News | HISTORY

Behind the Photo: Einstein Sticks Out His Tongue

On March 14, 1951, Albert Einstein was sitting in the back of a car, getting ready to leave his 72nd birthday party at Princeton University. Photographers had been asking Einstein to pose for the camera all evening, and when UPI photographer Arthur Sasse turned his camera on him, the theoretical physicist playfully stuck out his […]

The Jolly Leprechaun’s Sinister Origins

Cheerful, prank‑loving leprechauns are beloved symbols of luck and prosperity in Ireland and for the millions of Americans with Irish roots. But centuries‑old legends about the diminutive shoemaking creatures painted them differently, as mischievous and sometimes menacing tricksters. Irish folklore, rich with medieval accounts of dark fairies and goblins, portrayed the mythical humanoids—always described as […]

How Are Places Named in the US?

Place names are rooted in Indigenous languages, physical characteristics and honorifics for politicians and pioneers—and they can be controversial.

How St. Patrick’s Day in 1776 Marked a Step Towards American Independence

Evacuation Day marks when the British retreated from Boston on March 17, 1776, in the first major Patriot victory of the American Revolution.

Was Atlantis Real? 6 Theories About the Lost Civilization

Atlantis has been an object of fascination for thousands of years. Explore six theories behind Plato’s account of the great, but doomed civilization.

Mt. Vesuvius Eruption Was So Intense It Turned a Man’s Brain to Glass

The victim was lying in his bed when a searing ash cloud swept through his city. Soon, it turned out, he had a brain of glass.

How Movie Theaters Got Their Start in America

In April 1896, Thomas Edison rented a New York Vaudeville hall to show a film—an event that many consider to be America’s first movie theater experience.

When Cigarette Warning Labels Led to a Crackdown on Smoking

The 1965 U.S. law requiring health warnings on cigarette packs played a key role in bringing about a new era of tobacco regulation.

Who Invented Aspirin?

Many associate aspirin with willow bark, but the pills in your cabinet don’t come from a tree.

8 Defining Moments in the History of the Chocolate Chip Cookie

Americans consume 7 billion chocolate chip cookies annually—and not just top seller Chips Ahoy! and its numerous packaged cookie competitors. Chocolate chip cookies also represent nearly half of all homemade cookies baked in the U.S. The comforting treat got its start during the Great Depression, when “cookies were a way of maintaining some normalcy while […]

Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings: What’s Known

Thomas Jefferson, primary author of the Declaration of Independence and third president of the United States, enslaved more than 600 people in his lifetime. Best known among them: Sally Hemings, who lived at his Virginia estate Monticello along with their children. As with most people in bondage, there is little documentation about Hemings in the […]

How Black‑Run Newspapers Bolstered the Abolitionist Movement

Nineteenth‑century Black‑run newspapers helped broadcast African American diversity and agency, lighting the way towards a post‑slavery era.