Near and Far, We’re Waving the Banner for Flags
Across time and distance, these colorful emblems fluttering in the breeze are symbols steeped in our history and our cultures
Smithsonian Perspectives
A patriarch of flight, Paul Garber devoted his Smithsonian career to the preservation of historic aircraft
Even Our Most Loved Monuments Had a Trial by Fire
Controversies like those swirling around the FDR Memorial are the rule when Americans try to agree on anything to be cast in bronze
Declaring an Open Season on the Wisdom of the Ages
Under the stewardship of scholars Diderot and d’Alembert, the 18th-century’s Encyclopédie championed fact and freedom of the intellect
Sieur de La Salle’s fateful landfall
After 300 years, the wreck of a beautiful French ship in Texas yields clues and treasure from a bold explorer’s last voyage
Bang! Went the Doors of Every Bank in America
Cashless, we carried on with nothing to fear but fear itself; by the time FDR opened them again, something called the New Deal was hard upon us
The Object at Hand
A bejeweled box from a sorely beset emperor leads to a Yankee dentist, and how he rescued the beautiful empress Eugénie from a Paris mob
A Family, a Colony, a Life of Good Works in the Holy City
Founded more than a century ago, the American Colony in Jerusalem has endured hardships, wars, upheaval, and the ebb and flow of empires
A Stout Ship’s Heartbreaking Ordeal by Ice
Heading north for the pole, the Jeannette was frozen fast for 21 months, then sank; for captain and crew, that was the easy part
The Grave at Vukovar
A war crimes tribunal sent forensic scientists to investigate mass graves in the former Yugoslavia. What happened there?
Smithsonian Perspectives
As financial demands soar, the Institution seeks corporate dollars while safeguarding its integrity
Vintage Radios By the Score
Tucked into an Elgin, Illinois, office building, Ralph Muchow’s Historical Radio Museum houses the world’s foremost antique collection
Cleopatra: What Kind of a Woman Was She, Anyway?
Serpent of the Nile? Learned ruler? Sex Kitten? Ambitious mom? African queen? History is still toying with the poor lady’s reputation
A Nova Crew Strains, and Chants, to Solve the Obelisk Mystery
The public television team put theories to the test to uncover the secrets of how the ancient Egyptians moved and raised the giant blocks
Sir Francis Drake is Still Capable of Kicking Up a Fuss
Westward the corsair of England’s empire made his way, plundering Spain for Queen and country; now modern moralists are nibbling at his fame
Let Us Now Praise the Romantic, Artful, Versatile Toothpick
Flirting, scale modeling, putting on the dog through the ages, the device has been used for a lot more than dental hygiene
A Woman Writ Large in Our History and Hearts
The free-spirited author George Sand scandalized 19th-century Paris when she defied convention and pioneered an independent path for women
Three’s a Crowd, They Say, but Not at Coney Island!
The old place has had its downs and ups, from a wild man from Borneo to glittering Luna Park, but it’s still happily roller-coasting along
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