John Pumphrey was still a boy when he enlisted in the Continental Army in 1777. After archaeologists discovered his remains, a genetic genealogy analysis identified 20,000 DNA matches for living relatives

Meteorological tsunamis likely sank the 13th-century trading vessels, whose cargo included objects from both Christian kingdoms and Moorish communities on the Iberian Peninsula

Soldiers of Irish heritage accounted for up to 50 percent of the Continental Army's ranks. Driven from their homeland by British oppression, Irish-born rebels also served as spies, politicians and more

Progressive reformer Frances Kellor spearheaded efforts to celebrate Americanization Day, arguing that immigrants should fully embrace U.S. culture to better adapt to life in their new home

The June 1876 firefight resulted in the deaths of George Armstrong Custer and 267 of his men. Historians continue to debate exactly how the Lakota Sioux and the Northern Cheyenne secured their victory over the U.S. Army

The British punished rebellious New Englanders by depriving them of their livelihood. This led unemployed mariners to enlist in the patriot cause

Philadelphia politicians hoped to replicate the success of the 1876 Centennial Exposition. Instead, the 1926 world's fair lost millions of dollars, essentially bankrupting the city on the eve of the Great Depression

Half a century after "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," the director returns to the subject of UFOs with "Disclosure Day." His science fiction films are informed by his fascination with alien encounters in American suburbia

Lincoln Steffens was a reporter so dogged that political party bosses called him a “born crook that’s gone straight.” He and his fellow muckrakers redefined modern journalism

“Force may subdue, but love gains”: The Quaker practice of conscientious objection evolved through Thoreau, Tolstoy and Gandhi before becoming the hallmark of the Civil Rights movement

Baker's work was instrumental in the success of the NAACP and other organizations, but she did it in a way that didn’t put herself in the spotlight. That was by design

He won the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts in ending WWI and strove to improve the plight of American workers. Today, his blind spots shroud most of his accomplishments

One president invented campaign buttons so he could just stay home during election season. Another one rallied Americans to go to the moon. And one—only one—holds a patent.

Lewis Hine didn’t consider his job as taking pictures; it was “detective work.” Sometimes gaining access with ruse and subterfuge, he captured stark images that touched hearts and changed minds

"I am very much uninterested in whether I am shot or not," he told an audience in Milwaukee. Newly discovered documents shed light on how the 26th president wanted the incident to shape his legacy

In “The Mission of the War,” America’s incomparable orator helped turn public sentiment in favor of the Union and Abraham Lincoln, beginning the process of “national regeneration”

To fight against slavery, the author collected true stories then picked up a pen and distilled them into “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”

Silence Dogood. Richard Saunders. Benevolus. Sidi Mehemet Ibrahim. All were pen names that allowed Franklin to say things he couldn’t have otherwise said

While history recorded his refusal to seek a third term as a legendary act of statesmanship, the opinions of the day were actually quite mixed on the issue

In a poignant pattern, many of the most important contributions to suffrage were enacted—or inspired—by mothers