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Pauline Cushman masqueraded as a Southern woman in search of her lost brother to gain access to a Confederate camp in Tennessee.
spies

A Struggling Actress’s Greatest Role Was as a Real Civil War Spy

Pauline Cushman’s contributions to U.S. war efforts earned her the honorary title of “Major.”
April White March 8, 2022
Josefine Guerrero carried a map of the minefields in the north of occupied Manila to approaching U.S. troops.
spies

The Invisible, Afflicted Spy Who Led the U.S. Army Into Occupied Manila

As a woman with leprosy, Josefina Guerrero was ignored by Japanese forces as she carried messages of resistance in World War II.
April White March 7, 2022
politics

The Forgotten Female Revolutionaries Behind Latin American Independence

Perhaps fiercest of all was Manuela Sáenz—spy, archivist, prankster, and companion of Simón Bolívar.
Sarah Durn March 1, 2022
William "Dangerous Dan" Fairbairn's "pistol house" was a new type of training for Americans preparing for a new kind of war.
islands

A Year in Wacky History, from Renaissance “Hell Banquets” to Georgia’s Muddy Spring Rites

Our favorite history stories inspire your sense of wonder.
Sarah Durn December 30, 2021
Also known as the "house of horrors," the house tested close combat skills and "the moral fiber of the student," Fairbairn said.
military history

The Haunted Houses Designed to Scare Spooks

These WWII-era “houses of horrors” trained American spies for combat using cardboard Nazis.
April White October 28, 2021
Everton, England

RAF Tempsford Memorial Barn

Set amid the remains of a secret WWII airfield, this barn was preserved as a memorial to Allied agents who parachuted into Europe.
Video • Object of Intrigue

A Former CIA Chief of Disguise Shows Off a Five-Second Mask

3:59
The bust of Violette Szabo.
London, England

S.O.E. Monument

A bronze bust commemorates the heroism of the secret agents who led covert operations against the Nazis.
Confinement cell.
Vilnius, Lithuania

Museum of Occupations and Freedom Fights

This former KGB building is now a museum memorializing the people who suffered during the Soviet regime.
objects of intrigue

A CIA-Issued Rectal Tool Kit for Spies

This imaginative gadget was designed to get operatives out of difficult situations.
Lizzie Philip January 24, 2019
Isokon Apartments.
London, England

Isokon Flats

An exercise in radical design and social living that became the epicenter of Soviet spy networks in London.
The guard tower.
Minneapolis, Minnesota

Thorp Building Navy Guard Towers

During World War II the Thorp building was guarded by the OSS, FBI, and US Navy because of the top-secret bombsight being produced there.
Base of the lamp post; the small door can be seen towards the top of the photo.
London, England

Audley Square Spy Lamp Post

This overlooked street light once served as a KGB dead letter box.
The interior of this control tower was a mimic of an aircraft carrier ops room.
Crail, Scotland

Crail Airfield

Soviet intelligence had a keen interest in the Cold War linguistic school at this old Scottish airfield.
Spies may have used fake teeth, but did any of them have cyanide in them?
suicide

The Cyanide Tooth Is a Cold War Fairy-Tale

The popular spy movie trope would have been a rather risky thing to carry around in your mouth.
Eric Grundhauser April 11, 2018
Plaque close-up.
New York, New York

Nathan Hale Hanging Site

A plaque immortalizes the spot where the early American spy said his famous last words: "I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country."
The small window looks more like a crack in the wall.
Hull, England

England's Smallest Window

What looks like missing grout is actually an old pub's peephole.
Robert Lawrence, Jr. was chosen to serve in the MOL, an Air Force space program.
space exploration

Remembering the Groundbreaking Life of the First Black Astronaut

Robert Lawrence Jr.'s accomplishments are finally being recognized.
Ashawnta Jackson December 11, 2017