The famous Paris opera house known as the Opera Garnier is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year. Emperor Napoleon III commissioned the building in the 1850s but would never see its completion.

This media is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions). You can copy, modify, and distribute this work without contacting the Smithsonian. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's ...

Born in Cayenne, French Guiana, to an emancipated slave mother, Thomas Ismaÿl Urbain became one of France’s most influential figures during its Second Empire. An adviser to Napoleon III and the ...

This media is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions). You can copy, modify, and distribute this work without contacting the Smithsonian. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's ...