You can read First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis' will online

Jacqueline Kennedy transformed the White House into a museum of American history

Between 1961 and 1963, first lady Jacqueline Kennedy oversaw a dramatic restoration of the White House, furnishing rooms with authentic antiques, founding the White House Historical Association, and securing congressional protection for the White House's historic interiors.

Maya Angelou's 1993 recitation of 'On the Pulse of Morning' at President Bill Clinton's inauguration was a historic event

After Robert Frost in 1961, Angelou became the second poet in history to read a poem at a presidential inauguration. She was also the first African American and woman. The poem includes themes of change, inclusion, and the responsibility of both the President and citizens to create success in a country.

JFK appointed Roosevelt to chair the President's Commission on the Status of Women

Established in 1961, the commission issued a landmark report in 1963 exposing widespread discrimination against women in employment and government.

See checks signed by US presidents

One bank has made it a point to conserve checks from US presidents. Peruse this gallery of signed checks from Washington, FDR, JFK, Lincoln, and more.

'Few will have the greatness to bend history itself, but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total of all those acts will be written the history of this generation.'

- Senator Robert F. Kennedy (1925–1968)

Watch President John F. Kennedy's speech on going to the moon

On Sept. 12, 1962, President John F. Kennedy set forth this argument for the effort to land humans on the moon’s surface, casting the Apollo mission in terms of historic human ambitions.

The 25th Amendment clarified presidential succession and disability after JFK's assassination

Ratified in 1967, the 25th Amendment established procedures for replacing a vice president and transferring power when a president is incapacitated. It was designed to prevent leadership crises like those exposed after President Kennedy's death.

Eleanor Roosevelt's son wrote mystery novels starring his mother

Elliott Roosevelt wrote 20 novels about a fictional version of his mother, an amateur detective. Titles included "Murder and the First Lady," "The White House Pantry Murder," and "New Deal for Death."

The Wright brothers' sister hyped their work, and was the only one to attend college

Katharine Wright became the de facto household caretaker after their mother, Susan, died, when Katharine was 15. After graduating from Oberlin, Katharine took over household duties so her father and brothers could work. She promoted their work in the US and abroad.

It’s not always clear whether a will or a trust is the best for an individual estate

While trusts are typically more expensive to set up than a will, they also help beneficiaries avoid specific types of taxes, depending on the type of trust. Wills typically go through probate, whereas trusts do not. An article offers a list of questions to consider when deciding between the two.

O’Keeffe’s relationship with a younger Juan Hamilton caused controversy

Juan Hamilton was broke, divorced and 27 years old when he met an 85-year-old O’Keeffe to ask for a job. She eventually gave him one, and they developed a close friendship and artistic partnership, while also fueling rumors of a romantic relationship. After she died, he received her house and a large portion of her estate.

Browse Emily Dickinson's original handwritten poems

Harvard's Emily Dickinson Archive offers free access to the poet's papers from over a dozen libraries, allowing you to see the original drafts of some of her most famous works, sometimes scribbled on envelopes and scraps of paper. (And, even better, you can search the database by typing in your favorite lines!)

Was the Gettysburg Address written on the back of an envelope?

Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, wrote his famed Gettysburg Address on a train car. Actually, he had a version of it ready a few days before. Well, really, he came up with it on the spot. Rumors about the speech's creation abound. This 1909 article walks readers through evidence Lincoln's speech was carefully planned and written in Washington, DC (in pencil).

Hear Abigail Adams' 1786 letters—reporting from London on politics and society

This podcast brings to life a letter Abigail wrote to her son John Quincy in February 1786, reporting from London on dinners with wealthy South Carolinians and the relationships of her daughter Nabby—with commentary from a Massachusetts Historical Society scholar.

Ella Fitzgerald's life in photos

Iconic jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald is known as the "First Lady of Song" for her timeless performances and major contributions to jazz. Decades later, her songs have more than 100 million plays on Spotify. She collaborated with celebrated photographer Yale Joel, who left behind iconic picture galleries and films of the singer.

A lost Jack Kerouac story was discovered in the belongings of a gunned-down mob boss

The unpublished "The Holy, Beat, and Crazy Next Thing" was found in the belongings of Paul Castellano, who was murdered in 1985. It's unclear why Castellano had it, though an heir says it was originally in the collection of a "noted San Francisco-based poet...who received it directly from the author."

Learn about the life of Coretta Scott King in her own words

Coretta Scott King, married to Martin Luther King Jr. in 1953, was a civil rights leader, author, and organizer who advanced the principles of nonviolence, racial equality, and women’s rights—founding The King Center to promote education and social justice worldwide.

The original copy of the Declaration of Independence is not a pristine document, and even features a smudged anonymous handprint in the bottom left corner.

An online presence provides a means of grieving and honoring individuals after death

Shifting perspectives toward the increasing importance of digital profiles of the dead have made anticipatory management of one's digital legacy more critical. Experts suggest choosing a tech-savvy relative—such as a cousin—over a spouse to reduce confusion about what to preserve or discard, as well as how to access password-protected content.

