American History

Collector Michael Shaw was presented with the slippers he purchased in 1970 in a ceremony at the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minnesota.

Two Decades After They Were Stolen, Dorothy's Ruby Slippers Returned to the Scene of the Crime. Will They Stay There?

Federal investigators have handed over the shoes to their rightful owner, who plans to sell them at auction later this year

Regina King as Shirley Chisholm in Shirley, a new film written and directed by John Ridley

The True History Behind Netflix's 'Shirley' Movie

A new film dramatizes Shirley Chisholm's history-making bid to become the first Black woman president in 1972

Mabel Boll, nicknamed the "Queen of Diamonds" (left), failed to cross the Atlantic before Amelia Earhart (right).

When Amelia Earhart and the 'Queen of Diamonds' Raced to Become the First Woman to Fly Across the Atlantic

Mabel Boll, a wealthy New York socialite, dreamed of making aviation history. But Earhart beat her to the finish line, completing the trans-Atlantic journey as a passenger in June 1928

Lili Taylor as Mary Lincoln and Hamish Linklater as Abraham Lincoln in the AppleTV+ miniseries "Manhunt"

The Man Behind 'Manhunt,' the New Apple TV+ Show About the Lincoln Assassination

Meet James Swanson, the lifelong Abraham Lincoln obsessive who wrote the nonfiction thriller that inspired the acclaimed miniseries

The document was signed by 24 contributors to the Manhattan Project, including J. Robert Oppenheimer.

Manhattan Project Report Signed by J. Robert Oppenheimer Sells at Auction

The document was "likely the very first publicly available report on the creation of the bomb," according to RR Auction

An illustration of Molly Maguires on their way to the gallows in Pottsville, Pennsylvania

Eight Secret Societies You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Many of these selective clubs peaked in popularity in the 18th and 19th centuries

Tobias Menzies (right) as Secretary of War Edwin Stanton in "Manhunt"

The Real History Behind Apple TV+'s 'Manhunt' and the Search for Abraham Lincoln's Killer

A new series dramatizes Edwin Stanton's hunt for John Wilkes Booth and his co-conspirators in the aftermath of the president’s 1865 assassination

Paul Alexander died on March 11 at age 78.

Texas Man Who Lived 70 Years in an Iron Lung Dies at 78: 'I Never Gave Up'

Paralyzed by polio in 1952, Paul Alexander led a full life despite being confined to a large steel ventilator

This 1-Cent Z Grill from 1868 is one of the rarest U.S. postage stamps in history

Why a 1-Cent Postage Stamp Could Sell for $5 Million

If predictions are accurate, the sale would be the highest ever for an American postage mark

Mining foreman R. Thornburg shows a small cage with a canary used for testing carbon monoxide gas in 1928.

What Happened to the Canary in the Coal Mine? The Story of How the Real-Life Animal Helper Became Just a Metaphor

The humble bird, which was employed until 1986, represents an important part of mining history

“Happy Birthday” may be the Hill sisters' main claim to fame, but Patty (left) and Mildred's (right) impact on American history extends far beyond the beloved song.

The Forgotten Sisters Behind 'Happy Birthday to You'

Mildred and Patty Hill wrote the popular song's melody, but their contributions to American culture have long been overlooked

Not everyone was a fan of rumor clinics. Some critics faulted them for helping hearsay reach an even larger audience.

World War II 'Rumor Clinics' Helped America Battle Wild Gossip

Newspapers and magazines across the United States published weekly columns debunking lurid claims that were detrimental to the war effort

Cherry blossom trees around the Tidal Basin in Washington, D.C. on March 22, 2023

This Is When Washington, D.C.'s Cherry Trees Are Predicted to Bloom This Year

"Peak bloom," which typically falls in late March or early April, refers to the day when at least 70 percent of the trees have blossomed

The metal slab is called a tasset, a piece of armor worn over the upper thigh.

Why Did Colonists Trash This Piece of Armor After Settling in Maryland 300 Years Ago?

The metal plate was unearthed in the cellar of a storehouse dating to the mid-1600s

Mario Van Peebles directs and stars in a new film titled Outlaw Posse.

How a Century of Black Westerns Shaped Movie History

Mario Van Peebles' "Outlaw Posse" is the latest attempt to correct the erasure of people of color from the classic cinema genre

Two unidentified Gullah Geechee women photographed by Lorenzo Dow Turner in the early 1930s

How the Memory of a Song Reunited Two Women Separated by the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade

In 1990, scholars found a Sierra Leonean woman who remembered a nearly identical version of a tune passed down by a Georgia woman’s enslaved ancestors

Actor Anthony Daniels holds up the helmet he wore on the set of 1983's Return of the Jedi.

Star Wars Fans Can Soon Bid on C-3PO's Head

Actor Anthony Daniels wore the golden helmet while playing the iconic droid in 'Return of the Jedi'

Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which stretches across North Carolina and Tennessee, was the most-visited park of 2023.

These Were the Most—and Least—Popular National Parks in 2023

The National Park Service recorded 325,498,646 recreation visits across 400 sites, which is close to pre-pandemic levels

Some of the women diarists featured in the new anthology. Top row, left to right: Ada Blackjack, Anne Clifford, Florence Nightingale, Fanny Burney and Anna Dostoyevskaya. Bottom row, left to right: Elizabeth Fry, Cynthia Asquith, Beatrice Webb, Charlotte Forten Grimké and Virginia Woolf 

What Is the Dominant Emotion in 400 Years of Women's Diaries?

A new anthology identifies frustration as a recurring theme in journals written between 1599 and 2015

The Granada Relocation Center, also known as Amache, had cramped Army-style barracks that housed thousands of Japanese Americans and people of Japanese descent.

A Japanese American Incarceration Camp in Colorado Is America’s Newest National Park

More than 10,000 Japanese Americans were imprisoned at the Granada Relocation Center, also known as Amache, during World War II

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