History
Follow the latest History news, videos, and analysis from ABC News.
September 12, 2024 at 5:50 PM

Wreck of French steamship that sunk in 1856 discovered off New England coast

A marine salvage firm has found the wreck of a long lost French steamship about 200 miles off New Bedford, Massachusetts
September 12, 2024 at 5:50 PM
Discovery team member Joe Mazraani fans away the sand to reveal a deadeye used as part of the sail rigging on the passenger steamship Le Lyonnais, during a dive on the wreck, Saturday, Aug. 24, 2024, off the coast of Massachusetts. (Andrew Donn/Atlantic Wreck Salvage via AP)
September 12, 2024 at 1:42 AM

The ancient jar smashed by a 4-year-old is back on display at an Israeli museum after repair

An Israeli museum has put back on display a rare Bronze-Era jar that a 4-year-old accidentally smashed
September 12, 2024 at 1:42 AM
Ariel Heller, 4, center, and his parents Anna, right, and Alex, center left, take part in a special tour after the child accidentally broke an ancient jar at the Reuben and Edith Hecht Museum in Haifa, Israel, Friday, Aug. 30, 2024. The boy who accidentally broke a rare 3,500-year-old jar in an Israeli museum has been forgiven and invited back, as curators hope to turn the disaster into a teachable moment. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
September 11, 2024 at 1:58 PM

Jewelry seized from Polish inmates of Nazi German concentration camps is returned to families

Relatives of 12 Polish inmates of Nazi Germany’s concentration camps have received precious belongings seized from their kin during captivity
September 11, 2024 at 1:58 PM
A relative shows amber crucifixes and jewelry that were confiscated by Nazi Germans from Stanislawa Wasilewska, who was captured by Nazi troops during Warsaw Uprising in 1944 and taken to a forced labor camp. The items that had been stored at Germany's Arolsen Archives, were returned to Wasilewska's relatives in a ceremony in Warsaw, Poland, on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, in which 10 other families also had belongings of their relatives returned. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)
September 11, 2024 at 1:02 AM

Declassified memo from US codebreaker sheds light on Ethel Rosenberg's Cold War spy case

A top U_S_ government codebreaker who decrypted secret Soviet communications during the Cold War concluded that Ethel Rosenberg knew about her husband’s activities but “did not engage in the work herself."
September 11, 2024 at 1:02 AM
FILE - Ethel Rosenberg, who along with her husband, Julius, was put to death in 1953 after being convicted of conspiring to steal secrets about the atomic bomb for the Soviet Union is seen in an undated file photo. (AP Photo, File)
September 8, 2024 at 1:10 AM

A rare 1787 copy of the US Constitution is up for auction

A rare copy of the U.S. Constitution that was signed and sent to states to ratify is up for auction later this month in North Carolina
September 8, 2024 at 1:10 AM
CORRECTS NAME TO BRUNK AUCTIONS - Auctioneer Andrew Brunk, left, and historian Seth Kaller, right show off a 1787 copy of the U.S. Constitution that will be put up for auction on Sept. 28, 2024 at Brunk Auctions in Asheville, N.C., on Thursday, Sept. 5. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Collins)
September 4, 2024 at 10:00 PM

Fossil site found by happenstance likely to produce several new dinosaur species

A new species of dinosaur has been identified more than a decade after a large number of ancient skeletons were found in Spain
September 4, 2024 at 10:00 PM
A new species of titanosaur -- a type of large, long-necked dinosaur -- has been discovered near Cuenca, Spain.
September 4, 2024 at 9:12 PM

New species of titanosaur identified amid group of ancient skeletons found in Spain

Researchers expect to find more fossils and more new species from the same site.
September 4, 2024 at 9:12 PM
New species of titanosaur identified amid group of ancient skeletons found in Spain
September 2, 2024 at 9:54 PM

Titanic photo expedition reveals 'significant' changes to shipwreck, new discoveries

Among the discoveries in the July mission, was a "significant" change to the Titanic's silhouette.
September 2, 2024 at 9:54 PM
 New images of the Titanic from a recent RMS Titanic, Inc expedition shows for the first time a portion of the railing on the ship’s bow has fallen off.
September 2, 2024 at 4:45 PM

New images of Titanic revealed

A recent underwater expedition revealed the railing on the ship’s bow has fallen off after 112 years as well as images of the Diana of Versailles statue that was on display in first class.
September 2, 2024 at 4:45 PM
VIDEO: New images of Titanic revealed
August 28, 2024 at 5:57 PM

