Today in History, in Six Minutes

Napoleon hoped to keep Wellington's army and Blücher's Prussians apart. Two days after defeat at Ligny, the Prussians were still marching toward Waterloo. This episode follows the ridge, the defended farms, the Imperial Guard's failed final attack and...

Ford Motor Company began in a converted Detroit carriage factory, with a car to sell and a bank balance that was shrinking fast. Its original articles and early checkbook show a more uncertain beginning than the familiar Model T story suggests. Henry...

Student mourning grew into demands for reform. On the night of 3–4 June 1989, Chinese troops advanced into central Beijing and opened fire on civilians. This six-minute history follows the documented sequence and explains why many deaths occurred on...

Frozen boots delayed Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay before their final Everest climb. This Today in History episode follows John Hunt's 1953 expedition, the earlier pair who turned back, the high-camp support team and the two climbers who reached...

On 21 May 1927, Charles Lindbergh brought the Spirit of St. Louis down at Le Bourget after the first solo, nonstop Atlantic crossing. A Smithsonian-sourced look at the cramped aircraft, the long navigation and the crowd waiting in Paris. This episode...