History

Elders Council Secretary Judy Augusta and Elders Council Member Catherine Ford tour the American Indian Museum's exhibition "Nation to Nation" on the day the Treaty of Fort Wayne is put on view.

A Territorial Land Grab That Pushed Native Americans to the Breaking Point

The 1809 treaty that fueled Tecumseh’s war on whites at the Battle of Tippecanoe is on view at the American Indian Museum

In "Marshall," a new movie starring Chadwick Boseman and Josh Gad, the future Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall argues a case for a black man accused of rape.

The True Story Behind “Marshall”

What really happened in the trial featured in the new biopic of future Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall

Photo of the world's first atomic explosion at the Trinity Site in New Mexico.

Trinity Site Offers a Rare Chance to Visit Ground Zero of the World’s First Atomic Bomb Explosion

The detonation site is only open to civilians twice a year

The main branch of the NYPL, located on Fifth Avenue in midtown Manhattan.

The Wondrous Complexity of the New York Public Library

A new documentary captures the sweeping human impact of one of the country's largest library systems

Thousands of women tirelessly worked in close quarters throughout the war breaking codes for the Army and Navy. Vowed to secrecy, they have long gone unrecognized for their wartime achievements.

How the American Women Codebreakers of WWII Helped Win the War

A new book documents the triumphs and challenges of more than 10,000 women who worked behind the scenes of wartime intelligence

In a still from the documentary, Michael Zahs screens one of the early films against a barn in Iowa.

Thought Lost to History, These Rare, Early Films Survived Thanks to a Crafty Showman and a Savvy Collector

A new documentary focuses on the incredible story of Frank Brinton

Part of Blade Runner's enduring appeal are the questions it poses about the nature of humanity—should replicants have the same rights as humans?

Are Blade Runner’s Replicants “Human”? Descartes and Locke Have Some Thoughts

Enlightenment philosophers asked the same questions about what makes humans, humans as we see in the cult classic

"Scene at the Signing of the Constitution of the United States" by Howard Chandler Christy. James Madison is at center, seated, to the right of Ben Franklin.

History of Now

Inside the Founding Fathers’ Debate Over What Constituted an Impeachable Offense

If not for three sparring Virginia delegates, Congress’s power to remove a president would be even more limited than it already is

The Dance Class, c. 1873. Oil on canvas.

One Hundred Years Later, the Tense Realism of Edgar Degas Still Captivates

For this groundbreaking artist, greatness was always one more horizon away

A 35-foot-tall statue of Lenin speechifying from atop an armored car stands outside Finland Station in St. Petersburg.

What Ever Happened to the Russian Revolution?

We journey through Vladimir Putin’s Russia to measure the aftershocks of the political explosion that rocked the world a century ago

The 18-month restoration of Gilbert Stuart's portrait of George Washington, the Lansdowne (above: the portrait before conservation treatment is on the left) is completed.

A Rainbow Shines Anew in National Portrait Gallery's Iconic George Washington Portrait 

A glistening Lansdowne Portrait refresh harkens the reopening of "America's Presidents"

American Expeditionary Force victims of the flu pandemic at U.S. Army Camp Hospital no. 45 in Aix-les-Bains, France, in 1918.

The Next Pandemic

How the 1918 Flu Pandemic Revolutionized Public Health

Mass death changed how we think about illness, and government's role in treating it

“If ever one person was meant to have one profession, it was me and journalism," says Brokaw, "I just love the craft.”

Tom Brokaw’s Journey From Middle America to the World Stage

The history-making path of the former NBC Nightly News anchor is honored with a Smithsonian Lewis and Clark compass

Doctors Once Prescribed Terrifying Plane Flights to "Cure" Deafness

Stunt pilots, including a young Charles Lindbergh, took willing participants to the skies for (sometimes) death-defying rides

Billie Jean King (Emma Stone) and Bobby Riggs (Steve Carell) right before the famous match in Battle of the Sexes.

The True Story Behind Billie Jean King's Victorious “Battle of the Sexes”

Smithsonian sports curator Eric Jentsch offers a look at her legacy beyond the legendary match

“As a guard, what I liked about the ABA ball was the color,” said former ABA player Gene Littles. “It was a special feeling to take a long shot and watch those colors rotate in the air and then see the ball with all those colors nestle into the net. It made your heart beat just a little bit faster when you hit a 25-footer with the ABA ball.” -Loose Balls by Terry Pluto

The ABA Was Short-Lived, but Its Impact on Basketball Is Eternal

The spectacular play you see today owes a mighty debt to the revolutionary, slam-dunking basketball league

A Panel from the Marvel Comics series ‘The 'Nam.’

How Comics Captured America’s Opinions About the Vietnam War

More than any other medium, comics closely followed the narrative arc of the conflict, from support to growing ambivalence

Why This 1969 Royal Family Documentary Was Pulled Off Air

In total, the Queen Mother was a widow for 50 years of her life. During that time, she became known for two things: extravagance and an unpaid tab

Victoria and Abdul: The Friendship that Scandalized England

Near the end of her reign, Queen Victoria developed a friendship with an Indian servant, elevating him to trusted advisor and infuriating her court

Salih reports that ISIS “looted all movable objects” from this tunnel at ancient Nineveh.

The Salvation of Mosul

An Iraqi archaeologist braved ISIS snipers and booby-trapped ruins to rescue cultural treasures in the city and nearby legendary Nineveh and Nimrud

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