4-year-old boy accidentally smashes 3,500-year-old jar at museum

A 4-year-old boy accidentally smashed a Bronze Age jar during a visit to a museum in Israel on Friday, the museum said.
August 28, 2024 at 5:57 PM
A Bronze Age jar is seen smashed at the Hecht Museum in Haifa, Israel, Aug. 23, 2024.
1 month ago

A rare landing on the south pole of the moon led to this scientific discovery

There was once a magma-filled ocean on the south pole of the moon, scientists recently discovered after analyzing lunar soil.
1 month ago
Fields of dark rock left by volcanic eruptions, mistaken for huge seas, were named "maria." Some of them make up the Man in the Moon's face.
1 month ago

Meet Gnatalie: Paleontologist discusses preparing new dinosaur species for display

Nate Smith talks about Gnatalie, believed to belong to the herbivore species of long-neck dinosaurs, before her Los Angeles debut.
1 month ago
Gnatalie is believed to belong to a previously undiscovered herbivore species of long-neck dinosaurs.
1 month ago

Exploring life at a Japanese internment camp through lens of a woman who was there

ABC News' Juju Chang travels to Camp Amache, a former Japanese internment camp, and speaks with Carlene Tinker, a Camp Amache survivor, about her experience as a prisoner there.
1 month ago
VIDEO:  Exploring life at a Japanese internment camp through lens of a woman who was there
1 month ago

Pompeii archaeologists discover remains of 2 bodies with 'cache of treasure'

The discovery was made in Region IX, Insula 10 in Pompeii, as a part of a larger excavation to secure the edge of the ancient site.
1 month ago
Archeologists discovered the remains of a man and a woman during the recent excavations of Region IX, Insula 10 in Pompeii.
1 month ago

Ed Helms talks new podcast season based on historical mistakes

ABC News' Trevor Ault speaks with comedian Ed Helms about season two of his award-winning podcast "Snafu," based on the burglary that exposed J. Edgar Hoover's secret illegal FBI program.
1 month ago
VIDEO: Ed Helms talks new podcast season based on historical mistakes
1 month ago

ABC News' Pierre Thomas visits plantation where his family was enslaved

ABC News is the "10 Million Names" project's exclusive media partner, which helped ABC News' Pierre Thomas trace his West Virginia roots.
1 month ago
Pierre Thomas' journey to uncover family history of enslavement.
2 months ago

Complex life forms may have existed 1.5 billion years earlier than believed: Study

A team of researchers challenged the belief that complex life forms first emerged on Earth 635 million years ago, saying life may have existed 1.5 billion years before.
2 months ago
The team’s research provides strong validation for the biological affinity of the lobate macrofossils whose validity has been widely debated in the scientific community.
2 months ago

After dinosaur skeleton 'Apex' sells for $44M, debate sparks over private buyers

A stegosaurus skeleton known as "Apex" was recently sold at auction for $44 million. It has sparked a debate over whether private buyers should be allowed to own fossils.
2 months ago
Press preview for 'Apex' The 150-Million-Year-Old Stegosaurus at Sotheby's auction house, July 10, 2024.
2 months ago

100 bottles of champagne discovered in 19th-century shipwreck

The shipwreck was discovered in the Baltic Sea, about 20 nautical miles off the Swedish coast, by a team of Polish technical divers from the group Baltictech.
2 months ago
Baltictech divers discovered a 19th-century shipwreck off the coast of Sweden.
2 months ago

Divers discover 100 bottles of champagne in 19th-century shipwreck

The shipwreck was discovered in the Baltic Sea, about 20 nautical miles off the Swedish coast, by a team of Polish technical divers from the group Baltictech.
2 months ago
The shipwreck was discovered in the Baltic Sea, about 20 nautical miles off the Swedish coast, by a team of Polish technical divers from the group Baltictech.
2 months ago

Early humans likely prompted the demise of woolly mammoths and other ancient species

Early humans may have played a significant role in the demise of one of the most iconic ancient species -- the woolly mammoth -- and others like it, scientists say.
2 months ago
The early Ice Age, when mammoths roamed the Earth and Man was arising, 1907.
2 months ago

Early humans likely prompted the demise of woolly mammoths: Study

The researchers used AI to track ecosystem changes through fossil records.
2 months ago
The researchers used AI to track ecosystem changes through fossil records.
2 months ago

Navy exonerates 256 Black sailors unjustly court-martialed in WWII Port Chicago blast

