Explore America and discover people, places, art, and history that connect to Arizona in the Smithsonian’s collections, held in trust for the American people. Arizona is home to magnificent natural sites such as the Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, and the Petrified Forest. Tombstone is famous for the legendary Gunfight at the OK Corral in 1881. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory’s largest satellite facility, the Fred Lawerence Whipple Observatory, is in Arizona. In 1930 in Flagstaff, Pluto was discovered by astronomer Clyde Tombaugh. Hoover Dam was completed in 1935 and is as tall as a 60-story building. It holds back the largest man-made lake in the U.S. and is a National Historic Landmark.
Sandra Day O’Connor grew up on an Arizona cattle ranch and was the first woman to become a U.S. Supreme Court Justice. The late Senator and presidential nominee John McCain represented Arizona in Congress for more than 35 years. R. C. Gorman (Diné [Navajo], 1931-2005) was born in Arizona, and he revitalized the art scene of Taos, New Mexico, opening the first Native American-owned art gallery in the city in the late 1960s. Linda Ronstadt, often called the First Lady of Rock, was born in Tucson and began her career in the mid-’60s with the emerging folk rock and country rock movements.
