West End Blues is one of the most famous recordings in the history of jazz for the following reasons: 1) Armstrong's introduction showed how dazzling his skills as a trumpeter were; 2) he laid the ...

Page through William Steinway's diary using the buttons below. Click to view annotations (highlighted in red). Jump to a specific date or search for keywords using the tools to the right. Use the ...

What happens when a people decide to govern themselves? America’s national treasures come to life in this compelling exhibition that examines the bold experiment to create a government “of the people, ...

The American Safety Lamp & Mine Supply Company hired M.D. Cremer of England to produce this lamp around 1913. M.D. This John Davis & Son safety lamp manufactured in the early 20th century is notable ...

New and future voters are sharing their perspectives to shape the world in many ways this election season. They join a long history of youth engagement. Explore these artifacts that tell stories of ...

Sewing Machine Patent Model. Patent No. 4,750, issued September 10, 1846. Elias Howe Jr. of Cambridge, Massachusetts. While working as a journeyman machinist, Elias Howe Jr. wrestled for years to find ...

The United States entered the First World War when it declared war on Germany on 6 April 1917. The government promptly established a Committee on Public Information to coordinate propaganda for the ...

In the early nineteenth century, lighthouses in the United States were considered inferior to those in France and England. American mariners complained about the quality of the light emanating from ...

Cookie Monster is a live-hand puppet originally performed by Frank Oz and currently performed by David Rudman. In a live-hand puppet, like Cookie Monster, one of the performer’s hands is in the puppet ...

John Garand was a civil service employee. As the chief civilian engineer at the Springfield Armory in Massachusetts, he invented a semiautomatic .30-caliber rifle known as the M1 or the "Garand." His ...

In 1877, Thomas Edison invented the phonograph, the first machine that could record sound and play it back. On the first audio recording Edison recited, “Mary had a little lamb. Its fleece was white ...

The American Brewing History Initiative at the National Museum of American History documents and collects the story of beer and brewing in America, with a special focus on home brewing and craft beer.