History | smithsonianmag.comhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/history/RSS feed for HistoryenMon, 02 Dec 2024 14:21:49 +0000When 170 Wild Monkeys Escaped From a 'Jungle Camp' and Terrorized New Yorkhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/when-170-wild-monkeys-escaped-from-a-jungle-camp-and-terrorized-new-york-180985537/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 facilityMon, 02 Dec 2024 14:21:49 +0000The Ten Best History Books of 2024https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-ten-best-history-books-of-2024-180985531/Our favorite titles of the year resurrect forgotten histories and examine how the United States ended up where it is todayWed, 27 Nov 2024 15:59:08 +0000The Real Story Behind Apple TV+'s 'Blitz,' a New Steve McQueen Movie About Britain's Everyday World War II Heroeshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-real-story-behind-apple-tvs-blitz-a-new-steve-mcqueen-movie-about-britains-everyday-world-war-ii-heroes-180985506/Starring Saoirse Ronan as a young mother, the film celebrates Londoners' resilience in the face of an eight-month Nazi aerial bombing campaignFri, 22 Nov 2024 11:00:00 +0000The Real History Behind Ridley Scott's 'Gladiator II' and Life as a Fighter in the Ancient Roman Arenahttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-real-history-behind-ridley-scotts-gladiator-ii-and-life-as-a-fighter-in-the-ancient-roman-arena-180985494/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 revengeThu, 21 Nov 2024 11:00:00 +0000During World War II, This Farmer Risked Everything to Help His Japanese American Neighborshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/during-world-war-ii-farmer-risked-everything-help-japanese-american-neighbors-180985441/When the U.S. government sent the Tsukamoto family to an incarceration camp in 1942, one neighbor stepped up to save the farms they left behind, giving them something to come home toWed, 20 Nov 2024 20:50:00 +0000How Mistletoe Became a Christmas Kissing Traditionhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-mistletoe-became-christmas-kissing-tradition-180985450/The thorny origins of the yuletide canoodling ritualWed, 20 Nov 2024 14:00:00 +0000How an Interracial Marriage Sparked One of the Most Scandalous Trials of the Roaring Twentieshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-an-interracial-marriage-sparked-one-of-the-most-scandalous-trials-of-the-roaring-twenties-180985486/Under pressure from his wealthy family, real estate heir Leonard "Kip" Rhinelander claimed that his new wife, Alice Beatrice Jones, had tricked him into believing she was whiteWed, 20 Nov 2024 11:00:00 +0000The Hidden History of Bermuda Is Reshaping the Way We Think About Colonial Americahttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/hidden-history-bermuda-reshaping-way-think-colonial-america-180985439/New archaeological finds on the islands have revealed secrets about one of Britain’s first settlements in the Americas—and the surprising ways it changed the New WorldTue, 19 Nov 2024 12:00:00 +0000The Feminist Who Inspired the Witches of Ozhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-feminist-inspired-witches-of-oz-180985334/The untold story of suffragist Matilda Gage, the woman behind the curtain whose life story captivated her son-in-law L. Frank Baum as he wrote his classic novelMon, 18 Nov 2024 13:00:00 +0000How British College Students Convinced Authorities That Flying Saucers Were Invading the U.K.https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-british-college-students-convinced-authorities-that-flying-saucers-were-invading-the-uk-180985442/To raise awareness for a charity event, aspiring engineers planted six UFOs across southern England on a single day in 1967Fri, 15 Nov 2024 11:00:00 +0000Visions of Nuclear-Powered Cars Captivated Cold War America, but the Technology Never Really Workedhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/visions-of-nuclear-powered-cars-captivated-cold-war-america-but-the-technology-never-really-worked-180985437/From the Ford Nucleon to the Studebaker-Packard Astral, these vehicles failed to progress past the prototype stage in the 1950s and 1960sWed, 13 Nov 2024 11:00:00 +0000The Surprising Artwork That Inspired Netflix's 'The Piano Lesson,' a New Movie Based on August Wilson's Award-Winning Playhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-surprising-artwork-that-inspired-netflixs-the-piano-lesson-a-new-movie-based-on-august-wilsons-award-winning-play-180985424/A Romare Bearden print served as a starting point for the American playwright's 1987 drama, which follows a Black family's struggle to decide the fate of an ancestral heirloomTue, 12 Nov 2024 15:57:44 +0000When White Supremacists Staged the Only Successful Coup in U.S. Historyhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/when-white-supremacists-staged-the-only-successful-coup-in-us-history-180985400/The 1898 Wilmington massacre left dozens of Black North Carolinians dead. Conspirators also forced the city's multiracial government to resign at gunpointFri, 08 Nov 2024 11:00:00 +0000One of America's First Spectator Sports Was Professional Walkinghttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/one-of-americas-first-spectator-sports-was-professional-walking-180985397/Before fitness influencers made getting your steps in a trend, pedestrianism had the nation on their feetWed, 06 Nov 2024 15:57:01 +0000These Black Americans Were Killed for Exercising Their Political Right to Votehttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/these-black-americans-were-killed-for-exercising-their-political-right-to-vote-180985383/In