The U.S. Navy has exonerated 256 Black sailors who had been unjustly court-martialed following the World War II-era Port Chicago explosion that killed hundreds.
2 months ago
This view of the effects of the July 17, 1944 explosions looks north, showing the wreckage of Building A-7 (Joiner Shop) in the center and munitions pier beyond, at Port Chicago, Calif.
2 months ago

This dinosaur skeleton just became the most expensive ever sold at auction

A nearly-complete Stegosaurus skeleton, nicknamed "Apex", sold on Wednesday for record $44.6M at a Sotheby's auction in New York.
2 months ago
Press preview for 'Apex' The 150-Million-Year-Old Stegosaurus at Sotheby's auction house, July 10, 2024.
2 months ago

Artists draw inspiration from Disney during the Holocaust

Israeli Holocaust museum Yad Vashem will debut a collection of Disney-themed artwork this Monday.
2 months ago
Fourteen-year-old Henri Kichka created this painting of Disney’s “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” just months before his entire family perished in the Holocaust.
2 months ago

Founders fought against 'elected king' when framing presidential powers: Historians

The Supreme Court's ruling on presidential immunity goes against all of the principles the Constitution's framers pushed for, historians and legal experts argued.
2 months ago
Signing of the Constitution of the USA. 1787.
3 months ago

Survivors of Tulsa Race Massacre call on Biden to open investigation into 1921 attack

Attorneys for the two remaining survivors of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre are calling on President Joe Biden to open an investigation into the massacre.
3 months ago
Owner of Ben's Chili Bowl Virginia Ali and Queen Mother and Founder of the VFF Foundation, Viola Ford Fletcher attend the Oldest Living Tulsa Oklahoma Massacre Survivors Celebrated And Book Cover Revealing at The City Club of Washington on Feb.28, 2023 in Washington, DC.
3 months ago

Celebrating the American spirit in Minneapolis

"GMA" explores Saint Anthony Main, its history and gets a lesson in swing dancing.
3 months ago
VIDEO: Celebrating the American spirit in Minneapolis
3 months ago

Last 2 survivors from Tulsa Race Massacre move forward in reparations fight

The two remaining Tulsa Race Massacre survivors, Viola Fletcher, 110, and Lessie Benningfield Randle, 109, continue to pursue reparations after the Oklahoma Supreme Court dismissed their case.
3 months ago
VIDEO: Last two survivors from Tulsa Race Massacre move forward in reparations fight
3 months ago

Tulsa Race Massacre survivors call on Biden to open investigation into massacre

Attorneys for the two remaining survivors of the massacre are calling to open an investigation after the Oklahoma Supreme Court decided to dismiss the survivors’ lawsuit that sought reparations.
3 months ago
Attorneys for the two remaining survivors of the massacre are calling to open an investigation after the Oklahoma Supreme Court decided to dismiss the survivors’ lawsuit that sought reparations.
3 months ago

55 years later, Stonewall uprising veteran reflects on LGBTQ progress

The Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center, which opened to the public Friday, is the first LGBTQ visitor center in the National Park Service.
3 months ago
Stonewall Pioneer and Founding Partner of the Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center Mark Segal was 18 years old when he took part in the Stonewall Uprising in 1969.
3 months ago

What scientists learned from a skull of a Neanderthal child with Down syndrome

Fossils from the skull of a Neanderthal child that likely had Down syndrome shed light into the communal caregiving that likely aided in the child's survival.
3 months ago
Fossilized fragments from a Neanderthal child’s ear bear congenital malformations that are consistent with Down Syndrome, researchers say.
3 months ago

Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson speaks out on racism he experienced playing in Alabama

Being back at Rickwood Field brought back painful memories for MLB Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson, who detailed the racism he experienced there.
3 months ago
Baseball legend Reggie Jackson attends the 18th Annual Harold and Carole Pump Foundation Gala at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on Aug. 10, 2018 in Beverly Hills, Calif.
3 months ago

Ancient fossil of crocodile-like reptile discovered in Brazil

Parvosuchus aurelioi dates back 237 million years and is the first small, predatory reptile of its kind to be found in Brazil.
3 months ago
Parvosuchus aurelioi dates back 237 million years and is the first small, predatory reptile of its kind to be found in Brazil.
3 months ago

Paleontologists discover fossils of new crocodile-like reptile species

Paleontologists have discovered a new species of ancient crocodile-like reptile that once roamed the lands and waters of Brazil.
3 months ago
Artistic reconstruction of two individuals of Parvosuchus aurelioi in a Triassic landscape.
3 months ago

