Death

The Hermitage in Nashville is the former plantation of Andrew Jackson.

Archaeologists Discover Lost Burial Site of Enslaved People on President Andrew Jackson's Tennessee Plantation

An estimated 28 probable graves were identified at the seventh American president's former property, called the Hermitage

Artist Jean Charles Blais and his contractor discovered the engraving behind a layer of plaster on his studio wall.

An Artist Noticed a Leak in His Studio. The Repairs Revealed a Mysterious Ancient Engraving Hidden Inside the Walls

Jean Charles Blais had no idea that his studio in southern France was hiding a Roman funerary inscription dating to the first or second century C.E.

The Union Carbide India Limited pesticide plant in Bhopal, India

The World's Deadliest Industrial Disaster Exposed 500,000 People to Toxic Gas and Claimed Thousands of Lives

A web of technical failures, human errors and corporate malpractice in Bhopal, India, culminated in an unthinkable tragedy on this day in 1984

Visitors gather at the foot of Monkey Mountain, an attraction at Frank Buck's Jungle Camp in Massapequa, New York, around 1939.

When 170 Wild Monkeys Escaped From a 'Jungle Camp' and Terrorized New York

In 1935, dozens of rhesus macaques absconded from Frank Buck's Long Island menagerie. Nearly a century later, 43 members of the same species broke out of a South Carolina research facility

Smithsonian's picks for the best history books of 2024 include The Barn, Eden Undone and The Wide Wide Sea.

The Ten Best History Books of 2024

Our favorite titles of the year resurrect forgotten histories and examine how the United States ended up where it is today

The stone marked with the name "Ebenezer Scrooge" is located in a graveyard at St. Chad’s Church in Shrewsbury, England.

Vandals Destroy Ebenezer Scrooge's Fictional Tombstone Featured in a Film Adaptation of 'A Christmas Carol'

Located in an English churchyard, the stone was inscribed with the name "Ebenezer Scrooge" for the 1984 movie. Police are investigating the vandalism, which occurred earlier this month

Tutankhamun's tomb wasn’t plundered or looted to the same extent as others in the Valley of the Kings.

Why the Discovery of Tutankhamun's Tomb Was the Most Significant Archaeological Find of the 20th Century

The intact burial—unearthed on this day in 1922—contained a "wonderful" cache of objects linked to the ancient Egyptian pharaoh

Freddie Mercury of Queen, 1982 Tour at the Various Locations in Oakland, California 

Read Freddie Mercury’s Heartbreaking Announcement of His Diagnosis With HIV/AIDS, Released on This Date in 1991, Just a Day Before the Queen Frontman Died

Until Mercury released the statement, tabloid newspapers hounded the ailing singer, while only a smaller inner circle knew about the extent of his illness

Paul Mescal as Lucius Verus in Gladiator II, which tells a heavily fictionalized story of the joint reign of brothers Geta and Caracalla

The Real History Behind Ridley Scott's 'Gladiator II' and Life as a Fighter in the Ancient Roman Arena

The "Gladiator" sequel centers on Lucius Verus, the secret son of Russell Crowe's character from the 2000 film. Both men achieve fame as enslaved fighters driven by their desire for revenge

The postcard is stamped April 11, 1912, just a few days before the Titanic sank.

Before the Titanic Sank, a Cheerful Passenger Wrote in a Postcard That He Was 'Leaving for the Land of Stars and Stripes'

A handwritten note by Richard William Smith, a British businessman who perished in the disaster, is heading to the auction block, where it could sell for up to $12,600

Officers display the weapons used in the November 15, 1959, killings of the Clutter family.

Inside the Brutal Murders That Inspired a Foundational Work in the True Crime Genre

Truman Capote's "In Cold Blood" documented the killings of a family of four in rural Kansas on this day in 1959

The Garden of Death, Hugo Simberg, 1896

See How Modern Artists Obsessed With Death and Darkness Looked to Medieval Gothic Artworks for Inspiration

A new exhibition in Helsinki spotlights the Gothic themes and influences that connected works by renowned late 19th- and early 20th-century artists

The decorative coffin of Lady Chenet-aa, a high-status woman who died some 3,000 years ago

Scientists Are Using CT Scanners to Reveal the Secrets of More Than Two Dozen Ancient Egyptian Mummies

For the first time, researchers were able to see inside the mummies in the Chicago Field Museum's collections. Their findings paint a more comprehensive picture of ancient Egyptian life

Four plaster casts from the House of the Golden Bracelet were made in 1974.

DNA Evidence Is Rewriting the Stories of Victims Who Perished in Pompeii Nearly 2,000 Years Ago

A new study has shattered historians' long-held assumptions about some of the people who died in Mount Vesuvius' eruption in 79 C.E.

Robert Falcon Scott (far left) and his crew at the South Pole in January 1912

When a Search Party Discovered the Frozen Body of a British Explorer Who Raced to the South Pole—and Lost

On this day in 1912, a team found the remains of Robert Falcon Scott and the crew of the "Terra Nova" expedition. A would-be rescuer said he was forever haunted by the "horrible nightmare"

Researchers performed DNA testing on the bones highlighted in this image.

Archaeologists Are Bewildered by a Skeleton Made From the Bones of at Least Eight People Who Died Thousands of Years Apart

Found in a cremation cemetery in Belgium, the skeleton includes bones dating to the Neolithic period and a Roman-era skull, according to a new study

A white mob poses outside of the razed office of the Daily Record, a Black-owned newspaper in Wilmington, North Carolina, on November 10, 1898.

When White Supremacists Staged the Only Successful Coup in U.S. History

The 1898 Wilmington massacre left dozens of Black North Carolinians dead. Conspirators also forced the city's multiracial government to resign at gunpoint

Cassius held the title of the largest crocodile in captivity for much of his life. His age? That's harder to know.

After the Death of Cassius, the World's Largest Captive Crocodile, Scientists Are Trying to Solve the Mystery of His Age

The beloved reptile in Australia died last weekend and was thought to be up to 120 years old, though that age is only an estimate. Research on his bones might reveal a more exact number

An engraved mirror and beaded jewelry discovered at the ancient family tomb near Luxor

Archaeologists Discover Ancient Egyptian Family Tomb Full of Necklaces, Bracelets and Rings

The 3,800-year-old site near the city of Luxor holds the remains of 11 individuals, who may have been members of the same family. Researchers think the tomb was used for several generations

Kamala often raised her trunk to greet keepers in anticipation of receiving food.

At the Age of 50, an Elderly Female Elephant Dies at the Smithsonian's National Zoo

The pachyderm, named Kamala, was suffering from osteoarthritis when zoo staff chose to euthanize her

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