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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: Amber Paranick
Have your Halloween costume picked out yet? Why not go dressed as Bessie McCoy, the original Yama Yama Girl? During the 1910s, the Yama Yama Girl costume was all the rage. But who was the Yama Yama Girl and why did people dress up as her? Stage actress and vaudeville performer Elizabeth G. McEvoy (also …
Posted in: Biography, Halloween, Holidays, Newspapers, 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: Valerie Haeder
When Michael Hill opened his mailbox in 1982 and found a letter from renowned historian David McCullough he was astounded, and his life changed forever. Two months earlier he’d sent a letter to Mr. McCullough offering his research services, the envelope addressed only to David McCullough, Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts—no zip code, no street address. Somehow …
Posted in: Biography, Digitized Newspapers, Newspapers
Posted by: Amber Paranick
Today is Constitution Day and on this date, we celebrate the signing of the Constitution by the members of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on September 17, 1787. Here’s an early original version of the proposed Constitution we found in the September 19, 1787 edition of the Pennsylvania Packet, and Daily Advertiser newspaper (Philadelphia, PA). …
Posted in: 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: Arlene Balkansky
"I was worried that the moon might be too soft and that he would sink in too deeply," Viola Armstrong, Neil Armstrong's mother. This mother's heartfelt concern appears in a newspaper from Neil Armstrong';s hometown of Wapakoneta, Ohio.
Posted in: Newspapers
Posted by: Amber Paranick
This post will highlight articles you’ll find in the Library’s Chronicling America collection of digitized newspapers related to travel.
Posted in: Newspapers