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Posted by: Heather Thomas
Holidays at the White House have evolved over the years from intimate family gatherings to national celebrations, ranging from an indoor snowball fight between grandchildren, to a first lady ride on a cherry picker! Discover how U.S. Presidents of the past celebrated Christmas. “Old Hickory,” President Andrew Jackson, threw an elaborate party for his grandchildren …
Posted in: Digitized Newspapers, Holidays, Newspapers, U.S. Presidents
Posted by: Heather Thomas
“Onstage, she looks as regal and exotic as a Russian princess; offstage, she is as American as wampum and apple pie,” cheered TIME magazine about prima ballerina Maria Tallchief in 1951. One of the most celebrated Native American women of the 20th century, Tallchief was the first American dancer in the history of ballet to earn …
Posted in: Biography, Digitized Newspapers, Native American History, Newspapers, Sports, Women's History
Posted by: Heather Thomas
Diabolical and prolific serial killers existed early in America at a time when police were still devising investigative methods to link related murders. Newspapers reported the gory details of their crimes to a terrified, yet fascinated public.
Posted in: Crime, Digitized Newspapers, Newspapers
Posted by: Heather Thomas
For centuries, be it by diving, tightrope, barrel, or rubber ball, there have been those willing to risk their lives for fame and fortune at the majestic and powerful Niagara Falls. Some of them miraculously survive, often narrowly escaping catastrophe. While others end up paying the ultimate price for their stunt with their lives.
Posted in: Digitized Newspapers, Newspapers
Posted by: Heather Thomas
It was the result of pure serendipity—a deadly assassin impeded by casual effects. Ordinary items that were unintentionally but strategically placed by the victim in a breast pocket that blocked the course of an otherwise lethal bullet.
Posted in: Crime, Digitized Newspapers, Newspapers, U.S. Presidents
Posted by: Heather Thomas
This is a guest post by Michelle Strizever, photography and digital content specialist in the Office of Art and Archives of the U.S. House of Representatives, and contains information from An Annual Outing: The Congressional Baseball Game. What began as a casual game among colleagues has evolved into one of Congress’s most anticipated annual pastimes. …
Posted in: Baseball, Digitized Newspapers, Newspapers, Sports
Posted by: Heather Thomas
Monkeys and woodchucks and cats, oh my! Discover all the critters great and small who made their contribution to the history of aeronautics. A gray tabby named Kiddo was the first cat to attempt to cross the Atlantic in 1910. The cat stowed away in a lifeboat on the airship America before takeoff, leading to the …
Posted in: Animals, Digitized Newspapers, Newspapers
Posted by: Heather Thomas
Don’t take candy from strangers. Little Charley Ross, the first missing child to make national headlines, made that mistake. During the summer of 1874, two men in a horse-drawn buggy pulled into an affluent neighborhood in Philadelphia and befriended two little boys who were playing in front of their stately home. For five days in …
Posted in: Crime, Digitized Newspapers, Mystery, Newspapers
Posted by: Heather Thomas
They dug up the body in the dead of night. Men armed with shovels and pickaxes extracted the coffin and fled into the October darkness. Authorities gave chase until the body snatchers’ wagon raced over King’s Bridge and into Manhattan. Thus began the saga of the remains of Thomas Paine. At the end of the …
Posted in: Digitized Newspapers, Mystery, Newspapers