New horned dinosaur species discovered

Lokiceratops rangiformis lived about 78 million years ago, researchers said.
3 months ago
Lokiceratops rangiformis lived about 78 million years ago, researchers said.
3 months ago

Researchers find new dinosaur species that is 'largest and most ornate' of its kind

Researchers have discovered a new, giant-horned species of dinosaur named Lokiceratops rangiformis that they say is the "largest and more ornate" of its kind ever found.
3 months ago
Reconstruction of Lokiceratops surprised by a crocodilian in the 78-million-year-old swamps of northern Montana, USA.
3 months ago

Rare ‘blue room’ unearthed in ancient city of Pompeii 

The ornate room would have been used for ritual activities or storing sacred objects, according to the Archaeological Parks of Pompeii.
3 months ago
The ornate room would have been used for ritual activities or storing sacred objects, according to the Archaeological Parks of Pompeii.
3 months ago

Pompeii excavation unveils rare 'blue room' believed to be an ancient shrine

The room has been interpreted as a sacrarium, or a Roman sanctuary.
3 months ago
A new room in the central area of the ancient city of Pompeii, Italy emerged during excavations on May 2024. The room, which measures about 8 square meters, is painted blue and interpretable as a sacrarium, or a space dedicated to ritual activities and the storage of sacred objects.
3 months ago

3 young boys and dad uncover rare dinosaur bones

The Fisher family discovered the bones uring a hike in North Dakota’s Badlands.
3 months ago
VIDEO: 3 young boys and dad uncover rare dinosaur bones
3 months ago

8 members of Congress parachute jump over Normandy for D-Day anniversary

They jumped out of the same planes that flew over Normandy 80 years ago.
3 months ago
They jumped out of the same planes that flew over Normandy 80 years ago.
3 months ago

9 members of Congress parachute jump over Normandy for D-Day anniversary

A group of American lawmakers honored the sacrifices of World War II veterans who took part in D-Day with a parachute jump Friday morning.
3 months ago
Rep. Mike Waltz shares a selfie showing preparation for a commemorative parachute jump to mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day in Normandy, France June 7, 2024.
3 months ago

80th anniversary of historic D-Day invasion

American heroes who changed the course of history are returning to the beaches of Normandy and are met with gratitude for their sacrifice 80 years later.
3 months ago
VIDEO:  80th anniversary of historic D-Day invasion
3 months ago

Last heroes of Normandy

ABC News’ David Muir talks with some of the brave American soldiers who stormed the beaches of Normandy.
3 months ago
VIDEO:  Last heroes of Normandy
3 months ago

Biden marks 80th D-Day anniversary in Normandy

The president attended a ceremony at the Normandy American Cemetery.
3 months ago
President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden arrive with French President Emmanuel Macron, and wife Brigitte Macron for a commemorative ceremony to mark D-Day 80th anniversary, June 6, 2024 at the US cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer, Normandy.
3 months ago

Biden to join other world leaders in D-Day ceremony in Normandy

President Biden will also attend a ceremony at the American Military Cemetery in Colleville-Sur-Mer and will meet with U.S. WWII vets who made the trip to France as well.
3 months ago
VIDEO: Biden to join other world leaders in D-Day ceremony in Normandy
3 months ago

Military service members make 1st return to Normandy 80 years after D-Day

Plus, President Joe Biden and other world leaders gather in Normandy, France, to honor the incredible servicemen who landed on the beaches eight decades ago.
3 months ago
VIDEO: Military service members make 1st return to Normandy 80 years after D-Day
3 months ago

Biden visits France to commemorate 80th anniversary of D-Day

President Joe Biden plans to tour the hallowed ground near the beaches where more than 150,000 Allied troops began liberating Europe of Nazi control.
3 months ago
VIDEO: Biden visits France to commemorate 80th anniversary of D-Day
3 months ago

WWII veterans visit Omaha Beach to mark 80th anniversary of D-Day

American Airlines flew 68 World War II veterans to France to remember the fateful day.
3 months ago
VIDEO: WWII veterans visit Omaha Beach to mark 80th anniversary of D-Day
3 months ago

Women veterans return to Normandy for 80th D-Day anniversary

A group of 68 World War II veterans have returned to Normandy in France to commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day.
3 months ago
A group of U.S. World War II veterans, including three women, traveled to the Normandy region of France to commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day.