Political Leaders

Ahmad Shah (r. 1909–25) and his cabinet by Assadullah al-Husayni naqqash-bashi, 1910

In Persia’s Dynastic Portraiture, Bejeweled Thrones and Lavish Decor Message Authority

Paintings and 19th century photographs offer a rare window into the lives of the royal family

Polls Are Still As Accurate As They Were 75 Years Ago

A new study shows polling is not undergoing a collapse despite what conventional wisdom might suggest

The Library of Congress recently digitized this portrait of John Willis Menard, the only known photograph of the African-American trailblazer.

The International Vision of John Willis Menard, First African-American Elected to Congress

Although he was denied his seat in the House, Menard continued his political activism with the goal of uniting people across the Western Hemisphere

Eisenhower National Historic Site

Take a Look Inside These Six Presidential Homes

The White House isn't the only address worth visiting this Presidents' Day

Image from the cover of Emma Byrne's new book, Swearing is Good For You.

The Science of Swearing

A new book explains the neuroscience of why we swear—and how it can sway our listeners

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

An Italian marble sculpture of William Pitt the Younger as the Infant Hercules Strangling the Serpents Fox and North by Pieratoni (called ’Sposino’), c.1790

The Ugliest Sculpture Ever, Says the Portrait Gallery’s Director

A bizarre sculpture of a baby Hercules strangling two snakes set this art historian on a course of discovery

Tracey Crouch, who will oversee issues related to loneliness and isolation in the U.K.

The U.K. Now Has a "Minister for Loneliness." Here's Why It Matters

Tracey Crouch will oversee the government's efforts to tackle "the sad reality of modern life"

Hitler used shameless self-promotion and alternative facts to cast himself as a national hero.

Hitler Created a Fictional Persona To Recast Himself as Germany's Savior

In 1923, Adolf Hitler wrote an embellished autobiography to convince Germans he was their natural leader

During the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, President John F Kennedy discusses results of surveillance missions in Cuba

How the Presidency Took Control of America's Nuclear Arsenal

From Truman onwards, the ability to order a nuclear strike has shaped the office

Christine Keele at the Marlborough Street court

Christine Keeler, the British Model at the Heart of a 1960s Political Scandal, Is Dead at 75

Keeler had simultaneous relationships with a Conservative politician and a Soviet attaché, prompting concerns that she had revealed British state secrets

Bears Ears National Monument

Five Things to Know About the Redrawn National Monuments

The president is reducing two massive National Monuments by millions of acres. Read the context behind the decision and what to expect going forward

Gaius Gracchus attempted to enact social reform in Ancient Rome but died at the hands of the Roman Senate in 121 B.C.

Before the Fall of the Roman Republic, Income Inequality and Xenophobia Threatened Its Foundations

In a new book, history podcaster Mike Duncan describes what preceded Caesar’s rise to Emperor

What would the days, weeks, years after a nuclear explosion really look like? In 1983, Carl Sagan gave the public their first imagining.

When Carl Sagan Warned the World About Nuclear Winter

Before the official report came out, the popular scientist took to the presses to paint a dire picture of what nuclear war might look like

JFK, Vice President Lyndon B. Johnston, First Lady Jaqueline Kennedy and others watching the 1961 flight of astronaut Alan Shepard, the first American in space.

A Year Before His Presidential Debate, JFK Foresaw How TV Would Change Politics

Television's first iconic president was remarkably prescient on the subject of TV

Queen Liliuokalani

Five Things To Know About Liliʻuokalani, the Last Queen of Hawaiʻi

The queen, who was deposed by a coup led by American sugar planters, died more than 100 years ago, but is by no means forgotten

Coal-burning power plant in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

Syria Joins the Paris Agreement—the U.S. Now Stands Alone in Opposition

The announcement comes on the heels of Nicaragua agreeing to the accords

An engraving from later in the 1880s shows rioters burning an orphanage for black children.

The Civil War Draft Riots Brought Terror to New York’s Streets

This dark event remains the largest civil insurrection—the Civil War itself aside—in American history

Upton Sinclair ran a partisan newspaper as part of his campaign for California governor.

The Story of Muckraker Upton Sinclair’s Dramatic Campaign for Governor of California

Sinclair was as famous in his day as any movie-star candidate who came later

How JFK's Clever TV Strategies Helped Him Win the Election

Seventy million people tuned in to watch America's first televised presidential debate in 1960. They were met with a well-prepared, well-dressed JFK

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