History

A hasty 1900 pigeongram sent to H. Winkelmann by Charles Werner, a great Barrier Island resident. "Dear Mr Winkelmann," it reads, "Charlie Soborne has smashed his arm last night from the wrist to the elbow by a rifle bullet. His father says that the arm will have to be amputated at once so Ernest asked me to send you this... send a steamer at once to the Barrier... also if possible a lawyer."

This New Zealand Island’s Pigeon Mail Stamps Are Still Prized

Pigeons carried correspondence between Great Barrier Island and the New Zealand mainland for about a decade in the early 20th century

Kathleen Gilje, Linda Nochlin in Manet’s Bar at the Folies-Bergère, 2006, oil on linen, 37 x 51 inches.

Linda Nochlin, Pioneering Feminist Art Historian, Has Died

Nochlin is best known for a 1971 essay theorizing that social institutions—and not a lack of talent—held women back in the art world

Confederate Prisoners Being Conducted from Jonesborough to Atlanta by Kara Walker, 2005, from the portfolio Harper's Pictorial History of the Civil War (Annotated)

How Kara Walker Boldly Rewrote Civil War History

The artist gives 150-year-old illustrations a provocative update at the Smithsonian American Art Museum

Follow the Paths of Viking Raiders from Norway to North America

Visit these preserved settlement sites

Songbook From the 16th-Century Spells Out Samurai Customs, Tactics and Baby Names

The newly translated Japanese text offers kernels of advice to warriors who had yet to face battle

The mud brick foundation of a 3,200-year-old temple to the pharaoh Rameses II

Remains of Temple to Ramses II Discovered Near Cairo

The recent find was five years in the making

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

A painting of an aurora seen in Japan on September 17, 1770, in the book "Seikai"

Using 18th-Century Writings and Illustrations, Scientists Model an Ancient Magnetic Storm

The vibrant aurora lit up the night sky over the city of Kyoto, Japan, some 250 years ago

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

The 2015 winner of the "GIF It Up" competition.

Competition Wants You to Turn Cultural Heritage Into GIFs

The latest round of "GIF It Up" seeks the best GIFs made from public domain prints, photos, paintings and more

The room where Abraham Lincoln died in the Petersen House

House Where Lincoln Died to Close for Renovations

The Petersen House, across the street from Ford's Theatre, will undergo preservation work to keep it as a museum of the president's final moments

To the naked eye, the Albireo star system looks like a single, brilliant star. In reality, this binary system consists of two stars, similar to the ones witnessed by Korean astronomers nearly 600 years ago.

The Secret Lives of Cannibal Stars Revealed, Thanks to 15th Century Korean Astronomers

For the first time ever, astrophysicists observe the entire life cycle of a binary star system

A witness tree on Stuart's Hill loop trail in Manassas National Battlefield Park

These Five "Witness Trees" Were Present At Key Moments In America's History

These still-standing trees are a living testament to our country's tragic past

Vienna's Kunsthistorisches Museum was commissioned by a Hapsburg Emperor—and it shows.

Seven Must-See Museums in Austria

Art, music and open-air delights

"Vladimir"

A Brief History of Traveling With Cats

Fierce felines of history sailed the world, survived Europe's crusade against them and made it all the way to Memedom

These coins have long been attributed as having come directly from the initial James Smithson's bequest but recent scholarship refutes the claim.

How James Smithson's Money Built the Smithsonian

In 1838, 104,960 sovereigns from the bequest of a learned Englishman were reminted in the U.S. to fund the "increase and diffusion of knowledge"

The revolving gun turret from “Ironclad” ship USS Monitor is lifted from the ocean floor. An NEH grant will go toward a conservation initiative to preserve objects from the Civil War-era ship.

NEH Announces Last Grants for 2017

Programs for digitization, preservation, education and more are supported with $39.3 million in funding

What Kind of Footage Do Historical Colorists Like Best?

According to the historians and art directors from Composite Films who worked meticulously on America in Color, these were some of their favorite subjects

How Sunbathing Became a National Craze in the 1930s

Tanning was big business in the 1930s, as people sought to recreate the sun-kissed California beach look

A civil war marker in commemoration of the Battle of Atlanta is unveiled as Georgia Historical Society board member Bill Todd, left, looks on during a ceremony Monday, April 11, 2011 in Atlanta.

When It Comes to Historical Markers, Every Word Matters

Who tells the story has a significant impact on what story is told

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