

In 1943 the all-wing and jet-propelled Horten Ho 229 promised spectacular performance and the German air force (Luftwaffe) chief, Hermann Göring, allocated half-a-million Reichsmarks to brothers Reimar and Walter Horten to build and fly several prototypes.

Truth Is Stranger Than Fiction With Horten's All-Wing Aircraft Design

New research dispels some of the myths behind the world's first jet-powered flying wing

An oil-cloth cape worn by a young Republican during a late-night, torch-lit campaign march ahead of the 1880 presidential election.

When Young Americans Marched for Democracy Wearing Capes

In 1880, a new generation helped decide the closest popular vote in U.S. history

The Original Selfie Craze Was the Mirror

Today’s social media obsession has its roots in the development centuries ago of the reflective material

A new form of entertainment and a wandering trainload of frozen turkey triggered a convenience food boom.

A Brief History of the TV Dinner

Thanksgiving’s most unexpected legacy is heating up again

Édouard Dubufe’s portrait of Bonheur, embellished with a bull that Bonheur herself added, is on view in Bonheur’s meticulously preserved studio.

The Trailblazing French Artist Rosa Bonheur Is Finally Getting the Attention She Deserves

She was an international superstar. And then she was ignored. Now one family is working fervently to restore the forgotten genius to greatness

At age 11, Naomi Wadler spoke before a crowd of thousands in 2018 about remembering the lives of black women and girls lost to gun violence.

How Girls Have Brought Political Change to America

The history of activism in young girls, who give voice to important issues in extraordinary ways, is the topic of a new Smithsonian exhibition.

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