The King Center preserves and advances Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy

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.

Creating Martin Luther King Jr. Day took 15 years of political advocacy

After Dr. King’s assassination, activists—including his wife Coretta Scott King—spent 15 years pushing Congress to create a federal holiday in his honor, facing repeated resistance before it was finally signed into law in 1983.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. shifted his focus toward economic justice in his final years

In the late 1960s, Dr. King increasingly emphasized economic inequality, labor rights, and poverty, culminating in the Poor People’s Campaign, which argued that civil rights gains were incomplete without financial security.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. developed a disciplined philosophy of nonviolence

Dr. King defined nonviolence as a discipline: resistance to injustice, love over hate, redemptive suffering, and faith in justice—drawing moral guidance from the Christian Gospel and strategic methods from Mahatma Gandhi.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. survived a near-fatal assassination attempt in 1958

In 1958, Dr. King was stabbed in the chest by a woman at a Harlem book signing. The blade lodged near his aorta, requiring emergency surgery to save his life.

Watch the full video of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s 'I Have a Dream Speech'

Delivered at the 1963 March on Washington, Dr. King’s speech tied civil rights demands to America’s founding ideals. It helped shape public memory of the movement before a crowd of more than 250,000 and millions watching nationwide.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was an avid fan of Star Trek

Dr. King praised the show’s vision of an integrated future and convinced African-American actress Nichelle Nichols to remain on the show, arguing her role offered a rare, powerful image of racial equality on American television.

Hear about the violent week after Dr. Martin Luther King’s assassination

This podcast from The Atlantic revisits the seven days after Dr. King was killed in 1968, when widespread violent unrest swept the country and reshaped the direction and legacy of the Civil Rights movement.

The Black cultural renaissance happened in places other than Harlem

Although the Harlem Renaissance is often cited as the singular Black arts movement of the early 20th century, similar cultural movements were occurring concurrently in other American cities. Places like Kansas City, Washington, DC, and Roanoke, Virginia, also had innovative Black cultural scenes.

A digital archive of the Korean War

The Korean War largely shaped the evolution of the Cold War in Asia. Explore the Wilson Center’s digital collection of primary sources—including essays, profiles, popular documents, and a timeline—to learn about the Korean War. In 1945, the...

See how the National Archives protects America's founding documents

This "60 Minutes" segment takes viewers behind the scenes at the National Archives, showcasing how experts use conservation science, security, and technology to preserve cornerstone records—such as the original Declaration of Independence—for future generations.

Tracking Georgia O’Keeffe paintings across America

Explore different significant locations where the painter’s works have lived, including the White House, from 1997 to 2004. Pick a nearby museum to witness the masterpieces up close.

Richard Allen founded the African Methodist Episcopal Church in 1794 after he was pulled from his knees during prayer

Born into slavery, Richard Allen left St. George's Methodist Episcopal Church when he and other Black congregants faced segregation and discrimination. He then established Bethel AME Church, which became the first congregation of one of the oldest and largest Black denominations in the world.

Nina Simone's childhood home was preserved in 2017

Four visual artists purchased the home in Troy, North Carolina, in 2017 to preserve it as an arts space. The house is where Simone, a jazz legend and a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, learned to play piano.

Kansas has been home to the Museum of Deaf History, Arts & Culture since 2001

The Museum of Deaf History, Arts and Culture—a small, independent museum—documents discrimination against the deaf and the unique culture and history of people with hearing loss in the US.

Explore (digitally) the Computer History Museum

When IBM’s Deep Blue supercomputer won its famous chess rematch with then world champion Garry Kasparov in May 1997, the victory was hailed far and wide as a triumph of artificial intelligence. But John McCarthy—the man who coined the term and pioneered the field of AI research—didn’t see it that way. An obituary about McCarthy—who passed in 2001—and his ideas.

King's books are now taught by college professors

Stephen King’s horror, fantasy, and science fiction were once considered lowbrow and unworthy of serious academic study. That's changed over the last 50 years, with King courses and symposiums taking place at universities around the world.

Hear leading experts on constitutional law discuss the legacy and impact of Marshall

In this podcast, constitutional scholars Michael Gerhardt (University of North Carolina) and Kevin Walsh (University of Richmond) analyze Marshall's 34-year tenure, assessing his role in establishing judicial review, expanding federal power, and shaping the court's institutional authority.

The Internet Archive is a nonprofit digital library of the Web

Founded in 1996, the Archive promotes open access and the digital preservation of online information and, as of 2026, contains more than 200 petabytes of content, including over one trillion web pages, 56 million books and texts, 13 million audio recordings, 1.3 million software programs, and other digital content.

