Join Smithsonian Libraries on a journey to Fantastic Worlds: Science and Fiction, 1780-1910 a new exhibition opening to the public July 1, 2015 in the Smithsonian Libraries Gallery in the newly renovated wing of the National Museum of American History. Click here for a preview.
In this plate from Benjamin Franklin's, Œuvres de M. Franklin, Docteur des loix . . . , 1773, "Portrait of Benjamin Franklin," the great man looks contemplative as a storm rages more »
The radio was patented by Guglielmo Marconi n 1896. But the "invention" of radio has its roots in the experiments of many, including Nikola Tesla, Thomas Edison and Michael Faraday, just more »
Leonardo da Vinci diagrammed one of the first parachutes designed in the late 15th century. Since Leonardo da Vinci was a well-known polymath, artist, and engineer, many reference questions about him have come to more »