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Category: History

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

Out of the Ashes

Posted by: Erin Allen

(The following is an article written by Guy Lamolinara, communications officer for the Center for the Book, featured in the September-October 2012 issue of the Library of Congress Magazine. Aug. 24 was the 200th anniversary of the burning of the Capitol building and the Library.) The story of the phoenix that rises triumphantly from its …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

Abraham Lincoln’s “Blind Memorandum”

Posted by: Erin Allen

(The following is a guest post by Michelle Krowl, a historian in the Library of Congress Manuscript Division.) Could George B. McClellan have become the seventeenth President of the United States? It certainly appeared to be a possibility as Abraham Lincoln assessed the military and political landscape of the United States in the summer of …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

Pic of the Week: En Pointe

Posted by: Erin Allen

Last week, the Library of Congress opened the exhibition “American Ballet Theatre: Touring the Globe for 75 Years,” which highlights the dance company’s distinguished history and its collection here at the Library. Shortly after the opening, ABT alum Sue Knapp-Steen (1969-1974) stopped by to view the exhibition and reminisce on her time as a professional dancer …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

Trending: Happy 100th Birthday, Panama Canal

Posted by: Erin Allen

Aug. 15, 2014, marked the centennial of the completion of the Panama Canal, a 48- mile waterway connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The canal is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Plans by the Panamanian government to celebrate the historic event began more than a year ago. A Panama Canal mobile app was launched …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

Semper Paratus, Always Ready

Posted by: Erin Allen

Most people know the United States Coast Guard as a military branch that provides local maritime safety and law enforcement, with service men and women patrolling America’s shorelines and answering distress calls after boating accidents. However, the USCG has incorporated a number of functions throughout its more than 224-year career as the “oldest, continuously serving …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

Junior Fellows Show Off Summer Finds

Posted by: Erin Allen

(The following is an article written by Rosemary Girard, intern in the Library of Congress Office of Communications, for the Library staff newsletter, The Gazette.) After weeks of researching, curating and unearthing some of the Library of Congress’s millions of artifacts, members of the Junior Fellows Program had a chance to present their most interesting …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

See It Now: Historians Discuss Significance of President Harding’s Letters

Posted by: Erin Allen

The Library of Congress will open a collection of approximately 1,000 pages of love letters between 29th U.S. President Warren G. Harding and his mistress, Carrie Fulton Phillips, on Tuesday, July 29. The collection has been locked in a vault in the Manuscript Division since its donation in 1972. The letters were written between 1910 …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

InRetrospect: June 2014 Blogging Edition

Posted by: Erin Allen

The Library of Congress blogosphere helped beat the heat in June with a variety of engaging posts. Here are a sampling: In the Muse: Performing Arts Blog Connecting to Samuel Barber: A Young Musician’s Connection to a Musical Manuscript Music Division intern Rachael Sanguinetti talks about her appreciation of the composer’s works. Inside Adams: Science, …