American History

30 Workers Fell While Building the Golden Gate Bridge

During the construction of the Golden Gate bridge, the construction companies had a grim rule of thumb: one worker fatality for every million dollars spent

Civil War Submarine Battles Were Often Suicide Missions

During the Civil War, the North imposed a suffocating blockade of a number of key Confederate port

New research concludes that there are many “Lost Einsteins” in America – children who had the ability to become inventors but didn’t because of where they were born.

Expose Talented Kids From Low-Income Familes To Inventors and They're More Likely To Invent

A new analysis sheds light on how we might better serve America's "Lost Einsteins"

Left: Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Terminal, 6th Street & Constitution Avenue, Washington, D.C. Opened in 1873, demolished in 1908. Right: View of the Constitution Avenue entrance, north side, of the National Gallery of Art.

Why Doesn't Garfield Assassination Site on the National Mall Have a Marker?

A new campaign by historians seeks to bring recognition to the site where the 20th president was shot

The USS Pueblo, a Navy intelligence-gathering ship, was patrolling international waters in January 1968 when it was captured by North Korean vessels.

Fifty Years Ago, North Korea Captured an American Ship and Nearly Started a Nuclear War

The provocative incident involving the USS Pueblo was peacefully resolved, in part because of the ongoing Vietnam War

The “Dodge City Peace Commission,” June, 1883. Wyatt Earp is seated, second from left.

How Dodge City Became a Symbol of Frontier Lawlessness

Fake news and smoking guns gave the Kansas town its reputation as the ultimate Wild West

Envelope for stationary packet, "Torch of Love," George W. Fisher Bookseller and Stationer, Rochester, New York.

How the Civil War Taught Americans the Art of Letter Writing

Soldiers and their families, sometimes barely literate, wrote to assuage fear and convey love

NASA Teacher-in-Space trainee Sharon Christa McAuliffe (right) and backup Barbara R. Morgan practice experiments during a zero-gravity training flight on October 16, 1985.

In Stellar Tribute, Astronauts Teach "Lost Lessons" From Educator Who Died on <em>Challenger</em>

Christa McAuliffe had planned to teach the lessons during her 1986 trip to space. Now, two astronauts will finally carry out the plan

This Priest Witnessed the 9/11 Pentagon Plane Crash

Father Stephen McGraw has just witnessed Flight 77 crash into the west wall of the Pentagon

Page B of the February 26, 1942, Los Angeles Times, shows the coverage of the so-called Battle of Los Angeles and its aftermath.

The Great Los Angeles Air Raid Terrified Citizens—Even Though No Bombs Were Dropped

The WWII “battle” was an example of what happens when the threat of attack feels all too real

Why Did the U.S. Sink Captured Japanese Subs After WWII?

WWII had come to a close, and the U.S. was the first to seize a new class of giant Japanese submarines. The next step was to analyze them quickly

The comedy show Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, starring Dan Rowan and Dick Martin (above), debuted on NBC on January 22, 1968.

In 1968, When Nixon Said 'Sock It To Me' on 'Laugh-In,' TV Was Never Quite the Same Again

The show's rollicking one-liners and bawdy routines paved the way for "Saturday Night Live" and other cutting-edge television satire

Boston Bruins forward Willie O'Ree warms up prior to a game against the New York Rangers in 1960.

Sixty Years Ago, Willie O'Ree Broke the NHL's Color Barrier

A debilitating eye injury and racial epithets weren't enough to derail the player's resolve

Baber gathering fossils at Mazon Creek, Illinois, 1895, during the first field class at the University of Chicago to which women were admitted.

The Woman Who Transformed How We Teach Geography

By blending education and activism, Zonia Baber made geography a means of uniting—not conquering—the globe

Rumrunner at St. Pierre

This Tiny French Archipelago Became America’s Alcohol Warehouse During Prohibition

Before the 21st amendment was ratified, remote islands off Canada’s Newfoundland province floated on a sea of whiskey and wine

In 1997, the world gasped as Gianni Versace was shot to death on the doorstep of his Miami mansion.

The True Story of “The Assassination of Gianni Versace”

Did the designer meet his killer seven years earlier?

Google's latest app seems to think National Portrait Gallery director Kim Sajet has a lot in common with former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt.

Here's My Problem With the Google Arts & Culture Face-Matching App

Kim Sajet, the director of the National Portrait Gallery, offers ideas to make it better

Massive Data Project Will Help People Identify Enslaved Ancestors

Michigan State's 'Enslaved: The People of the Historic Slave Trade' will combine available historical data on slavery into one searchable hub

In 1968, at Resurrection City, a multicultural, multi-racial people shaped a campaign of hurt and hope out of a tumultuous year, including the war in Vietnam, and the assassinations of King and Robert F. Kennedy.

Deeply Grieving MLK’s Death, Activists Shaped a Campaign of Hurt and Hope

At Resurrection City, an epic 1968 demonstration on the National Mall in Washington D.C., protesters defined the next 50 years of activism

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. chats with African-Americans during a door-to-door campaign in 1964.

This Theologian Helped MLK See the Value of Nonviolence

Minister, theologian and mystic Howard Thurman had a profound influence on Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

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