the Jim Crow South, activists became martyrs at the hands of white racists, all for the just cause of using the vote to fight for equality and freedomMon, 04 Nov 2024 11:00:00 +0000To Divine the Future, the Ancients Relied on These Chance-Based Fortune-Telling Toolshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/to-divine-the-future-the-ancients-relied-on-these-chance-based-fortune-telling-tools-180985349/Texts like the "Sortes Astrampsychi" promised insights on clients' love lives, career prospects, financial woes and familiesThu, 31 Oct 2024 10:00:00 +0000This 19th-Century 'Toy Book' Used Science to Prove That Ghosts Were Simply an Illusionhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/this-19th-century-toy-book-used-science-to-prove-that-ghosts-were-simply-an-illusion-180985347/"Spectropia" demystified the techniques used by mediums who claimed they could speak to the dead, revealing the "absurd follies of Spiritualism"Tue, 29 Oct 2024 15:41:01 +0000Discover the Mysteries of Italy's Park of Monsters, a 16th-Century Garden Filled With Strange, Colossal Stone Creatureshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/discover-the-mysteries-of-italys-park-of-monsters-a-16th-century-garden-filled-with-strange-colossal-stone-creatures-180985318/The Sacro Bosco's meaning is the subject of debate, with scholars alternatively describing the sprawling complex as a memorial, an allegorical site or a tribute to ancient civilizationsFri, 25 Oct 2024 10:15:00 +0000When the Nazis Seized Power, This Jewish Actor Took on the Role of His Lifehttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/when-nazis-seized-power-this-jewish-actor-took-on-role-life-180985228/After he was forced off the German stage in 1934 by antisemitic hecklers, Leo Reuss found a daring way to hide in plain sightThu, 24 Oct 2024 11:00:00 +0000These Rare Artifacts Tell Medieval Women's Stories in Their Own Wordshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/these-rare-artifacts-tell-medieval-womens-stories-in-their-own-words-180985317/A new exhibition at the British Library explores the public, private and spiritual lives of such figures as Joan of Arc, Christine de Pizan and Hildegard of BingenThu, 24 Oct 2024 10:15:00 +0000The Enterprising Woman Who Built—and Lost, and Rebuilt—a Booming Empire During the Klondike Gold Rushhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/enterprising-woman-belinda-mulrooney-built-booming-empire-klondike-gold-rush-180985221/With flinty perseverance and a golden touch, Belinda Mulrooney earned an unlikely fortune in the frozen north and reshaped the Canadian frontierWed, 23 Oct 2024 20:00:00 +0000How Recovering the History of a Little-Known Lakota Massacre Could Heal Generational Painhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-recovering-history-little-known-lakota-massacre-could-heal-generation-pain-180985226/When the U.S. Army massacred a Lakota village at Blue Water, dozens of plundered artifacts ended up in the Smithsonian. The unraveling of this long-buried atrocity is forging a path toward reconciliationTue, 22 Oct 2024 14:30:00 +0000Back in the 19th Century, Your Election Ballot Could Double as a Work of Arthttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/back-in-19th-century-your-election-ballot-could-double-work-art-180985220/During and after the Civil War, inventive illustrations allowed Democrats and Republicans to turn American ballots into powerful propagandaMon, 21 Oct 2024 12:00:00 +0000How a Dead Seal Sparked Theodore Roosevelt's Lifelong Passion for Conservationhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-a-dead-seal-sparked-theodore-roosevelts-lifelong-passion-for-conservation-180985255/As a child, the future president acquired a marine animal's skull, which became the first specimen in his natural history collectionWed, 16 Oct 2024 10:00:00 +0000How Captain George Vancouver Mapped and Shaped the Modern Pacific Northwesthttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-captain-george-vancouver-mapped-and-shaped-the-modern-pacific-northwest-180985233/The British explorer named dozens of geographical features and sites in the region, ignoring the traditions of the Indigenous peoples who’d lived there for millenniaTue, 15 Oct 2024 10:15:00 +0000The Real Story Behind 'Saturday Night,' the Movie About the Television Show That Changed Comedy Foreverhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-real-story-behind-saturday-night-the-movie-about-the-television-show-that-changed-comedy-forever-180985236/A new film revisits the 90 minutes before the first episode of "Saturday Night Live" premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975Fri, 11 Oct 2024 10:00:00 +0000A Secret Sculpture Built for John F. Kennedy's Grave Vanished in the 1970s. Half a Century Later, the Mystery Has Been Solvedhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/a-secret-sculpture-built-for-john-f-kennedys-grave-vanished-in-the-1970s-half-a-century-later-the-mystery-has-been-solved-180985235/The bronze wreath immortalized the moment when the members of the Honor Guard removed their hats and placed them on the president's grave during his burialWed, 09 Oct 2024 18:52:29 +0000How Artists, Writers and Scientists of the Past Documented Climate Changehttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-artists-writers-and-scientists-of-the-past-documented-climate-change-180985199/An exhibition at the Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens explores how Western intellectuals viewed the climate crisis between 1780 and 1930Tue, 08 Oct 2024 10:00:00 +0000