Smart News History & Archaeology

A re-engraving of the best-known picture of Jane Austen, the "memoir portrait," based on a drawing by her sister Cassandra.

Researchers Float (Unlikely) Theory That Jane Austen Died of Arsenic Poisoning

A contested hypothesis says the author’s glasses may offer new insight into her death

These two diagrams appear in Chester Greenwood's patent for hinged earmuffs.

The Innovative Spirit fy17

The Teenager Who Patented Earmuffs Kept His Town Employed for 60 Years

Chester Greenwood became an earmuff tycoon whose factory kept his hometown in business

This once-secret memo lays out methods for secret writing once used by intelligence agencies.

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Celebrate Sunshine Week By Transcribing Once Top-Secret Documents

The National Archives wants you…to make documents more accessible to future generations

A reproduction of the "Tower of Blue Horses," which hasn't been spotted since the late 1940s.

Cool Finds

Two New Exhibitions Celebrate a Long-Lost Painting

The "Tower of the Blue Horses" is gone, but not forgotten

Percival Lowell in the 1900s.

The Bizarre Beliefs of Astronomer Percival Lowell

Lowell's theories were treated with skepticism even in his own lifetime

In the early days of the Civil Rights Movements, students took a stand by sitting down.

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New Nashville Restaurant Recreates Civil Rights Sit-In Site

The lunch counter where John Lewis and others were arrested will now be part of a soul food eatery and music venue

A boy rides his bike by the recently discovered statue that may be of Pharaoh Ramses II, one of the Egypt's most famous ancient rulers.

Huge Statue of Egyptian Pharaoh Discovered in Cairo

It may be a likeness of Ramses II, ancient Egypt's most powerful ruler

Sylvia Townsend Warner, the author whose first book was chosen as the first Book of the Month selection in 1926, was openly involved in relationships with both men and women, a fact that scandalized readers.

Don't Judge the Book-of-the-Month Club By Its Cover

Although today you might associate its name with staid offerings, the club’s first book was by an openly queer author

Daylight saving time, which has a history dating back to Benjamin Franklin, starts this Sunday.

During (and After) WWII, Some States Had Year-Round Daylight Saving Time

A 1963 'Time Magazine' article called it "a chaos of time"

Portrait of Alexander Hamilton by John Trumbull, 1806

Collection of Alexander Hamilton’s Documents Can Now Be Viewed Online

Among them are Hamilton's first report as Secretary of Treasury, and a steamy love letter to his wife

Mildred and Richard Loving, subjects of the documentary The Loving Story and the feature-film Loving. Their story will be a topic of discussion at the History Film Forum.

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History Film Forum Hashes Out Truth and Myth in Hollywood

The four-day Forum looks into time travel, black America, Poe and other depictions of history in the media

This Adopt-A-Highway sign is located on the Florida Keys Scenic Highway. The program, which began in Texas, is now used by states across the country.

Two States Have Gone to Court to Keep the KKK From Adopting a Highway

In 2016, Georgia's Department of Transportation actually put the program on hold so it wouldn't have to respond to the hate group's application

A reconstruction from the 3,700-year-old remains of Ava, a woman unearthed in the Scottish Highlands

Pollens Found in Grave of Bronze Age Woman Paint Picture of Bygone Scotland

But do they shed light on the mystery of the woman’s death?

A Messerschmitt Bf 109. This is a Spanish-built version of the plane, licensed from Messerschmitt AG.

14-Year-Old Boy Discovers Remains of German Fighter Plane and Its Pilot

Daniel Rom Kristiansen was learning about WWII in school when he decided to look for a lost warplane

No images of Casor survive to the present day. Tobacco fields like this one, however, would have been what he saw daily.

The Horrible Fate of John Casor, The First Black Man to be Declared Slave for Life in America

Black people in early America weren't slaves. After this lawsuit, they could be

A portrait of Fanny Mendelssohn, by her husband Wilhelm Hensel.

Sonata by Fanny Mendelssohn, Mistakenly Attributed to Her Brother, Premieres Under Her Name

The Royal College of London performed the Easter Sonata in honor of International Women's Day

Portrait of women shirtwaist strikers holding copies of "The Call," a socialist newspaper, in 1910

The American Garment Workers Who Helped Inspire International Women’s Day

Jobs in the garment industry were some of the first to empower women in the industrial workforce

The late justice's papers will be housed at Harvard Law.

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Antonin Scalia’s Papers Find a Home at Harvard Law

The Supreme Court justice left behind a substantial legal and archival legacy

Abigail and John Adams's letters to each other show a rare marriage of equals, historians say.

The Letters of Abigail and John Adams Show Their Mutual Respect

We still have 1,160 of their letters, written across the years of their marriage

Grey Gardens in East Hampton, NY

Grey Gardens Estate Is on the Market for $20 Million

All feline tenants have been evicted

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