The death of Dale Earnhardt Sr. at the 2001 Daytona 500 is credited with sparking a safety revolution in NASCAR

NASCAR shifted to a safety-first culture and in 2002 opened a research and development center to focus on safety innovation. No driver has died in NASCAR’s top three series since Earnhardt’s death.

Read Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan Zuckerberg's $45B letter to their daughter

After giving birth to their daughter, the Zuckerbergs launched the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative in 2015. The pair announced the charitable organization's creation in a letter addressed to their daughter. The Zuckerbergs pledged 99% of their earnings from Facebook over the course of their lives to advance education, cure disease, and transform public policy, something the letter says is a commitment to their daughter's future. The organization has since shifted its focus to artificial intelligence and science.

The 1941 Atlantic Charter was a World War II alliance and model for the UN

The Atlantic Charter was a pivotal 1941 agreement between Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill, outlining shared goals for a post-World War II world rooted in freedom and self-determination. These ideals later inspired the founding principles of the United Nations.

Comic‑Con’s founders showed up at Jack Kirby’s house—and he agreed to attend their first event

In 1969, Shel Dorf and fellow organizers made a pivotal trip to legendary artist Jack Kirby’s Irvine, California, home. After personally inviting Dorf, Kirby not only committed to the inaugural 1970 San Diego Golden State Comic-Minicon, but also advised expanding beyond comics—a key to San Diego Comic-Con's lasting success.

The story of hospice and its founder, Dame Cicely Saunders

Dame Cicely Saunders founded St. Christopher's in 1967, the first modern hospice. Hospice is a healthcare movement focused on providing compassionate, holistic end-of-life services on the dying and their loved ones. A colleague of Saunders, Mary Baines, was interviewed in 2005 to discuss her experience alongside the founder and the growth of the movement.

A history of the Masters Champions' Dinner, an annual golf tradition

The Masters Champions' Dinner is an annual tradition celebrated the Tuesday before the tournament begins. The previous year's champion sets the menu, leading to a history of eclectic meals. This resource from Today's Golfer provides a brief history of the tradition and then details every menu since 1986. It's an interesting window into the tastes of professional athletes (Tiger Woods, apparently, loves chicken fingers!) and the less-than-healthy habits from the sport's past.

Legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright designed the SC Johnson headquarters in Wisconsin, aiming to make a cathedral-like workplace

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

The US Constitution is widely regarded as the longest-standing written national constitution still in force—see how it has influenced rights worldwide.

A small portion of The Winstons' 'Amen, Brother,' an obscure '60s gospel record, is the basis for thousands of hip-hop tracks, making it one of the most sampled records ever that's informally known as 'the Amen break.'

70 years ago today, city officials in Santa Cruz, California, banned rock 'n' roll to protect its youth from corruption after witnessing a 'provocative' concert the night before.

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

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.

Exploring the Larry Bird punch that almost changed March Madness

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.

The rivalry between Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson centered on federalism—the question of how much power the federal government should hold relative to the states.

After NASA's Voyager 1 captured Earth as a single pixel as it left the solar system in 1990, astronomer Carl Sagan used the image to reflect on humanity's fragility and the responsibility to protect 'the only world we've ever known.'

As of 2025, the most cited papers in science include a review of graphene, methods to improve image recognition, streamlining electron density calculations, and optimizing protein studies.

Jimmy Carter signed a 1978 bill that legalized home brewing, a move credited with kick-starting the craft beer industry.

The identity of the Tank Man in the iconic photo from the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests remains unknown and was possibly killed.

Researchers believe the brain consolidates memories, processes emotions, and plans for the future during dream states

Venture capital is a form of funding provided to early-stage companies with high growth potential, typically in exchange for an equity (or ownership) stake

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

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.

This site reaches millions of visitors who are tired of AI chatbots and seeking human connection. Pretend to be an AI chatbot and ask questions, provide answers, and draw for people in real time.

The Brothers Grimm were lawyers before they were storytellers, and became interested in fairy tales as they began investigating how rules and customs had been passed down through cultures.

In recent years a child anxiety expert has created and tested a novel phobia and anxiety treatment approach for children, focused on changing how parents respond to the fears.

Ebola infects and disables immune cells, triggering a cascade of events that leads to small blood clots throughout the body, weakening blood vessels and interrupting blood flow to key organs.

The first steps to rebuilding your credit score include getting to know exactly what's on your credit report and figuring out how far you are from the '700 club,' or 'good score' range.

'Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone,' a work by American painter Thomas Moran, inspired Congress to establish Yellowstone National Park.

See photos of Meteora, a mountainous site in central Greece, home to 14th-century monasteries perched atop soaring outcroppings.