The enslaved artisan behind Thomas Jefferson’s newly restored Va. estate
Jefferson's complex relationship with John Hemings, a respected carpenter he enslaved and Sally Hemings's brother, pervades his Poplar Forest rural retreat.
By J. Michael WeltonA new docuseries explores the Black Panther who shaped Tupac: His mom
The five-part FX and Hulu series “Dear Mama” will illustrate the life of Afeni Shakur and her son, Tupac Shakur, one of the most influential musicians in history.
By DeNeen L. BrownPrince William has American ancestors — dating to the Revolution
Prince William is part American through his mother, the late Princess Diana, records show. The family traces to the Revolution — and rebels against the crown.
By Stephanie GreenNavy divers comb a Pacific graveyard, seeking lost World War II airmen
An elite Navy team dived 200 feet underwater in search of the crew of “Heaven Can Wait,” a bomber shot down off New Guinea in 1944.
By Michael E. RuaneThe Waco siege, 30 years later: ‘Oh my God, they’re killing themselves’
The Branch Davidians, a fringe religious group led by David Koresh, faced off with the FBI for 51 days in Waco in 1993. Then came the fire.
By Sue Anne PressleyThe Supreme Court justice who resigned in disgrace over his finances
If Clarence Thomas were to resign from the Supreme Court over his financial dealings, he would not be the first justice to do so.
By John P. MacKenzieA ’60s magazine’s election hit job is a warning for Fox News vs. Dominion
Barry Goldwater’s lawsuit against Fact magazine shows the bar Dominion Voting Systems will have to clear if it is to win its $1.6 billion defamation suit against Fox News, which goes to trial this week.
By Frederic J. FrommerThe leak that ruined Ben Franklin’s reputation and spurred the Boston Tea Party
When Benjamin Franklin leaked important letters to American colonists, he asked to keep them private. They ended up in the Boston Gazette.
By Gillian BrockellOne of America’s first workplace shootings had an unlikely suspect: Prozac
A Louisville mass shooter in 1989 had just started taking Prozac, a new "wonder drug." Victims’ families claimed it played a role in his attack.
By Dave KindyHow Bono helped bring peace to Northern Ireland
U2 burst onto the stage in Belfast and orchestrated one of the most iconic images associated with Northern Ireland's Good Friday Agreement.
By William Booth and Amanda FergusonThe Southern generals who stuck with the Union in the Civil War
Not every military leader from a Confederate state pulled a Robert E. Lee.
By Gillian BrockellThe abortion pill’s 1992 Supreme Court battle and the woman who started it
Leona Benten was 6½ weeks pregnant when she volunteered to be the test case in the 1992 legal fight over the legality of importing mifepristone.
By Timothy BellaHow did crucifixion really work? A British discovery offers new clues.
Jesus’ crucifixion is at the center of Good Friday and the Easter resurrection. But the ancient form of capital punishment left little archaeological evidence behind.
By Fredrick KunkleCan a Supreme Court justice be impeached? Meet ‘Old Bacon Face.’
Samuel Chase was the only Supreme Court justice to be impeached, after he openly campaigned for a president and told jurors who he thought was guilty.
By Gillian BrockellLost graves reveal story of African American church in Williamsburg
The body of a teenager had been moved there from somewhere else in the early 1800s in Colonial Williamsburg
By Michael E. RuaneJewish soldiers held a makeshift Seder in the middle of the Civil War
Union soldiers improvised a Passover celebration near what's now Fayetteville, W.Va. They're being honored with a sign at the approximate site.
By Gillian BrockellHistory’s most famous mug shots: Trump doesn’t join the lineup
From Jane Fonda and O.J. Simpson to Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr., mug shots reveal the arrests of the famous and powerful.
By Gillian BrockellDonald Trump’s father was arrested, too. Twice.
Donald Trump's father, Fred Trump, was arrested on two occasions, 49 years apart. One involved a Ku Klux Klan rally, the other code violations at a building he owned.
By Gillian BrockellA century before Trump’s term, a president paid a mistress to stay silent
President Warren G. Harding paid not one, but two women to remain quiet about their affairs with him.
By James D. RobenaltTheir enslaved ancestor’s pottery sells for over $1 million. They get nothing.
The stoneware of an enslaved poet known as Dave the Potter is featured in a major exhibit and generating huge profits — but not for his D.C.-area descendants.
By Dave Kindy