A selection of author Flannery O'Connor's witty letters

Flannery O'Connor wrote darkly humorous novels while cultivating a richly devout Catholic faith. One of the most renowned American authors of the 20th century, she also wrote many letters in a very charming and witty style. Read a selection of her best epistles here.

Marie Curie's work with radioactive materials left traces on her furniture and notes

Some of Marie Curie's family heirlooms were radioactive and destroyed. Marie and Pierre Curie are entombed in lead coffins to block radiation.

A free archive of firsthand historical documents from explorers of America

Maintained by the Wisconsin Historical Society, the American Journeys collection contains more than 18,000 pages of primary source documents—journals, letters, maps, and accounts written between roughly 1000 CE and the early 1800s. These include eyewitness records of the Norse arrival in North America, Spanish conquistador expeditions, and the Lewis and Clark journey. Browse this list of highlights where pages from the original texts are specified (clicking a link opens a PDF).

View a timeline of Jane Austen's life

Austen was born in 1775 and died in 1817. In that time, she wrote six novels that have gone on to become some of the most celebrated in the English language. This timeline allows you to see the events that shaped her writing, from her informal education at a young age to the illness that eventually took her life.

Hollywood’s best scandals

With all the money, power, and beautiful people in Hollywood, it’s no wonder there’s no shortage of scandals. This list highlights 10 of the most salacious ones, from Marilyn Monroe’s affair with then-president John F. Kennedy, to the mysterious death of starlet Natalie Wood in 1981.

Surprises you may not know about the US Constitution

This article offers intriguing and lesser known insights into the creation and content of the US Constitution. Examples include that Rhode Island disliked the Constitution so much that it almost started a civil war and that Ben Franklin was so ill he needed to be carried into the Constitutional Convention in a sedan chair.

An interview with Laurene Powell Jobs

Steve Jobs is survived by his wife Laurene Powell Jobs, who has spent her career supporting social causes. Powell Jobs said she’s working to distribute the billions of dollars she received from her late husband.

Frank Lloyd Wright's houses are historically hard to sell because they're old, subject to local landmark commissions, and often unfashionable

See the most iconic photos from four decades of LIFE magazine

American short story writer Flannery O'Connor raised 40 peacocks, which became potent symbols for her fiction's elegant violence

The idea for the Federal Reserve was conceived in secret in 1910—with bankers donning duck hunt gear for disguise while traveling to a remote country club on Georgia's Jekyll Island

The Mona Lisa's celebrity status and repeated restorations have obscured what made the painting so revolutionary for its time

Many legends about George Washington, including his supposed wooden teeth and the story of cutting down the cherry tree, lack evidence.

Against his wishes, Albert Einstein's brain was removed before his cremation, and the pathologist responsible stored it for decades in mason jars within a beer cooler.

A researcher recently discovered an interview from 1967 between groundbreaking journalist Joan Didion and the Grateful Dead, years before the band became an institution.

20,000 letters to the advice columnist 'Dear Abby' provide insight into prevailing sex, religion, and LGBTQ fears, anxieties, and concerns from the 1950s onward.

Apollo astronauts left items in the moon's 'toss zone,' including golf balls, family photos, and bags of human waste, to make room for lunar rocks.

A Yale student wrote a profound essay about the consulting industry's influence on elite college students that was published in a book of her writing after she died in a post-graduation car accident.

The first line of 'immortal' human cells, which can divide indefinitely and are used in scientific research, was nonconsensually taken from a Black woman.

American dance legend Martha Graham, sometimes called 'the Picasso of dance,' refused to perform at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin and conceived the piece 'Chronicle' in response to the experience.

Abraham Lincoln was almost assassinated weeks before his inauguration as he traveled from Illinois to DC through Baltimore in 1861; it took two independent claims for Lincoln to be convinced the threat was real

The story of Dollree Mapp, whose legal challenge over her 1957 conviction for possessing "obscene material" led to a major strengthening of the Fourth Amendment

In 1939, baseball star Lou Gehrig delivered his inspirational 'Luckiest Man' speech after retiring due to the health condition that now bears his name.

Walt Disney's early film 'Alice's Wonderland' was a groundbreaking innovation in the silent film era

Learn how to read a prospectus, the juicy document that any company must file with the SEC before going public.

When a Paris department store hesitated to sell Estée Lauder's perfume, she 'accidentally' broke a bottle, causing the smell to spread throughout the store and shoppers to start asking to buy the scent.

Search a massive database of over 4 decades of clues from the TV quiz show 'Jeopardy!'

The US first hosted the World Cup in 1994, a tournament that lives in soccer infamy for its poor planning and the murder of Colombian player Andres Escobar, who'd accidentally scored on his own net.

Objects can be 3D printed with light by projecting 2D computerized tomography (CT) scans onto rotating cylinders of resin, which solidify upon exposure.

Calculate how much of your tax dollars go to each federal program based on your income, filing status, and number of children