Smart News History & Archaeology

Mohamed Abdullahi “Farmajo” Mohamed

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Somalia’s New President Is an American Citizen. How Did That Happen?

After working city, county and state jobs in Buffalo, New York, Mohamed Abdullahi “Farmajo” Mohamed was elected president earlier this week

Previously unrecorded portrait of Harriet Tubman

Cool Finds

Newly Discovered Photo May Depict a Younger Harriet Tubman

The late 1860s carte-de-visite comes from fellow abolitionist Emily Howland's album

Mr. Darcy as depicted in a tailored blue Regency-styled suit.

Meet the Historically Accurate Mr. Darcy

A team of experts on fashion and social culture offer their take on Jane Austen's brooding hero

The 500 artifacts featured in "Tunnel: The Archaeology of Crossrail" offer insight into millennia of the region's history—from Mesolithic tool makers  to those affected by the Great Plague of 1665.

New Exhibit Reveals 8,000 Years of London's History

The Museum of London Docklands highlights 500 finds unearthed by the Crossrail Project

Permanent structures are not allowed in Dabaab, the world's largest refugee camp.

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World’s Largest Refugee Camp Ordered to Stay Open

A Kenyan judge called the government's plan to close Dadaab "discriminatory"

Trapeze artist Antoinette poses with her husband aerialist Arthur "Art" Concello.

This Archive Is Digitizing the History of the Circus

In a bid to preserve circus culture, Illinois State University's Milner Library is making more than 300 circus route books available online

An unidentified player takes a putt at the original "Tom Thumb Golf" built by Garnet Carter.

The Brief 1930s Craze for 'Tom Thumb Golf'

Miniature golf courses had been around before, but Garnet Carter gave it a roadside attraction spin

Bison returning to Banff

Canada

Bison Back in Banff After 130 Years

Parks Canada released 16 of the wooly ungulates in the national park in a pilot project to re-establish the species

Archeologists found this piece of parchment rolled up in a jug in a cave on the cliffs west of Qumran.

Archaeologists Might Have Found Another Dead Sea Scroll Cave

It could be cave number 12

Channel Parker's vicious wit in the coat she wore for decades.

Cool Finds

Fans of Dorothy Parker Can Pay to Wear Her Mink Coat

It’s all in the name of preservation

Wanted: a few patrons to help preserve Vincent van Gogh's grave for future generations.

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The Quest to Save Vincent van Gogh’s Grave

His final resting place is in disrepair, so fans of the tormented artist are pitching in to save it

This is the 517th Xerox model 917 ever made, donated to the Smithsonian in 1985.

Watch the Original 1959 Ad for the First Office-Ready Xerox Machine

When the Xerox 914 entered offices, the working world changed forever

The crew of Skylab 4 in August 1973. From left to right: astronaut Gerald Carr, who commanded the mission; scientist-astronaut Edward Gibson; astronaut William Pogue.

Mutiny in Space: Why These Skylab Astronauts Never Flew Again

In 1973, it was the longest space mission — 84 days in the stars. But at some point the astronauts just got fed up

This illustration by Helen Sewell graced one of the original editions of Little House on the Prairie, published in the 1930s. That book tells of the period in the Ingalls family's lives in which they settled in Kansas on land that still belonged to Native Americans.

The Little House on the Prairie Was Built on Native American Land

Yesterday was Laura Ingalls Wilder's 150th birthday. It's time to take a critical look at her work

Clerks (right) will no longer have to wear their distinctive wigs in the House of Commons.

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British Parliament Is Losing its Wigs

They’re itchy, formal—and part of centuries of tradition

Romanians protest in Victoria Place in Bucharest on January 22.

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Why Romanians Took to the Streets This Weekend

Up to half a million citizens protested a new decree that would have diminished anti-corruption penalties

This engraving of the 'Titanic' sinking was made shortly after the event happened, when the world was still reeling from the massive loss of life.

The Chief Designer of the ‘Titanic’ Saved Everyone He Could as His Ship Went Down

Thomas Andrews had argued for more lifeboats on the ship, but he was rebuffed on the grounds that it would ruin the view

Although it's possible that Sandro Botticelli threw other works of his on the bonfire, the Birth of Venus thankfully survived.

A Fanatical Monk Inspired 15th-Century Italians to Burn Their Clothes, Makeup and Art

He told Florentines the apocalypse was coming, and to save themselves through self-censorship

Babe Ruth's first major-league team was the Boston Red Sox, where he was a star player. When he was sold to the New York Yankees in 1919, the "Curse of the Bambino" began and the Red Sox didn't win another World Series until 2004.

Why Was Babe Ruth So Good At Hitting Home Runs?

People have been using science on the Great Bambino since the 1920s

This 1976 photograph shows a woman receiving a vaccination during the nationwide swine flu vaccination campaign.

The Next Pandemic

The Long Shadow of the 1976 Swine Flu Vaccine 'Fiasco'

Some, but not all, of the hesitance to embrace vaccines can be traced back to this event more than 40 years ago

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