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Herbert O. Yardley claimed that the Black Chamber deciphered more than 45,000 diplomatic code and cipher telegrams of foreign governments between 1917 and 1929.

The Spy Who Exposed the Secrets of the Black Chamber, One of America's First Code-Breaking Organizations

In 1931, Herbert O. Yardley published a tell-all book about his experiences leading a covert government agency called the Cipher Bureau

View of the S.S. Pacific anchored near Fort Tongass in Alaska in 1868

Hundreds Died When This Steamship Sank in the Pacific Northwest in 1875 With Gold Worth Millions On Board

A century and a half later, the sinking of the S.S. Pacific remains one of the deadliest maritime disasters in the region’s history

Togo and his owner, musher Leonhard Seppala, in 1927

This Heroic Dog Raced Across the Frozen Alaskan Wilderness to Deliver Life-Saving Medicine—but His Contributions Were Long Overlooked

Togo, not Balto, was the driving force behind the 1925 Serum Run to Nome, which found teams of mushers and sled dogs delivering antitoxin to children suffering from diphtheria

The Douglas C-54D Skymaster vanished during a routine transit flight from Anchorage to Great Falls, Montana, on January 26, 1950.

The Enduring Mystery of a Plane That Vanished in the Icy Canadian Wilderness With 44 People On Board

Seventy-five years ago, a Douglas C-54D Skymaster disappeared en route from Alaska to Montana. No trace of its crew and passengers, including a pregnant mother and her young son, has ever been found

Roadhouses, like the Talkeetna Roadhouse (shown here), are a testament to Alaska’s pioneer ancestors and an essential part of the state’s Northern heritage.

How Alaska's Historic Roadhouses Are Standing the Test of Time

The multipurpose lodgings along trails and rivers capture the state’s pioneering culture and spirit

A 1937 photograph of Frances Perkins, the first female cabinet secretary in American history

How the Nation's First 'Madam Secretary' Fought to Save Jewish Refugees Fleeing From Nazi Germany

A new book spotlights Frances Perkins' efforts to challenge the United States' restrictive immigration policies as President Franklin D. Roosevelt's secretary of labor

Zora Neale Hurston wanted to tell the world about the "real ... historical Herod, instead of the deliberately folklore Herod."

Why Was Zora Neale Hurston So Obsessed With the Biblical Villain Herod the Great?

The Harlem Renaissance author spent her last years writing about the ancient king. Six decades after her death, her unfinished novel has finally been published for the first time

Works like Tissot's The Convalescent (1872), pictured here, reflect a sense of unease over a modernizing society that was sweeping women up in its fray.

These Stunning 19th-Century Artworks Reveal the Contradictions of the Modern Woman

A new exhibition spotlights James Tissot, whose paintings and prints reflected women’s ever-evolving roles in Victorian society

The 226 people trapped on board the City of San Francisco endured freezing temperatures, carbon monoxide poisoning and food shortages.

When a Deadly Winter Storm Trapped a Luxury Passenger Train Near the Donner Pass for Three Days

Snowdrifts stranded the vehicle in the Sierra Nevada in January 1952, imprisoning 226 people traveling from Chicago to California

The Ness of Brodgar—roughly, “headland of the bridge farm” in Old Norse. The isthmus separates the lochs of Harray and Stenness.

Discover the Astounding Secrets of Scotland's Stone Age Settlements

In the Orkney Islands, archaeologists close the chapter on a legendary excavation, capping two decades of remarkable Neolithic discoveries

Atop Faneuil Hall sits a grasshopper weather vane, imitating a similar one on London’s Royal Exchange.

Why Faneuil Hall Is the Perfect Metaphor for the American Revolution's Complicated Definition of Liberty

How a lively market on Boston Harbor became part of many defining moments of the Colonial and Revolutionary eras

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The Dramatic Rescue of the Citizen Sailors Who Patrolled the Atlantic Coast Looking for Nazi U-Boats

During World War II, the crew of the Zaida were among the everyday Americans who risked their lives watching out for enemy submarines

“In postwar America, fast food was seen as a ladder to the middle class,” says journalist and author Adam Chandler. “If you were part of a familiar chain, banks were willing to lend you money, and people would come to your establishment right away because you were a proven entity.”

The Roots of U.S. Work Culture—and Why the American Dream Is So Difficult to Achieve Today

A new book examines the evolution of the American workplace, interrogating the idea that hard work is enough to ensure success

Captain John Voss, left, aboard the Tilikum in Samoa. “So diminutive,” one Australian reporter wrote of the boat, “one wondered and admired the pluck, perseverance and skill displayed in bringing her across the 9,200 miles of trackless ocean.”   

The Death-Defying Attempt to Circumnavigate the World in a Canoe

How Captain John Voss put his dugout canoe—and himself—to the ultimate test

Harriet Bell Hayden 

The Remarkable Life of One of Boston's Most Fervent and Daring Abolitionists

Harriet Bell Hayden is believed to have helped hundreds of people fleeing slavery from her Beacon Hill residence

Did colonial Americans wear wristwatches? 

Did Colonial Americans Wear Wristwatches? And More Questions From Our Readers

You’ve got questions. We’ve got experts

Between July 1776 and June 1826, Jefferson recorded weather conditions in 19,000 observations across nearly 100 locations.

Discover Why Thomas Jefferson Meticulously Monitored the Weather Wherever He Went

The third president knew that the whims of nature shaped Americans' daily lives as farmers and enslavers

Illustration from a 16th-century Falnama, or Persian Book of Omens

How People of the Past Predicted the Future, From Spider Divination to Bibliomancy

A new exhibition spotlights the ways in which cultures around the world have sought answers in the face of uncertainty

Major Pierce Butler, a U.S. senator representing South Carolina and an original signer of the United States Constitution, left the 1,500-acre rice plantation—and its enslaved laborers—to his grandsons when he died. For locals whose ancestors were forced to work there, it’s considered a sacred place.

Inside the Struggle to Preserve Georgia's Butler Island, Home to a Notorious Plantation

Descendants of people enslaved at the site are grappling with its complicated history while also honoring the region's rich culture

Martin Van Buren in 1860. 

Martin Van Buren Created America's Partisan Political System. We're Still Recovering

The eighth president of the United States, the so-called little magician, saw political parties as the key to achieving power

Smithsonian Channel

Preview thumbnail for video 'How the Meaning of Thanksgiving Has Changed

How the Meaning of Thanksgiving Has Changed

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Preview thumbnail for video 'This Object in History: Fernandomania

This Object in History: Fernandomania

Preview thumbnail for video 'This Ancient Egyptian Mega-Tomb Is the Largest of Its Kind

This Ancient Egyptian Mega-Tomb Is the Largest of Its Kind

Photo of the day

That’s a really really really big baby! Nothing but smiles after swimming with this extra curious humpback calf in the crystal clear waters of French Polynesia. In the winter, the Polynesian islands are full of migrating whales, coming to breed and raise their babies. This young female definitely didn’t know the meaning of personal space. She kept doing circles around me until mom decided it was time to go. Big Baby