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In the U.S. Senate's sculpture collection, there are plenty of busts of instantly recognizable historical figures such as Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln. But enshrined alongside them, there's also the lushly-bearded, bowtie-wearing likeness of an obscure 19th Century Italian-American artist.

The great surge of Italian immigration to the U.S., which began in the 1880s and lasted until 1920, brought about four million Italians to this country.

The American Experience film The Forgotten Plague details the impact of Tuberculosis on American society. TB was a problem everywhere. But, the disease hit few places as hard as it hit Washington, D.C.

It may be cold outside, but even if your nose and extremities might suggest otherwise, we're likely a fair ways off from the all-time record low temperature in Washington. That distinction goes to February 11, 1899. Around 7 a.m.

In 1964, Washington, D.C. was the site of the only known in-person meeting between Malcolm X and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., which was significant considering the two leaders' very public differences on approaches to the civil rights movement.

In January 1943, with World War II raging, Major League Baseball commissioner Kennesaw Mountain Landis issued a mandate that teams must conduct spring training close to home rather than traveling South. The ruling sent the Washington Senators scrambling to find new digs, but they didn't have to look far.

When President John F. Kennedy addressed the nation on October 22, 1962, informing American citizens of Soviet missile sites in Cuba, he didn’t know that the months-long scare he referred to would be over just six days later.

East Arlington and Queen City were two tight-knit African American communities that forged a strong and independent existence despite the perils of Jim Crow.

Frances Few, of a prominent New York family, spent the winter of 1808-1809 in Washington, D.C. with her aunt. She had a lot to say! Initially, Few was very pleased with the city and its parties. But as the 19-year-old’s stay wore on, she was decidedly less impressed with the city and its politics.