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Posted by: Arlene Balkansky
With geysers, waterfalls, and hot springs “adorned with decorations more beautiful than human art ever conceived,” Yellowstone National Park is known today for its incredible natural wonders. Our first National Park–and the first in the world–was created by an Act of Congress and signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant on March 1, 1872. Newspapers …
Posted in: Digitized Newspapers, U.S. Presidents
Posted by: Heather Thomas
America’s first daredevil, Sam Patch, astounded audiences by leaping from waterfalls at hair-raising heights. For two years he was unstoppable, cheating death jump after jump. “There’s no mistake in Sam Patch,” he boasted, but a mistake during the jump he dubbed his “last” led to his demise. A Rhode Island cotton mill spinner since childhood, …
Posted in: Digitized Newspapers, Newspapers
Posted by: Amber Paranick
Canadian-born Gladys Louise Smith was just 5 years old when her father died, plunging her family into poverty. Gladys’ mother, Charlotte, a classic stage mother of the day, pushed her young children– Lottie, Jack, and “Baby Gladys” — into the theatre in hopes of making money. Gladys soon caught the eye of Broadway impresario, David …
Posted in: Biography, Digitized Newspapers, Women's History
Posted by: Heather Thomas
Never before had a congressional hearing been described as “UPROARIOUS,” until master magician and escape artist Harry Houdini provided expert testimony in which he delivered a lively and compelling case against the supernatural. For years, Houdini had worked tirelessly to debunk spirit mediums who claimed to communicate with the dead. He viewed them as “ghost …
Posted in: Digitized Newspapers, Newspapers
Posted by: Megan Halsband
Could a picture be worth more than a thousand words? For anyone trying to find an elusive photograph, illustration, or comic in a historic newspaper – the answer might be yes! Searching for these types of images is dramatically easier thanks to digitization efforts, such as the National Digital Newspaper Program, which makes millions of …
Posted in: Digitized Newspapers
Posted by: Malea Walker
If hippopotamus was on the menu, would you try it? That’s what America almost did in 1910! Corporate beef monopolies, stricter regulations, and meat shortages all combined to create soaring meat prices nationwide. Senator Robert Broussard proposed a solution: import African animals to the U.S. for meat (61st Cong. 2nd sess. H.R. 23261). Broussard brought …
Posted in: Comic Books, Digitized Newspapers, Government Documents
Posted by: Arlene Balkansky
While most children read about Helen Keller's childhood triumph over the difficulties of her deaf-blindness, many are unaware of her life as an activist and orator.
Posted in: Biography, Digitized Newspapers, Newspapers, Women's History
Posted by: Heather Thomas
Dead outlaw, will travel. In life, Elmer McCurdy was a hard-drinking drifter. In death, he crisscrossed the country touring the carnival circuit, hit the Hollywood scene, and even made it to TV! The bizarre tale of Elmer’s journey from varmint to traveling corpse started in Oklahoma when he and his gang of bandits robbed the …
Posted in: Comic Books, Crime, Digitized Newspapers, Newspapers
Posted by: Arlene Balkansky
How could my thoughts not turn to baseball on the day of the Major League Baseball All-Star Game? Plus it’s being played right here in Washington, DC. Plus it’s only a couple weeks after the opening of Baseball Americana, the major exhibit at the Library of Congress. My thoughts often turn to comics and newspapers …
Posted in: Baseball, Comic Books, Digitized Newspapers, Newspapers, Sports