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Celebrating 250 years of America’s history, we reflect on its journey from independence in 1776 to global influence. Through resilience and progress, the U.S. has faced challenges, fought for equality, and shaped a diverse nation, committed to liberty, justice, and unity. Join us on this exciting journey through 250 years of progress and keep visiting HISTORY.com for more stories of breakthrough innovations, major achievements, and unsung heroes that have shaped the nation.

HISTORY Honors 250

a photo of Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha

The Inventor Who Streamlined Computers with the USB Plug
a photo of Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha

The Hollywood Actress Who Invented WiFi
a photo of Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha

Grace Hopper Pioneers Computer Programming
a photo of Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha

The Birth of the Internet
a photo of Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha

The Pediatrician Who Exposed the Flint Water Crisis

a photo of Theodore Roosevelt on a camping trip

How a Camping Trip Created our National Parks
a photo portrait of former astronaut Jim Lovell in astronaut uniform

How Apollo 13 Found Its Way Home
a photo of kitty o'neill collaged with her automobile

Kitty O'Neil becomes "The Fastest Woman in the World"
a black-and-white photo of Farouk El-Baz, the egyptian scientist and geologist who helped NASA plan the Apollo program

The Man Who Let Humans Touch the Moon
a photo of President Ronald Reagan and First Lady Nancy Reagan signing an easter egg with a person in an Easter Bunny next to them and children all around them

The White House Easter Egg Roll
a black-and-white photo of J.C.R. Licklider at the desk of another man working at a computer

Yellowstone National Park Act establishes first US National Park
a black-and-white photo of J.C.R. Licklider at the desk of another man working at a computer

The Women Soldiers of the Civil War
a portrait of charles young, the first african american colonel in the U.S. Army

A Trailblazing Soldier Helps Build A National Park
a painting of enslaved americans

How Enslaved People Observed Ramadan in Secret
a photograph of the wright brothers and sister with the president

The Wright Brothers' Sister Was the Secret to Their Success
a man dressed in traditional irish regalia with bap pipes

St. Patrick's Day and the American Revolution
activists protesting in washington, d.c.

Disabled Activists Crawl Up the Steps of the Capitol

a photo of protestors marching peacefully during a March to Washington

Freedom Summer 1964
a collage of photos of troops taking a break and drinking coffee in the trenches and on battlefields

How Coffee Fueled American Troops in WWII
a photo of georgia gilmore, a black woman who led a clandestine group of women feeding the montgomery bus boycott protestors

How One Woman Fed the Montgomery Bus Boycott
a portrait of Harry S. Truman in a collage with images of civil rights activists

Why Harry Truman Ended Segregation in the US Military in 1948
a photo of president barrack obama shaking hands with donald trump in 2017. a peaceful transfer of power between administrations

Turning Over the White House

Coming Soon

Kevin Costner's The West logo

The new HISTORY® Channel original series premieres Memorial Day at 9/8c and streams the next day.

Watch A Trailer

Read: 'Kevin Costner's The West' and 'Sitting Bull'

a painting of a covered wagon traversing the west

9 Things You May Not Know About the Oregon Trail
a painting of Joaquín Murrieta on a horse

Untangling the Legend of Joaquín Murrieta, One of California’s Most Storied Outlaws
a painting of the people fighting in a western down during the civil war era

How Bleeding Kansas Led to the Civil War
a painting of john brown attacking

John Brown
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Native American History
a photo of a native american leader

Native American History Timeline
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Sitting Bull
a photo of a native american leader

10 Things You May Not Know About Sitting Bull
a photo of a native american leader

Native American Leaders: A Timeline
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Caroline Weldon: A White Woman’s Doomed Effort to Save Sitting Bull
a photo of a native american leader

The Unlikely Alliance Between Buffalo Bill and Sitting Bull

Black History: Heroes, Icons and Events

761st Tank Battalion: The Original Black Panthers

A Distant Shore: African Americans Of D-Day

Tuskegee Airmen: Legacy of Courage

Black Patriots: Heroes of the Revolution

Black Patriots: Heroes of the Civil War

Black Patriots: Buffalo Soldiers

Tulsa Burning: The 1921 Race Massacre

Fight the Power: The Movements That Changed America

Rise Up: The Movement that Changed America

After Jackie

Triumph: Jesse Owens and the Berlin Olympics

Can't Turn Us Around: Alabama's Foot Soldiers

Coming Soon

Sitting Bull logo

The new documentary event premieres Tuesday, May 27 at 9/8c and streams the next day

Watch A Trailer

Read: History All Around Us

Madam C.J. Walker (Credit: Michael Ochs Archive/Getty Images)

How Madam C.J. Walker Became a Self‑Made Millionaire

How Nations Have Spied from the Sky

How Nations Have Spied from the Sky

a closeup of the hands of a man with smallpox

How an Enslaved African Man in Boston Helped Save Generations from Smallpox

The Post World War II Boom: How America Got Into Gear (Frank Scherschel/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images)

The Post World War II Boom: How America Got Into Gear

Memorial to Harriet Tubman in Boston, Massachusetts.

After the Underground Railroad, Harriet Tubman Led a Brazen Civil War Raid

Greensboro Sit-In (Atlanta Journal-Constitution/AP Photo)

How the Greensboro Four Sit‑In Sparked a Movement
Workers working high atop the empire state building during its construction (Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images)

How the Empire State Building Was Built in Record Time

Rosalind Elsie Franklin. (Credit: Universal History Archive/Getty Images)

Rosalind Franklin’s Overlooked Role in the Discovery of DNA’s Structure

J. Garis Cochrane and her patent for a dishwasher (U.S. Patent Office)

Who Invented the Dishwasher?

Niagara Falls (DeAgostini/Getty Images)

Why (and How) Engineers Drained Niagara Falls in 1969