5 Tips for Genealogy Research in Chronicling America
Now that Chronicling America has more than 15 million newspaper pages, it’s time to put them to good use! Here are some tips for doing genealogical research in Chronicling America.
American Women’s Declaration of Independence: Newspaper coverage, 1848
“We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men and women are created equal…” On July 20, 1848 in Seneca Falls, New York, the first Woman’s Rights Convention approved a Declaration of Sentiments, which had been drafted by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and modeled after the Declaration of Independence in its commitment to secure women’s […]
Let’s Talk Comics: Librarians
Dr. Barbara Gordon, Librarian? Yep that’s right – not only was Batgirl a crime-fighter alongside Batman and Robin but she also had a PhD in Library Science and ran the Gotham City Public Library. A recent visit from some fellow librarians in Washington DC for the American Library Association (ALA) annual conference gave me a […]
Stonewall 50 in Newspapers
The Stonewall uprising was a series of six-day protests that began in the early morning of June 28, 1969, and centered around the Stonewall Inn, a gay tavern in New York City’s Greenwich Village on Christopher Street. This particular event (also called the Stonewall rebellion or Stonewall riots), represents a turning point in the movement for […]
Play (Congressional) Ball!
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. […]
Pesky Details: The Authenticity of the Lincoln Flag
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 […]
The Joy of Reading Comics
With one of the biggest comic book collections in the world, we take our role of preserving comics seriously. Many scholars have come to study our collections to learn more about art and popular culture. But we also know that comic books are seriously fun to read! Which is why we’re now trying to make […]
Walt Whitman: A Life in Newspapers
In 1860, the 3rd edition of Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass received a wildly varying reception in newspapers. At opposite ends of the spectrum, it was advertised as “America’s First Distinctive Poem” and reviewed as “armless, witless, pointless.” The advertisement was from the volume’s […]
Chronicling America: 15 million and counting!
This is a guest post by Nathan Yarasavage, a digital projects specialist in the Serial and Government Publications Division. This week we celebrate an exciting milestone. Chronicling America, the online searchable database of historic U.S. newspapers, now includes more than 15 million pages! Since 2005, libraries, historical societies, and other institutions throughout the country have […]
Champion Cyclist “Major” Taylor
Cyclist Marshall W. “Major” Taylor was the fastest man on earth. He won thousands of dollars as a bicycle racer and became the most famous African-American in the United States. This was the golden age of cycling, and bicycle racing was a premier sporting event. Thousands of fans packed indoor velodromes to watch races and many […]