History | smithsonianmag.comhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/history/RSS feed for HistoryenFri, 22 May 2026 11:30:00 +0000This Jewish Community in the Caribbean Smuggled Gunpowder to the Patriots During the Revolution. A British Admiral Condemned the Island as a 'Nest of Vipers'https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/this-jewish-community-in-the-caribbean-smuggled-gunpowder-to-the-patriots-during-the-revolution-a-british-admiral-condemned-the-island-as-a-nest-of-vipers-180988740/A new exhibition at the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History, in Philadelphia, spotlights the little-known wartime contributions of the Jews of St. EustatiusFri, 22 May 2026 11:30:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/this-jewish-community-in-the-caribbean-smuggled-gunpowder-to-the-patriots-during-the-revolution-a-british-admiral-condemned-the-island-as-a-nest-of-vipers-180988740/The 1963 Birmingham Church Bombing Killed Four Young Black Girls. But They Weren't the Only Victims of Racial Violence in the City That Dayhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-1963-birmingham-church-bombing-killed-four-young-black-girls-but-they-werent-the-only-victims-of-racial-violence-in-the-city-that-day-180988729/Hours after the attack, a police officer shot 16-year-old Johnny Robinson in the back. Then, a white teenager mortally injured 13-year-old Virgil Ware as he rode on the handlebars of his brother's bikeTue, 19 May 2026 12:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-1963-birmingham-church-bombing-killed-four-young-black-girls-but-they-werent-the-only-victims-of-racial-violence-in-the-city-that-day-180988729/Born and Raised in Philadelphia, This Loyalist Fled to England During the American Revolution. In His Absence, the Patriots Declared Him a Traitor and Seized His Propertyhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/born-and-raised-in-philadelphia-this-loyalist-fled-to-england-during-the-american-revolution-in-his-absence-the-patriots-declared-him-a-traitor-and-seized-his-property-180988705/Matthias Aspden spent his time abroad yearning for his "native country." His heirs later took the government to court, arguing that the estate had been confiscated unjustlyThu, 14 May 2026 11:30:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/born-and-raised-in-philadelphia-this-loyalist-fled-to-england-during-the-american-revolution-in-his-absence-the-patriots-declared-him-a-traitor-and-seized-his-property-180988705/History Remembers Mary Boleyn as the Scandalous 'Other Boleyn Girl.' New Research Debunks the Myths Surrounding the Tudor Mistresshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/history-remembers-mary-boleyn-as-the-scandalous-other-boleyn-girl-new-research-debunks-the-myths-surrounding-the-tudor-mistress-180988703/Sylvia Barbara Soberton's latest book challenges the perception of Anne Boleyn's sister as "promiscuous, intellectually incurious and unambitious"Mon, 11 May 2026 15:17:59 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/history-remembers-mary-boleyn-as-the-scandalous-other-boleyn-girl-new-research-debunks-the-myths-surrounding-the-tudor-mistress-180988703/Divers Discover the Shipwreck of a World War I-Era Coast Guard Cutter, Which Vanished With 131 Sailors on Board in 1918https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/divers-discover-the-shipwreck-of-a-world-war-i-era-coast-guard-cutter-which-vanished-with-131-sailors-on-board-in-1918-180988676/The wreckage of the "Tampa," which was torpedoed by a German submarine, was found 50 miles off the coast of Cornwall, England. The disaster was the largest single American naval combat loss of life during the warThu, 07 May 2026 11:30:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/divers-discover-the-shipwreck-of-a-world-war-i-era-coast-guard-cutter-which-vanished-with-131-sailors-on-board-in-1918-180988676/Everyone Remembers Paul Revere's Midnight Ride. But His Forgotten Race to Secure a Trove of Documents Reveals How Government Records Helped Win the Warhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/everyone-remembers-paul-reveres-midnight-ride-but-his-forgotten-race-to-secure-a-trove-of-documents-reveals-how-government-records-helped-win-the-war-180988648/During the American Revolution, both the British and the patriots fought to keep sensitive papers out of enemy handsWed, 06 May 2026 12:30:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/everyone-remembers-paul-reveres-midnight-ride-but-his-forgotten-race-to-secure-a-trove-of-documents-reveals-how-government-records-helped-win-the-war-180988648/A Collection of Maps Owned by England's First Queen Spent Centuries Overlooked in a Family Library. Now, the Rare Volume Is on Sale for $1.6 Millionhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/a-collection-of-maps-owned-by-englands-first-queen-spent-centuries-overlooked-in-a-family-library-now-the-rare-volume-is-on-sale-for-16-million-180988604/Created for Mary I, the first woman to rule England in her own right, the book is "perhaps the most significant artifact of Tudor intellectual history still in private hands," the seller saysMon, 27 Apr 2026 12:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/a-collection-of-maps-owned-by-englands-first-queen-spent-centuries-overlooked-in-a-family-library-now-the-rare-volume-is-on-sale-for-16-million-180988604/Walt Disney Visited a Ford Factory in 1948. What He Witnessed There Laid the Groundwork for What Would Become Disneylandhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/walt-disney-visited-a-ford-factory-in-1948-what-he-witnessed-there-laid-the-groundwork-for-what-would-become-disneyland-180988551/A new book argues that the film producer's trip to the River Rouge plant in Michigan inspired him to embrace the power of automation when designing the first Disney theme parkMon, 27 Apr 2026 11:45:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/walt-disney-visited-a-ford-factory-in-1948-what-he-witnessed-there-laid-the-groundwork-for-what-would-become-disneyland-180988551/An Eccentric Tycoon Left a Fortune to the Winner of a Baby-Making Contest. The Great Stork Derby Divided Canadians During the Great Depressionhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/an-eccentric-tycoon-left-a-fortune-to-the-winner-of-a-baby-making-contest-the-great-stork-derby-divided-canadians-during-the-great-depression-180988575/In his will, Charles Vance Millar offered roughly 500,000 Canadian dollars to the mother who "has since my death given birth in Toronto to the greatest number of children"Wed, 22 Apr 2026 11:45:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/an-eccentric-tycoon-left-a-fortune-to-the-winner-of-a-baby-making-contest-the-great-stork-derby-divided-canadians-during-the-great-depression-180988575/In 1776, the Declaration of Independence Was Breaking News. Here's How the Founding Document Reached the American Publichttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/in-1776-the-declaration-of-independence-was-breaking-news-heres-how-the-founding-document-reached-the-american-public-180988494/A new book by historian Emily Sneff records the journeys of the Declaration's first printed copies, tracking their reception in the Thirteen Colonies and overseasMon, 13 Apr 2026 11:45:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/in-1776-the-declaration-of-independence-was-breaking-news-heres-how-the-founding-document-reached-the-american-public-180988494/This Punjabi Princess Fought for Women's Suffrage and Sheltered Refugees During World War II. A Goddaughter of Queen Victoria, She Rejected British Imperialismhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/this-punjabi-princess-fought-for-womens-suffrage-and-sheltered-refugees-during-world-war-ii-a-goddaughter-of-queen-victoria-she-rejected-british-imperialism-180988491/A new exhibition at Kensington Palace tells the riveting story of Sophia Duleep Singh, daughter of the last maharaja of the Sikh EmpireThu, 09 Apr 2026 11:45:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/this-punjabi-princess-fought-for-womens-suffrage-and-sheltered-refugees-during-world-war-ii-a-goddaughter-of-queen-victoria-she-rejected-british-imperialism-180988491/Customer Loyalty Was Once Measured in Green Stamps. And the More You Shopped, the Bigger the Rewardshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/customer-loyalty-once-measured-green-stamps-more-shopped-bigger-rewards-180988413/If you’ve ever earned a free latte for buying ten of them earlier, it’s a direct result of the phenomenon created by a company few remember todayWed, 08 Apr 2026 11:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/customer-loyalty-once-measured-green-stamps-more-shopped-bigger-rewards-180988413/In a New Documentary, One of Britain's Most Famous Historians Reframes the American Revolution as a 'Messy Divorce'https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/in-a-new-documentary-one-of-britains-most-famous-historians-reframes-the-american-revolution-as-a-messy-divorce-180988457/Lucy Worsley's PBS series highlights the emotional fallout of the conflict, with a focus on the British perspectiveMon, 06 Apr 2026 11:45:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/in-a-new-documentary-one-of-britains-most-famous-historians-reframes-the-american-revolution-as-a-messy-divorce-180988457/Native Nations Fought in the American Revolution to Protect Their Ancestral Lands. After the War, Settlers Seized Their Territory Anywayhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/native-nations-fought-in-the-american-revolution-to-protect-their-ancestral-lands-after-the-war-settlers-seized-their-territory-anyway-180988435/The conflict divided the six tribes of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, most of whom decided to join the British. The former allies clashed at the Battle of Oriskany in New York in 1777Fri, 03 Apr 2026 11:15:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/native-nations-fought-in-the-american-revolution-to-protect-their-ancestral-lands-after-the-war-settlers-seized-their-territory-anyway-180988435/The Spirited Revolutionary Who Led the Fight for Independence in Corsica Also Inspired America’s Colonial Rabble-Rousershttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/spirited-revolutionary-led-fight-independence-corsica-inspired-america-colonial-rabblerouser-180988408/Pasquale Paoli was a “small fish fighting an entire empire.” Four thousand miles away, the founding fathers were watching and taking notesThu, 02 Apr 2026 11:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/spirited-revolutionary-led-fight-independence-corsica-inspired-america-colonial-rabblerouser-180988408/To Finance Their Lifestyle, a Young French Couple Went to Cambodia to Steal Antiquities. They Did Almost Everything Wronghttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/to-finance-lifestyle-young-french-couple-cambodia-steal-antiquities-they-did-almost-everything-wrong-180988403/Clara and André Malraux conspired to loot the pink temple of Banteay Srei, but their failure started a battle of reclamationWed, 01 Apr 2026 11:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/to-finance-lifestyle-young-french-couple-cambodia-steal-antiquities-they-did-almost-everything-wrong-180988403/Abigail Adams Asked Her Husband to 'Remember the Ladies' as He Drafted America's Laws. Here's What She Really Meanthttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/abigail-adams-asked-her-husband-to-remember-the-ladies-as-he-drafted-americas-laws-heres-what-she-really-meant-180988452/She wrote the letter that would come to define her legacy on March 31, 1776. But 250 years later, Americans are misinterpreting her open-ended requestTue, 31 Mar 2026 11:45:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/abigail-adams-asked-her-husband-to-remember-the-ladies-as-he-drafted-americas-laws-heres-what-she-really-meant-180988452/When America Found Itself Ready to Roll, Route 66, Stretching From Chicago to Los Angeles, Was the Road of Endless Possibilitieshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/when-america-found-itself-ready-rock-roll-route66-stretching-chicago-los-angeles-road-endless-possibilities-180988406/The country’s “mother road” started out as a way to get from Point A to Point B but quickly became the host of a culture and a symbol of freedomMon, 30 Mar 2026 13:24:49 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/when-america-found-itself-ready-rock-roll-route66-stretching-chicago-los-angeles-road-endless-possibilities-180988406/