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Posted by: Joanna Colclough
Read about the serial killer Bender family from Cherryvale, Kansas, in Chronicling America, with first-hand accounts and breaking news as it was printed in 1873. The unsolved mystery of the Benders captivated headlines for over 50 years.
Posted by: Malea Walker
“Like a ‘Flying Dutchman,’ the five-masted schooner Carroll A. Deering loomed through the mists about Diamond Shoals today, all sails set, but un-manned.” –The Washington Herald, February 3, 1921. In late January, 1921, all occupants of the schooner Carroll A. Deering disappeared somewhere in the waters along the North Carolina coast. The ship was still …
Posted in: Digitized Newspapers, Mystery, Newspapers
Posted by: Malea Walker
Tales of hauntings around Washington, D.C., are a tradition that goes back hundreds of years. From presidents and soldiers to local residents, the ghosts are said to haunt both official buildings and houses. Read more about where to find these ghosts and spooks.
Posted in: Digitized Newspapers, Halloween, Holidays, Mystery
Posted by: Heather Thomas
One minute they’re here, the next they’re gone. The history of infamous kidnappings in America is long and stretches back centuries. In some cases, the missing are released and recovered alive, while others are not so lucky. Other disappearances remain unsolved. Cynthia Ann Parker May 19, 1836, Waco—The 9-year-old Texan girl is kidnapped by Comanche …
Posted in: Crime, Digitized Newspapers, Mystery, Newspapers
Posted by: Valerie Haeder
For a seemingly interminable 65 days the Mayflower was the floating home of pilgrims, officers and crew as they made their famous journey to America. For some it was a graveyard, and for others, a symbol of life renewed. Those who sailed on the Mayflower in 1620 are commonly known as pilgrims, but the sailors who …
Posted by: Amber Paranick
The following guest post was also written by Marissa Ball, Head of the Humanities & Social Sciences Section in the Researcher and Reference Services Division; Peter Armenti, a reference specialist in the Researcher and Reference Services Division; and Ashley Cuffia, a science reference specialist in the Science, Technology, and Business Division. On October 24, 2019, …
Posted in: Comic Books, Crime, Mystery
Posted by: Malea Walker
For 82 years people have tried to solve the mystery Amelia Earhart's disappearance, but in 1937 America remembered her as the brave pioneer woman who conquered flight.
Posted in: Biography, Digitized Newspapers, Mystery, Sports, Women's History
Posted by: Valerie Haeder
The flags decorating the theater box where President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated were almost an afterthought, but they became central to the legend and lore surrounding his assassination. On April 14, 1865, just hours before the President arrived at Ford’s, John Ford, the proprietor of the theater, thought it appropriate to adorn the box where …
Posted in: Holidays, Mystery, 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