History / Video
5 Surprising Facts About Rosa Parks
Largely recognized for her leading role in the bus boycott of 1955, Rosa Parks was an enduring activist for the Civil Rights Movement. Throughout her numerous decades of service, Parks …
What Was on the Menu at the First Thanksgiving?
Follow us to the very first Thanksgiving celebration, where the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag came together for a historic feast.
The Shocking History and Legacy of the Salem Witch Trials
What fueled the frenzy that sent so many to their deaths in colonial America? And how did Americans reckon with the aftermath of the panic? —- For more videos from …
The Untold Secrets of King Tut’s Tomb
Do you ever wonder what secrets lie beneath the sands of Egypt? Prepare to be astonished as we unveil the untouched tomb of King Tutankhamun.
What Happened to Henry VIII’s Six Wives?
From tumultuous love affairs to violent betrayals, the six wives of Henry VIII all left marks on the Tudor dynasty – and shaped the course of history. READ MORE about …
The Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Is One of America’s Greatest National Monuments
Lonnie Bunch, the director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, discusses the Martin Luther King, Jr. memorial, one of America’s greatest monuments.
Cat Mummies Were a Big Thing in Ancient Egypt
Archaelogists uncover what appear to be cat mummies–a common practice around the Ptolemaic period. But an x-ray scan reveals a surprise: the mummies are just bandages. So what happened?
This WW2 RAF Bomber Dealt a Deathblow to the German Economy
In WW2, the British made destroying German dams a key strategic target in order to kneecap the German industrial effort. To accomplish this, they needed a special plane to deliver …
A Fascinating Structure Inside Ancient Tomb: “False Door” to the Underworld
Archaeologists uncover an exciting find: a tomb that predates most of the others in the area by around 2,000 years. Inside, is a series of perfectly preserved inscriptions on a …
The Ancient Greeks Became Fascinated with Ancient Egypt
Ancient Greeks were endlessly fascinated by Egyptian culture, and especially the Egyptian Gods whom they saw as versions of their own. So much so that they ended up adopting Egyptian …
X-Ray of an Ancient Mummy Reveals Details of Noblewoman’s Life
X-rays of the mummy of an ancient Egyptian noblewoman reveal an assortment of health issues: from curvature of the spine, known as scoliosis, to other deformities that could be the …
The Last Ship to Bring Enslaved Africans to America Arrived in 1860
By 1860, the US was no longer officially involved in the international slave trade. That same year, an illegal slave ship, the Clotilde, arrived in Mobile, Alabama, carrying the last …
Cat Mummies Were a Big Thing in Ancient Egypt
Archaelogists uncover what appear to be cat mummies—a common practice around the Ptolemaic period. But an x-ray scan reveals a surprise: The mummies are just bandages. So what happened?
The Manubalista Was Rome’s Secret Weapon in Ancient Britain
In the hands of experienced Roman soldiers, the Manubalista was deadly: easy to move, quick to reload, and capable of launching a 7-inch, 70 mph armor-piercing projectile with terrifying accuracy.
The Wright exhibition team was performing at an air meet in St. Louis when pilot Arch Hoxsey crossed paths with Teddy Roosevelt on October 11, 1910. At the time, Roosevelt …
Chuck Yeager Press Conference, 1953
By 1953, six years after the Bell X-1 first went supersonic, that airplane and others were routinely flying at more than twice the speed of sound. On December 17, 1953the …
How the Meaning of Thanksgiving Has Changed
The holiday was used as a call for freedom during the civil rights movement and as a day of mourning by Native Americans.
Before the Pilgrims Arrived, Europeans Had Raided and Devastated Native Communities for Years
Kidnappings and disease had put the Wampanoag peoples in dire conditions by 1620.
The Connections Between the Thanksgiving Story and Westward Expansion
As the United States pushed Native communities out of their ancestral homelands, the nation sought out a symbolic tale of friendship and a shared future.
The Intelligence Failures That Could Have Averted JFK’s Death
Eight days before President Kennedy’s motorcade through Dallas, the Secret Service signed off on the planned route through the city—a baffling decision that would seal the fate of the President.
In 1960, a Would-Be Assassin Tracked JFK to His Holiday Home
This wasn’t Lee Harvey Oswald in 1963 but one Richard Pavlick in 1960—a retired postal worker who tried to blow up Kennedy in his Palm Beach home.
Before 9/11, the World Trade Center Was Bombed by Terrorists in 1993
Following the 1993 attack on the World Trade Center in which 6 people lost their lives, the FBI moved quickly to bring the attackers to justice. But did the low …
This Object in History: Fernandomania
He was mobbed by adoring fans up and down the country; when he pitched, home or away, attendance soared. To this day, he remains the only man to win Rookie-of-the-Year …
With his bright red coat, big orange nose, and wide eyes, Elmo is now arguably the most famous of the Sesame Street muppets. Elmo began as an “Anything Muppet”—an extra, …
This Ancient Egyptian Mega-Tomb Is the Largest of Its Kind
A mega-tomb uncovered in the Saqqara region of Cairo is the largest concentration of burial sites ever found in Egypt. It appears to be reserved for wealthy Egyptians, and the …
The California Raisins’ Smashing Advertising Success
Audiences were spellbound, competitors were jealous, and consumers began to buy more raisins than ever. It’s the unlikely phenomenon of the “California Raisins” who blazed across 1980s TV screens, to …
A Coffin Is Unearthed Using Ancient Egyptian Tech
Archaeologists in Saqqara make a dazzling discovery: a late period Egyptian coffin with a gilded mask. Now, to bring it to the surface, they use a pulley known as a …
Why Queen Elizabeth Hit Pause on Princess Margaret’s First Love
In 1953, Queen Elizabeth II faced the first crisis of her reign, brought on by her sister, Margaret. She was being asked to bless her sister’s engagement to a divorcé—at …
Conversations in Context: Honoring Asian American & Pacific Islander History
There are many ways to honor Asian-American and Pacific Islander history, like observing AAPI month or supporting institutions like the Smithsonian, which work to preserve personal objects from the past. …
A Serial Killer Used the 1893 World’s Fair to Lure Two of His Victims
The 1893 World’s Fair would end up drawing 20 million people to its Chicago showground. Two of them, sisters Minnie and Nannie Williams, came at the invitation of serial killer …
Conversations in Context: How Bigotry in Business Was Met by Asian American Solidarity
In 1867, Chinese transcontinental railroad workers went on strike to protest unsafe working conditions and lower pay than their white peers. Then came the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act–the first and …
Conversations in Context: Media Portrayals of the Asian American Experience
In 1960, Chinese-American Hollywood star Anna May Wong appeared in the last film of a long Hollywood career–far too much of it spent battling discrimination and roles that typecast Asian …
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